listening skills = 0

[MPballet]

I wonder if I have a learning disorder or if I am not learing correctly. My mother toungue is english and I have been studying Finnish for almost one year now. I go to class every weekday and am progressing very well in writing, reading and speaking. My problem is however, if anyone speaks Finnish I cannot understand at all what is being said. The only things I do make out are unimportant words. Is this a common problem or do I have some learning disorder? Because it's extremely embarrassing for me to always have to say I do not understand, or that I can talk to them in Finnish but they have to talk to respond to me in english. Has anyone else had this problem and what can I do about it? I mean, I can't understand a thing, but I can read, write and talk.

[Hank W.]

You don't live in Savo do you?

[Mark I.]

Loong time ago, when I went to work in Canada, I was in a kind of shock about not understanding locals, because for me they talked so incredibly fast. After a while, everthying just clicked to right place, and I had no difficulties about it. People are individuals, and not like machines or computers.

Hey, I'm not sure about this method, but how about watching some Finnish movies with English subtitles?

[Rosamunda]

I have been on several Finnish courses and no teacher has ever actively taught listening skills. In nearly all my lessons the only Finnish we heard was the teacher or (even worse) other students rarely did we listen to any tapes and I don't think the teachers ever used any authentic listening materials (videos, TV etc) only rather contrived conversations that were specially taped for the book we were using.

I find listening to the evening News on TV helps. The pictures are there to help with comprehension and the newsreaders speak relatively slowly and articulate well. TV soaps can be useful for listening to a more "everyday" conversational kind of Finnish, no need to attempt to follow the story just try and catch short useful phrases. Try and concentrate on chunks of language rather than individual words and try repeating short sentences to yourself when you hear them. Don't even attempt to try and understand more than one sentence at a time to begin with. DVDs are good because you can replay scenes over and over again. Go for the Finnish version of Disney films for example. Try watching the same scene in a film 4 or 5 times until you can almost repeat it off by heart!!!!

Not sure if you can get YLE Mondo, but the "easy" Finnish news broadcasts are also good listening practice and so is the Starting Finnish course, especially if you DON'T have the book because in that case you are forced to listen!!!

I have definitely found some people are easier to understand than others. For example, it is always easier for me to understand a Swedish-Finnish person speaking Finnish (not sure if it is the accent or their syntax or what). But there are some people who I just cannot follow.... for example some Finns who have a slightly exhuberant, "creative" kind of Finnish that goes straight over my head. I was at a parents' meeting in school last week and the mum who was chairing the meeting went on and on and I caught maybe 10-15% of what she was saying. Then she mentioned that she was a drama teacher working in a children's theatre in Espoo.... aha!

But as MHH said in her/his post, after a while things do click, at least that did happen to me many, many years ago when I first moved to France.

[Mark I.]

(Sorry for off topic posting.)

But as MHH said in her/his post,

I seem to categorize and remember many things about regular FF posters: At least sex, age (approx.), where from and where living, and in most cases a lot more (like about Penelope). In some cases these things are not quite clear, and I'm confused. Like Sam - because I thought first it's he, but once I posted my picture here, and I thought Sam posted - supricingly *her* picture - I'm still a bit confused. bb/viewtopic.php?t=12410&highlight=picture

Anyway, I got a PP today from one regular: "Are you a Finn?".

(I should change my name here to Markku. How would I do that?)

[Richard]

(I should change my name here to Markku. How would I do that?)

There is no way to do it yourself, but if you PM Neil, he may be able/willing to manually update the database. Another alternative would be to create a signature with Markku in it. (You do that in your profile)

[MPballet]

I do get YLEMondo and have listened to the clear Finnish news. I've been able to make out maybe one or two words. I guess it's just going to take time as you guys have said. I feel better about it now and should be more patient. I think I should watch more children's programs because I can understand more when children speak. For some reason, watching a Finnish movie with the english subtitles hasn't been a great help. I begin to stop listening and just concentrate on the writing.

A big problem is that my Finnish husband speaks his Finnish language very bad. Even when he talks to me slowly his words just aren't clear. And listening to him in a conversation is quite sad because the only thing I can understand are the swears. He swears A LOT. Even in casual conversations with his family. It's very bad for me to practice with him. And his english is perfect so of course he'd rather talk to me in english. I give him credit as he's tried to help me on occaisions, but really, he hardley helps at all.

