A few days ago, my friend Saara, a Finnish tutor, told me: “My students in Vietnam speak Finnish even better than you”. Funny to receive that comment after studying in Finland for almost two years. Well, it makes sense because Finnish has always been my least priority. Last year in Forssa, I never once tried to improve my level. I’m fine with English. Besides, “How do I even learn?”. I had no idea how to raise my level from beginner/intermediate to something higher. After some research and trials, I’m writing this post to give you some ideas on how you could improve your Finnish skills.
LEARN BY WATCHING
Yle Selkouutiset is a news program in slow and easy Finnish. Everyone would probably recommend this when you start studying the language. Each video on Yle Selkouutiset is only 4-5 minutes, giving you concise information about what’s happening in Finland. However, I was an ambitious one. I skipped to Yle Uutiset (the official and “hard” news) with the hope of learning more from it. I didn’t stay more than a week. The vocabulary and sentence structures were so advanced that it was hard to practice in real life. More than just a language learning tool, Yle Selkouutiset has educated me about Finish culture, politics, and economy. Overall, highly recommend it!
Also, check out its sister version in the form of news articles if you like reading.
This is a free website to watch a wide selection of movies, series, and national TV programs with Finnish subtitles. Like FREE Netflix! On Yle Areena, there are both movies from Finland and other countries. Though Finland is not very famous for its movie industry, it has some pretty entertaining series such as Modernit Miehet, Luottomies, and Kyllä isä osaa. Additionally, you can learn from watching movies that speak English by reading the Finnish subtitles. Movies and TV series are good sources for learning “puhekieli” and the Finnish culture. Notice: many programs are only available in Finland.
Perjantai-dokkari (also on YouTube)
My personal favorite, Perjantai-dokkari is a series on Yle Areena that documents people and lives around Finland. Each video is approximately 10 minutes long and is suitable for intermediate learners. The reason why I want to talk about it separately is how interesting and authentic the documentaries are. It captures abortion, mental disorders, war, homelessness, and more through the personal stories of the people who experience them. Although I’m already living in Finland, the series really opened my eyes about this country beyond usual media portrayals.
This platform is similar to Yle Areena but more suitable for the language learners. The unique thing about Kielikoulu lies in its subtitles. You can click on any word in the subtitles and the English translation will pop up! From there, you can also check the difficulty level of the word (A1/A2/B1). Some programs that I recommend watching are Minuutin uutisvideot, Kovan viikon ilta, and Kulttuuriohjelmat. Unfortunately, most programs are only available in Finland, so you may have to use VPN to access them.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY
The only thing that helped me understand Finnish grammar is Uusikielemme. They have detailed explanations for each grammar point with so many examples. There is nothing about Finnish grammar that is not on Uusikielemme. They also have a variety of vocabulary lists and posts about Finnish culture. The website is a game changer. Live, love, read Uusikielemme >3<
There are so many ready-made study sets on Quizlet. Instead of buying paper flashcards and making them yourself, just go to Quizlet and I’m sure someone else will have already created one for you. I used to use Quizlet to learn vocabulary from the Suomen Mestari book. Simply search “suomen mestari [book number] + chapter number” and start studying. For those who want some challenge, try searching for “englanti yo” study sets. These are made by Finnish students for their English exam, but you can still use it to study Finnish :)
OTHER EXERCISES
Another Yle platform. There are three levels of exercises: basic, intermediate, and advanced. The platform offers listening, reading comprehension, and vocabulary exercises for each level. Personally, I haven’t used it much because I’m lazy. I did check through the exercises and I think they are wonderful. You could set a goal to finish 1 exercise from each section every day, so studying doesn’t seem as daunting.
Consistency is key while studying a new language. You gotta practice and learn something new every day! More importantly, practice, practice, practice. You have to use the words that you just learned and put them in a real-life situation until they become natural and get stored in your long-term memory.
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