If you are a new international student here in Finland, I bet you have already been taking some elementary Finnish courses. They can either be proper Finnish classes at the university, or they can simply be what your Finnish friends have been teaching you!
If you are an exchange student or a prospective student who is planning to study at Tampere University (or any other Finnish university) soon and are wondering if you should learn Finnish, my advice for you is an absolute ‘Yes!’.
There are more than 6 million people speaking Finnish worldwide! In addition to being the official language of Finland, Finnish is also one of the official languages of the European Union. If you wish to stay in Finland for longer, knowing Finnish will give you a great plus in terms of employability and communication with the local Finns.
Having been a Master’s student at Tampere University for 2 years now, I had the chance to take Finnish courses with two of our awesome Finnish teachers on the City centre campus: Hanna-Marika Mitrunen and Heikki Kangasniemi. I had a lovely chat with both of them about learning Finnish:
Do you have any unique learning tips for Finnish beginners?
Hanna-Marika: “In general, I think if a student wants to start learning a new language, the attitude is the most important thing. If they truly want to learn, that’s a big help and motivation already. As you are in Finland, that’s a huge advantage! Try to talk to people in Finnish even if your Finnish is not that perfect yet. Speak and listen, little by little. You should not be afraid to use a new language but just try to use it all the time. Also, study in the way that suits yourself the best: some learn more if they do listening exercises, some learn better with visual images and colours… Find your own method!”
Heikki: “I have to say that I don’t have any secret tips. Everybody should study in the way that is suitable for him or her. Of course, the best way to learn a language is to try to use it as much as possible. Our university has the Self-Access Centre (Pinni B5071, City centre campus) where you can come and get a Finnish language buddy. Learning with your friends would help a lot. In fact, I could give a tip for Finnish students that they should give international students more opportunities to practice Finnish. Here at the university it is so easy to survive in English.”
I learned a lot in Finnish classes by Hanna-Marika and Heikki, but not just the language. I also had a lot of fun! Besides ‘serious’ grammar lessons, students get to learn Finnish in a lot of ways: from singing to watching videos, working in groups, playing games… One time my classmates and I even acted in a play which we made up by ourselves, in Finnish of course!
To wrap it up, I would strongly recommend you learn Finnish. It’s a fun and beautiful language. If you are a student at Tampere University, you can enroll for Finnish courses taught by Hanna-Marika and Heikki. You can find more information of Finnish courses and enrollment details from the Student’s Guide!
– Sophie
