Finnish as a second language studies at Movi

Finnish studies are useful when you live in Finland: everyday life and studies are easier if you know the language and culture of the country. If you plan to stay in Finland for work and to live, Finnish language skills will improve your chances in the job market and make your daily life easier. Thus we recommend Finnish studies for everyone - so come to the courses as soon as you arrive in Finland. If you are studying in a Finnish degree programme, Finnish studies will support your academic language use and your language skills in working life.

Opiskelijoita juttelemassa pöydän ääressä kirjahyllyn edessä

Movi offers Finnish as a second language studies for degree students, exchange students, postgraduate students and university staff. We welcome you to learn more about the study units.

Courses

Finnish as a second language study path

If you want to practise all aspects of language skills, you can choose the long XSUX1001-XSUX1005 course.

Read what kinds of language functions and structures are learnt in longer courses

XSU0026 Survival Finnish 1 (2 ECTS)
"I understand what kind of language Finnish is. I know everyday phrases and vocabulary."

XSUX1001 My Finnish (5 ECTS)
”I can cope with simple everyday situations using basic phrases and vocabulary. I find it difficult to understand spoken language, but I can pick up familiar words from regularly paced speech and, with the help of knowledge of the world, I can often understand some of the main points."

XSUX1002 Everyday Finnish (5 ECTS)
"I have gained more courage, confidence and fluency in everyday situations, but I am still unable to participate in regular-paced conversation. A broader vocabulary helps me to be more specific in telling about things such as what is happening and what I am doing. I also have more strategies to deduce meanings from authentic texts."

XSUX1003 Study Life Finnish (5 ECTS)
"I cope well in everyday situations and I can participate quite well in informal, general conversations in Finnish when the subject is familiar to me. I can search for factual information and talk about events, experiences and feelings quite fluently and give brief justifications for my opinions."

XSUX1004 Finnish in the society (5 ECTS)
"I can actively participate in a general discussion on a current societal issue when I am familiar with the topic, although I sometimes have to ask for repetition. I can understand the main ideas of current newspaper texts. I can listen to lectures given in clear, general language and study in Finnish, though it is difficult."

XSUX1005 Academic Finnish (5 ECTS)
"I can actively participate in a general discussion on a current societal issue. I have a good understanding of current newspaper texts. I can listen to lectures given in a clear, general language and study in Finnish. I develop my language skills in a goal-oriented way by reading regularly and observing the speech of native speakers."

Please note that you can only do Survival Finnish or the My Finnish course.

Survival Finnish course is intended for exchange students at our university who are in Finland for only one semester and want to learn some basic everyday phrases and get a basic understanding of what Finnish is like. The Survival Finnish course focuses in particular on developing strategic skills to help you understand the language. Degree students and non-university students are not eligible to participate in the Survival Finnish course.

The My Finnish course also focuses on survival skills in everyday life, but the Minun suomea course is more varied in terms of studying different areas of language skills and also in analysing grammatical structures. My Finnish course is suitable for students who want to learn more Finnish and are possibly planning to stay in Finland for longer than one semester.

After the Minun suomea course you can continue studying Finnish, but you cannot continue from Survival Finnish to Everyday Finnish course.

XSU0026 Survival Finnish

everyday survival phrases, receptive skills, no grammar analysis
2 ECTS
24 lessons
you cannot continue to the XSUX1002 Everyday Finnish course

XSUX1001 My Finnish

the goal is to learn everyday survival language, but also more grammatical analysis
5 ECTS
70 lessons
you can continue to the XSUX1002 Everyday Finnish course

If you want to develop a specific area of language skills, you can choose short courses. Short courses support and activate learning.

See the course descriptions in the links below. If you are still unsure about choosing a course, you can come and talk to the teachers.

Self-study courses

Self-study materials

You can find useful tips for learning Finnish and self-study materials on the Kielibuusti project website:

Kielibuusti - Learn Finnish

Be yourself in Finnish – Our teaching philosophy

Evaluation of study units

Assessment is present in every lesson and is designed to support and guide learning. Assessment helps you to set your own goals and to orient and refine them.

What is assessed in our courses?

Language skills are made up of different aspects: we produce language by speaking and writing. When reading texts and talking to others, we need text and speech comprehension skills. This is why long courses assess all language skills equally, while shorter courses focus on specific areas such as speaking or reading and writing.

