Finnish for Foreigners 1 (5cr)

Evaluation scale

0 - 5

Content scheduling

1-4 h Information of the course. What is Finland? What is Finnish? Why Finnish is so different? Introduction and instructions to the culture presentation.
5-8 h Finnish superlatives: the happiest people in the world, the land of the most of lakes and forests Basic phrases
9-12 h Basic phrases, forms; Literature: City Library visit
13-16 h Self introduction, my network
17-20 h Questions and answers; Finnish soul Landscape: music and art
21-24 h Reading circle, 1st meeting Get Together (Visit to the museum?)
W 42 Self study week: time for reading!
25-28 h Culture presentations Presentation of a cultural topic: group work
29-32 h Grocery shopping, Finnish cuisine
33-36 h Shopping and eating out
37-40 h Telling time
41-44 h Telling time
45-48 h Oral excercises and listening comprehension
49-52 h Reading Circle

Note! The plan may change during the course.

Objective

Students will be able to communicate on a day to day basic in Finnish and will get to know Finland: the country, its society, people, language and culture.

Execution methods

Contact instruction. Parts of the course can be completed independently using online material agreed with KUAS Finnish language teachers.

Accomplishment methods

Literal and oral texts
Reading
Group presentation about a cultural or historical topic

AHOT: Prior, similar Finnish language studies or language knowledge gained elsewhere.

Content

Pronunciation, reading and conversation practice.
Basic vocabulary and phrases used in simple everyday communication.

Finnish culture and history.

Location and time

September - December 2025, Kajaani campus.

Materials

Moodle, open access online material
Textbooks:
Paavilainen & Mänty: Hauska tavata! 2022. Suomen kustannusyhdistys ry.
Kuparinen, Tapaninen & Kuisma: Sun Suomi. 2014. Otava.
Opitaan suomea (online material)

Teaching methods

The course is mainly contact teaching. During the course you will work in groups, have independent study tasks, plan and carry out a presentation. Vocabulary and language situations are practiced through intermediate exercises, and you will take a final assessment at the end of the course.

Employer connections

Organization visits

Exam schedules

Quizzes approximately every 3 weeks. Final exam at the end of the course.

International connections

The course provides a lot of cultural and integration information.

Completion alternatives

Independent online studies with KAMK's online delivery. After completing the online modules, register for the final assessment on campus. Independent performance must be agreed with the course tutor in advance. The teacher will provide you with course access details and instructions for the final assessment.

Student workload

5 credits = approx. 60 hours of contact teaching, approx. 70 hours of independent work by the student

The course includes the following tasks:
Written outputs: filling in a form and self-report, basic information and background.
Reading: reading aloud a short text.
Reading comprehension: identifying the topic and relevant vocabulary in a short text on a familiar topic.
Speaking and listening comprehension: interviewing about personal information.
Group presentation of a cultural or historical topic in English.
- Topics: education system, geography and nature, food culture, tourism

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Students can form comprehensible sentences using standard Finnish and recognize numerals in their basic form and can converse using simple questions and answers.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

The student understands topics of conversations he/she is involved in. He/she can answer questions in short phrases. The Student can read short texts, F.e. signs or advertisements of his/her interest.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The student can speak satisfactory Finnish in short conversations about everyday life. The Student is able to identify necessary information in short texts and in spoken language.