Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

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

After completing the course, the students will be able to:
• pronounce Finnish quite correctly
• understand and use short and simply structured expressions that concern basic
situations related to everyday life (introducing oneself and one’s family, simple shopping and food)
• learn to build up their vocabulary
• learn to use the basic structure of Finnish
• know, use and understand simple spoken and written expressions connected to
everyday life.

Content (course unit)

• study book Suomen mestari 1, chapters 1–4, 8:
o pronunciation exercises
o vocabulary exercises
o structural 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 exchange greetings/farewells, introduce oneself and name a few objects. It is hard for them to attend a simple conversation or create a short text. Their pronunciation causes difficulties to understand meanings of produced 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 tasks according to the schedule. They are able to cope in the most common simple everyday situations. Students can use typical grammatical structures e.g. basic verb conjugation, possessive structure and partitive in simple sentences. They can write brief texts and pronounce Finnish quite clearly.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5) (course unit)

Students have been able to complete all the assignments acceptably and attended contact lessons at least 80 %. They have a positive and active attitude towards learning language. They can pronounce Finnish distinctively and are able to use suitable and varied expressions in everyday situations using grammar almost correctly. Students can participate in a conversation asking and responding to questions about topics studied in the course. They can write simple texts and recombine words and phrases into new sentences.

Location and time

We will have 2 double classes every week, on Thursdays 12.30-14 and on Friday 12.30-14.

Exam schedules

Mid-term exam, week 41
Final exam, week 49.

Assessment methods and criteria

Continuous assessment based on classwork (activity, presence, completed exercises). To pass the course, active attendance is required.

Course grade consists of four parts:
A Mid course written test (listening comprehension + reading comprehension + writing + structure tasks)
B Oral test in small groups
C Final test (listening comprehension + reading comprehension + writing + structure tasks)
D Class activity
Strong class activity can raise course grade at least in borderline cases.

Assessment scale

0-5

Teaching methods

Different methods: contact classes, conversations, cooperative learning, oral and written exercises and games. Also online material is utilized. All materials have been collected and structured in Moodle. The idea is to make learning basics of Finnish not only important but also interesting and fun.

Learning materials

Textbook Suomen mestari 1 - Suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille (by Sonja Gehring & Sanni Heinzmann) (the renewed version). You may find the book in the TAMK library, but it is recommended to buy the book, because it will be used also in the spring term in the course Finnish for Foreigners 2. Also materials made by the teacher and e-materials are used.

Student workload

Group meetings twice a week (2x90 minutes/week), attendance required. A regular and active attendance in lessons is important and also compulsory to pass the course. In addition, much private learning is needed. 5 ECTs course means 5 x 27 hours of work! To build up one's motivation is very important: to find useful, fun and creative ways to learn, use and understand Finnish. So have Finnish as a hobby also in your free time!
Homework: 6-8 hours per week (may vary individually) and active attitude towards Finnish-speaking society.

Content scheduling

Basic information of Finnish language, pronunciation, vocabulary and phrases, greetings, numbers, time expressions, positive and negative verb conjugation, verb types, question sentences, introducing yourself, telling about your everyday life, simple everyday conversations, shopping

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

Uncompleted assignments, great difficulties to understand and produce the simplest basic phrases and expressions. Absences from lessons.

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

Students have been able to complete all the assignments acceptably. They can exchange greetings/farewells, introduce oneself, name a few objects and copy some words that she/he has learned. It is hard for them to attend a simple conversation or create a short text. Their pronunciation causes difficulties to understand meanings of produced speech.

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

The student has an active attitude towards studying Finnish language showing that by completing course tasks according to the schedule. They attend the classes regularly. They are able to cope in most common everyday situations: shopping and meeting people. The student able to write brief texts (e.g. e-mail, text message, and post card) and can pronounce Finnish clearly enough. Students' mother tongue may have an effect in pronunciation and/or sentence structure, but it doesn’t cause big problems to understand the meaning of messages.

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

The student has a positive and active attitude towards learning Finnish and is genuinely interested in Finnish culture, and brings it up by comparing Finnish culture to his/her own. They have attended the course regularly (80% of the classes). They can pronounce Finnish distinctively and is able to use suitable and varied expressions in everyday situations using grammar almost correctly. The student is able to write brief texts in Finnish, which are mostly correct.