Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Netnámskeiðið hjálpar mér að læra íslensku. - The online course helps me learn Icelandic.

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually a suffix, not a separate word.
Here, netnámskeið is a neuter noun, and the nominative singular definite ending for neuter nouns is -ið.

What kind of word is Netnámskeiðið exactly? Is it one word or several?

Netnámskeiðið is one compound noun.

It comes from:

net = net / internet
námskeið = course (literally “study-period”)

Combined: netnámskeið = online course
With the definite ending: netnámskeiðið = the online course

Icelandic very often builds long compound words like this, and the article is attached to the whole compound, not to each part.

Why is hjálpar used here? What is the base form of this verb?

Hjálpar is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb hjálpa (to help).

Infinitive: að hjálpa = to help
1st person singular: ég hjálpa = I help
3rd person singular: hann / hún / það hjálpar = he / she / it helps

In the sentence, Netnámskeiðið (the online course) is the subject, so we use hjálpar → it helps.

Why is it mér and not ég or mig?

Icelandic uses cases, and pronouns change form depending on their role in the sentence.

For “I / me”:

Nominative (subject): ég
Accusative (direct object): mig
Dative (indirect object): mér
Genitive: mín

The verb hjálpa (to help) always takes the dative case for the person being helped.

So you must say:

Netnámskeiðið hjálpar mér… = The online course helps me…

*Netnámskeiðið hjálpar mig… is ungrammatical, because mig is accusative, but hjálpa requires dative.

What exactly is the að before læra doing? Is it the same as “to” in English?

Yes, in this sentence að is functioning like the English particle “to” before a verb:

að læra = to learn

Here, að is the infinitive marker for the verb læra.
It introduces a kind of “verb phrase”:

að læra íslensku = to learn Icelandic

Be aware: að can also mean “that” as a conjunction in other contexts, but before a verb in this way, it usually works as the infinitive marker (to).

Why is it íslensku and not íslenska?

Íslenska is a feminine noun meaning “Icelandic (the language)”.

Its singular forms are:

Nominative: íslenska
Accusative: íslensku
Dative: íslensku
Genitive: íslensku

The verb læra (to learn) takes its object in the accusative case:

að læra eitthvað = to learn something → eitthvað is accusative
að læra íslensku = to learn Icelandic → íslensku is accusative

So íslensku here is the direct object of læra, in the accusative.

Why isn’t Íslensku capitalized? In English, “Icelandic” is.

In Icelandic:

Language names are not capitalized.

So you write:

íslenska, danska, enska, þýska
(Icelandic, Danish, English, German)

Proper names (like country names, people’s names) are capitalized, but common nouns for languages are lowercase, even when they refer to national languages. This is normal and correct spelling.

Can I change the word order, like Netnámskeiðið hjálpar að læra íslensku mér?

No, that word order is not natural or grammatical.

In this kind of sentence, the normal order is:

Subject
Verb
Indirect object (in dative, here mér)
að
- infinitive phrase

So:

Netnámskeiðið hjálpar mér að læra íslensku.

You can move að læra íslensku as a unit in some contexts, but you generally don’t split it and you don’t push mér to the very end in this simple statement. Pronouns in Icelandic tend to stay close to the verb.

What are the grammatical roles of each word in the sentence?

Netnámskeiðið – subject (nominative, neuter singular, definite)
hjálpar – main verb (3rd person singular present of hjálpa)
mér – indirect object (1st person singular, dative)
að læra íslensku – infinitive clause functioning like a purpose/complement phrase
- að – infinitive marker
- læra – infinitive verb (to learn)
- íslensku – direct object of læra (feminine accusative singular)

So the structure is essentially:
[The online course] [helps] [me] [to learn Icelandic].

Why don’t we say “Netnámskeiðið er að hjálpa mér…” for “is helping me”?

Icelandic generally does not use a separate continuous tense like English (is helping, are learning).

The simple present:

Netnámskeiðið hjálpar mér…

can mean:

The online course helps me… (general fact)
The online course is helping me… (currently, in context)

The form er að hjálpa can appear, but it usually feels more like “is in the process of helping”, and is less common and often unnecessary. In neutral, everyday statements about general help, hjálpar is the natural choice.

How do you pronounce hjálpar mér að læra íslensku?

Approximate pronunciation (not strict IPA, but close enough for learners):

hjálpar ≈ HYOWL-par
- hj is like a breathy hy (similar to German ich
  - y)
- á like ow in cow
mér ≈ MYER (one syllable, like my-air blended)
að ≈ a-th (with the soft th as in this)
læra ≈ LIE-ra
- æ like eye in eye
íslensku ≈ EES-len-sku
- í like long ee
- The cluster slensk often sounds something like stlensk to English ears

Spoken smoothly, it might sound like:
HYOWL-par MYER ath LIE-ra EES-len-sku (with Icelandic th and r).

Could I say “Netnámskeiðið hjálpar mér að læra íslensku betur” to mean “The online course helps me learn Icelandic better”?

Yes, that’s a natural extension.

betur = better (adverb)

So:

Netnámskeiðið hjálpar mér að læra íslensku betur.
= The online course helps me to learn Icelandic better.

The grammar stays exactly the same; you just add betur after íslensku inside the infinitive phrase að læra íslensku betur.