How to study for the test in Swedish
Short answer
Read and listen to Sverige i fokus (Sweden in focus) at the same time. Use our easy Swedish chapter pages and glossary for support. The plan below is a suggestion for six weeks, not a guarantee that you will pass.
The official test is only in Swedish. This is why our chapter pages and practice test are in easy Swedish. Practice test (Swedish) · Read in Swedish
Understand the content and learn the Swedish words
The social studies test is only in Swedish. You therefore need both to understand the subjects and to recognise the words in Swedish. Use the information in your language to understand how the test works. Then study the test content itself in Swedish.
The official material is called Sverige i fokus. The test is based on it. The material is available as Swedish text and a Swedish audiobook at uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet/utbildningsmaterial/. The text has 48 pages. The audiobook has 14 audio files.
Our easy Swedish chapter pages, glossary and practice test support your studies. Use them together with the official material, not instead of it. UHR does not support private practice tests or guarantee their quality.
Follow these steps when studying a section
- First, read the matching chapter page in easy Swedish. Try to understand what the subject is about.
- Open the text in Sverige i fokus. Start the audio file for the same chapter and follow the text while you listen.
- Pause after a short paragraph. Read it again and mark words you do not understand.
- Look up important words in the glossary. Write down the Swedish word and an explanation you understand.
- Explain the paragraph in your own words. Start in your native language if you need to. Then try saying a few simple sentences in Swedish.
- Practise with a few multiple-choice questions. Then read again about anything you were unsure of.
You do not need to study a whole chapter each time. Divide longer chapters into smaller parts. It can help to listen to the same paragraph several times.
A six-week study plan
The plan follows the chapter numbers in Sverige i fokus, where chapter 1 is the introduction. On our chapter pages, the same subjects are numbered 1–13. Decide which days you can study. If you need more time, you can take more weeks. No set amount of study time can guarantee a pass.
Week 1: Get to know the material and the country
Read chapter 1, the introduction, and chapter 2, Landet Sverige. Practise reading the text while you listen. Start your own list of Swedish key words. For example, choose befolkning (population), naturresurser (natural resources) and klimat (climate). Check their meanings in the glossary. End the week by explaining what the chapter is about without reading directly from the text.
Week 2: Democracy, government and elections
Study chapters 3–5 about democracy, how the country is governed and political elections. Divide the reading between several study sessions. Write down riksdag (parliament), regering (government), region (region) and kommun (municipality). Use the material to explain the differences. Answer multiple-choice questions on this week's subjects and return to the text when you are unsure which of two answers to choose.
Week 3: Laws, media and rights
Study chapters 6–8 about law and justice, media and human rights. Listen carefully to sentences with new words. Write short explanations of grundlag (constitutional law), källkritik (checking sources) and yttrandefrihet (freedom of expression). Read the questions slowly when you practise. Use what you have read to explain why an answer is correct.
Week 4: Work, money and welfare
Study chapters 9–10 about the labour market, personal finances and welfare. Collect words such as arbetsgivare (employer), arbetstagare (employee) and skatt (tax). Make a simple list of the responsibilities the material describes for the state, regions and municipalities. Check your list against the text. Also revise some words and questions from the first three weeks.
Week 5: History and the wider world
Study chapters 11–12 about modern history and international cooperation. Use the text to list important events in time order. Collect names and terms that appear often. Listen and follow the text even when the names seem familiar. End the week with a mix of questions from these chapters and previous weeks.
Week 6: Religion, traditions and revision
Study chapters 13–14 about religion, traditions and celebrations. Then revise all the subjects. Take our practice test in Swedish. Note which subjects and words you need to read more about. Return to the matching sections in the official material. If you still find many questions difficult to understand, continue studying after the six weeks.
Practise words and multiple-choice questions
For each key word, you can write the Swedish word on one side of a piece of paper and the explanation on the other. Practise in both directions. The aim is to recognise the word in a Swedish question and understand its meaning there.
In the official test, each question has four possible answers and one correct answer. Read the question and all four answers before you choose. Pay special attention to words such as inte (not). One small word can change what a question means.
When you practise, it is not enough to remember which answer you chose. Check why the answer is correct. There are five official example questions on uhr.se. We write our own practice questions, and your result here does not show for certain how you will do in the official test.