Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

In this course you will study basics of Finnish language. Estimated level is A1.3.

Objectives
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
• learn to build up their vocabulary
• learn to use the basic grammatical structures 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:
• alphabet and numbers
• introducing oneself
• telling about one’s family and background
• simple description of things and people
• telling about the weather
• shopping and food
• grammatical structures: basic sentences and questions, verb conjugation (positive and negative verbs), partitive, genitive, KPT-change, I have -structure

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

Students have been able to complete all the assignments acceptably. 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. 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. 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

The meeting times and places will vary each week. Please, check out the weekly schedule in your calendar.

Exam schedules

This information will be updated later.

Assessment methods and criteria

This information will be updated later.

Assessment scale

0-5

Teaching methods

In Finnish 1, your goal is to learn basic information about Finnish language and culture. To support this goal, you will have regular classroom meetings with the course teacher. Additionally, you are expected to do independent work outside the classroom.

To show your progress in the course, you need to take part in two course exams (mid exam and final exam).

Learning materials

You will need a physical or digital copy of Suomen mestari 1 (2020). We will use the same book in the second course as well. In addition to this, you will get study material from the teacher as well.

You can look for a copy of Suomen mestari 1, for example, in an online store, local library (in Tampere), or online marketplace (e.g., Tori.fi).

Student workload

In this course, your goal is to learn as much Finnish in two months as possible. Because of this, we will have several course meetings every week. Additionally, you are expected to do 1-2 hours of independent work every work day. The independent work can include, for example, home work, course assignments, discussions with local people, and use of language learning apps.

Notice that it can be difficult – if not impossible – to pass the course without any independent work. Classroom meetings are more like an introduction to the study topics while you will extend your knowledge with independent work.

Content scheduling

We will discuss this 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 uncertain whether this is the right course for you, please, contact our Finnish language counsellor Ella Hakala (ella.hakala@tuni.fi).