Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Practicing listening with your Finnish friends

Are you still in the situation where your friends switch to English when you're around? Change that now!  I'm using friend in my examples, but it could also be your colleague, spouse, mother-in-law or even a child, if you happen to have bilingual children.

  • Ask your friend to talk about something simple in Finnish so that you can just relax and focus on listening. You don't have to ask anything, and she won't ask anything either. You can decide a time beforehand so that you'll both know when it's over and you can do something else. If you want, write down what you hear. You can also record your friend if it's ok for her. 

  • Ask your friend which Finnish podcast, radio program, tv show or artist she likes. Listen to it together and ask her to talk about it. 


  • Ask your friend to read her own book aloud for you. You might not understand much, but you'll understand something, and your friend is happy because she gets to read her book. She might also be interested in talking about the topic with you in Finnish.

  • If you notice that your friend switches to English, just say something like this: Ei tarvitse vaihtaa kieltä mun takia. Puhu vaan suomea. Mä kysyn, jos en ymmärrä jotain. That means No need to change the language because of me. Go ahead and speak Finnish. I'll ask if I don't understand something.


You can also practice listening while waiting for a bus. :)

Related posts:


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About the author of this blog:  


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish or novels in easy Finnish.

Lue selkokirja. Se voi olla yllättävän helppoa ja kivaa!
www.privatefinnishlessons.com/books

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Studying in a folk high school in Finland

Right now is the time when most Finnish universities, universities of applied sciences and vocational schools are sending letters of acceptance to their new students. In case you didn't get accepted to where you wanted to go, you can still apply for a student position in an adult education college or a folk high school, which is kansanopisto in Finnish.

There are folk high schools almost all over the country, but most of them are in small towns. You can often live on the campus, which means that you can practice Finnish and get to know the people you study with! You can use this search page to find out what and where you could study.

The teaching is either in Finnish or in Swedish, but your Finnish doesn't have to be perfect for you to apply. Some schools even offer Finnish courses for immigrants.




Folk high schools in Finland. http://www.kansanopistot.fi/


Erään opiskelijan kokemuksia kansanopistosta:
Experiences of a folk high school student:

Olen kasvanut Amerikassa, muutin aikuisena Suomeen ja kävin kansanopistoa lukuvuoden 2016 - 2017 (pääaineena musiikki). Kansanopisto oli minulle ikimuistoinen kokemus - musiikkitaitoni kehittyivät, kielitaitoni kehittyi ja tutustuin kivoihin tyyppeihin.
I grew up in the US and moved to Finland as an adult, and I went to kansanopisto last year (2016 - 2017) to study music. It was an unforgettable experience - my music skills and language skills both developed and I met some really great people.


Silloin kun hain opistoon, erityisesti puhumistaitoni olivat heikot - sain kuitenkin opiskelupaikan, eli ei ole pakollista puhua täydellisesti, mutta menestyäkseen opinnoissa kannattaa ainakin ymmärtää puhetta ja osata antaa lyhyitä vastauksia sekä henkilökohtaisiin että omaa osaamisalaa koskeviin kysymyksiin.

When I applied to the opisto, my speaking skills particularly were weak - I managed to get into the school anyway, since it’s not necessary to speak perfectly, but if you want to succeed there you should understand speech well and be able to give at least brief answers to personal or study-related questions.

Se oli hyvin intensiivistä - koulutus sinänsä oli intensiivinen ja uusi kieli lisäsi vielä enemmän haasteita. Tuntui joskus siltä, että kävin kahta kurssia samanaikaisesti. Mutta se oli hyödyllinen valmistautumisvaihe seuraavaan koulutusasteeseen, ja suosittelen sitä niille, jotka aikovat hakea suomenkielisiin yliopistoihin, AMK:hin tai konservatorioihin, mutta eivät puhu vielä “yliopistotasolla”.

It was quite intensive - the course itself was intensive and doing it in a new language added even more challenge. It was a bit like doing two courses simultaneously. But it was a tremendously useful preparation stage for the next stage in my education, and I’d recommend it to anyone who intends to apply to a Finnish-language course at university, UAS or conservatory, but doesn’t quite speak at a university level.

Opiston opettajat voivat selittää mm. Suomen koulutusjärjestelmän omalaatuisuuksia ja auttaa sinua löytämään omalle tasollesi sopivan yliopiston/konservatorion, valmistella seuraavan vuoden hakemuksia, jne.
The teachers there can also explain the education system’s quirks and help you find the right course for you, prepare for the next year’s applications, etc.


Oletko sinä opiskellut kansanopistossa Suomessa? Kerro kokemuksistasi kommenteissa!

Have you studied in a folk high school in Finland? Please share your experience in the comments!


p.s. If you like my blog, you might also like my Facebook page and my Instagram account.



Gearing up for the summer in Finland

Here's my top 10 summer must-haves wherever I go:

  1. Aurinkovoide - Sunscreen lotion
  2. Hyttysmyrkky - Mosquito repellent
  3. Etono-puikko - A lotion stick for bug bites. You can get it in the pharmacy.
  4. Sadetakki ja -housut - A rain coat and rain pants
  5. Kumisaappaat - Rubber boots (Ok, not all the time, but make sure you have a pair!)
  6. Sadesuoja repulle - A rain cover for your backpack
  7. Villasukat - Wool socks
  8. Liput - The tickets (Finland is FULL of festivals and concerts in the summer!)
  9. Pyyhe - A towel
  10. Vara-akku - An extra battery charger

Also, make sure you have the answer to these questions and your summer will be great.:)





p.s. If you like my blog, you might also like my Facebook page and my Instagram account.:)


Saturday, June 3, 2017

Watching nature shows in Finnish

Are you looking for something rather easy, relaxing and definitely good quality to watch and read in calm and clear Finnish? While learning about the world and seeing cute animals? Try Avara luonto! If the Finnish text is not there automatically, bring your browser to the lower right corner and you'll see the TXT icon.


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