Want to have a chat in Finnish? The break room booklet is here to help!

A booklet “Phrases and tips for the multilingual break room” has been created by the Kielibuusti project. The booklet encourages people learning Finnish to use the language in everyday situations. Furthermore, it offers native Finnish speakers tips on how to support language learning. Many people learning Finnish hope that they would have more opportunities to practice the language, and that the developing language skills could be used in everyday life. Having a chat in the break room offers great opportunities to use Finnish at workplace!

For the Finnish learners the booklet has 15 tips related to work and everyday life. All the tips contain useful phrases in colloquial Finnish with English translations. Each tip is accompanied by a video, so it is possible to listen the phrases.

For native or fluent Finnish speakers, the booklet offers tangible ways to support the understanding and acquisition of a new language. For example, one can use hand gestures while talking, as sometimes even a small gesture can greatly help to understand the message.

Are there avid Swedish learners in your work community? The materials of the break room booklet will be available at kielibuusti.fi later this year.

The booklets will arrive in the break rooms around campus during February. Have you already seen it in your break room? Let us know in Community Corner at Aalto Social, where we have a list of spotted booklets. Please do share your favourite tip in the comments! You can also find the materials at kielibuusti.fi, where you can find the phrases for the break room for people learning Finnish ,as well as tips for the fluent Finnish speakers (available in Finnish).

If you have any questions or feedback, please get in touch with Kielibuusti team members at Aalto, or drop us an email at kielibuusti-info@aalto.fi. We are also very happy to discuss more about the multilingual and language aware practices!