Sometimes when I talk about how learning Finnish can be joyful, awe-inspiring, fun, people look at me as if I’m an alien with 3 heads. I stand by it because observing how my brain has adapted to Finnish, has been one of my most awe-inspiring life experiences.

But if you’re reading this and thinking: “Yeah okay but what if this reality feels far off for me?” Here’s what I want you to know…

I recently met an Italian woman who asked me what I do for a living.
“I help people learn Finnish.”
“Oh, so you’re a Finnish teacher?”
“Sort of, not exactly. I teach people the process of learning Finnish.”
She looked at me quizzically, “But why would I need the process? I can go to classes to learn Finnish.”
In an ideal world, you would go to Finnish class and – voila! You’d speak Finnish.
If that were the case, you wouldn’t be reading this…

What do you I want to learn before 2019 comes to a close?

If taking another Finnish course comes to mind, but you’re hesitating for whatever reason, read this first.

Many people equate taking a Finnish course with learning Finnish. But there are many ways to learn Finnish; a course is just the most traditional way. It may or may not be what you need right now.

Traditional methods of learning Finnish are failing us and we need a new paradigm of learning: one that’s fun & feels good, that’s centered around our needs as individuals. So what does seeing Finnish through new eyes look like? What does it ask us to leave behind, and how do we get there?

Talk to anyone about why they’re struggling to learn Finnish and you’ll hear a variety of reasons. As someone who has struggled myself and has also helped others overcome this struggle, I have a slightly different take on why we struggle, and how we can re-frame the issue to overcome it.

Some words are more important than others: Finnish pronouns are very important. Since pronouns are used in virtually every sentence, the way you use them is going to immediately signal how well you speak to your listener. But don’t worry, it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it!

There’s an unspoken rule that the more Finnish courses you take, the better. I don’t like this rule. Here’s what we assume when we think another Finnish course is what we really need, and 5 helpful questions to help you decide if another Finnish course is what you really need.

I learned the partitive by trying to study it, and when that didn’t really help me grasp it, I TOOK TO THE STREETS. No, really. I read all the ads on the street and I hunted down the partitive. This is one of my favourite ways to learn. In today’s video, I give you an in-depth example of how I do this using a Subway ad.

Today I’m excited to present you with a collection of 7 Finnish sounds! These sounds are carefully curated from real life and can be used at your leisure. Just insert them into different situations and watch what happens! 😉

Miksi juuri tämä kysymys? Pari päivää sitten olin Helsingin junassa ystänä kanssa. Puhuttiin suomea ja vastapäätä istuva mies pahoitteli, että oli salakuntelemassa ja halusi kysyä vain pari asiaa minulta: mikä mun äidinkieli on, miten joudun Suomeen ja…kuinka kauan oon opiskellut suomea? Pahoin.kysymys.ikinä. Jos tunnet minut henkilökohtaisesti, ehkä tiedät, etten vastaa tähän kysymykseen selkeästi. Minun mielestä se…