Learn Finnish by listening! I tested my learning method

[@niillin2755]

Hi! Thank you so much for your videos! I started learning Finnish about two weeks ago, so complete beginner. I read a little about the structure of the language and tried some of the "learn phrases by heart" videos but I couldn't remember anything from them. Then a week ago I found your channel and since then I've been watching your videos several times a day, sometimes the same video many times, sometimes different videos and gradually I started noticing patterns and words you use often. This morning I listened to "Complete beginners part 3" without subtitles (I had watched it several times before) and I understood most words! Now its much easier to go through the other videos and I dont need to pause if I want to follow the subtitles in Finnish! So it does work. Personally, I don't necessarily prefer slower videos but shorter videos with repeated structures and the same words used in different ways. With too slow speaking it's a little difficult to hear intonation and phrasing. I like "Beautiful truths about Finland" and "Greetings in Finland" for example, they are easy to understand. Thanks again for your hard work! Your channel is golden.

[@finnished]

Thank you so much for your comment! I'm so happy you've noticed progress with my videos. Let me know how you go on! :)

[@niillin2755]

@@finnished Mä on kuunnellut suomea joka päivä nyt puloitoista kuukauden ajan ja mä ymmärtän helposti mitä sä sanot sun videoissa. Mä en tien monta sanoja mut mun ajvoissa on jo lausen osat. Mä on varma et mä tein monta virheja tässä lausessa ahaha but I managed to write in finnish just by watching videos! Kiitos :)

[@sabinemaselkowski5689]

Viel Erfolg solltest du noch weiter Deutsch lernen :) Für Finnisch sind deine Videos wirklich super hilfreich, und hoffentlich gibt es in Zukunft mehr und mehr solcher Ressourcen. Schönes Wochenende!

[@finnished]

Danke!! :)

[@ericsteinhauer8850]

sehr gut!! die idee, die methode selbst zu testen, gefällt mir gut. 🙂

[@finnished]

Danke! :)

[@ericsteinhauer8850]

@@finnished Tervetuloa! En opi vain suomea nyt, mutta myös urdua. Hauska sekoitus 🤓🇫🇮🇵🇰

[@alephmelo]

First of all, thank you for all the videos! They're immensely helpful. One thing I would like to suggest is to have the subtitles in different tracks, so one could choose to see only English, only Finnish or the dual subtitles. I know it can be super boring to fix 100+ videos, so I've created a script to do that. Let me know if you're interested, I would gladly send the new .srt files via email. Kiitos again.

[@finnished]

Thank you for the comment! I like your suggestion - but other than boring it would just probably take a lot of time which I don't have :D Could you please send me a message through my Facebook page? Thank you! :)

[@sabrinaxie1736]

I wondered why didn’t you learn German, and now you’re doing it! Usko tai älä, it’s gonna be an epic success!

[@johannessuomi]

Thank you very much for making this video. It is very enlightening. I want to share a tip I have with youtube: I use a second user (or I guess it might be called channel) where I reject all non-Finnish language video's so, after a while the youtube algorithm only recommends FInnish youtube video's. If it nonetheless recommends an English video, I either ignore it or ask youtube to not show this content anymore. After a while the algorithm gets it. Hope this helps someone.

[@finnished]

That's a great tip, thanks!

[@AJBonnema]

I agree that this experiment is an excellent test for creating material. I am very happy that you made this video, for the experiment, and also because it teaches how important a specific method in language learning is. You have successfully mastered multiple languages and you have a preferred way of working. Your progress shows that experience: you learn fast. You know what you are working toward because you have seen it all before. You just start learning, having experienced how to do it, you lose no time. When I saw this video, I realized that I was doing some things very differently from the way you are. Above the videos and google translator, I use anki (flashcards) to memorize words and wiktionary to get a proper meaning of words, because google translator is not very accurate and normally only shows one meaning. Also, I don't have a regular schedule like you do. I study intermittently and sometimes switch how to learn. I guess these factors form the elements that slows down every first time learner: we are not sure how to learn. Method is important. I realize I have been doing things wrong or at least differently. So, in conclusion, beginners need both target language material *and* a description of the language learning process. I apologize for the rant, and I hope the point doesn't get lost. I really *do* appreciate your videos and I hope you keep making them!

