Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

After completing the course, the students will be able to:
- pronounce Finnish quite well
- be more confident in using Finnish in their daily encounters out of a classroom
- understand phrases and typical vocabulary related to areas of personal relevance (e.g. basic personal and family information, shopping, local environment and services)
- catch the main point in short, clear, simple messages, announcements and conversations.
- use a wider variety of everyday vocabulary and phrases more spontaneously and confidently
- read and understand short everyday text types
- find specific, predictable information in simple everyday material such as advertisements, prospectuses, menus and timetables and understand short simple personal messages and emails
- communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters
- describe aspects of their background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.
- 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

Prerequisites (course unit)

Finnish as a Foreign Language 1 (5 cr) and 2 (5cr) or equivalent knowledge.

Further information (course unit)

Methods and grounds for evaluation:
Participation in the course meetings.
Review of the course assignments.
Review of the exams.

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 comprehension.

Teaching material:
Teacher´s materials, course book Suomen mestari 2, chapters 1-4.

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

The classroom meetings will take place in TAMK on Thursdays at 2.15-3.45 PM. Distance lectures will be held on Tuesdays at 2.30-3.30 PM.

The meeting places will be added in the calendar in the beginning of the autumn.

Exam schedules

This information will be updated later.

Assessment methods and criteria

- The final exam (weight 75 %)
* listening and grammar exercises
* evaluation basis: exam points
- The word form test (25 %)

Additionally, you are required to attend 80 % of the course meeting time to pass the course.

Assessment scale

0-5

Teaching methods

- Classroom meetings.
- Independent work.
- Course assignments.
- Final exam.

Learning materials

- the study book (Suomen mestari 2, chapters 1-4 + Suomen mestari 1, chapter 9)
- material from the teacher

Student workload

- 1,5 h of classroom work in a week
- 1 h lecture in Zoom
- 1,5-3 h of independent work in a week

Content scheduling

We will discuss this together in the beginning of the course.

Completion alternatives

Not available.

Practical training and working life cooperation

Not available.

International connections

Not available.

Further information

If you are not certain if this is the right course for you, please, contact the Finnish language counsellor Ella Hakala (ella.hakala@tuni.fi).

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

Student can fail the course for one or both of the following reasons:
- Student receives less than 38 % of the maximum points in the final exam, and can not compensate for the exam result with the overall course work.
- Student misses more than 20 % of the classroom time (either by being absent or unavailable in the classroom meetings).

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

Grade 1 in the final exam:
- 38-49 % of the maximum points

Grade 2 in the final exam:
- 50-61 % of the maximum points

Grade 1 criteria for overall work:
Student
- has at least a rudimentary participation in the course work
- shows recurring inability to take part in the general classroom discussions
- keeps submitting assignments after deadline
- has missing assignments and/or a low performance in the course assignments
- meets the attendance requirement

Grade 2 criteria for overall work:
Student
- has at least a rudimentary participation in the course work
- shows occasional inability to take part in the general classroom discussions
- submits the course assignments on time
- has a low performance in the course assignments
- meets the attendance requirement

Your final grade will depend on your exam results and overall course work. For example, if your final exam grade is somewhere between 1 and 2, your overall work in the course can determine whether your final grade is 1 or 2.

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

Grade 3 in the final exam:
- 62-76 % of the maximum points

Grade 4 in the final exam:
- 77-88 % of the maximum points

Grade 3 criteria for overall work:
Student
- has mostly an active and focused participation in the course work
- is able to take part in the general classroom discussions when needed but might struggle with individual topics
- submits the course assignments on time
- has a solid performance in the course assignments
- meets the attendance requirements

Grade 4 criteria for overall work:
Student
- has an active and focused participation in the course work
- is able to take part in the general classroom discussions when needed
- submits the course assignments on time
- has a great performance in the course assignments
- meets the attendance requirements

Your final grade will depend on your exam results and overall course work. For example, if your final exam grade is somewhere between 3 and 4, your overall work in the course can determine whether your final grade is 3 or 4.

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

The grade 5 in the final exam:
- 89-100 % success in the final exams

Grade 5 criteria for the overall work:
Student
- has active and focused participation in the course work
- is able to take part in the general classroom discussions when needed
- submits the course assignments on time
- has a great or excellent performance in the course assignments
- meets the attendance requirements

Your final grade will depend on your exam results and overall course work. For example, if your final exam grade is somewhere between 4 and 5, your overall work in the course can determine whether your final grade is 4 or 5.