Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

The course builds up the knowledge and use of Finnish language in everyday situations, and it also provides wider perspective to Finnish culture. Estimated level A2.1.

After completing the course, the students will be able to:

Tell about future plans to a Finn in common situations.
Understand standard business related messages in Finnish.
Understand standard spoken Finnish.
Communicate with Finns in typical occasions.

Content (course unit)

How to express plans in good and clear manner in Finnish, spoken and written?
How to actively broaden vocabulary in daily situations?
How to understand basic business communication in Finnish?
What are the most common features of spoken Finnish?
How to become an observer of Finnish culture and learn about that?

Prerequisites (course unit)

- Finnish as a Foreign Language 1 (5 cr) or equivalent knowledge.

Further information (course unit)

-

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2) (course unit)

The student recognises typical grammatical structures like local cases and object. He/she is able to tell some things about his/her future plans (e.g. travelling) in Finnish in most common situations. He/she is able to tell some simple things of the past and cope to some extent in situations in which Finns use spoken language.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4) (course unit)

The student has an active attitude towards studying the Finnish language and culture showing that by completing written tasks. The student is able to use typical grammatical structures like local cases and object in simple sentences. He/she is able to tell about future plans in simple ways understandable in common situations. The student is able to talk about the past and explain his/her ideas and plans understandably. He/she comprehends main topics in everyday conversations with Finns who talk standard spoken language.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5) (course unit)

The student has a positive and active attitude towards learning the language and is genuinely interested in Finnish culture, and brings it up by expressing his/her findings about cultural matters. The student is able to talk understandably about the past and express himself/herself in various ways. He/she can cope in situations with Finns talking standard spoken Finnish, when topics are related to matters he/she is interested in, and/or when topics concern everyday life.

Location and time

We will meet on Thurdays from 8.30 AM to 11.00 AM (klo 8.00-10.30). The meeting time might change a bit later on. We will talk about this in the first meeting.

The course will start on January 20th, and end on May 5th 2022. However, we will not have any meetings on the week 9.

We will follow the local pandemic instructions, but if possible, we will start with classroom meetings. If we are instructed to continue online, I will send the Zoom link and Zoom instructions before the first meeting.

Exam schedules

We will talk about this later on the course.

Assessment methods and criteria

Participation in the course meetings.
Review of the course assignments.
Review of the exams.

Assessment scale

0-5

Teaching methods

Classroom meetings if the Covid-19 situation allows it.
Course assignments.
Exams (a midterm exam and a final exam).

We practise speaking, listening comprehension, writing, and reading. We will focus on active language use and comprehension.

Learning materials

Teacher´s materials, course book Suomen mestari 1, chapters 5-9.

Student workload

You should prepare for the following schedule in each course week:
- One three hour course meeting.
- 3-6 hours of independent work (home work, course assignments, reviews). The amount of independent work varies each week.

Content scheduling

We will discuss this in the beginning of the course.

Completion alternatives

Not available.

Practical training and working life cooperation

Not available.

International connections

Not available.

Further information

Not available.

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

Student gets the grade 0 when their course participation fits the following description for all or most parts:

- Has too many absences in the course, and/or does not showcase active and undisturbed participation in the course. Forgets easily about the homework, and is not able to compensate it in other ways (e.g. by classroom participation).
- Does not submit their assignments in time, and/or does not follow the general guidelines and instructions in their work.
- Performs poorly in the exams and/or other reviewed assignments, and showcases lack of effort in their work.
- Relies almost solely on friends, translation apps, and other external resources that can prevent genuine learning. Shows very little effort on learning and doing things indepedently.
- Showcases very little progression in the course, and does not master any of the major skills that are required in the end of the course.

In case the teacher can not choose the grade based on this criteria, the final exam and other reviewed assignments will determine the grade.

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

Student gets the grade 1 or 2 when their course participation fits the following description for all or most parts:

- Attends the required amount of course meetings but might not always show active participation. Forgets easily about the homework, and is not able to compensate it in other ways (e.g. by classroom participation).
- Submits most of their course assignments in time, and has followed the general guidelines in their work, even if the end result needs a lot of improvement.
- Might not perform well in the exams and other reviewed assignments but can showcase at least some type of progress in their studying.
- Relies a bit too much on friends, translation apps, and other external resources that can prevent genuine learning. However, puts at least some effort on learning and doing things indepedently.
- Masters some of the skills that are required in the end of the course but could still benefit from a lot of practice.

In case the teacher can not choose the grade based on this criteria, the final exam and other reviewed assignments will determine the grade.

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

Student gets the grade 3 or 4 when their course participation fits the following description for all or most parts:

- Shows active and undisturbed participation in the course meetings. Does at least most of their homework in time.
- Submits most of their course assignments in time, and does their work diligently.
- Performs well or at least moderately well in the exams and other reviewed assignments.
- Relies only a little on friends, translation apps, and other external resources that can prevent genuine learning. Instead, puts effort on learning and doing things independently.
- Masters most of the skills that are required in the end of the course but might still need some practise in certain areas.

In case the teacher can not choose the grade based on this criteria, the final exam and other reviewed assignments will determine the grade.

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

Student gets the grade 5 when their classroom participation fits the following description for all or most parts:

- Shows active and undisturbed participation in the course meetings. Does at least most of their homework in time.
- Submits their course assignments in time, and does their work diligently.
- Performs well in the exams and other reviewed assignments.
- Relies very little on friends, translation apps, and other external resources that can prevent genuine learning. Instead, puts effort on learning and doing things independently.
- Masters fluently the skills that are required in the end of the course, and even exceeds the expectations in certain areas.

In case the teacher can not choose the grade based on this criteria, the final exam and other reviewed assignments will determine the grade.