YKI language test and citizenship

[Auringon_kukka]

Excellent description and suggestions!

There are many pathways to YKI success. For starters, there are inexpensive online courses that cover the four areas of the YKI test (speaking, writing, listening comprehension and reading comprehension). I took such a course in Finnish (I lucked out in that it was offered at no charge), and it was immensely useful. The instructor gave us a lot of helpful tips and explained what to expect on test day. The multi-week course included practical exercises, and we also had the opportunity to book a one-on-one session with the teacher to practise the speaking part.

I also took a series of in-person Finnish courses prior to the test, and so had a fair bit of practice with reading, and some with writing. A good way to improve one's listening comprehension in Finnish is to turn subtitling on when watching Finnish-language programming. That way, what you are hearing is reinforced through the subtitles. I find it helps to train the ear.

All of the above would also of course apply to Swedish, which is another option for taking the YKI test as a pathway to citizenship. Some people--English-speakers especially--find learning Swedish easier, since it's in the same language family as English.

Booking the test was a chaotic experience indeed. I was online the moment the slots opened, but the website quickly became unresponsive. Fortunately though, I was able to secure a spot. Yes, they go super quickly.

I took the YKI test in May 2021 (I moved to Finland in the fall of 2018). After the test, I was unsure if I'd passed the spoken part, so I booked a spot for the next test in August that year, just in case. As things turned out, I didn't need to, as I passed (3, 3, 3 and 4 [written comprehension]. However, having already paid for the August test, I decided what the heck and sat it for the fun of it . I even managed to improve my results (3, 3, 4 [listening comprehension] and 4 [written comprehension]).

I'm curious to see how YKI will evolve with the proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act. Many countries have civics tests as part of the citizenship process, so it's no biggie.

Thanks for posting your experience. I'm sure it'll prove helpful to others.

[Aasinkinttu]

Really good descriptions above.
Below are quick references to the acceptable passing combinations in the event one does not pass everything and/or combines test results.

A)
Speaking
3 or 4
Writing
3 or 4
or
B)
Listening comprehension
3 or 4
Writing
3 or 4
or
C)
Reading comprehension
3 or 4
Speaking
3 or 4

Most people I know took specific courses designed to help pass the YKI test. Everyone I know passed on first try.
Personally, I went a trial and error route, which basically reflects the way that I learned Finnish as well (No completed courses outside of the university Finnish for Foreigners, which is basically nothing). My kirjakieli is awful. However, I can get by with my northern/eastern murre, which I learned from simply trying to communicate and not being afraid to make mistakes in my region.
For my first test, I went in totally blind. No studying or understanding what the test would be like. In my opinion, it is a strange testing method and atmosphere. I did not pass (all alle 3) but I got the experience on how the test is conducted. I retook the test again without completing any courses. I passed the speaking/writing combination.
My method cost me about an extra 150 euros and my friend's method cost more of their time.


...and we won't talk about the extra 100EUR I lost challenging the first speaking/writing portion because I was convinced some Stadilainen didn't like my murre

[williamshane]

Success in YKI can be achieved through various means.geometry dash To begin, you may find reasonably priced online classes that go over all four sections of the YKI exam: speech, writing, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension. As chance would have it, I was able to take a free course in Finnish and found it to be really helpful. In preparation for the exam, our teacher provided us with a wealth of useful information and detailed the objectives. Practical exercises were a component of the multi-week course, and we could also schedule individual sessions with the instructor to work on our speaking skills.

[Auringon_kukka]

Success in YKI can be achieved through various means.geometry dash To begin, you may find reasonably priced online classes that go over all four sections of the YKI exam: speech, writing, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension. As chance would have it, I was able to take a free course in Finnish and found it to be really helpful. In preparation for the exam, our teacher provided us with a wealth of useful information and detailed the objectives. Practical exercises were a component of the multi-week course, and we could also schedule individual sessions with the instructor to work on our speaking skills.

Sounds a lot like my experience (detailed above)

[riku2]

You may find reasonably priced online classes that go over all four sections of the YKI exam

I think some of these courses even give practice with old exam questions - which is really useful because the questions can be reused in later exams. In my exam there was a written question "people use smartphones too much" and I think that has been in the exam at least once before and I have seen it as a practice question also.