3 / 2000
Index | News | Dissertations | Contact
Is Finnish really so difficult to learn?"Finnish is different from most languages, but not necessarily any more difficult. Cases are not difficult to learn, but it is the many different kinds of word types with vowel and consonant changes which pose the real problems."
Students should learn model words, which then help in inflecting new words analogically. Once you know the system, adding to it is much easier. Learning Finnish is no different from learning any other language, says Finnish lecturer, Pirkko Hölttä. "All students have heard beforehand that Finnish is a difficult language with long words. On the other hand, the students know that we don’t have articles or genders, which makes learning easier" adds Päivi Paukku, who also teaches Finnish.
Starting with basics
The University of Turku has been giving basic lessons in Finnish since the founding of the Language Centre over 20 years ago. Teaching for foreigners was established during the autumn term of 1989, when the Language Centre was granted a full-time teacher of Finnish for foreigners.
"Several beginners’ courses start every autumn and spring, since they are clearly the most popular courses. Finnish teaching progresses as a two-year continuum, but a diligent student can acquire fairly good language skills in one year. These skills can be the basis for the basic studies of Finnish language and culture," says Hölttä.
In addition to the beginners’ courses, exchange students have for a few years now been offered short, 20 lesson, one-week survival courses every term. These courses focus on spoken language and practice in dealing with practical situations. Most exchange students want to learn at least a little Finnish during their stay here.
Pirkko Hölttä teaches foreign students the basic language skills of the Finnish language. Learning by practising
"The Finnish language needs a lot of practising. It helps you to get into contact with other people, because otherwise one can feel left out of everything," says Jun Jia, an exchange student participating in a beginners’ course. According to Hölttä, Chinese students usually find the pronunciation alone quite difficult.
"The students’ motivation usually lessens after the initial enthusiasm. It would be good if the students could continue to study Finnish in their home countries if they wanted to. Most people don’t know that it is possible to study Finnish in over 90 universities all over the world," Hölttä and Paukku add.
What must be taught is extensive. The teaching consists of oral expression, practising of listening comprehension, writing, written comprehension, vocabulary and grammar. Although different courses stress different areas, a certain balance should be reached between them," Paukku comments on the teaching of the language.
Miniature world
Paukku finds her job interesting as she has the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Hölttä adds that the classroom is like a miniature world. The most exotic students in her classes have come from Mauritius and The Philippines. Most students come from European countries such as France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
"Lack of language skills can make studying and life in general more difficult. That’s why we recommend that foreign students coming to Turku start language studies as soon as possible. It is especially important that the students who are planning to stay here for some years and study for a degree acquire good language skills in the beginning of their studies", Hölttä says.
Hanna Peltonen
Index | News | Dissertations | Contact
PR & Press Office <tiedotus@utu.fi>, May 4th 2000Page is loaded times since May 4th 2000.