[@finnished]

Thanks for your opinion - I truly agree. The challenge is that everyone learns in a different way. Something that works for me doesn't necessarily work for you, unfortunately! So I wouldn't say that you've done things wrong :) We just have to find the ways that we feel motivated about and that keep us going and learning!

[@bungouyevsky]

You gave me hope now, you know? Suomalainen kieli on todella kaunis, haulan opiskella sen (Halusin sen ennen neljä vuosi mutta I was scared of the grammar.) Even though I learned English just like that without knowing what I was doing. I guess I have to be more brave now, kiitos!

[@finnished]

I'm a true believer of the natural method ;) welcome onboard!

[@ДмитрийОгцов]

02:09 Mä en opiskellu yhtään kielioppia enkä yrittäny opetella sanoja ulkoa. I didn't study NEITHER grammar nor tried to learn words by heart.

[@finnished]

I always try to translate the Finnish literally - and 'yhtään' really means 'any' - even though the English translation is not grammatically correct.

[@ДмитрийОгцов]

Absolutely great! You are an outstanding person!...........Wish I could do the same..........mut mä yritän tehä sen ahkerasti!

[@finnished]

Kiitos :)

[@ДмитрийОгцов]

04:49 Mä en opiskelis kielioppia, vaan mä antaisin mun aivojen omaksua saksan rakenteet. I wouldn't study grammar, but I would let my brain to absorb German's structures. Suppose that the idea of these words should become the kvintessential statement of your channel..........it can make people deeply feel the power of this language-learning-method (caught myself again in finnish-language-thinking).........

[@Lunaholic94]

Mä harjottelen espanjaa tällä tavalla. Todellakin tehokas tapa. Nyt ymmärrän jo espanjan kieltä kuullessani n. 70% sanoista mutta sisäistän kaiken mistä puhutaan I'm learning Spanish this way, it really works

[@abdulsamadsyed]

kiitos, sun videot on tosi hyödyllinen. Mä ymmärrän lähes kaikki tätä videot, mutta nyt ongelma on että mä käytetyt puhumaan Englanniksi mun työkaverin kanssa ja nyt kun mä yritän puhua suomeksi heidän kanssa he suosittele puhua englanniksi huolimatta minä kehottaa, sen takia haluan suosittelen aloittelijalle että puhu suomea huolimatta tiedät että sä en pystyä puhua sujuvasti. Mutta haluan kiitä sulle että nämä videot on tosi hyödyllinen

[@finnished]

Kiitos kommentista! Totta, on tosi vaikee vaihtaa kieltä jos on jo tutustunu ihmiseen jonku toisen kielen avulla. Mutta kannattaa silti yrittää! :)

[@AJBonnema]

One of your remarks sparks a question: you said you would not systematically look up verb conjugations until you begin to speak. I am curious to know at which point you decide to start to speak. I think I am not alone in struggling with the timing of when to speak. I know that standard language courses want you to speak straight away, and somehow I doubt that is wise. The reason is that if I cannot listen properly, and understand properly, how can I express myself properly, let alone "at speed"? So my question is, when do I know when it is ok to start speaking? When can I start speaking without creating bad habits i.e. within the idiom of the language?

[@finnished]

I would start speaking when I understand normally spoken language without subtitles and start forming own sentences in my head :) You could watch this video for some advice: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKm7l4d-pLiBmZo

[@helenatroy7283]

00:00 mun pitäis, why does she use the form mun??? Thanks for answering!

