Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

Learning outcomes of the 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, good (3-4) (course unit)

Satisfactory

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, excellent (5) (course unit)

Good

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, pass/fail (course unit)

Excellent

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

Lessons on Mondays and Thusdays. See more specific information from schedule.

Exam schedules

We talk about the dates of the exams in the beginning of the course and mark them on our Moodle.
(A2.1 tests will take place in the week 17 for them who need them to show skills for relief from an annual tuition fee.)

Assessment methods and criteria

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

Course grade 1-5 consists of three parts:

Mid term test in the end of February.
Spoken test in March.
Final test in the end of the course.

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 uudistettu, chapters 5 - 9 + Moodle material created and linked by the teacher

Student workload

Two double lessons per week plus quite much independent work at home in 14 weeks: 5 ects = work of 135 hours. There is much to study and train well - own time for learning is really needed! All Finnish language activities outside of the classroom are very welcome!

Content scheduling

According to the study material Suomen mestari 1 uudistettu.

Practical training and working life cooperation

No.

International connections

The whole group is international! :o)

Further information

-

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

Students have not completed course assignments because of lack of activity or gained skills. Their ability to communicate in Finnish at the level A2.1 is insignificant and limited to make understanding possible.

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 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 discussion. Also their incomplete pronunciation may cause difficulties to understand their speech.

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 travelling, everyday life, working 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. Students can participate in a conversation asking and responding to questions about topics studied in the course. They 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.