Finnish (Higher) Education

We’ve had classes for two weeks now and I still can’t say I know my schedule. I probably never will because it changes completely every day and will continue to change throughout the semester. This constant change has been an adjustment for all of my classmates in the program but none of us is quite sure why it works that way.

In one of my classes that hasn’t started yet we will be looking at the Finnish education system and visiting schools in the area but I feel I am getting a taste for it already through the classes I have had already. It felt like a good time to give a brief introduction into what we’ve been told so far. After all, the Finnish education system is why I’m here.

Our classes this semester are all laying the foundation for research, which is one of the biggest difference between teachers in the US and teachers in Finland. All teachers here are required to have a master’s degree (except kindergarten teachers) and all teachers are trained extensively on how to do and evaluate research. The idea is that their practices should be backed by research and that even while teaching, they are constantly doing their own research to make their teaching more effective. The fact that all teachers have a master’s degree is not surprising. The Finnish students coming for their bachelor’s at the University of Turku are automatically accepted into master’s programs as well. In fact, master’s students are still considered undergraduates.

But the surprising thing is I can feel the difference in teaching even as a student in higher education. The perfect example is my favorite class so far: Finnish.

All international master’s students are required to take at least one semester of intensive Finnish. The students in several programs are lumped together into two batches so we get to meet and interact with people outside of the LLEES program. I was told by two friends that Finnish would be one of the best courses I took and they were absolutely right.

First there’s just the excitement of knowing that I will finally be able to say more than “Hei” (hello) and “kiitos” (thank you) when interacting with a Finn. We learned numbers the other day and now I feel a great deal of satisfaction in being able to pick them out in everyday conversation (store clerks still tend to automatically use English with me when telling me my bill). If my nascent Finnish skills already have given so much happiness than imagine how good it will feel when I can have a basic conversation.

The numbers get long very fast.

The most impressive part about Finnish, though, is the teacher. From day one she demonstrated her strong knowledge of how adults learn languages and every activity we do feels purposeful and deliberate. One of my classmates said that, even though he hadn’t studied the numbers at all before class, after an hour and a half of playing games, repeating numbers, listening exercises and videos, he felt he had a strong grasp of them already. In short, our teacher does good teaching--even at the college level when most professors in the US resort to lecturing. As a teacher, it is very gratifying to see a professor plan activities that masterfully allow us to speak, listen and write all at the same time.

Nädään!