Study Guide

Objective

You are able to express yourself in Finnish in the most common everyday situations both orally and in writing.
You have a command of simple phrases, basic clauses and vocabulary (CEFR level A1.1-A1.2) needed in situations such as introducing yourself and in service encounters.
You are familiar with the most essential grammatical features, like vowel harmony, present tense of the verb types and partitive singular case, and can manage with the pronunciation and spelling.
You are also able to expand your vocabulary and knowledge of language usage independently using different sources.
You become more familiar with the Finnish culture.

Content

What kind of language is Finnish compared with other languages you know? What are the special features of Finnish?
Which phrases and what kind of knowledge of Finnish language and culture are needed in everyday communication?
Which sources and tools can you use in order to learn elementary Finnish during the course and independently?
How to pronounce and spell in Finnish?

Materials

Gehring, S. & Heinzmann, S. 2021 (or older editions). Suomen mestari 1. Helsinki: Finnlectura.
The material on the Moodle platform "Learn"

Teaching methods

Lessons at Kouvola Campus twice a week and assignments along the course. Independent studying, teamwork. The course structure is scheduled.
Online course Finnish for beginners available on Ecampus.

Employer connections

This course builds general working-life competences by reinforcing language skills.

Exam schedules

All the assignments must be submitted following the given schedule, by the end of the course. Late submissions are not allowed. There will be an exam or exams during the course. The exam must be passed. It is possible to write (rewrite) a non-written or not passed exam twice. The exam dates will be given at the beginning of the course.

International connections

This course suits well for international, exchange and double degree students.

Student workload

5 x 27 hours = 135 hours of work (incl. lectures, assignments, independent or team work)

Content scheduling

Includes:
oral assignments
written assignments
wordtests
exam/exams

Further information

When you have done the enrollment, wait until the registration time is over. After that the course teacher accepts your registration. The information for the starting (schedule, online environment, assignments) this course will be published at the first meeting. For further information, please contact the teacher.

Evaluation scale

1-5

Assessment methods and criteria

The assessment is based on assignments completed successfully and active participation. There will be an exam at the end of the course.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

A student who has reached the grade 1 or 2 can:
a) use some of the basic level (A1.1-A1.2) phrases, vocabulary and structures in every day life situations.
b) search information from textbooks and other basic information sources.
c) realise some variation in the use of language in different situations and organize somehow her or his own learning.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

A student who has reached the grade 3 can:
a) use the basic level (A1.1-A1.2) phrases, vocabulary and structures in every day life situations.
b) search information from textbooks and other basic information sources.
c) realise the variation in the use of language in different situations and organize her or his own learning.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

A student who has reached the grade 5 can:
a) use excellent the basic level (A1.1-A1.2) phrases, vocabulary and structures in every day life situations.
b) search information from textbooks and other basic information sources.
c) realise the variation in the use of language in different situations and organize flexible her or his own learning.

Qualifications

Prior skills in the Finnish language are not a requirement, but attending the course requires English skills enabling academic studies.