Tips for supporting Finnish learners
Tips for conversations with language learners and speaking clearly.
Native-language employee.
15 tips with examples.
Native-language employee learns to speak more clearly and to support the language learner in participating in discussions.
Encourage participation
You can for example ask for language-learning colleagues’ opinions.
Show that you appreciate your colleague’s efforts to learn and use Finnish.
Think about the kind of support you like when using a foreign language.
Speak clearly
Try not to speak too quickly or use too complex language to ensure comprehensibility. Normal clear speech is enough.
Assess which of the expressions with the same meaning would be the most familiar to the language learner.
Focus your message on the essentials and avoid excessive information.
Help comprehension
Do not change languages immediately, but help the learner understand.
Repeat important words and make sure they are understood correctly.
Watch your speaking partner’s reactions closely. If they look uncertain, ask them if they need further explanation.
If a word is a foreign to the speaking partner, explain the word in Finnish.
Use body language to facilitate understanding.
Offer explanations or compare words with words from other shared languages. However, do not change the language completely, for example, to English.
Teach language and language use
If you notice that a phrase occurs frequently in the workplace, make sure your colleague learns it.
Tell your colleague about the expected or polite language in the workplace.
Correct indirectly by repeating the phrase used by your speaking partner in the correct form or ask directly whether they would like you to correct their speech in certain situations.
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(Coming in English in 2024) Videot: Kieltä oppivan kollegan kohtaaminen
Kolme lyhyttä videota, joissa vinkkejä kieltä oppivan työtoverin kohtaamiseen
Yhteensä 2,5 minuuttia
Työyhteisön jäsenet oppivat suhtautumaan luontevasti erilaisiin kielitaitoihin vuorovaikutustilanteissa
Phrases for the break room: booklet and video
Discussion booklet (and video) with spoken phrases for the language learner and tips for speaking clearly for the native speaker.
15 themes, each with 3-4 phrases and a video of roughly a minute in duration (total video duration about 13 minutes); 15 tips for native speakers.
Encourages practising Finnish-language discussions in social situations at the workplace.
©2023 Emmi Pollari ja Jenni Lintumäki
Vinkkejä suomenoppijan tukemiseen, marraskuu 2023, jonka tekijät ovat Emmi Pollari ja Jenni Lintumäki, on lisensoitu Creative Commons Nimeä 4.0 Kansainvälinen -lisenssillä. Materiaali on saatavilla osoitteessa kielibuusti.fi.