Ville
06 August 2001, 18:54
Finn Talk
Time to learn Finnish on your own
The Finn-Guild's biggest project to celebrate the 80th year of Finland's independence is finally ready. Now, it is possible to learn Finnish on your own by new distance learning material FinnTalk - yksi, kaksi, kolme. It has been written by Terttu Leney and Liisa Needham, with Mertsi Fisher as a consultant. The material is suitable for students all over the world, and it will be useful for many years. It is aimed at adults who can't study at the Finnish schools or through courses, or want to learn the language at their own speed. At the moment, the material is in English and in Finnish, which makes it useful for students in Britain, North America and Australia - or for anyone who speaks English. The project is financed by Finn-Guild, the adult education organisation Kansanvalistusseura, and Finland's Ministry of Education. Kansan-valistusseura will also provide tutors to help students with their exercises.
Market research proved that there was a need for new material that could be used for distance learning. There are young men with Finnish girlfriends, businessmen trading with Finland or people working for a Finnish company - and they all would like to communicate properly. There is also a growing number of second generation Finns who would like to keep the cultural links alive by speaking the language.
Terttu Leney says that the course has a very functional attitude to learning; it takes different situations as a starting point for learning words, phrases and grammar. Having colloquial Finnish with standard language helps the students cope with everyday situations; after all, most people use their own local dialect when talking to each other. "We all come from different parts of Finland, so we had to compromise when deciding how to transcribe the spoken language. In the past, our students have come back from Finland and complained that they didn't understand what was said", says Mertsi Fisher. Liisa Needham points out that it was also important to find the right, modern names for the characters in the dialogues to make the material as up- to-date as possible. The material consists of two books with two cassettes or CDs. The two books have over 200 pages and ten chapters each, with special excercises. For the first time, the course gives the student a chance to read and hear Finnish both as a standard and as a spoken language. The stylish, modern lay-out is by Tim Leney.
The group behind the project has long experience in teaching Finnish. Liisa Needham and Mertsi Fisher have been involved with the Finnish School in St.Albans since 1985, and Terttu Leney has taught British diplomats heading for Finland. She has also previously published the book, Teach Yourself Finnish.
The material is available in Finland from Kansanvalistusseura, tel. +358-(0)9-54918831, e-mail: info@ksv.fi and in Britain from Finn-Guild, tel. +44-(0)20-72377736, e-mail: mail@finn-guild.org.
Prices in Finland:
Each book FIM 200, each set of two cassettes FIM 200, each set of two CDs FIM 150 plus postage and package.
Prices in the UK:
Each book £19.50 ($27.85), each set of two cassettes £22.50 ($32.15), each set of two CDs £24 ($34.30) plus shipping and packaging.
Time to learn Finnish on your own
The Finn-Guild's biggest project to celebrate the 80th year of Finland's independence is finally ready. Now, it is possible to learn Finnish on your own by new distance learning material FinnTalk - yksi, kaksi, kolme. It has been written by Terttu Leney and Liisa Needham, with Mertsi Fisher as a consultant. The material is suitable for students all over the world, and it will be useful for many years. It is aimed at adults who can't study at the Finnish schools or through courses, or want to learn the language at their own speed. At the moment, the material is in English and in Finnish, which makes it useful for students in Britain, North America and Australia - or for anyone who speaks English. The project is financed by Finn-Guild, the adult education organisation Kansanvalistusseura, and Finland's Ministry of Education. Kansan-valistusseura will also provide tutors to help students with their exercises.
Market research proved that there was a need for new material that could be used for distance learning. There are young men with Finnish girlfriends, businessmen trading with Finland or people working for a Finnish company - and they all would like to communicate properly. There is also a growing number of second generation Finns who would like to keep the cultural links alive by speaking the language.
Terttu Leney says that the course has a very functional attitude to learning; it takes different situations as a starting point for learning words, phrases and grammar. Having colloquial Finnish with standard language helps the students cope with everyday situations; after all, most people use their own local dialect when talking to each other. "We all come from different parts of Finland, so we had to compromise when deciding how to transcribe the spoken language. In the past, our students have come back from Finland and complained that they didn't understand what was said", says Mertsi Fisher. Liisa Needham points out that it was also important to find the right, modern names for the characters in the dialogues to make the material as up- to-date as possible. The material consists of two books with two cassettes or CDs. The two books have over 200 pages and ten chapters each, with special excercises. For the first time, the course gives the student a chance to read and hear Finnish both as a standard and as a spoken language. The stylish, modern lay-out is by Tim Leney.
The group behind the project has long experience in teaching Finnish. Liisa Needham and Mertsi Fisher have been involved with the Finnish School in St.Albans since 1985, and Terttu Leney has taught British diplomats heading for Finland. She has also previously published the book, Teach Yourself Finnish.
The material is available in Finland from Kansanvalistusseura, tel. +358-(0)9-54918831, e-mail: info@ksv.fi and in Britain from Finn-Guild, tel. +44-(0)20-72377736, e-mail: mail@finn-guild.org.
Prices in Finland:
Each book FIM 200, each set of two cassettes FIM 200, each set of two CDs FIM 150 plus postage and package.
Prices in the UK:
Each book £19.50 ($27.85), each set of two cassettes £22.50 ($32.15), each set of two CDs £24 ($34.30) plus shipping and packaging.