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)

Course contents
• 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

We will meet usually on Wednesdays 12.15-13.45 and on Fridays at 8.30-10.00.

The course will start on January 11th, and end on April 26th 2022. However, we will not have any meetings on the week 9.

Exam schedules

Mid-term exam week 8.
Final exam + spoken test week 16.

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.
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 communication.

Preparation for the April 2023 scolarship exam.

Learning materials

Course book Suomen mestari 1, uudistettu, chapters 5-9 + teacher´s materials, Moodle

Student workload

You should prepare for the following schedule in each course week:
- 2x2 classes per week.
- 4-6 hours of independent work (home work, course assignments, reviews) + active use of Finnish (The amount of independent work varies each week.)

Completion alternatives

No

Practical training and working life cooperation

No

International connections

International students

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.