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Studying Finnish at Aalto University Open University

Proficiency in Finnish is a key to understanding and enjoying Finnish culture and society. In many workplaces Finnish is an important language although the official working language of many international Finnish companies is English. Proficiency in Finnish is often a central factor in recruitment, career advancement and success in working life.

Aalto University Open University offers Finnish language courses which are equivalent to the Finnish courses taught at Aalto University Language Center. The Finnish courses are planned by the teachers of the Language Center.

Almost all Finnish courses are 3 credit courses, which means about 81 hours of student work (active participation in class and completion of the given homework, independent study, 2 hour exam). Completing the course successfully requires the student's active participation both in class and at home. The classes are usually held in the evenings after 16.30. At the end of the course there is always an examination, and by passing the examination you can get the official transcript of records from the course.

If the course is an online course there will be regular lecture hours, usually once or twice a week.

Finnish course offerings

If you do not know any Finnish you can start your studies from the course Finnish 1. You can continue your studies to Finnish 2. There will be courses available until Finnish 8. The course book which will be used in the courses from Finnish 1 to Finnish 3 is "Oma Suomi 1". The course book used from Finnish 4 to Finnish 6 is "Oma Suomi 2". The course book used at the courses Finnish 7 and Finnish 8 is "Suomen mestari 4". The courses follow the chapters of the books.

In addition to courses from Finnish 1 to Finnish 8 some conversation courses and some other special courses will be offered by the Language Centre of Aalto University. Open University students can attend these courses and it has been reserved 5 places/course to the Open University.

Please, see the course offerings on our course list.

Choose the right Finnish course with the placement test

It might be difficult to know which course would be best for you, especially if you have studied Finnish somewhere else before Aalto University. The language teachers have developed a  (Suomen kielen kurssien tasotesti). The placement test helps to guide you at choosing the most suitable Finnish course, either at Aalto University or at the University of Helsinki.

Aalto University Open University applies the language proficiency level system called the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFR, developed by the Council of Europe. Language skills are graded from Basic to Proficient Speaker on a scale of A1–C2 (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2).

Some other options for studying the Finnish language

• is a free of charge information platform and resource bank for learning Finnish. It contains f.ex. self-study materials and an online course search.
• website is maintained by the City of Helsinki. You can find information on Finnish language self-study courses online by searching "Finnish Online".
• At  you will find information on Finnish language courses in the Helsinki Region and some other towns.
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