Language Centre /

Course ma­ter­i­als, ob­ject­ives and con­tents

Finnish is the language of instruction in the Finnish courses organised by Language Services. The ”Finnish in Finnish” method has been proven to accelerate and to enhance learning; the progression of the courses has been designed so that no other languages are needed. Nevertheless, students can always ask for help in other languages when the teachers are circulating in class supervising pair or group work, during breaks or after class.

Please note that on all our courses you will need to invest a substantial amount of time for independent study. It may be a good idea to book the times for self study in you calendar at the same time as you note down the lessons.

Course programme

Suomi 1
Finnish for false be­gin­ners
Suomi 2
Suomi 3
Every­day Speech Situ­ations
Suomi 4
Suomi 5
Ad­vanced dis­cus­sion course
Suomi 6
Suomi 7

Suomi 1

Course material

Suomen mestari 1 – suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille (Sonja Gehring, Sanni Heinzmann), chapters 1–7. Books are not included in the course fee.

Objective
To learn to cope with simple everyday discussions and formal situations, write brief texts on familiar topics and learn key vocabulary.

Target level
Skill level 1 (CEF A1.1 / YKI 1)

Topics

  • Greetings, getting to know someone
  • Me and my family
  • Workdays and leisure
  • Weather and times of the year
  • Home and housing

Working method

The working method is Finnish in Finnish. We practise speaking Finnish from the start, in pairs and small groups. Listening comprehension is practised, and basic structures become familiar through using the language.

Structures

  • asking questions: Mihin sinä menet? Lähteekö Tomi mukaan?
  • verb conjugation (verb types 1 to 5) in present tense: Me nousemme aikaisin. Me emme nouse aikaisin.
  • singular imperative: Ota lisää! Älä häiritse!
  • genitive and partitive: Kenen kirja tämä on? Se on Alexin. Kurssilla on 25 opiskelijaa. Me odotamme bussia. Minulla ei ole autoa.
  • possessive: Minulla on polkupyörä, mutta minulla ei ole autoa.
  • local cases (Missä? Mistä? Mihin?): Maria kävelee pysäkille. Hän menee bussilla keskustaan.
  • word types: bussi/bussissa, järvi/järvessä, pieni/pienessä, vene/veneessä, meksikolainen/meksikolaisessa, vesi/vedessä

Finnish for false be­gin­ners

Finnish for False Beginners is designed for students who are familiar with AT LEAST the following basics:

  • Numbers
  • Days of the week
  • Greetings
  • Introducing oneself
  • Basic vocabulary (names of food items, adjectives, places and frequently used verbs)

The course will cover grammatical information taught on the Suomi 1 level:

  • verb types (rakastaa, rakastan; uida, uin; tulla, tulen; herätä, herään; tarvita, tarvitsen)
  • the most common noun types (punainen, punaisessa; huone, huoneessa; pieni, pienessä; uusi, uudessa)
  • the partitive case (kaksi huonetta, juon vettä) and local cases (talossa, talosta, taloon; asemalla, asemalta, asemalle)
  • construction to have (Minulla on koira; Minulla ei ole koiraa)
  • consonant gradation (hattu, hatussa; ottaa, otan)

Many discussion and vocabulary exercises will be done during the course.

Material is included in the course fee and you will receive it from the teacher.

After completing the course, you may continue your studies on the Suomi 2 level.

NB. English is used as an auxiliary language in the False Beginners course.

Suomi 2

Course material

Suomen mestari 1 – suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille (Sonja Gehring, Sanni Heinzmann), chapters 8–9, and Suomen mestari 2 – suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille (Sonja Gehring, Sanni Heinzmann), chapters 1–5. Books are not included in the course fee.

Objective
To learn to make simple conversation and communication in official situations. To learn to talk about past actions and leisure time. To learn to write different types of texts on familiar topics.

Target level
Level 1+ (CEF A1.2 / YKI 1+)

Topics

  • Everyday life and festivities
  • Work and professions
  • Leisure time, nature, hobbies
  • Travel
  • Personal history
  • Various situations, e.g. at the doctor's, at an office

Working method

The working method is Finnish in Finnish. We practise speaking Finnish throughout the course, in pairs and small groups. Listening comprehension is practised, and basic structures become familiar through using the language.