Assessment tools

Completing the course requires active participation in class, carrying out the assigned tasks and passing a possible final exam. You are also expected to use the language outside the classroom. Assessment tools include:

personal feedback discussions
evaluation forms for self-assessment, peer assessment and teaching assessment
course assignments
exam.

Assessment scale

In longer courses, the University of Jyväskylä's grading scale (0-5) is used:

5 = Excellent
4 = Very good
3 = Good
2 = Satisfactory
1 = Sufficient
0 = Fail

Shorter courses are assessed pass-fail.

For more information on course-specific assessment, please contact the teacher of the course in question.

Combine the courses you have studied into one certificate

You can receive a separate certificate of 20 credits or 25 credits for your Finnish as a second language courses: for basic and intermediate level courses you can receive the Finnish in everyday life certificate and for advanced level courses the Finnish for study and work certificate. If you would like a certificate for the Finnish as a second language courses you have completed, see the application form(only in Finnish). Please send your application as an attachment to Ulla Lautiainen's e-mail: ulla.lautiainen@jyu.fi.

Finnish in everyday life certificate (minimum 20 ECTS), level B1

After completing the required courses, you can:

communicate in a mostly comprehensible way in sector-specific situations in studies and working life
interact in familiar social situations
follow a conversation when you are familiar with the topic and when no idiomatic expressions are used in the conversation
give a short presentation on a topic that interests you
find and understand the main points of a text on a topic with which you are familiar
produce coherent and comprehensible texts on a topic with which you are familiar

Mandatory courses

My Finnish, 5 ECTS
Everyday Finnish, 5 ECTS
Study Life Finnish, 5 ECTS.

Elective courses

Choose at least 4 credits from the following courses:

Let's Chat in Finnish discussion course, 2 ECTS
Let's Talk Fluently in Finnish discussion course, 2 ECTS
Everyday Texts in Finnish, 2 ECTS
Orienteering in Finnish, self-study project, 2 ECTS
Each One Teach One 2 ECTS.

Finnish for study and work certificate (minimum 20 ECTS), level B2-C1

After completing the required courses , you

can communicate fluently and appropriately in more demanding learning and working situations
react according to the situation and follow the most common rules of culture-specific communication and interaction
reference texts in your own words and read texts in your field with ease and critically evaluate what you read
give a detailed and prepared presentation in your field
follow basic conventions and registers of scientific communication in your field and produce texts and work documents in your field
distinguish between different levels of formality in a conversation and link your speech to what has already been said, as appropriate in the situation.

Mandatory courses

Finnish in the Society, 5 ECTS

Elective courses

Choose at least 14 credits from the following courses:

Academic Finnish, 6 ECTS
Finnish for Field-Specific Purposes, 5 ECTS
Let's talk fluently in Finnish discussion course, 2 ECTS
Let's Write in Finnish, 4 ECTS
Study and Media Related Texts in Finnish, 4 ECTS
Orienteering in Finnish, self-study project, 2 ECTS
Each One Teach One, 2 ECTS.

NOTE! The same course cannot be used for different certificates.

For non-university students

Do you live in Finland or are you coming to Finland for a short stay? Are you looking for an intensive Finnish language course that you can do while working? See what we have to offer!

Courses are designed for university staff and students but also students from outside the university can participate. If you are interested in these courses, you can apply for a separate study right.

The fee for the separate study right is 20 € per credit.
Please visit the Separate study right page for the application form and further information.
Note! Enrolment for XSUX1003 Study Life Finnish and XSUX1004 Finnish in the society takes place via the ILPO registration portal.

Please note that Finnish language teaching is at a university level, so the student must be able to study independently and should also have a general upper secondary school background. For the basic course My Finnish a good proficiency in English is also necessary.

The teaching is mostly contact teaching, so you must be able to arrive to Jyväskylä for the classes. A separate study right at the Centre for Multilingual Academic Communication's course does not mean that you can study for a degree at the University of Jyväskylä or that you can apply for a residence permit / visa to enter Finland.

If you would like to apply to become a full-time student of the University, you can find more information on the University's Admission Services..

Course offered

We offer Finnish language courses from basic to advanced level. See course descriptions above. In addition to the basic language courses (XSUX1001 - XSUX1005), we offer shorter complementary courses to develop language skills through project-based work (e.g. Finnish for specific purposes). Some complementary courses also focus on specific areas of language skills such as spoken language, writing or reading texts.

Courses start in September in the autumn semester and in January in the spring semester and run until December and April/May.