News in Finnish: Saksalaistyttö kirjoitti ylioppilaaksi

[Jukka Aho]

Keski-Uusimaa: Saksalaistyttö kirjoitti ylioppilaaksi Suomessa - kahdessa vuodessa!

Perjantai 20.5.2011 klo 14.47

Jennifer Ott urakoi kymmenen ainetta, vaikka ei kaksi vuotta sitten osannut sanaakaan suomea.



[Sanomalehti] Keski-Uusimaa kertoo huikeasta yo-suorituksesta: 17-vuotias saksalaistyttö suoritti suomalaisen ylioppilastutkinnon kahdessa vuodessa, vaikka hän ei kaksi vuotta sitten osannut sanaakaan suomea.

Kaiken lisäksi Jennifer Ott urakoi kahdessa vuodessa peräti kymmenen ainetta. Lopputulos: yksi laudatur, kuusi eximiaa ja kolme magnaa.

Suomen kielestäkin Ott kirjoitti magnan. Hän kirjoitti suomi toisena kielenä -kokeen.

- Hieman kielioppia luin ennen kuin tulin tänne elokuussa 2009. Niin, ja kuuntelin Teräsbetonia, Ott kertoo lehdessä suomen kielen opiskelustaan.

Ott tuli Järvenpään lukioon alunperin vaihto-oppilaaksi. Vaihto-oppilasvuoden jälkeen hän halusi jäädä Järvenpään lukioon.

- Äiti kyseli, hyväksytäänkö suomalainen ylioppilastutkinto saksalaiseen yliopistoon. Kyllä se hyväksytään, Ott tietää.

Ott haluaa syksyllä Helsingin yliopistoon opiskelemaan kemiaa tai Aalto-yliopistoon lukemaan kemian tekniikkaa ja biotekniikkaa.

Kymmenen ainetta kirjoittanut ei osannut suomea vielä kaksi vuotta sitten


Yliopistoon syksyllä. Saksalainen Jennifer Ott ei osannut sanaakaan suomea kaksi vuotta sitten.
Nyt hänellä on lukio lähes suoritetu ja kymmenen ylioppilasainetta hyväksytty hienoin arvosanoin.

Paikalliset
20.5.2011 08:00

(08:00) JÄRVENPÄÄ | Suomen kielen äät ja ööt ja kaksoiskonsonantit antoivat sopivasti haastetta 15-vuotiaalle Jennifer Ottille, kun hän päätti tulla vaihto-oppilaaksi Järvenpään lukioon kaksi vuotta sitten. Vaihto-oppilasvuoden jälkeen hän halusi jäädä Järvenpään lukioon, ja Freiburgissa asuvat vanhemmat suostuivat. He ovat käyneet tytärtä katsomassa, samoin Jenniferin kaksi veljeä.

Kaksi vuotta sitten elokuussa hän ei osannut sanaakaan suomea. Tänä keväänä hän kirjoitti kymmenen ainetta ylioppilaskokeessa, yhden laudaturin, kuusi eximiaa ja kolme magnaa.

Lukion pakollisista kursseista puuttuu kaksi ja Ott aikoo suorittaa puuttuvat kokeet ensi viikolla. Lisäksi hän aikoo viedä läpi kolme vapaaehtoista fysiikan kurssia. Hän arvioi keskiarvonsa todistuksessa olevan 8,5–9.

Vanhemmat tulevat kesäkuussa ylioppilasjuhliin. Kesäksi 17-vuotias lähtee Saksaan, mutta aikoo palata syksyllä suomalaiseen yliopistoon opiskelemaan.

Suomi oli hänen mielestään hyvä valinta kylmistä talvista huolimatta. Vaikeaa on ollut vain kännykkäliittymän saaminen, sillä alaikäinen ei voi sitä avata.

Lue lisää perjantain Keski-Uusimaasta.

[Rob A.]

Keski-Uusimaa: Saksalaistyttö kirjoitti ylioppilaaksi Suomessa - kahdessa vuodessa!

Perjantai 20.5.2011 klo 14.47

Jennifer Ott urakoi kymmenen ainetta, vaikka ei kaksi vuotta sitten osannut sanaakaan suomea.



