Hundreds of people around the world are learning Icelandic through the web, reports news station NFS.The course, named Icelandic Online, was developed at the University of Iceland in collaboration with the Sigurdur Nordal Institution, the Department of Icelandic and six foreign universities. The course is student driven, open to all and free of charge. It is split into two parts and equals a two term Icelandic course at the University of Iceland.
According to NFS there is great interest in Icelandic lessons and there are examples of people finishing the course and arriving in Iceland to continue their studies.
A large portion of the people taking the course live abroad including Canada where there are many people who trace their roots to Iceland. The project manager of the course says that the interest in the course is on multiple levels, including interest in Icelandic music, culture and Icelandic friends.
