Pedagogical Background
The idea for Suomipassi was born when Exchange and Master’s students at the University of Turku repeatedly shared experiences about difficulties using the Finnish language outside the classroom. The challenge for students is that even though they live in Finland, their environment is English-speaking both in studies and in their free time.
Students are also often concerned that they do not know enough and are not used to the spoken language. It is good to remind that language skills do not need to be perfect to speak Finnish. In a service situation, it may be difficult to remember the appropriate phrase, in which case Suomipassi mobile application is a concrete and quick help. With the update, the phrases in Suomipassi have been recorded in spoken language, which helps in getting used to the spoken language.
The situation for students is particularly difficult because when they try to speak Finnish in service situations, the language switches to English. Switching the language to facilitate and speed up the service is friendly, but it prevents the development of speaking Finnish. Not everyone even wants to speak in Finnish, but if the learner wants, it is important that they have the opportunity to do so.
According to student feedback, Suomipassi acts as a kind of shield in customer service situations and helps communication succeed. The application has a separate Start and Finish section, which allows the learner to explain the situation: “I’m studying Finnish and would like to speak Finnish with you. Is that okay?”
This strengthens the experience of a safe encounter and reduces the fear of losing face. When a student has positive experiences, their confidence increases, and the threshold to use Finnish lowers. Gradually, the experience of belonging to the community and integration also strengthens.
How can Suomipassi be used in your course?
Suomipassi is best suited for levels A1-A2, at the stage when the learner already knows a little Finnish (e.g., one or two courses worth), but has not yet been encouraged to use Finnish more outside the classroom.
As additional material: Suomipassi can be recommended as additional material and a phrase bank, allowing the student to independently listen to and repeat phrases.
For independent use: In addition to listening and repetition exercises, the student can also go and use the phrases independently, for example, in cafes and restaurants. After speaking, they can give themselves a stamp (Suomipassi logo under the phrase), which will be saved on the app’s map. This way, the student can later see all the places where they have spoken Finnish. This feature can also be turned off in the app’s settings. The student can also give themselves an emoji either for practice or for speaking Finnish. Both emojis and stamps are visible in the app’s learning diary.
As part of a Finnish course: Suomipassi is best utilized when used in a course where phrases are practiced in class and then used together outside the classroom. The CeLCS of University of Turku will organize a Suomipassi course in spring 2025, where this concept will be tested in practice. We will update this page as the course progresses, but here are some tips when planning either a single visit or an entire course:
Selection of visit locations: What companies are near the campus area? What are the everyday service locations related to the student’s life? On the Suomipassi course, visit locations include libraries, university cafeterias, bookstores, and grocery stores, which are within walking distance.
Contacting visit locations: It is important to contact the visit locations in advance to ensure a pleasant experience for all parties. It is also important to consider that the visit should not be made during the busiest times when there is not enough time for communication.
Contact Materials: When contacting the visit locations, we have provided a cover letter explaining the concept in more detail. In addition, we have given a Suomipassi brochure and a brochure produced by the Selkokeskus on how to speak plain language. The company can also use the “We are Suomipassi friendly” badge, which can be placed in a visible location, letting students know that they can safely speak Finnish here.
In the course: After the visits, it is good to reflect on the service experiences together. The self-assessment feature of Suomipassi helps with this: the student can give themselves an emoji for speaking. Together, you can consider why the student felt this way in that particular situation. Map stamps and emojis are saved in the learning diary, where you can compare, for example, that the speaking experience was bad one time and good another time. Suomipassi also has a gamification element: students can compete on how many stamps they have collected and compare maps of where each has spoken Finnish.
It is also worth reading the “How to use Suomipassi” page, which provides more detailed technical details with pictures. If you want to use Suomipassi in your course but have any concerns, feel free to contact us (suomipassi@utu.fi).
We are also happy to hear any experiences of using Suomipassi!