[Sanomalehti] Keski-Uusimaa kertoo huikeasta yo-suorituksesta: 17-vuotias saksalaistyttö suoritti suomalaisen ylioppilastutkinnon kahdessa vuodessa, vaikka hän ei kaksi vuotta sitten osannut sanaakaan suomea.

Kaiken lisäksi Jennifer Ott urakoi kahdessa vuodessa peräti kymmenen ainetta. Lopputulos: yksi laudatur, kuusi eximiaa ja kolme magnaa.

Suomen kielestäkin Ott kirjoitti magnan. Hän kirjoitti suomi toisena kielenä -kokeen.

- Hieman kielioppia luin ennen kuin tulin tänne elokuussa 2009. Niin, ja kuuntelin Teräsbetonia, Ott kertoo lehdessä suomen kielen opiskelustaan.

Ott tuli Järvenpään lukioon alunperin vaihto-oppilaaksi. Vaihto-oppilasvuoden jälkeen hän halusi jäädä Järvenpään lukioon.

- Äiti kyseli, hyväksytäänkö suomalainen ylioppilastutkinto saksalaiseen yliopistoon. Kyllä se hyväksytään, Ott tietää.

Ott haluaa syksyllä Helsingin yliopistoon opiskelemaan kemiaa tai Aalto-yliopistoon lukemaan kemian tekniikkaa ja biotekniikkaa.

...

I tried part of this....some problems though, but not too bad....

1. Keski-Uusimaa: Saksalaistyttö kirjoitti ylioppilaaksi Suomessa - kahdessa vuodessa!
….”Keski-Uusimaa: German Girl Writes “Ylioppilas”…in Two Years!”

2. Jennifer Ott urakoi kymmenen ainetta, vaikka ei kaksi vuotta sitten osannut sanaakaan suomea.
….”Jennifer Ott worked on ten subjects for instance, without knowing a word of Finnish two years ago.”

3. [Sanomalehti] Keski-Uusimaa kertoo huikeasta yo-suorituksesta: 17-vuotias saksalaistyttö suoritti suomalaisen ylioppilastutkinnon kahdessa vuodessa, vaikka hän ei kaksi vuotta sitten osannut sanaakaan suomea.
…."Newspaper Keski-Uuusimaa tells of huge evening performance: Seventeen year old German girl passed Finnish Ylioppilas examination in two years, for example she did not two years ago know a word of Finnish.”

4. Kaiken lisäksi Jennifer Ott urakoi kahdessa vuodessa peräti kymmenen ainetta. Lopputulos: yksi laudatur, kuusi eximiaa ja kolme magnaa
..." In all, furthermore, Jennifer Ott worked in two years on as many as ten subjects. Result:
One Laudatur, six Eximius and three Magna.”. [Aside: I don't think you pluralize these in English...it would simply get too pedantic...]

4. Suomen kielestäkin Ott kirjoitti magnan. Hän kirjoitti suomi toisena kielenä -kokeen.
- Hieman kielioppia luin ennen kuin tulin tänne elokuussa 2009. Niin, ja kuuntelin Teräsbetonia, Ott kertoo lehdessä suomen kielen opiskelustaan.[/i]
......"In Finland’s language Ott wrote a Magna. She wrote Finnish in another language test.
'A small grammar I read before I came here in August 2009. Thus and I listened to “Teräsbetoni”', Ott tells in Finnish language to study.”...Well, I haven't quite got it....

5. Ott tuli Järvenpään lukioon alunperin vaihto-oppilaaksi. Vaihto-oppilasvuoden jälkeen hän halusi jäädä Järvenpään lukioon.
…”Ott came to Jarvenpaa lukio originally as an exchange student. Following her exchange student year, she wanted to remain at Jarvenpaa lukio.

6. Äiti kyseli, hyväksytäänkö suomalainen ylioppilastutkinto saksalaiseen yliopistoon. Kyllä se hyväksytään, Ott tietää.
..."Her mother asked to get approval for Finnish Ylioppilas examination from a German university. Yes, it was approved, Ott advises.”

