Finnish as Foreign Language 1 (5cr)

Objectives (course unit)

The course provides the basics of the Finnish language and culture (estimated level A1.2)

After completing the course, the students will be able to:
• Use the basic structure of Finnish.
• Manage in Finnish in basic situations like simple shopping and travelling.
• Learn to build up their vocabulary.
• Know forms of politeness in Finnish.
• Know how to write brief messages connected to everyday life.

Content (course unit)

• How is Finnish pronounced?
• Why do I need to pay attention to how words are written?
• How to make simple statements, ask questions and answer them?
• How to write short messages in Finnish?
• What to say in situations like shopping, travelling in Finland?
• How to be polite, and build up small talk in Finnish?

Assessment methods and criteria

Assessment is based on a student's activity, assignments, passed mid-term exam and the final exam. To pass the course a student has to attend 80 % of given lessons, and complete given written assignments successfully.
The scale of assessment: 0 - 5

Teaching methods

Contact teaching, group work, cooperative learning, exercises, net learning

Learning materials

Teacher designed material, collected material.
Courses on the net to speed up learning.

Student workload

One credit of a student´s work = 27 hours,; 5 x 27 hours = 135 hours (lessons, homework, cultural tasks, exams)

Content scheduling

1 credit to find information on Finnish culture and habits ad hoc for own benefit (notes).
4 credits to learn Finnis language during 3 periods and to pass the exams.
Detailed information during classes and in Tabula.

Completion alternatives

Talk to the teacher, if you have equivalent course done already.

International connections

Cultural interview with a Finnish student as part of cultural awareness. Done in English.

Further information

Mid-term exam December 13 at 9.00. Final exam February 20 at 9.00

Assessment criteria - fail (0) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

A student has not completed the assingments and not attended the course active enough, and has not pass the exam.

Assessment criteria - satisfactory (1-2) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

A student has completed all the assignments acceptably and attended contact lessons at least 80 %. She/he is able to tell a few things about oneself in Finnish comprehensively.

Assessment criteria - good (3-4) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

A student has an active attitude towards studying Finnish language and culture showing that by completing written tasks according to the schedule. She/he is able to cope in most common everyday situations: shopping, travelling, and visiting people. A student is able to write brief messages (e.g. e-mail, text message, and post card) in Finnish and is able to pronounce Finnish clearly enough. Student’s mother tongue has an effect in pronunciation and/or sentence structure

Assessment criteria - excellent (5) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

A student has a positive and active attitude towards learning language and is genuinely interested in Finnish culture, and brings it up by comparing Finnish to her/his own culture. She/he can pronounce Finnish distinctively and is able to use suitable and varied expressions in everyday situations using grammar almost correctly. A student is able to write brief texts in Finnish which are mostly correct.