Finnish for Beginners

Who is it for?

Whether you’re a complete beginner or a false beginner who’s not yet gotten to grips with basic Finnish, our course is designed to activate you and get you speaking.

The online lessons are focused on making learning Finnish fun, rewarding and instructive. Your teacher will encourage you by presenting real-life, spoken Finnish, and leading you in organized practice.

How do I take part?

There are 9 lessons, held online over nine weeks. The lessons are 90 minutes long and are held in the early evening. And the lessons are held on Microsoft Teams, so you will need to have your camera and microphone on!

The minimum group size is 5, and the maximum number of students in any group is 9. So, you will have plenty of opportunity for 1-1- teacher time during the lessons, as well as lots of practice with your fellow students.

What will I learn?

During the classroom lessons, the trainer will focus on activities designed to teach you basic phrases and useful vocabulary for daily life in Finland. From being able to say “Moi moi”, to “Paljonko kello on?”, you will learn and practice with your teacher and your classmates, making sure that as much of the class time as possible is used to activate your Finnish skills!

You will receive instruction, feedback, support, and encouragement from your trainer. With over 40 years of experience in language training in Finland, we promise that your course will be well-planned, suitable for your level, and at a pace that is right for you as a beginner.

What about study material?

That’s the great part – you get access to our digital self-study material, Startti Suomeen, for you to use outside of the lessons. This interactive, engaging, and pedagogically designed digital material covers 8 one to two hour topics that are essential topics for beginners.

Access is the material is via our Learning Management System (LMS), 360Learning. You can study the material anytime, anywhere you have an internet connection. You will have access to the material for 90 days from the date of your purchase.

The topics in the digital material are:

1. Tervetuloa (Welcome)
2. Minä (Me)
3. Kansalaisuus (Nationality)
4. Perhe (Family)
5. Asuminen ja koti (Living and home)
6. Sää (Weather)
7. Tapaamisen sopiminen (Agreeing a meeting)
8. Kahvilassa ja ravintolassa (At a cafe and at a restaurant)

The material includes listening and pronunciation practice, a clearly presented set of vocabulary and/or grammar around a specific topic, practice and revision exercises and downloadable resources.

Who is the trainer?

Mike Aaja is a highly experienced trainer who himself has achieved a native level of Finnish, and who regularly teaches Finnish as a foreign language to non-Finnish employees here in Finland. He brings insight and skill to the challenges all beginners face when trying to learn to speak Finnish at a practical level.

If you can not participate this course, you can send someone else instead of you. If cancellation is done less than 14 days before the course start, we will charge 50% of the price. In case of no show without any cancellation, we will charge the whole price. Cancellation fee will also be charged in case of illness.