Many conversations around recruiting internationals to Finland include the tagline “you don’t need Finnish.” I hope we can agree that living in Finland and speaking Finnish is a different experience than living in Finland without speaking Finnish. Both these scenarios are possible, and based on people’s unique situations, some will be more inclined than others to learn.

Once we start talking about learning Finnish, Finnish courses tend to be the go-to solution. Yet, our Finnish journeys are as unique as we are! Every learner has a unique set of criteria that’ll either enable learning. Here are just a few examples:

• Morning vs. night learners
• In person, online, or interactive – preferences
• Those who love to learn in a classroom & those who don’t
• Those with steady routines & those with last-minute calendar changes
• Those with tight schedules, lots of responsibilities & those with tons of free time, etc.

Currently, the majority of Finnish courses approach language learning in the classroom setting. Teachers give grammar lessons, students take notes. This grammar-heavy emphasis usually involves minimal conversation and mostly written exercises to practice in a narrow context (e.g. fill in the blank with the correct conjugation). Many people struggle to use what they learn outside of class.

The majority of Finnish courses approach language learning in the classroom setting… [and] many people struggle to use what they learn outside of class.

I believe life is our best language classroom, with courses and resources as stepping stones to helping us use language. I realize not everyone sees language in this way, but I think we’ve gotten far too narrow in our definition and approach to what it means to learn a language.

I believe life is our best language classroom… we’ve gotten far too narrow in our definition and approach to what it means to learn a language.

When I look around at the current Finnish language learning options, I see a lack of variety. Where there is a lack of variety and infinitely individual learners, there are a lot of unmet needs. 

It’s tempting to conclude that this language is “too difficult” for “non-Finns,” instead of seeing it for what it is: a human language for human brains. It’s equally tempting to assume the many frustrated learners have nothing to do with limited (one-size-fits-all) options, and the quality of the offering.

If we take a step back though, we’ll see the historical and political reasons supporting the “Finnish is hard” narrative. Finland’s national identity is based around this unusual language.

We have an opportunity to turn this around! Once we start to listen to the needs expressed by those learning Finnish, and create solutions to accommodate a diversity of needs, then we’ll start to see opportunities and improvements in the overall results. (This is what I’ve been doing for 8+ years now.)

Decision-makers in HR, government, education and others involved in language developments have a big responsibility on their hands.

My suggestion, as someone obsessed with this topic (both personally and professionally) is to offer a diversity of learning options when it comes to learning Finnish – and to keep developing these options.

Give learners the freedom to choose how they want to learn! Because when given a diversity of options to suit their needs, the impossible becomes possible.

Give learners the freedom to choose how they want to learn! Because when given a diversity of options to suit their needs, the impossible becomes possible.