Structures

  • object: Markus juo maitoa. Markus joi maidon loppuun. Me ostamme uuden pesukoneen. Me emme osta uutta pesukonetta.
  • structure täytyy (to have to): Meidän täytyy siivota tänään. Sinun ei tarvitse imuroida Lauran huonetta.
  • simple past and present perfect tense: Asuin ennen Ruotsissa. Nyt olen asunut Suomessa vuoden.
  • verb + case, verb + -maan/-massa /-masta: Soitan sinulle. Keneltä sait tekstiviestin? Se kuulostaa hyvältä. Pidän suomalaisesta ruoasta. Olen kiinnostunut historiasta. Lähden hiihtämään. Käyn syömässä. Inhoan tiskaamista.
  • postpositions: Haluatko puhua Davidin kanssa? Tämän talon takana on kirjakauppa.
  • expressions of time: neljältä, vappuna, kesällä, viime vuonna, tällä viikolla, ensi kuussa, kesäkuussa
  • new noun types: lyhyt/lyhyet, väsynyt/väsyneet, liike/liikkeet, soitin/soittimet, raitis/raittiit, tehdas/tehtaat

Suomi 3

Course material

Suomen mestari 2 – suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille (Sonja Gehring, Sanni Heinzmann), chapters 6–8, and Suomen mestari 3 – suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille (Sonja Gehring, Sanni Heinzmann, Sari Päivärinne, Taija Udd), chapters 1–2. Books are not included in the course fee.

Objective
To learn to discuss and write about various topics. To learn to make requests, commands and suggestions, use polite Finnish and begin to discern differences between language registers. Reading simple factual texts.

Target level
Level 2 (CEF A2.1 / YKI 2)

Topics

  • Celebrations and festivities
  • Education and work
  • Nature and the environment
  • Arts and culture

Working method

The working method is Finnish in Finnish. Speaking and listening are important, and contexts become gradually more formal. Reading and writing various text types. Main structures become familiar through using the language.

Structures

  • use of tenses (present, simple past, present perfect, past perfect)
  • plural: Kävimme konserteissa ja näyttelyissä. Tutustuimme moniin ihmisiin. Ostin perunoita ja porkkanoita. Kadulla on ihmisiä.
  • conditional – use and tenses: Haluaisin kahvia. Voisitteko soittaa myöhemmin? Jos olisimme tienneet, että hän on sairas, olisimme tulleet auttamaan häntä.
  • passive present and its use: Kokous pidetään ensi viikolla. Maalataan tämä talo ensi vuonna! Me maalataan talo.
  • more noun types: kirjallisuus/kirjallisuuden, suolaton/suolattoman, kynsi/kynnen

Every­day Speech Situ­ations

The course is intended to support students taking the Suomi 3 or Suomi 4 course who do not speak much Finnish outside the classroom. The course includes practical oral exercises related to courses Suomi 1–3.

The objective is to:

  • learn to make polite suggestions and requests (e.g. use of the conditional)
  • learn to talk briefly about current issues (summarising news, use of the passive)
  • gain confidence for various everyday situations through practice of vocabulary and structures (e.g. use of past tenses)

Material is included in the course fee and you will receive it from the teacher.

Suomi 4

Course material

Suomen mestari 3 – suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille (Sonja Gehring, Sanni Heinzmann, Sari Päivärinne, Taija Udd), chapters 3–8. Books are not included in the course fee.

Objective
To learn to express oneself in an increasingly versatile manner. To become familiar with differences between spoken and written language. To read short newspaper articles and other non-fiction, and to write simple formal texts.

Target level
Level 2+ (CEF A2.2 / YKI 2+)

Topics

  • Informal and formal emails
  • Occupations and working life
  • Information about Finland, cultural differences, your own country of origin
  • Sports
  • History

Working method

The working method is Finnish in Finnish. Speaking and listening are important, yet contexts are more official. Reading and writing various text types. Main structures become familiar through using the language.

Structures

  • plural imperative: Kirjoittakaa teksti! Älkää huutako!
  • essive and translative: Hän on ollut jo kauan sairaana. Hän tuli sairaaksi. Pidimme asiaa melko vaikeana. Tunsin itseni väsyneeksi tänä aamuna. Tämä kotitehtävä on huomiseksi.
  • comparative and superlative: nopea, nopeampi, nopein; nopeasti, nopeammin, nopeimmin
  • passive tenses: Asiasta on puhuttu jo monta kertaa. Kun katto oli korjattu, maalattiin seinät.
  • passive conditional use and tenses: Mentäisiinkö kahville? Me lähdettäisiin maalle, jos tulisi kaunis ilma. Kunpa ympäristökysymyksiin kiinnitettäisiin enemmän huomiota! 