7. Ott haluaa syksyllä Helsingin yliopistoon opiskelemaan kemiaa tai Aalto-yliopistoon lukemaan kemian tekniikkaa ja biotekniikkaa.
..."Ott wants this fall to study chemistry at the Universty of Helsinki or study chemistry technology and biotechnology at Aalto University.”

...Well, she certainly is an "overachiever"... An impressive accomplishment. Though I think some of the examinations she wrote in German...???...I didn't quite get the sense of whether most of the subjects were written in German, but that she also wrote a Finnish language examination as part of the process and got a "Laudatur" in that ....???

[onkko]

...Well, she certainly is an "overachiever"... An impressive accomplishment. Though I think some of the examinations she wrote in German...???...I didn't quite get the sense of whether most of the subjects were written in German, but that she also wrote a Finnish language examination as part of the process and got a "Laudatur" in that ....???

All were of course in finnish(well swedish is still possible but..), she did "finnish as second language" and there is no story if she wrote german too.
Story for all teenager metalfans, yes its doable

[Upphew]

...Well, she certainly is an "overachiever"... An impressive accomplishment. Though I think some of the examinations she wrote in German...???...I didn't quite get the sense of whether most of the subjects were written in German, but that she also wrote a Finnish language examination as part of the process and got a "Laudatur" in that ....???

She got Magna from Finnish as second language. Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abitur#Scoring_2 so writing 2 and ½ times the needed number of subjects shows some balls.

[Jukka Aho]

1. Keski-Uusimaa: Saksalaistyttö kirjoitti ylioppilaaksi Suomessa - kahdessa vuodessa!
….”Keski-Uusimaa: German Girl Writes “Ylioppilas”…in Two Years!”

kirjoittaa ylioppilaaksi = to take the Finnish matriculation exam and pass it; to graduate from lukio.

2. Jennifer Ott urakoi kymmenen ainetta, vaikka ei kaksi vuotta sitten osannut sanaakaan suomea.
….”Jennifer Ott worked on ten subjects for instance, without knowing a word of Finnish two years ago.”

urakoida = to work on a tasking, heavy-duty project with some vigor and determination (related noun: urakka)

There’s no “for instance” in the sentence. The word vaikka means “even though”, “despite”.

3. [Sanomalehti] Keski-Uusimaa kertoo huikeasta yo-suorituksesta: 17-vuotias saksalaistyttö suoritti suomalaisen ylioppilastutkinnon kahdessa vuodessa, vaikka hän ei kaksi vuotta sitten osannut sanaakaan suomea.
…."Newspaper Keski-Uuusimaa tells of huge evening performance: Seventeen year old German girl passed Finnish Ylioppilas examination in two years, for example she did not two years ago know a word of Finnish.”

“YO” (note: it’s an ‘o’, not an ‘ö’!) is a common abbreviation for ylioppilas which means someone who has passed the Finnish matriculation exam and is now qualified for university (yliopisto) level studies. (The matriculation examination was formerly the entrance exam to the Helsinki University at the time when it was the only university in the country. These days, Finnish universities arrange separate entrance exams to which the fresh ylioppilaat attend after having taken their matriculation exams...)

So, it’s not an “evening performance” but “an astonishing ‘YO’ (matriculation-examination) achievement!”

vaikka = even though (again...)

4. Kaiken lisäksi Jennifer Ott urakoi kahdessa vuodessa peräti kymmenen ainetta. Lopputulos: yksi laudatur, kuusi eximiaa ja kolme magnaa
..." In all, furthermore, Jennifer Ott worked in two years on as many as ten subjects. Result: One Laudatur, six Eximius and three Magna.”.

Kaiken lisäksi = “In addition to all [that’s been said], ...” / “To top it (all) off, ...” / “What is more, ...”

4. Suomen kielestäkin Ott kirjoitti magnan.
"In Finland’s language Ott wrote a Magna.

“Even in the Finnish language, Ott passed with a Magna.” (the -kin adds the “even in the...” or “..., too!” sense)

Hän kirjoitti suomi toisena kielenä -kokeen.
She wrote Finnish in another language test.