[Takamiy_]

And listening to him in a conversation is quite sad because the only thing I can understand are the swears. He swears A LOT. Even in casual conversations with his family.

I can sympathise, saatana and perkele have become part of my not-so-extensive Finnish vocab...Thanks to the boyfriend.

[Hank W.]

I find listening to the evening News on TV helps. The pictures are there to help with comprehension and the newsreaders speak relatively slowly and articulate well.

You can get the hearing impaired text from text-tv on page 335 (or 333, usually says on the programme list) to help as well.

For Finns learning foreign languages there is a 'challenge page' on 329 that blots out the subtitling...

[sinikala]

I wonder if I have a learning disorder or if I am not learing correctly. My mother toungue is english and I have been studying Finnish for almost one year now. I go to class every weekday and am progressing very well in writing, reading and speaking. My problem is however, if anyone speaks Finnish I cannot understand at all what is being said. The only things I do make out are unimportant words. Is this a common problem or do I have some learning disorder? Because it's extremely embarrassing for me to always have to say I do not understand, or that I can talk to them in Finnish but they have to talk to respond to me in english. Has anyone else had this problem and what can I do about it? I mean, I can't understand a thing, but I can read, write and talk.

We learners can make ourselves understood especially if we know the vocab for a certain situation, but the native speaker replying to you hasn't been to your classes and may use synonyms, slang, almost certainly spoken language, dropping or swallowing endings or missing words out entirely. So it's natural that aural will be something you find difficult.

In our lessons the teacher occasionally does aural comprehension tests, I always score way lower on that than the written.

Another point... if you speak Finnish badly and make mistakes, the native speaker may pick up that you are a beginner and perhaps reply slowly and with simple vocabulary... but if you manage to nail something, then the native speaker might overestimate your finnish skills and reply as they would to a native speaker. Of course this is sort of a compliment, but the beginner can really have a hard time understanding anything of the reply.

I was getting some jabs for a work trip recently and when I asked some questions the nurse started babbling some very involved medical reply, I doubt I'd have understood it in English either, but it's sort of nice that she assumed I'd be able to understand her detailed explanation.

There is hope, the longer you're here the more words you'll recognise, just keep at it.

[Hank W.]

In our lessons the teacher occasionally does aural comprehension tests, I always score way lower on that than the written.

Funny thet, I always got top marks in any language aural tests at school, but sucked bad in the writing part. So I passed German or Swedish basically on the listening part. I can 'speak' German, but I need to give any writing stuff to one of those "silent Finns"...

[sinikala]

In our lessons the teacher occasionally does aural comprehension tests, I always score way lower on that than the written.

Funny thet, I always got top marks in any language aural tests at school, but sucked bad in the writing part. So I passed German or Swedish basically on the listening part. I can 'speak' German, but I need to give any writing stuff to one of those "silent Finns"...

But if you are honest, you can perhaps attribute that to laziness at school? At least I can!

I don't know how you were at high school. If you got scores something like this....

Oral 60%, aural 80%, written 50%

then you can consider that you got by on the aural parts. As opposed to someone who gets

Oral 90%, aural 80%, written 95%

and is confused why they can't do so well in the listening parts. It's all relative.

[Hank W.]

We didn't have much "oral". Besides which it is in Finnish school if you make a grammar mistake its a minus point so no use speaking much.

And yes, I am lazy learning some rules by heart. Especially perverse sex-changing grammars. After that Afrikaans grammar is a paradise (three tenses, one person), even the oral part produces significant amounts of phlegm.

[MPballet]

Another point... if you speak Finnish badly and make mistakes, the native speaker may pick up that you are a beginner and perhaps reply slowly and with simple vocabulary... but if you manage to nail something, then the native speaker might overestimate your finnish skills and reply as they would to a native speaker. Of course this is sort of a compliment, but the beginner can really have a hard time understanding anything of the reply.

There is hope, the longer you're here the more words you'll recognise, just keep at it.

Kiitos Sinikala! Ditto about the native speakers because that has happened to me. I do take it as a compliment.
I'm trying to figure out a way to say that I am a beginner finnish speaker. I don't want to say "en puhu suomea" because I do need the person to talk to me in basic finnish. So how would I say to a person that they can talk to me only in basic finnish?

[Hank W.]

Minä Jane - sinä Tarzan.