Hi all,
I'd really appreciate some honest advice about good Finnish language courses/ teachers in Helsinki. I have already done Suomi 1 - 4 (over 2 years) at the Helsinki University Language Centre, plus some study in the Summer School in Helsinki, but this was a few years ago and I've just arrived back in the country. At the Hel Uni course I found the class sizes pretty large, and the emphasis on grammar over everything else (speaking, listening skills, etc..) a bit frustrating. I'd like to learn enough Finnish to pass the YKI test (at the B.1 level or equivalent) in the next 4 - 8 months and to be able to function a bit better in Finnish in social situations and practical situations (reading internet pages, etc...). I know that's a big ask, but I am in a position where I can spend 5 days a week studying full time for the next 4 months at least.
I'm especially interested in tips on good teachers and courses which run for 2 - 4 hrs per day in the week, or combinations of courses. I'd be happy to do individual sessions or intensive courses, and would be grateful for tips on good tutors/teachers you may have come across.
I've had experience learning foreign languages before so I'm not the most typical monolingual anglophone, but I feel like I need some good help in getting competent in Finnish (for all the obvious reasons). I am willing to pay out of my own pocket for this, but want to make sure I'm getting good value for time and money before I do it.
Thanks very much, all advice appreciated! : )
Good Finnish language courses
Re: Good Finnish language courses
Aikuisopisto is good, i i did two course there both run by Germans, they were the best classes i've been to in Finland. Tobias? was the guys name, can't remember the girl's but i think it was fininish anyway. She was at a lower level though, maybe Tobias covers your kind of level.
Re: Good Finnish language courses
I did three courses there. The first one was just gramnat gapfills from a very old- fashioned book but then we got a new teacher (Johanna???) and it was really really good. She was very dynamic and got us doing fun activities. The class sizes were quite large (15?) but not as big as in some places.
Re: Good Finnish language courses
Thank you very much for the helpful replies. I looked into the courses at Helsingin Aikuisopisto and they have a good variety, including a intensive YKI course. Glad to hear the class sizes are small. When I was at the Helsinki Univeristy courses there must have been 20-30 in a class, so 15 would be fantastic. I noticed that I need to sign up this Monday, so thanks for the quick replies!
Re: Good Finnish language courses and YKI test
I have some feedback now about the course, now that I've done 4 weeks of the YKI Intensive course. It seems to have been radically changed since the previous poster attended - we have not looked at one single video or newspaper article. In face the course mainly consists of highly relevant preparation for the YKI test - we cover the components of the test and over the 4 courses (A, B, C and D) we are covering the major topic areas that we are meant to know about for the test.
Most importantly, 2 or 3 times a week we practice using the "kieli studio" equipment to get used to the listening and spoken parts of the YKI test. In the test you need to do one test of listening to Finnish (and answering on paper) and one test of spoken Finnish, which is speaking into a mircrophone while 18 people around you do exactly the same thing. Having lots of practice in this before the actual test is said to be the best thing about the YKI course. Note that in this course they do not teach grammar, so it's important that you have learned it before somewhere.
The teacher is really good, and we practice speaking for 1/3 to 1/2 the lesson on most days, so quite different from studying at home. I would definitely recommend Helsingin Aikuisopisto, the students are movtivated and the class sizes are smaller. It seems to be a more encouraging environment than the University of Helsinki Language center.
***Important note about signing up to YKI test - they said to sign up early, and they meant it! If you want to sit the test in the Helsinki region, you need to queue up between 6.30am and 7am on the first day of registrations!! The YKI test was full by 7am, even though the office didn't open until 8.30am. If you miss out in Helsinki, you can go to a regional test centre (e.g. you can register at Tampere online, or by post to smaller regional centres) or wait until the next test**
Most importantly, 2 or 3 times a week we practice using the "kieli studio" equipment to get used to the listening and spoken parts of the YKI test. In the test you need to do one test of listening to Finnish (and answering on paper) and one test of spoken Finnish, which is speaking into a mircrophone while 18 people around you do exactly the same thing. Having lots of practice in this before the actual test is said to be the best thing about the YKI course. Note that in this course they do not teach grammar, so it's important that you have learned it before somewhere.
The teacher is really good, and we practice speaking for 1/3 to 1/2 the lesson on most days, so quite different from studying at home. I would definitely recommend Helsingin Aikuisopisto, the students are movtivated and the class sizes are smaller. It seems to be a more encouraging environment than the University of Helsinki Language center.
***Important note about signing up to YKI test - they said to sign up early, and they meant it! If you want to sit the test in the Helsinki region, you need to queue up between 6.30am and 7am on the first day of registrations!! The YKI test was full by 7am, even though the office didn't open until 8.30am. If you miss out in Helsinki, you can go to a regional test centre (e.g. you can register at Tampere online, or by post to smaller regional centres) or wait until the next test**