Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

In this course you continue studying the basics of Finnish language. Estimated level is A2.1.

Objectives
After completing the course, the students will be able to:
• pronounce Finnish quite well
• understand and use phrases and the highest frequency vocabulary related to areas of most immediate personal relevance
• 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
• write short, simple texts related to everyday topics.

Content (course unit)

Study book Suomen mestari 1, chapters 5 - 7 and 9
• telling about everyday activities and life
• basic time expressions
• home and city environment
• basic things about work life
• grammatical structures (verb types, local cases, noun types, object)

Prerequisites (course unit)

Finnish 1 (5 cr) or equivalent knowledge.

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

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 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. 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. 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

2 x 2 classes/week; usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Exam schedules

Mid-term exam week 8 (Feb. 20th). Final exam week 16 (April 17th). Retake May 5th.

Assessment methods and criteria

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

Course grade 1-5 consists of three parts:

Classroom activity.
Mid term test in the end of February.
Final test in the end of the course (written and spoken).

Assessment scale

0-5

Teaching methods

Classroom meetings and course assignments: communicative methods, collaborative learning, functional language usage, discussion exercises, activating written tasks, learning simulation and games, process writing, short videos made by students

Speaking, listening comprehension, writing, and reading. Focus on active language use and comprehension.

Preparation for the April 2024 scholarship exam. (April 22nd-28th)

Learning materials

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

Student workload

You should prepare for the following schedule in each course week:
- 2 x 2 classes weekly.
- 3-6 hours of independent work (homework, course assignments, independent practice). The amount of independent work varies each week.

Content scheduling

Two periods.

Completion alternatives

No.

Further information

Guidelines for using AI in this implementation
If a student uses AI tools in an allowed manner to assist with their learning tasks, they must cite the AI tools used and provide the prompts they used alongside their task responses. If a student presents AI-generated results as their own without citations, sources, and/or prompts, the teacher may reject the work or require it to be redone. The teacher has the right to ask the student if they have used AI in their learning task.