The Suomipassi pilot and collaboration with the Student Union of Turku
The “Suomipassi” was originally a paper booklet that contained basic phrases in Finnish and English, which beginner-level Finnish learners need for everyday situations. The name “Suomipassi” comes from the task given to students to collect stamps in their passports by speaking Finnish. The pilot project was carried out in collaboration with the Centre for Language and Communication Studies (CeLCS) at the University of Turku and the Student Union of the University of Turku (TYY), with Satu Nurmi and Frida Pessi. TYY contacted the companies, advertised the pilot, and produced and funded the printed passport. The phrases and locations were chosen specifically with the needs of exchange and degree students studying at the university in mind. At the end of the course, students returned their passports and received either points for the final exam or an oral exam exemption if they had collected enough stamps.
The first paper version of the Suomipassi was piloted in CeLCS’s Finnish language courses. Students were tasked with collecting 10 stamps for speaking Finnish in different companies, e.g. student restaurants or libraries. The teacher went together with the students to help and observe the situations. It was wonderful to see the students’ enthusiasm, excitement, and the moment when communication succeeded and the message got through. Could there be a better feeling from using a language! It was particularly important to encourage the Finnish speaking staff to use easy-to-understand Finnish in these situations, so that students had a positive experience of speaking Finnish.
The students participating in the pilot visited a total of over 30 companies in Turku. This was a great result, as there were only 11 “official” partners. Enthusiastic students had explained the passport idea to these companies and received stamps from them as well. Excellent initiative! Many found speaking Finnish very challenging and exciting at first, but gradually it became easier. The most important result was that the Suomipassi encouraged, motivated, and gave students the confidence to use Finnish more. The pilot also showed that the passport is most beneficial when used as part of a course and when students are committed to using it.
Students’ feedback on the pilot:
It’s nice to get real world experience in Finnish.
Fun idea! It was a good way to start an interaction with a Finn.
It took away the fear to say things wrong. Passport works like a ”shield”.
Great for people who are shy.
I started to feel more comfortable speaking Finnish.
It was helpful for me because I knew people would not reply in English.
People praised me whenever I tried to speak in Finnish and it motivated me more to learn.
At first I felt so shy to talk with Finnish people but it became more relaxed gradually I can use Finnish more now and not to be afraid to make mistakes.
Also I learned that Finns are always happy to help and appreciate students efforts to learn Finnish.
Minä yritin puhua suomea ja sain paljon luottamusta.