Dear student,
You are about to start a wonderful journey of learning a new language, new culture, new way of thinking. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
I have been teaching Finnish to foreigners for over two decades. I would like to share a few of my own learnings. You or your teacher will have your own. There are many ways to get to the goal. In learning, very seldom things are right or wrong. These learnings have made my students' lives a little bit easier when facing challenges of the peculiar language of Finnish - they may work as a pain reliever to you too.
1. But the grammar...
The tradition of Finnish teaching is very heavy in grammar. When I started to teach Finnish in 2005, I taught myself for the first time about things like verbityyppi. Students asked me tricky questions and I answered by reading heavy books of grammar for foreigners (as it is different from what is taught as a mother tongue). Then one day, a 17-year-old Kurdish boy gave me a poem in Finnish. The poem was about him flying in the sky with verbityyppi and partitiivi. That day I knew I must change.
In 2015 I was one of the co-founders of Gimara. You may still see me as a young teacher in Gimara's Youtube-videos. Majority of our customers came to us to learn how to speak. When we asked them "puhutko suomea'' a very common answer was a list of grammatical things they thought they mastered or books they had read. When I asked them where do you use monikon genetiivi they were not able to answer.
Indeed, many learn to master the form but not the use. But what does it help to have a hammer if you don't know what to do with it? As linguists, teachers may be endlessly fascinated about kpt but it sure doesn't mean you need to be. So always when you hear you are learning some new grammar, please ask: Where do I use this? Why do I need to know this? Do I need to know the name of it or is it enough that I know how to use it? For example you may know that if something already happened , we add -i- in to the word that happened. Do you need to know that the form is called imperfekti in Finnish? If the answer is yes, then please make sure you know why.
2. How do I know what to learn?
Learning a new language may feel like you are standing in front of a mountain to climb. We at Finest Future give you a curriculum that is skills based: it is based on real-life situations that you face in Finland. It has a strong, theoretical background in CEFR and the curriculum is a result of years of work in the field by several experienced teachers. These are the steps. One step at a time - may it be knowing how to buy a ticket for a train or how to arrange an appointment - these steps give you confidence and independence. Focus on how you manage the situation. Did you understand what was said to you? Did the other person understand what you said? Did you get what you wanted? How did you feel?
I have learned three languages - Chinese, English and Swedish - in a second language environment. Here is a fun fact: a second language doesn't mean the language you learn as second. It means the language environment you are surrounded by. Currently I live in Sweden, so Swedish is my second language even though I learned English before Swedish in school. I give you three examples these years abroad have taught me.
I learned Chinese from scratch in China. That time there were no translators and the people I had to speak with (taxi drivers, cashiers etc.) surely did not speak any English. I learned to anticipate. Before I went to the shops, I tried to imagine what things someone might ask me or what I needed to ask. I prepared for that situation only. I also learned how it feels when you sound like a 3-year-old or how easy it is to just say "yes yes" even if you don't understand a word. I also learned how important it is sometimes to learn how to be impolite and how actually I already could complain in a restaurant but didn't have a clue what is "a carpet" or "sofa" in Chinese. I learned what I needed.
When I moved to England, I was already in C-level. I was a confident speaker with a massive vocabulary but still I thought that teacher leaving for "greener pastures" died or replied "no thank you" when I was asked a name whilst buying fish and chips. Additionally what amazed me most was the ways things and society worked. There are so many ways in the world to get the things done.
Now I live in Sweden. I would say my Swedish is intermediate level - B1-B2 - same as yours when you come to Finland. Do you think my Swedish books taught me how to get my winter tyres changed in a tyre shop? Or how to sell hot dogs in a hockey match? Or how to actually be funny and witted YOU when you still need to focus on speaking every phrase? But I still speak daily. I even take care of my bank or tax details in Swedish. And I try to tell jokes. Maybe they are even worse than my Finnish ones but points for effort.
So how do you know what to learn? You need to learn to USE the language. And that involves a lot of feelings: fear, embarrassment, despair but also joy, confidence and happiness. Focus on little victories.
3. "Native level" is not a goal.
Here is one more important lesson. Firstly, in Finland it is discriminative to require a native language speaker in any job or position. This is a good thing and one of the core values and reasons I love my home country Finland: equality and equity.
Being native is not a merit. Some natives speak and write terrible Finnish. Proficient native speakers need to work on their language skills by active reading, writing, speaking and listening - also other things than social media feeds. Being native is not a goal. Being a proficient language user is.
By saying all this I wish to also point out that learning with a native teacher doesn't make you any better. Many teachers that have learned Finnish as a second language themselves might actually be better than "native" teachers. They see the language in different aspects and they understand the pain. Living in other countries sure made me a much better teacher than I was back in 2010. "Native teacher" may be a sales point in your country of origin but my friend, you are on your way to Finland and I am sure you will appreciate one day the fact that asking for a native speaker is against Finnish non-discrimination act.
To me these, equality and equity, are the most important things that ensure the happiness of our nation - 7 years in a row.
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