Moving to Finland

[kleotide]

Hi everyone, and thank you in advance for you your help.

My husband, Peter, has been offered a job as a posted worker in Finland. It is most likely that we will be leaving in about a year and a half to two years from now. Which is wonderful as it gives me time to finish my vocational training as a nurse, as well as get our papers in order (passports etc).

It is most likely that we will be living in Finland for five years or more, so I would love some help learning the language. So far I have trying to find a Finnish for foreigners course through the various universities in Finland but I have been unable to find any that do online distance learning classes. Learning the language is especially important to me as we have two little children (aged four and one). I am working through the book "From Start to Finnish" and trying to incorporate Finnish words into every day life as I learn them. But, without a structured class, it is difficult.

I suppose my first question would be if anyone has information on distance learning (online courses) that are of good quality for a foreigner to learn Finnish?

While things are not yet solid as to where we would be living, the last I heard is that we would be in Oulu. So if anyone has recommendations on areas of town to avoid when we get to the point of looking for an apartment, and the better ones to stay in that would be wonderful. Also - we were hoping to bring our two cats with us to Oulu - is is difficult to find housing that allows pets?

Again thank you for any information you can give! It is very much appreciated.

[biscayne]

Mmm. Finnish is considered to be notoriously difficult to learn. Of course that depends on a number of things.

1. Your native language - if it is a language in the same language family as Finnish (Estonian, Hungarian etc.) you might find learning Finnish easier

2. How many languages do you speak apart from your own - if you speak several languages already, learning each subsequent one is easier, even if the languages you speak are not related to the new one you are learning

3. If you are a native English speaker - they generally have a tough time, because usually they don't speak other languages, they have a poor understanding of grammar in general whereas people who speak other languages tend to at least understand their own grammar and so can relate to words like "noun" "verb" "adverb" "case" "tense" etc. - you'd be surprised at how much time in Finnish classes is given over to explaining to English-speakers basic grammar so they can then grasp Finnish grammar - if you don't know what the "instrumental case" means, you won't cop on to it in Finnish either. You can also survive in Finland with English, so they tend to lose incentive.

Some people find that they can get around quite nicely using Finnish within 6-18months. I would say they are the exception.

Regarding distance learning of Finnish - anything is possible, but you might find it hard to get the pronounciation. If you have the possibility, you might consider paying a Finnish student living in your country (or something like that) for a few lessons focusing on how to actually pronounce the words. And ask what the partative is............................everyone's favourite..........

[kleotide]

Thank you for the information biscayne!

I know without being immersed in the environment learning Finnish will be much more difficult and more so due to only being propelled by self study. English is my first and only language. And, you are correct, I don't really understand the different parts of speech or what the various grammar rules are. It is a common thing among Americans (at least in my experience) because so much importance is placed on literacy instead of grammar. I took at least six literacy classes as a child and everyone of them consisted of assigned reading and comprehension tests, never grammar. So I can understand that need. On that note taking a grammar course next semester sounds like a wonderful idea.

I only know of one Fin in my area, he is on the University's ski team! I imagine he is a fairly busy person, but I'll try shooting him a message to see if he is interested. At worst he may be able to point me in the right direction. I'm hoping to get enough Finnish down to be able to speak, for lack of better term, pigeon Finnish. Just enough to learn more and build up on it, and not be completely lost. It's not within realistic expectations to become fluent.

Your insight has been very helpful and I really appreciate it. Thank you.

[Adrian42]

And, you are correct, I don't really understand the different parts of speech or what the various grammar rules are. It is a common thing among Americans (at least in my experience) because so much importance is placed on literacy instead of grammar.

The main problem is actually that most people in the US have never learned a foreign language.

In most parts of Europe you have to learn foreign languages at school, and in many countries learning 2 or 3 foreign languages at school is normal.

Which is wonderful as it gives me time to finish my vocational training as a nurse

You might want to check with Valvira whether your education will be recognized in Finland.
http://www.valvira.fi/en/licensing/prof ... _elsewhere

[Peni]

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[Adrian42]

Finnish is phonetic so it can't be that hard.

I guess you've never tried learning Finnish...

You are right that the mapping between written Finnish and pronouncing written Finnish is not very hard (it's less of a mess than English pronounciation).

But making any sense out of that is a bigger initial hurdle, since Finnish has no similarities with indoeuropean languages like English or Russian.

And the spoken Finnish is very different from the written Finnish.

[Peni]

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[rider1000]

Try Rosetta Stone! Oh wait, they haven't discovered Finland yet...

I'm working on learning this language too. I have the added benefit of actually being in the country to learn it, but I've found Pimsleur to be of some assistance. It's not cheap, but so far it works. And it's really nice to actually hear what you're trying to say. Finnish pronunciation isn't the easiest with the ä, ö and y. Check it out, maybe it'll give you a good head start!

[Pursuivant]

Finnish pronunciation isn't the easiest with the ä, ö and y.

You need to go buy a bottle of koskenkorva. Keep it so its lukewarm. Then boil onions in milk. Drink a swig of kossu and take a swig of the onionmilk. Soon you will start going YYYYÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÄÄÄÄÄÄGHHH

Check it out, maybe it'll give you a good head start!

[ritan7471]

[quote="Pursuivant] You need to go buy a bottle of koskenkorva. Keep it so its lukewarm. Then boil onions in milk. Drink a swig of kossu and take a swig of the onionmilk. Soon you will start going YYYYÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÄÄÄÄÄÄGHHH[/quote]

Oh so THAT'S how it's done!

Edit: sorry, still can't seem to get the quote thing right.

[Upphew]

[quote="Pursuivant] You need to go buy a bottle of koskenkorva. Keep it so its lukewarm. Then boil onions in milk. Drink a swig of kossu and take a swig of the onionmilk. Soon you will start going YYYYÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÄÄÄÄÄÄGHHH

Oh so THAT'S how it's done!

Edit: sorry, still can't seem to get the quote thing right.[/quote][/quote]
You are missing one " after the Pursuivant in opening quote tag

[Peni]

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