Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

The course provides the basics of the Finnish language (estimated level A2.1) building up the knowledge and use of Finnish language in simple everyday situations.

After completing the course, the students will be able to:
• pronounce Finnish quite well
• understand phrases and the highest frequency vocabulary related to areas of most immediate personal relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local area)
• catch the main point in short, clear, simple messages and announcements
• read very short, simple texts
• find specific, predictable information in simple everyday material such as
advertisements, prospectuses, menus and timetables and understand short simple
personal letters
• participate in a conversation asking and responding to questions about topics studied in
the course
• use their Finnish out of a classroom
• use a series of phrases and sentences to describe in simple terms their family and other
people, living conditions, educational background and their present or most recent job
• write short, simple texts related to everyday topics.
 

Content (course unit)

• study book Suomen mestari 1, chapters 5 - 7 and 9, moreover free time, health, past
tenses, passive voice

o structural exercises
o pronunciation exercises
o vocabulary exercises
o conversational and drama exercises
o listening comprehension exercises
o reading comprehension exercises
o written exercises.

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

Students have been able to complete all the assignments acceptably and attended contact lessons at least 80 %. They can tell about few of the achieved course contents, but their expression stays limited: both spoken and written language is partly hard to understand. It is difficult for them to take part to a simple discussion. Also their incomplete pronunciation may cause difficulties to understand their speech.

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

Students have been able to complete all the assignments acceptably and attended contact lessons at least 80 %. Students have an active attitude towards studying Finnish language showing that by completing course tasks according to the schedule. They are able to cope in everyday conversations related to topics studied in the course. Students can write short texts about their home, travelling or work. They can pronounce Finnish clearly enough. Students are able to use typical grammatic structures e.g. local cases and past tenses in simple sentences.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5) (course unit)

Students have been able to complete all the assignments acceptably and attended contact lessons at least 80 %. Students have a positive and active attitude towards learning language. They can pronounce Finnish distinctively. They manage quite well in everyday conversations related to topics studied in the course. They can write simple texts quite correctly and recombine words and phrases into new sentences so that used typical grammatic structures are almost correct. They understand the importance of good Finnish language skills to get a job in Finland.

Location and time

Double lessons twice a week. Lessons on Mondays 15.00-16.30 and on Thursdays 8.30-10.00.

Assessment methods and criteria

To pass the course a minimum attendance 80 % is required as well as completed assignments.
Course grade consists of two parts:
A The written test (listening comprehension + reading comprehension + writing + structure tasks) =
50 % of the course grade
B Oral tests = 50 % of the course grade
Weekly vocabulary tests may improve the grade.

Assessment scale

0-5

Teaching methods

study conversation, collaborative learning, discussion exercises, activating written tasks, learning simulation and games, process writing, short videos made by students

Learning materials

Study book Suomen mestari 1 (new edition), teacher's material on Moodle

Student workload

Two double lessons per week + independent work
5 ects = 135 hours of work

Practical training and working life cooperation

The simulations and in discussions aim to take into account the field of study, students' previous experience of working life and internships, and to provide practical benefits for future internships.

International connections

The course is international.

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

Students have attended contact lessons less than 80 % . They have not completed course assignments because of lack of activity or gained skills. Their ability to communicate in Finnish at the level A1 is insignificant and limited to make understanding possible.

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

Students have an active attitude towards studying Finnish language showing that by completing course tasks according to the schedule. They are able to cope in most achieved oral course exercises. Students are able to write short texts about their home, travelling or clothes in Finnish and are able to pronounce Finnish clearly enough. Students’ mother tongue may have an effect in pronunciation and/or sentence structure, but it doesn’t cause problems to understand the meaning of messages.

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

Students have a positive and active attitude towards learning language. They can pronounce Finnish distinctively and are able to use suitable and varied expressions in achieved course exercises using grammar mostly correct way. A student can participate in a conversation asking and responding to questions about topics studied in the course. She/he can write simple descriptions or stories and recombine words and phrases into new sentences. They understand the importance of good Finnish language skills to get a job in Finland.