Studying Finnish

Learning the local language widens your experiences in Finland as it is also a key to learning and understanding the local culture better and it is also often the key to finding employment in Finland.

Characteristics of Finnish

Finnish belongs to Finno-Ugric languages. Its closest relatives are the other Baltic-Finnish languages Karelian, Estonian, Votic, Vepsian and Livonian. More distant relatives include Hungarian, for example.

Finnish is often said to be a difficult language to learn. In reality it is not difficult, just different from the Indo-European language group to which the majority of European languages belong. Learning Finnish may be even easier than you think since the grammar is very logical and many aspects which at first seem odd can be explained by the history of the language. And there are certain aspects in the language that make it easy to learn: there are no articles, Finnish nouns do not have gender, nor indefinite or definitive forms. Furthermore all sounds correspond to one letter irrespective of the context. Therefore Finnish is easy to pronounce, as it is practically always pronounced as it is written.

There are many opportunities to study Finnish in Finland, depending on your earlier studies and skills in the Finnish language. General information on studying Finnish and links are available e.g. at the Study in Finland service.

Studying Finnish at Oulu University of Applied Sciences

At Oulu UAS there are several courses of Finnish for non-native speakers ranging from the very basics to advanced level courses. Most of the courses are offered by the School of Business and Information Management. If there are vacant places on the courses anyone can take part in them through the open university studies irrespective of their educational background. Open university studies are subject to fees. Further information on participating the courses through open university studies is available by email: avoin.liike#oamk.fi (korvaa # -> @) (School of Business and Information Management) and avoin.raahe#oamk.fi (korvaa # -> @) (Raahe School of Engineering and Business).

Finnish for foreigners courses at Oulu UAS

Code	Name of the course	Extent	Offering School
K1014YY	Basic Finnish Language III	3 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
K1012YY	Basic Finnish Language and Culture I	3 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
K1013YY	Basic Finnish Language and Culture II	3 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
K1016BI	Documentation and Reporting in Finnish	3 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
K1016YY	Finnish Business Communication	3 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
K1015BI	Finnish Language and Communication	3 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
K1012IB	Finnish Language and Professional Writing	3 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
K1017YY	Finnish in Working Life	3 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
K1015YY	Intermediate Finnish	3 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
R1101DP	Finnish Language and Culture for Foreign Students	9 ECTS cr	School of Business and Information Management
*)Y00022E	Finnish Survival Course	3 ECTS cr	Common studies for Oulu UAS

*) The Finnish Survival Course is offered to incoming exchange students and it is arranged several times per academic year to offer an opportunity to learn the Finnish language to all incoming students. Starting dates and registration instructions are published on the Current Topics of the English main page under For International Students.

Erasmus Intensive Language Courses (EILC)

Erasmus Intensive Language Courses (EILC), a scheme supported by the European Commission, are specialised courses in the less widely used and less taught European Union languages and the languages of other countries participating in Erasmus. The EILCs give Erasmus students (studies and placements) the opportunity to study the language of the host country for up to 6 weeks, in the host country. In Finland the courses are arranged in August in several universities and localities. Deadline for applications is annually in the end of May.

Online resources

There are good resources for studying Finnish also online. You may use them e.g. for independent learning prior to coming to Finland, or to support your Finnish studies you are conducting e.g. at an educational institution or a language school.

UUNO is a language learning material, created primarily to teach foreign exchange students something about the Finnish language and culture before they come to Finland. Of course, anybody who is interested can use the materials! Uuno is developed and maintained by the Studying in Tampere Region project (University of Tampere, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere University of Applied Sciences and Pirkanmaa University of Applied Sciences).

The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE offers the following three online courses in Finnish language:

Easyfinnish starts from the very basics of the Finnish language. The support language is English, so advance Finnish skills are not required. Easyfinnish is a colourful, joyful, game-like studying environment and the course has a lot of pronunciation exercises and colloquial dialogues. It is a suitable course for independent learning before coming to Finland. Easyfinnish online course does not have supplementary material and the course is not linked to any TV programme.

Supisuomea is suitable for instructed learning of the basics of the Finnish language. The only language used is Finnish so it is more challenging than the Easyfinnish. In addition to the free website the Supisuomea course includes a TV series (available on a DVD subtitled in eight languages), a text book and a recording. They are available in well-equipped bookstores and YLE Shop.

YKItreenit is directed to the learners of Finnish language aiming at the National Certificate of Language Proficiency test, but it is suitable to others as well. In the YKItreeni you can practice Finnish in basic, intermediate and advanced level. The YKItreeni gives feedback on completed exercises and saves completed tasks. One can easily follow his/her advancement with the help of a learning diary and it can also be sent e.g. to a teacher. The YKItreeni is an advanced way of learning online - alone or in a study group.

Interactive games for learning the Finnish language offers materials which are aimed at learners with beginner to lower-intermediate levels of Finnish. There are also a couple of vocabulary building activities for intermediate to advanced learners on the advanced activities page.

See also other links collected by the University of Oulu Language Centre.