Finnish teenagers are the best students in the world, according to a report by the OECD. The survey also said Finnish education was very good value for money.
Finns ranked number one in reading comprehension and science, and third in problem solving. Finland's performance in math was second only to students in Hong Kong. This gave Finnish schools the highest overall score.
The study is part of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment. It tested 15-year-olds from 41 countries.
The PISA study also showed that while wealthier countries generally fared better, high spending does not equal high quality of education. The OECD mentioned that Finland had an excellent value for money, compared to big spenders like the United States which ranked consistently below the OECD average.
Although Finns are exceptionally good at math, it doesn't mean that they necessarily like the subject. Students' interest in math was the fourth-lowest of all the nations surveyed.
Consistency was a particular strong point in the Finnish school system. There are very few differences along geographical or social lines.
Finns ranked number one in reading comprehension
Finns ranked number one in reading comprehension
http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id3874.html
Last edited by Phil on Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Finns ranked number one in reading comprehension
Could this have something to do with the Finnish language itself? We've discussed on here before about how Finns spend less time learning to read in school because of the language, so they get more time to spend on other subjects.Finns ranked number one in reading comprehension
Is Finnish more of a "direct" language which makes it easier for student's to comprehend? ...just a thought.
According to this New Scientist article English is the hardest European language to learn to read and Finnish is the easiest.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991233
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991233
Most people I know (old friends especially, dunno about everyone of course) were able to read and write to some extent before even starting school, so it is sort of obvious that not much time is required in school to learn those things.
As for why people learn it early in the first place, I guess it's a combination of parents being eager to help their kids read, language apparently easy to learn and maybe other cultural factors.
As for why people learn it early in the first place, I guess it's a combination of parents being eager to help their kids read, language apparently easy to learn and maybe other cultural factors.
I think I would have to respectfully disagree with that. It's my experience that English has a considerably wider vocabulary than Finnish. How many times do Finns have to take out their Finnish dictionaries when reading eloquent novels compared to English-speakers? I would imagine that English-speakers bump into new words more often than Finnish-speakers.kalmisto wrote:>> Is Finnish more of a "direct" language which makes it easier for student's to comprehend? ...just a thought. <<
No, it is not. I would say that English is more "direct" than Finnish.
In addition, the languages are phonetically very different. Sometimes it's impossible to know the pronunciation of an English word before you actually hear the word. In Finnish, this is very seldom a problem: you always know what the letters sound like and where the stress is in the word.
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Hank W.
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Either I don't read eloquent novels in English, or then Finns just don't take out dictionaries reading in any languageGaryK wrote: How many times do Finns have to take out their Finnish dictionaries when reading eloquent novels compared to English-speakers? .
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.
Place names are a trap for many..even Brits from the other side of the country.Hank W. wrote:And after you go to the next village the word is pronounced differently anyways....GaryK wrote:Sometimes it's impossible to know the pronunciation of an English word before you actually hear the word. .
Hapisburgh a place name in Norfolk....is pronounced..Hays- bury.
The "ough" endings are difficult also.
Plough Pub... catches many tourists..Plow .. I have heard it come out as Pluff...even Plowg.
Gloucester and Worchester...great traps for some..Gloster and Woster to the locals.
Maippi still occasionaly gives the "ed" ending to words a hard ED ( as in Bed) instead of a "t" sound.."sorry we are fully book..ed"
Here is a bit of fun...
http://www.etni.org.il/farside/funpoem.htm
I think the orthographic simplicity of the Finnish language explains why Finnish children can learn to read so quickly but reading comprehension is a different ball game.... It requires analytical skills above and beyond those required for accurate reading, such as understanding the author's use of imagery and other literary "devices". It usually requires the reader to formulate his own opinions about what he has read and to be able to express those and support them with examples from the text. I think good reading comprehension skills are more likely to be acquired through good teaching practice and MUCH reading... the more you read, the better you get at understanding what's in a book.
Voted Other, it's the whole culture.
A friend who teaches Finnish (first and second) suggested to visiting German officials (after the last Pisa round) that they put subtitles on TV programmes. The headmaster of the school wasn't amused. She was kidding of course, but half-serious too. Her point was that reading like anything else is something you get good at when you do it often. Parents read out loud to their babies. The picture books kids get have text too. Momma and Pappa read the newspaper. TV programmes have subtitles. Focal point of the living room is often the book shelf. As soon as the kid learns to read, his parents subsribe Aku Ankka. When he gets a mobile phone, he writes with it, and so on... Reading is something both common and valued, it is a big part of the culture. Educational institutions act accordingly and certainly play a part too.
A friend who teaches Finnish (first and second) suggested to visiting German officials (after the last Pisa round) that they put subtitles on TV programmes. The headmaster of the school wasn't amused. She was kidding of course, but half-serious too. Her point was that reading like anything else is something you get good at when you do it often. Parents read out loud to their babies. The picture books kids get have text too. Momma and Pappa read the newspaper. TV programmes have subtitles. Focal point of the living room is often the book shelf. As soon as the kid learns to read, his parents subsribe Aku Ankka. When he gets a mobile phone, he writes with it, and so on... Reading is something both common and valued, it is a big part of the culture. Educational institutions act accordingly and certainly play a part too.
I think Professor Chesterman sum it up quite well when he says..
"We could say that the degree of difficulty depends on the distance between your current proficiency and your final goal."
If you can go shopping and just want to add the ability, to be able, to buy me a pint..it is not a too difficult step/goal!
I would add that the best way to eat an elephant is in bite sized pieces..
i.e. When learning Finnish set a series of acheivable short term targets.
Acheive target one.
Then set a new slightly more difficult target etc etc etc. and so on.
Actualy the article is worthy of some serious study by all...
e.g.
" Kamppailusta ei puuttunut tilanteita ja jännitystä.
In an Ice Hockey report..
Now ask yourself how you would say that in, say, English. "There was no shortage of situations?" Hardly.
More like: "there were lots of exciting moments", or "there was a lot of dramatic action".
In other words, English would highlight the dynamic aspect, not the static one.
I think this is rather typical of Finnish, and even of the way Finns think, the way they see the world. "
When I think about it, I agree, Finns do love the word..Tilanne...."situation"...static...rather than " tapahtumat" happenings.
e.g.
" Kamppailusta ei puuttunut tilanteita ja jännitystä.
In an Ice Hockey report..
Now ask yourself how you would say that in, say, English. "There was no shortage of situations?" Hardly.
More like: "there were lots of exciting moments", or "there was a lot of dramatic action".
In other words, English would highlight the dynamic aspect, not the static one.
I think this is rather typical of Finnish, and even of the way Finns think, the way they see the world. "
When I think about it, I agree, Finns do love the word..Tilanne...."situation"...static...rather than " tapahtumat" happenings.