Max Naylor
Icelandic teacher, content creator and designer
👋 Velkomin! Here you can find out all about the services I offer and the work I do.
👋 Velkomin! Here you can find out all about the services I offer and the work I do.
I’ve been teaching adult students of all backgrounds for over 5 years now. As your teacher, my aim is to take away the fear and complexity from learning Icelandic. Together, we’ll overcome obstacles and set achievable goals.
I tutor Icelandic online and in-person in Edinburgh. Your lessons are tailored to your exact needs, no matter whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner. We’ll cover speaking, listening, reading and writing, as well as diving into grammar.
Your Icelandic lessons can be highly structured if you’re not sure where to start, or more laid back if you just want to maintain your current level.
I have an MA in Icelandic Linguistics from Háskóli Íslands/University of Iceland (2015) and a BA in Icelandic from University College London (2013).
As an intermediate student of Icelandic, I have been truly enjoying learning with Max. His lessons are tailored to my needs and Max is great at finding out ways to teach Icelandic using subjects I am passionate about.
He is very knowledgeable about the Icelandic language and culture, and his teaching methods are most effective.
I appreciate how he corrects homework, letting you take an important part in the search for the right spelling, grammar or choice of words, which is a great way to make progress. I highly recommend taking lessons with Max.
I can reasonably say that Max is by far the best language teacher I have had in almost half a century. He is such a kind and super didactic person with a good sense of humour and lightness.
No matter how exhausted I am, I always look forward to my lessons and feel energised by them despite the hard work it is to learn Icelandic properly. There is a good mix of grammar exercises, conversation and writing assignments that we then dive more deeply into. And a pinch of etymology and linguistics, very much to my liking.
Max is super flexible and creates tailor-made lessons. I cannot but recommend Max as a teacher.
Teach yourself Icelandic with these interactive online courses. Learn grammar, build your vocab and gain listening skills with materials designed by a qualified teacher.
I create video content on YouTube on language learning in general, the Icelandic language and linguistics.
My goal is to make all of these topics more accessible to people, no matter their educational background.
I believe in democratising and demystifying language learning and linguistics, which is why all my video content is available for free.
Here’s some info on various other language-related projects I’ve worked on.
This is a comprehensive, freely available grammar of the Icelandic language. It’s written in a fun, accessible style, unlike traditional grammar books.
The Reference is packed with authentic examples that demonstrate all aspects of grammar. It covers noun gender, case declensions, verb conjugations including middle voice and subjunctive, and lots more.
New content is added from time to time, so make sure to check back regularly.
I am English Editor of the Icelandic-English dictionary at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.
This is the largest freely available dictionary for Icelandic, with over 50,000 headwords spanning all kinds of domains.
It’s set to be fully completed in autumn 2026. Currently around 85% of entries have been finished.
This is an automatic IPA transcriber for the Icelandic language. I developed Hljóðritarinn as a hobby project during my MA in Icelandic Linguistics.
Hljóðritarinn is able to accurately transcribe most Icelandic texts and is programmed to take into account the principles of Icelandic orthography and the main exceptions from those.
Note: All output should be checked before academic use.
If you’re interested in working with me, or just want to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you! 😍
YouTube channel