UPDATED: 05/15/2019 at 08:45 The moment I set foot in Finland I realized being able to one day communicate in Finnish would be no easy task—and is, to this day, still unaccomplished. With its preference for double consonants, extra vowels and unique grammatical cases, Finnish is a fascinating language. This week we had the opportunity to speak with Katri Niemi, a Finnish language teacher at the University of Eastern Finland. Through her bubbly personality and positive attitude, she encourages foreign students in her class to immerse themselves into Finnish culture and not be afraid to give the Finnish language a try. Here are her top five tips for learning Finnish. 1. Make language learning part of your everyday life Niemi suggests making a playlist of Finnish music, watching the news or YouTube videos in Finnish, or reading anything in Finnish. Choose activities that you would do anyway. You like jogging? Perhaps your next motivational playlist contains some … [Read more...] about Top Five Tips to Learn Finnish, According to a Finnish Teacher
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Finnish president paying official visit
Ljubljana, 22 May - Finnish President Sauli Niinistö will start a two-day official visit to Slovenia on Thursday, described by President Borut Pahor's office as a continuation of strengthening of political dialogue at the top level. The rest of this news item is available to subscribers.Buy the news item. Price: 2 tokens; on account: 0 tokens. … [Read more...] about Finnish president paying official visit
Finnish Preschool Model Takes it To the World
We have all heard about Finland’s great education system. From Pisa results to outstanding teacher training programs, Finland has certainly done something right. But at what school level does it all really start? The answer includes an adorable group of six-year-olds wearing brightly colored vests while playing in the frozen schoolyard. In this Nordic nation, the little ones matter and early childhood education is a key element for future success. We spoke to Sylvia Hakari, the pedagogical director at HEI Schools, to learn more about a new concept that aims to export the Finnish preschool model to the world. In partnership with the University of Helsinki, HEI Schools is a program that seeks to share the Finnish early childhood program with schools all over the world and, by 2020, will have 16 schools in different countries, including China and Australia. Sylvia described that there are many advantages to the Finnish holistic system, including that the pedagogy is planned from the … [Read more...] about Finnish Preschool Model Takes it To the World
Russia seizes Finnish-flagged fishing trawler
Russian authorities have seized a Finnish-flagged fishing vessel, according to Russian news agency Tass.Russian officials said the boat, a trawler named Roxen, was seized on Friday after breaching waters of Russia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).The boat's crewmembers were all Estonian, according to the Finnish consulate general's office in St Petersburg, which said that no Finns were onboard the vessel when it was seized.The trawler - reportedly carrying around 7.5 tonnes of fish - was taken to the port of Kaliningrad, capital of the Russian province with the same name, nestled between Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic coast.The consulate general's office said it is hoping for an expedient court decision regarding the seizure and that the vessel would be released as soon as possible.The incident was first reported in Finland by newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. … [Read more...] about Russia seizes Finnish-flagged fishing trawler
Finnish economy starts year in mostly positive mode
The output of Finland's economy rose in the first three months of the year compared to the same period of 2018 – but the March figure was marginally lower than a month earlier, says Statistics Finland.In the first quarter of 2019, GDP grew by 2.2 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary figures released by the central statistics office on Wednesday. Compared to the last quarter of 2018, seasonally adjusted GDP nudged up by 6-tenths of a percent.Adjusted for the number of working days, output in March was 1.1 percent higher than during the same month of 2018. However it was down 3-tenths of a percent from February.Farm and forestry production dipsStatistics Finland also upgraded its previous preliminary estimate of February's output from 1.7 to 2.5 percent year-on-year, adjusted for working days.Story continues after photoPasi Kuoppamäki, chief economist at the Finnish division of Danske Bank, says the figures show that the national economy was in reasonably good … [Read more...] about Finnish economy starts year in mostly positive mode