Language level groups

The course participants are divided into separate level groups to make sure everyone has a possibility to receive teaching suited to their needs and learn Finnish at a comfortable pace. In 2018 there will be 5 level groups.
The preliminary division into groups will be made based on a self-evaluative language level questionnaire sent to all participants during spring 2018. The students are divided into four groups based on their Finnish language skills. The groups have approximately 15 people.

Level 1: 0 (-->A1)
This is a basic course where the starting level is 0. The content includes familiarizing yourself with the basics of the Finnish language, practicing most common everyday situations and getting to know the culture as well as the language. The course is taught in English and the course book is Suomen mestari 1. Grammar will be developed on a pace that is comfortable for the group and the focus will be on the very basics. The aim is to create a basis for studying Finnish language in the future.

Level 2: 0+ - A1.1 (--> A2.1)

Level 3: A1.1-A1.2 (-->A2.2)
After the course a student in group 2 will have reached level A2 on most areas of language proficiency (speaking, writing, listening and reading comprehension). The student will be able to communicate fluently in familiar social exchanges and describe past and future matters of their own life. They can also ask and express opinions and describe their feelings. The student is able to write down notes or informal messages related to their everyday life. They understand short, simple and predictable spoken and written texts and can gather essential information in a longer text. The student knows how to utilize different strategies for using and learning a language.
The grammar structures addressed in group 2 include the imperfect, combining sentences with conjunctions and the joka-pronoun, ma-infinitive, word types and the plural.

Level 4: A2-B1
After the course a  student in group 3 will be on level B1 on most of the areas of language proficiency (speaking, writing, listening and reading comprehension). They can deal with informal social exchanges related to their own life with proficiency. In addition to everyday communication the student can handle more formal instances of communication as well. They understand the core message in a text or speech about a more or less familiar subject. The student can write concise and clear semi-official messages and relay information collected by them to others. They can present and argue for their opinion about a familiar topic orally and in writing. They can actively utilize their own strategies for using and learning a language and the opportunities provided by their environment in various instances of language usage.
The grammar points of level 3 include e.g. conditional, adverbs, passive and imperative forms, types of sentences, case governments of verbs and comparison of adjectives.

Level 5: B2-C1
The course is meant for students on levels B2-C1 and it focuses especially on written skills, but spoken language skills are practiced as well. After the course the student can communicate purposefully and idiomatically in Finnish in different situations, describe abstract things in detail and accurately with varying vocabulary and argue using appropriate style. The student can read an abstract text in Finnish about an unfamiliar topic, understand it and make conclusions of what they read. In order to improve the student’s own expression and in-depth understanding of the language we will practice e.g. the characteristics of formal and informal style, indirect means of politeness and idioms.
The grammar on this course includes e.g. participle structures and participle phrases, comparison, deriving words, rarer grammatical cases and structures and more complex sentence structures.

Note! Every year the themes, structure, and teaching methods might differ depending on the group and its teacher.