can anyone help!!
i am looking to start a finnish languge course in september around helsinki, espoo,vantaa area.
ideally i would like it to be full time, to help me settle in finland with my finnish wife.
i know i should be applying now! so any advice and direction would be apreciated.
is it right helsinki uni courses are overcrowded? if so any alternatives.
i want to be kept busy over the winter months!
feel free to pm me on your experiences.
cheers
chris h
looking for a full time finnish language course
The best full-time courses are given through the Unemployment Office. They are intensive courses aimed at integrating immigrants into the workforce. They also include cultural awareness programmes and general info about work in Finland. I believe that if you succeed in getting on one of these courses they are free and you even receive a small amount of money (like a per-diem).
There are intensive courses at Helsinki University and also the Adult Education centre, in which case I would suggest combining a morning and an evening course - simultaneously - if you really want to progress quickly. The University courses get booked up very quickly and the class sizes are huge (at least for the beginner courses). But the drop out rate is quite big too.
I have completed parts 1-2-3 at http://www.helsinginaikuisopisto.fi The class sizes were quite small which makes it easier to ask questions and get some speaking practice. But I would not consider the courses to be intensive (4 mornings a week) and they do not lead to any recognised certificate.
If your wife is Finnish then the fastest way of learning the language would be for her to speak to you in Finnish as much as possble. Even if she talks to you like she would to a toddler... and even if you answer in English.... listening practice is REALLY important.
There are intensive courses at Helsinki University and also the Adult Education centre, in which case I would suggest combining a morning and an evening course - simultaneously - if you really want to progress quickly. The University courses get booked up very quickly and the class sizes are huge (at least for the beginner courses). But the drop out rate is quite big too.
I have completed parts 1-2-3 at http://www.helsinginaikuisopisto.fi The class sizes were quite small which makes it easier to ask questions and get some speaking practice. But I would not consider the courses to be intensive (4 mornings a week) and they do not lead to any recognised certificate.
If your wife is Finnish then the fastest way of learning the language would be for her to speak to you in Finnish as much as possble. Even if she talks to you like she would to a toddler... and even if you answer in English.... listening practice is REALLY important.
full time
hi chris,
like penelope mentioned, the unemployment office courses are definately the best (fastest and most intensive) courses...... and it´s the only course that´s like a full-day course....
it might not be so easy to get in, though. Understandably, most people try to get into these courses, because they are free, and you actually get paid (a bit) to participate.
The other option (i did that) is to take some courses simultaneously.
For example, I took Kesäyliopisto courses at night 3 times a week, Aikuisopisto courses in the morning 3 times a week and yliopisto courses twice a week around lunch..... that amounted to a massive schedule (with 8 hrs. of course on some days), and maybe was not the best long-term strategy---I found that I forgot a lot already, because I was trying to cram my head too full too fast.
BUT: It gave me a tremendous boost in the beginning and ---- equally important --- it kept me off the streets and gave me sthg. to do during the day other than cleaning up after the missus
.
good luck!
like penelope mentioned, the unemployment office courses are definately the best (fastest and most intensive) courses...... and it´s the only course that´s like a full-day course....
it might not be so easy to get in, though. Understandably, most people try to get into these courses, because they are free, and you actually get paid (a bit) to participate.
The other option (i did that) is to take some courses simultaneously.
For example, I took Kesäyliopisto courses at night 3 times a week, Aikuisopisto courses in the morning 3 times a week and yliopisto courses twice a week around lunch..... that amounted to a massive schedule (with 8 hrs. of course on some days), and maybe was not the best long-term strategy---I found that I forgot a lot already, because I was trying to cram my head too full too fast.
BUT: It gave me a tremendous boost in the beginning and ---- equally important --- it kept me off the streets and gave me sthg. to do during the day other than cleaning up after the missus
.good luck!
Jabbadabbadooo
help
That is so important information to me, I am just seeking some finnish language courses, especially for those free of charge one.And I think those courses would also be very helpful for me if I could insist studing on them.So could you guys tell me which university or institute specifically I could go to find these kinds of Finnish language courses for free for unemployment foreigners in finland.
Thanks a lot.
Thanks a lot.
Thank you so much for the information, but could you still tell me how should I go to find the unemployment office or are there any web site I could go for checking the contact information with them.
Besides. do you think will they give me the hand as I am still a foreign student in finland at this moment.
Thanks a lot.
Besides. do you think will they give me the hand as I am still a foreign student in finland at this moment.
Thanks a lot.