“She took(/passed) the ’Finnish as a second language’ test.”

- Hieman kielioppia luin ennen kuin tulin tänne elokuussa 2009.
'A small grammar I read before I came here in August 2009.

“I [only] studied a bit of grammar before I came here in August 2009.”

Niin, ja kuuntelin Teräsbetonia, Ott kertoo lehdessä suomen kielen opiskelustaan.
Thus and I listened to “Teräsbetoni”', Ott tells in Finnish language to study.”...Well, I haven't quite got it....

“Oh, and listened to some Teräsbetoni, Ott tells in the paper about her Finnish studies.”

Äiti kyseli, hyväksytäänkö suomalainen ylioppilastutkinto saksalaiseen yliopistoon. Kyllä se hyväksytään, Ott tietää.
..."Her mother asked to get approval for Finnish Ylioppilas examination from a German university. Yes, it was approved, Ott advises.”

“Her mother asked [her] whether they accept a Finnish matriculation examination [when trying to enroll] in a German university. Yes, they do, according to Ott’s knowledge.”

hyväksytään + kö = “whether they will accept”, “will they accept ...?”

...Well, she certainly is an "overachiever"... :wink: An impressive accomplishment. Though I think some of the examinations she wrote in German...???...I didn't quite get the sense of whether most of the subjects were written in German, but that she also wrote a Finnish language examination as part of the process and got a "Laudatur" in that ....???

The exam papers / questions (in mathematics, physics, history, psychology, biology, chemistry, geography, religious education etc.) are only available in Finnish and Swedish and they expect the answers in one of those two languages. So I guess she had to take all those tests in Finnish.

Examinations in specific languages – when studying the language itself, whether it is your mother tongue or a foreign language – are, of course, conducted primarily in that language, even though some of the questions and instructions may again only be available in Finnish and Swedish. The foreign language exams also include a separate language lab part of the test.

She passed her Finnish-as-a-second-language test with a Magna Cum Laude Approbatur (an “M” – each of these grades has a letter designation.) See this page for a table and a chart of the grading system. (Scroll down near to the end of the page.)

The online stories don’t seem to mention which subject/test she passed with the Laudatur. Could have been her mother tongue, German, of course.

[Rob A.]

Thanks.....

...Well, she certainly is an "overachiever"... An impressive accomplishment. Though I think some of the examinations she wrote in German...???...I didn't quite get the sense of whether most of the subjects were written in German, but that she also wrote a Finnish language examination as part of the process and got a "Laudatur" in that ....???

The exam papers / questions (in mathematics, physics, history, psychology, biology, chemistry, geography, religious education etc.) are only available in Finnish and Swedish and they expect the answers in one of those two languages. So I guess she had to take all those tests in Finnish.

Examinations in specific languages – when studying the language itself, whether it is your mother tongue or a foreign language – are, of course, conducted primarily in that language, even though some of the questions and instructions may again only be available in Finnish and Swedish. The foreign language exams also include a separate language lab part of the test.

She certainly is an exceptional person..... I can hardly believe it is possible to learn a second language, particularly one that is signficantly different from her mother tongue as is Finnish, so quickly. I suppose she must have, in addition to plentiful and very effective brain cells, a photographic memory..... Nothing, once read, is forgotten. I remember such a girl when I was in high school. Very clever, and she claimed that if she read a page in a book, she could see an image of it in her mind. Though, I still find this kind of thing amazing. Maybe most of the rest of us just aren't using our brain cells efficiently.

She passed her Finnish-as-a-second-language test with a Magna Cum Laude Approbatur (an “M” – each of these grades has a letter designation.) See this page for a table and a chart of the grading system. (Scroll down near to the end of the page.)

The online stories don’t seem to mention which subject/test she passed with the Laudatur. Could have been her mother tongue, German, of course.

These Latin Honours are always kind of complicated...it seems no two countries are exactly the same....my university gave First Class with Honours; First Class; Second Class, Pass....and, I guess, we could say, "Unspeakable"...

Finland, then, has seven Latin Honours....the US system, which I'm quite familiar with, generally gives three...."Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude and Cum Laude...and a few other honours occasionally are seen...and I think these days quite a few US schools just give a Grade Point Average..... But I don't pay much attention to this stuff these days....

