Technology Sector Finnish discussion club: experiences of course assistants

Who are we? How have we learned Finnish?

Wakana:

I am majoring in chemical engineering and am currently in my second year of bachelor’s studies. I have learned Finnish independently for the most part, through grammar books and by immersing myself in the local culture and activities – in sports, for example. In my first year at Aalto, I took the course Finnish 8. I am continuing to study Finnish independently in the way I did as an exchange student three years ago: I actively practice everyday usages of Finnish and also in my pastime of sports. My sports interests have been the main channel for me to learn the unique spoken language of Finnish. Communicating with my sports team in Finnish has also been particularly helpful.

Junya:

I am finishing up my second bachelor’s degree and planning to continue with master’s studies in computer science in autumn. I began studying Finnish with Finnish 1 about two and a half years ago, and now I have completed the courses up to Finnish 6. Outside the classroom, I learn Finnish in my everyday life, most importantly, by talking with others. I have also been a regular participant in language exchanges, and they have been really helpful. I also speak Finnish with people who share my hobbies, and I often watch TV series and the news in Finnish.

What themes and activities have there been in the club? 

The discussion club held a variety of activities conducted entirely in Finnish. It wasn’t just about discussing certain topics. We also played games, for example: a word-guessing game (like ‘twenty questions’), funny sentences (a game like ‘exquisite corpse’) and salainen tavoite (a hidden-agenda game). 

In the word-guessing game, students try to guess the secret word by asking yes/no questions. In the funny sentence game, students try forming sentences by using as many words as possible from a given random word list. The goal was to create a sentence describing a strange or funny situation. In the hidden agenda game, students are put in pairs and given a secret aim which is often the opposite of their partner’s. Then they have a discussion and try to fulfil their hidden agendas. Since negotiation skills are important, we thought this would be a good opportunity to practice those kinds of skills in Finnish.

The discussion club themes ranged from the everyday to the technology-related, including hobbies, the weather, shopping malls, and dream jobs or professions.

An idea behind the club was to provide activities and opportunities for students to speak a lot of Finnish, using it to explain their thinking to others, interact with peers, and just for the fun of it. We thought it would be good to give students ideas about some of the different ways Finnish can be learned. We also did our best to ensure that the activities and themes suited students at their different skill levels.

How did it feel to facilitate the club?

Wakana:

As a facilitator, it was nice to see how the students weren’t held back by fears about their Finnish but dared to use it and enjoyed the experience. I was happy to use my own Finnish this way, even though I’m not yet confident enough to use it in jobs outside of Aalto, in companies in my field, for instance. The club also got me more motivated to further develop my own Finnish when I saw how fast the students improved over autumn term.

On the other hand, it was a challenge to always come up with activities that were both fun and useful for the students. We didn’t want to do just the ordinary everyday conversations; we wanted something different so that it wouldn’t get boring. Also, getting the language skill level right to suit everyone was one of the most difficult things about running the club.

Junya:

An especially rewarding thing for me about facilitating the club was when I saw the students enjoying the games and having fun practicing Finnish. I believe that language learning should be enjoyable most of the time, as that way you can keep up your motivation. I am glad to have been able to provide such opportunities to students.