Opinions Please!!!!

[frangipani]

Hi all

Just wondered if some of you ladies could please give me your opinions/experiences on living in Finland with small children when English is your first language?

My husband and I are very keen to give living there a try, but my major concerrn is the language barrier (for me) and therefore me not being able to participate in the childrens schooling etc etc....

Thanks!

[Rip]

Sorry, no advice from me, but just maybe you can get more useful advice from others if you can clarify a few things. Is your husband Finnish and is your plan to put your children in a regular Finnish school? Are you planning to move to Helsinki or surrounding area or somewhere else in Finland?

[Rosamunda]

And are you planning to stay indefinitely or just for a couple of years?

Assuming your husband is Finnish then I suggest you put all your children into FInnish mainstream schooling.
Not being able to participate in the Finnish content of your children's schooling would not be an issue since you will assume the role of English language tutor at home . You will be able to help your children to maintain their English language skills and also help them in other subjects in English (eg maths, geography, science). In Finland, it is unusual for parents to play a huge active role in the schooling of their children. School/home communication is very restricted, especially as the kids get older. Children are encouraged to take control of their own studies, study choices etc.

If you live in the Helsinki area you will not be so conscious of the language barrier since so many people speak English (shops, municipal offices, govt offices, hospitals, schools etc). OTOH, you will not learn Finnish so quickly. Better to live outside Keha III (the outer ring road) if you want to learn Finnish quickly and integrate with the locals. Paradoxically there are more Finnish language courses available in Helsinki. So, catch-22.

But I think you need to ask more specific questions in order to get answers.... your question is too vague. Lots of us have brought up young kids here and we all have different experiences. What do you really need to know????

[juskdi]

There are lots of English-speaking schools but I´m fairly certain they all have a tuition fee. But you can definitely get by putting your children into a Finnish school (there are special Finnish as a second language programmes for children of immigrants) and unless you live someplace very remote, you shouldn´t have any real problems communicating in English until you learn some Finnish.

[jen]

I only have one child and she is only in daycare (Finnish speaking) but neither me nor my husband speak Finnish. The majority of the staff are able to keep us up to date with the day to day goings on in English and give us a brief translation of any letters home to parents. Although, there have been a couple of cultural misunderstandings, there have been things that we haven't been told because Finns would generally know or assume them. They get in a translator, which the city pays for, when it is a more serious event like a parents meeting. I has been the same translator every time so she is getting to know us pretty well.

We decided it would be best for our child to go to finnish speaking daycare because we could not teach her Finnish at home and if she was going to have any chance of integrating then she will have to learn. The one problem that has come up is that because most of the staff understand english (and spoke in english to her in the beginning, even though we had asked them to speak in finnish) she continues to speak english and refuses to speak finnish. We have decided that she will probably go to the international school here when the time comes because even if me an my husband study hard our finnish will not be good enough to support her with homework etc.

The international school here in Oulu is run by the city and there are no fees. I have been there for a couple of weeks on teaching practice/observation, it was interesting to examine the place from both the student-teacher perspective and that of a prospective parent. The majority of the kids in the primary department are Finnish, there is a fair amount of class time given to studying Finnish either as mother-tongue or as a second language. The language of play among the kids was mostly Finnish, although they were considerate of students who don't understand. My point is that even going to and english language school your kids would still develop finnish.

I think the communication with parents may be a bit better at Oulu international school than i understand it is in average Finnish schools. There was a lot of email correspondence between class teachers and parents and there were often parents talking to the teachers when they where picking up their kids. I think it is because they are aware that there may be some cultural misunderstandings so try to make communication as open and clear as possible.

As for extra-curricular things, there are a couple of things organised in english but not much, then again I am pretty far north and things are probably better in the more civilised parts of finland. She goes to gymnastics in english at the moment but now that we have been here for a while she is completely comfortable in a finnish speaking environment so she will start swimming and skating lessons in finnish.

[Rosamunda]

My point is that even going to and english language school your kids would still develop finnish.

In Espoo/Helsinki this is definitely NOT the case. It is quite possible for foreign born kids to go through school WITHOUT learning Finnish. However, I can understand that this may be very different in Oulu and it was interesting to read your post.
Down south there are so many fluent Finnish speakers that it is always easy for children to find a fluent English speaker whatever activity they pursue (football, art, music, hockey etc). Most of the kids in our neighbourhood speak English, so even when my children go outside to skate on the field next door they still manage to find locals who are more than happy to practise their English The international schools in Espoo/Helsinki are full of ex-pat kids who have no intention of learning Finnish so children like mine are not so motivated to learn language.

I have said this many times, but I'll say it again.... I wish, I wish, I wish I had put my three boys into mainstream Finnish schools.

[raamv]

kids in Finnish/Swedish Speaking family daycare and in Finnish speaking Eskari ( pre-school)..
and they are pretty fluent in Finnish, English, Some swedish and now we re singing to my mother tongue..