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What kind of language skills are needed at the traineeship

Different workplaces require different language skills. It is important for work places to consider the language proficiency required in the work tasks in advance. What kind of tasks can the student manage independently? What kind of tasks can they succeed in if they receive support? And what kind of tasks can they not yet do, or cannot be expected to do?

Kuvituskuva — Photo: Rainer Paananen. All rights reserved.

Language skills required for traineeships and language internships

It is a good idea for the place of traineeship to consider the communication situations that may arise during the traineeship and the language skills required in them in advance. Required language proficiency should be compared to the language proficiency of the student coming to the traineeship so that communication situations can be planned in advance: Is the student's language proficiency yet at a level that requires a partner or language mentor? What kind of tasks can the student manage independently? What kind of tasks can they succeed in if they receive support? And what kind of tasks can they not yet do, or cannot be expected to do?

If the work community is multilingual, it is also a good idea to record in advance which languages are used in the workplace and in which situations. What languages are used in workplace meetings, customer meetings, planning meetings, negotiations, training and instructions? What level of language proficiency is required of the student in these situations? Can the student participate in these events if they receive language support from someone who speaks Finnish well? What kind of texts are processed, produced or read at the workplace? What language is used in those texts and what is the employee's part in writing them? Is it enough to be able to read texts at the workplace or does the work also include producing texts? Professional Finnish as a second language framework for higher education institutions explains the significance of language proficiency in five different fields. The descriptions can be used in the education in these fields, but they can also be used as a model when considering professional language skills needs in other fields.

Useful material for traineeships (in Finnish):

Guide and workbooks to support learning at the workplace (in Finnish). In spring 2019, the Immigrants in Higher Education project produced a guide for workplace instructors and three workbooks that support student traineeships. The materials can be used free of charge to support on-the-job learning.
This Digijoujou project material is helpful when students get to know a new workplace or traineeship place (in Finnish).
Strength cards (in Finnish) help you talk about your strengths.
This Digijoujou project material describes how to act politely in customer service and team work (in Finnish).
This Digijoujou project material explains how to handle work matters by e-mail (in Finnish).
The Tekoihin.fi project website contains sector-specific material for teaching and studying (in Finnish).
This exercise package for traineeships in the care sector (in Finnish) was created in the Korko project. Authors: Ella Hakala & Johanna Granlund (TAMK).
The construction glossary (in Finnish) was developed in the Safecon occupational safety project as a tool for construction sites and for teaching purposes, and it can be helpful in tasks in the construction sector. See also the second construction glossary (in Finnish) which was produced in commercial cooperation with construction companies.