Suomi 5

Course material

Suomen mestari 4 – suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille (Sonja Gehring, Sanni Heinzmann, Sari Päivärinne, Taija Udd), chapters 1–4. Books are not included in the course fee.

Objective

To learn to read more difficult factual texts. To become more familiar with vocabulary and situations related to work, everyday life and the world that surrounds us. To practise more spoken language and to learn to write texts of various types.

Target level
Level 3 (CEF B1.1 / YKI 3)

Topics

  • Work and family
  • Everyday errands
  • The city and technology
  • Text types: instructions, regulations, notices, factual texts, brochures

Working method

The working method is Finnish in Finnish. Speaking and listening practice still play a key role, but we will also begin to pay more attention to written communication through reading and writing various types of texts.  The most important structures become familiar through using the language.

Structures

  • Participles: ensi viikolla alkava kurssi, viime viikolla alkanut kurssi; opiskeltavat asiat, opiskellut asiat; oppilaiden kirjoittamat tekstit
  • Possessive suffixes: Hän meni huoneeseensa.
  • Idiomatic expressions: Tämä ei voi pitää paikkaansa. Hän oli poissa tolaltaan. Hehän voivat olla missä tahansa. Näin sen omin silmin.

Ad­vanced dis­cus­sion course

This course provides opportunities to practise spoken language.

Requirement

You need to have taken course Suomi 5 or have level 3/B1 before taking this course.

Objective:

  • to learn to react in unexpected situations and develop impromptu responses
  • to be able to participate actively in group discussions
  • to gain confidence while speaking in formal and informal situations
  • to learn to understand several types of spoken texts

Material is included in the course fee and you will receive it from the teacher.

Suomi 6

Course material

Suomen mestari 4 – suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille (Sonja Gehring, Sanni Heinzmann, Sari Päivärinne, Taija Udd), chapters 5–8. Books are not included in the course fee.

Objective

To improve reading and writing skills in Finnish by reading and writing texts on current issues. To improve oral communication skills and expand vocabulary. To learn to distinguish different spoken and written language registers.

Target level
Level 3+ (CEF B1.2 / YKI 3+)

Topics

  • News and entertainment
  • Phases of life and personal profiles
  • Geography
  • Small talk

Working method

Speaking and listening practice still play a key role, but the course will also focus on the structures of written language through reading and writing various types of texts. Previously learned structures are also reviewed and practised. 

Structures

  • Constructions replacing clauses with että, kun and jotta: Tiesitkö hänen tulevan? Kuulimme heidän muuttaneen Amerikkaan. Tullessamme hän oli juuri lähdössä. Nukuin hetken aikaa lähdettyäsi. Menimme taksilla ehtiäksemme ajoissa perille. Luulen asiasta päätettävän huomenna. Töihin tultaessa on leimattava kellokortti.
  • Instructive of infinitive -e: Hän tuli tänne kiukusta puhisten.
  • Translative of infinitive: Menimme taksilla ehtiäksemme ajoissa perille.
  • Verb + case: Myöhästyin bussista. Keskityin tehtävään. Hän ei välitä mistään. Olen pahoillani kaikesta.
  • Various word derivations: talonmies –  talkkari, roskakori – roskis; uida – uiminen; kirja – kirjasto; purra –  pureskella

Suomi 7

Course material

Material is included in the course fee and you will receive it from the teacher.

Course contents

Practising oral situations and writing at an upper-intermediate level.

Objective

  • To improve oral fluency and expand vocabulary
  • To deepen and expand knowledge of the language and improve grammar skills
  • To learn to distinguish and use different registers of both spoken and written language
  • To become an independent Finnish language user

Target level

Level 4 (CEF B2 / YKI 4)

Working method

The contents of this course will largely be based on the participants needs and wishes. We will read and write about current topics in Finland and elsewhere. We will also practise giving presentations. The course may include visits to the theatre, the movies or a museum, and writing various types of texts.

Topics

  • Various topics related to Finnish culture and society