The Finnish language belongs to the Finno-Ugric group of languages and is spoken by 4.9 million people as their mother tongue and by about half a million as a second language. Finnish is often considered a difficult language, but it is important to remember that it is very different from, for example, many Indo-European languages. Studying the Finnish language in Finland is a natural and interesting way to get to know not only the language but also Finnish culture and Finnishness.
The University of Turku's Finnish as a Foreign Language teaching offers studies from beginner's level to advanced and is aimed primarily at the university's degree, exchange and postgraduate students.
The main goal of the study is to give the student the ability from the beginning to survive in Finnish society and use the language in various communication situations. An important goal is to encourage students to communicate with people in Finnish and help them understand what is happening in the surrounding society. For those living in Finland for a longer period of time, language skills are very important both for working life and helping integration into society.
Finnish language courses are mainly based on contact teaching. From the very beginning, classwork aims at interactive learning by doing a lot of pair and group work. Different teaching methods and learning environments are used in a variety of ways. The central goal of teaching in all courses is learner-centeredness and functionality.
Students can achieve basic language skills by attending our elementary and advanced courses in about two years. After acquiring basic language skills, students can develop their language skills through language-use courses. Using the language proficiency levels of the European Framework of Reference (CEFR), students passing the courses at the Centre for Language and Communication Studies can reach level A2-B1. After these courses, the student can continue their studies in the Finnish Language and Culture program at the Faculty of Humanities.
Welcome to study Finnish!
Courses Offered
Finnish Survival Course for Exchange Students, 2 ECTS
Finnish Beginners' Course I, 4 ECTS
Finnish Beginners' Course II, 4 ECTS
Finnish Intensive Beginners' Course I, 5 ECTS
Finnish Intensive Beginners' Course II, 5 ECTS
The Language Tandem is a pair or a small group program in which students work with a native speaker of the target language to improve their language skills, confidence, and to explore the culture of the language.
KIFF5005 Language and Culture Tandem, Finnish as a Foreign Language, 1-2 ECTS
KIFF5006 Supplementary Tandem, Finnish as a Foreign Language, 1-2 ECTS
Suomipassi is a ‘language passport’ developed at the University of Turku and was published as a mobile application in 2018.
The aim of Suomipassi is to encourage Finnish language learners to use Finnish more outside the classroom in daily situations and to support them in the early stages of their Finnish language learning.
Read more here: https://suomipassi.utu.fi
The Centre for Language and Communication Studies offers international students of University of Turku the possibility to complete a language study module of a minimum of 20 credits.
The study module must include at least two courses in the European Framework of Reference level A2-B1.
For more information about the study modules, please contact kielivie@utu.fi.
Study Modules (login required)