[Edit: Hmmmm....seems I'm confusing things....actually she graduated from "high school" not university....All these Latin Honours are throwing me off...I've been assuming these were university honours ....Oh well... ]

[zeta]

Die Deutschen, jeden Tag so schnell...

[Jukka Aho]

The exam papers / questions (in mathematics, physics, history, psychology, biology, chemistry, geography, religious education etc.) are only available in Finnish and Swedish and they expect the answers in one of those two languages. So I guess she had to take all those tests in Finnish.

Examinations in specific languages – when studying the language itself, whether it is your mother tongue or a foreign language – are, of course, conducted primarily in that language, even though some of the questions and instructions may again only be available in Finnish and Swedish. The foreign language exams also include a separate language lab part of the test.

She certainly is an exceptional person..... I can hardly believe it is possible to learn a second language, particularly one that is signficantly different from her mother tongue as is Finnish, so quickly.

I’ve mentioned this story before but back when I was in lukio, we had this exchange student from Brazil: a guy who, some months into his exchange year, simply decided not to allow people to communicate with him in English any longer – requiring all of us to speak Finnish with him instead. After some six months, he was speaking Finnish himself – and without any accent, as apparently his mother tongue (which wasn’t Portuguese but some minority language/dialect spoken in the region some way off São Paulo, where he was from) was phonetically similar. He had some gaps in his vocabulary and knowledge of idioms, of course, but he was pretty good in casual conversation and could easily have passed for a native when he spoke, especially due to seemingly lacking any accent. He never attempted to do the Finnish matriculation exam, though. ;) (It would have been technically impossible for him as he was an ordinary exchange student – staying in the country only for a year – and not a full-time lukio student actually following through the curriculum.)

As for the exams, they’re typically based on short essay-style answers (a paragraph or two), or in some cases a bit longer ones (maybe four or five paragraphs max), except for maths and physics, of course. Multiple choice is generally only used in foreign languages, when doing the listening or reading comprehension tests, unless things have changed a lot since my days.

[Edit: Hmmmm....seems I'm confusing things....actually she graduated from "high school" not university....All these Latin Honours are throwing me off...I've been assuming these were university honours ....Oh well... :D ]

Yes, this Honors system is for the matriculation examination, specifically. You can even pass lukio without ever taking part in the examination, only receiving a report card on the passed courses and their scores, but the matriculation examination and the Honors matter later when you’re applying for a place to study (you get points for them which add to the score you get from the entrance exam). Practically everyone who passes through the lukio system also attends to the matriculation examination at the end – that, and getting the white student cap (see here as well), is kind of the point of going to lukio.

In short, the Finnish lukio is a three-year “secondary upper school” where you go voluntarily after having finished your compulsory elementary schooling (9 years) – that is, if you’re planning to study in a university (of which there are two kinds available: either the traditional academic universities, doing basic research on the side (professors publishing papers in peer-reviewed journals etc.), or “universities of applied sciences”, which are more craft-and-practical-work oriented than science/discipline/research-oriented but may still require advanced maths or physics or studying other rather complex, advanced things.)

The lukio education is intended to prepare you for these university-level studies and generally to enhance your “well-roundedness” in various subjects, building on top of the education you received during the compulsory elementary schooling. If you’re not interested in lukio, much less the higher-level studies beyond that, the other option is going for vocational institution/schooling, which is how you get to be a cook, a car repairman, a plumber, a cleaner, a welder, an electrician, a carpenter, etc. These days, it is also possible to combine vocational schooling with lukio studies, getting both a qualification as a skilled craftsman in some field and taking the matriculation examination at the end, enabling you to continue to a university later on in your life if you’d like to.

[Rob A.]

Die Deutschen, jeden Tag so schnell...

Sicherlich... Ich vermute dass vielleicht mit zwei Jahren sie hat fliessend Deutsch sprechen gekonnt und mit fünf Jahren die Werke Schillers und Goethes debattieren gekonnt.

Nichts besonderes... eine durchschnittlich Deutsche....