Finnish 1 (A1.2) (5 ECTS)

Objective

On completion of the course, the student will understand simple and clearly spoken Finnish in very familiar everyday situations. The student will be able to tell briefly about their background, home and daily routines and understand very short texts about familiar topics. The student’s communication skills will correspond to the skill level A1 as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Content

• Oral and written communication in simple everyday situations and daily routines: meeting and getting to know people, telling basic things about oneself, one’s family, and the course of the day, simple shopping situations
• Basic grammar structures, for example verb types, conjugating verbs in the present tense, basic form plural of nouns and adjectives, singular partitive and genitive, consonant gradation, possessive structures, asking questions
• Key characteristics of spoken Finnish
• Basic features of the Finnish culture and customs

Materials

Gehring, Heinzmann: Suomen mestari 1 suomen kielen oppikirja aikuisille

Learning material provided by the teacher

Teaching methods

Teaching in-person at the Myllypuro campus from 27th of October to 17th of December in 2025 . Teaching in Zoom for Metropolia students who are just arriving to Finland. Time and location change. Please check the schedule weekly.
In addition, independent work in Moodle.

Exam schedules

Written exam 8th of December 2025
Oral exam 11th and 12th of December 2025

Re-take exams:
1. retake 17th of December 2025
2. retake 8th of January 2026

Student workload

The student's amount of work is 5 credits = 135 h
Zoom meetings and in-person teaching 50 h, homework and independent studying 85 h.

Further information

Use of Artificial Intelligence:
Artificial intelligence can be utilized in task formatting and learning. However, the content of the course assignments must be produced without the use of AI.

Evaluation scale

0-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

The students are able to
• tell basic things about themselves and about their course of the day
• understand similar information in the communication partner’s speech
• identify the verb types and verb conjugation in familiar texts
• identify the nominal declension in familiar texts
• identify the consonant change in familiar words
• recognise some basic features of the Finnish language and culture.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

The students are able to
• tell about themselves in familiar everyday situations
• use limited basic vocabulary both in speaking and in writing
• apply familiar grammatical structures according to given instructions
• understand some basic features of the Finnish language, culture and customs.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The students are able to
• apply the expressions and vocabulary they have learned to tell about themselves and to ask questions about the communication partner’s life
• acquire additional vocabulary they need and use it in everyday situations
• apply the grammar they have learned to new words and expressions
• show interest in the Finnish language, culture and customs.

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

The students are able to
• tell basic things about themselves and about their course of the day
• understand similar information in the communication partner’s speech
• identify the verb types and verb conjugation in familiar texts
• identify the nominal declension in familiar texts
• identify the consonant change in familiar words
• recognise some basic features of the Finnish language and culture.

Assessment methods and criteria

Continuous assessment and course exams

Qualifications

No previous knowledge of Finnish required.

Further information

Starting level: 0/A1.1
Target level: A1.2

Further information

Starting level: 0/A1.1
Target level: A1.2