[@finnished]

"I have to" in Finnish is "minun/mun pitää" - there's no why! :D

[@helenatroy7283]

@Finnished GREAT.... hahaha Actually, it's really positive that I recognized it as something that did not belong to the regular structure of the language. Guess the process of absorbing the structure truly happens (even though sometimes looking up a tiny tiny piece of grammar just to get an Ah-moment does no harm ;) ) Great that you noticed how you have to get used to word endings and figuring out what the basic form of a conjugated word is. I think this is also one of the first things a beginner in learning Finnish has to deal with! Mission succeeded :)

[@crivo4878]

Moi, kiitos videosta. Olen sama mielta kun sinä, mutta me tarvetsemme enemmän video kun tama, tekstin mukaan. Internetissa on vaikkea löyttää sellainen video, vain sinä. Kiitos.

[@ДмитрийОгцов]

01:33 mutta suurin osa ihmisistä pystyy oppia uuden kielen ihan yhtä hyvin ku muutkin. but the major part of people are able to learN a new language really as well as others (little mistake....in a really great job!)

[@finnished]

Ooops I must have been in a hurry when writing these ;) Thanks!

[@elgrande88]

Vielen Dank für das letzte Video, es freut mich sehr daß du Deutsch lernst, das ist auch eine sehr merkwürdige Sprache, mit der man mitunter sogar viel Spaß haben kann, z.B. wenn man Wörter zusammenschraubt wie ihr es im Finnischen auch tut, ich hoffe du bleibst noch eine Weile dabei ;-) I have a suggestion for a new video. I always find it very difficult to understand in Finnish which word has to go in which place in a sentence. Sometimes everything seems so well arranged to me when I compare it with my mother tongue German and often it is completely confused and it feels like the words were thrown together randomly and I have to put everything in the right order in my head to understand it. Are there a few rough rules on how to put together Finnish sentences in an understandable way without the grammar groke having to appear?

[@finnished]

Danke! That's a good suggestion - I'll make a video to explain this :) It took me a long time to understand what the order is in German :D

[@Baba-so6fh]

I wonder how many times others watch each video before getting to the point of understanding 75%?

[@ДмитрийОгцов]

Hei, thanks for all that you do........ can you measure the speed-level of your speech in this video........approximately in any numbers or in any criterias as you wish? it is interesting to know your personal opinion about it...........

[@finnished]

I think this one is pretty slow :D

[@Baba-so6fh]

When you were learning German in this way, did you ever start writing with a pen and paper or was it purely watching the videos and using memory to “make notes”?

[@finnished]

I only watched videos :)

[@LuanMerlin]

Saksa on mun äidinkieli

[@finnished]

Haha eikö suomi sit oo ruma kieli?? :D

[@AJBonnema]

I have a specific question. I discovered tietysti (of course) in a different video. Here I saw you using tietenkin (of course). Wiktionary doesn't show any difference between the two. Is there any reason someone would prefer one over the other?

[@finnished]

I can't think of any reason for now, I think you can use which ever you prefer :)

[@newchannelforyou]

Where to start with your videos? Do you have a video that explains your methods?

[@finnished]

Yes, the very first one but also the pinned video on my page 'Basic rules for learning Finnish by listening' :)

[@jackkrauser1763]

well let me say this, I'm not a finn nor a german, I studied both languages though, and I think german is much easier than finnish, it's like not even comparable in terms of difficulty, maybe u're saying that cuz u're a native finn and u've never actually got to grips with finnish, other than that I enjoyed the video, thank u for the content u put out.

[@jackkrauser1763]

and here u can see the hardest languages for english speakers : effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-guide/language-difficulty finnished is in the 4th category but with an asterix which sort of like means 4.5, german was in the 2nd category, and for category number 5, the only reason finnish wasnt there is because it has latin alphabets unlike arabic, japanese, chinese ... if finnish had characters different than latin's it would have definitely been put in category 5

[@finnished]

Exactly, so if your native language is English, German will be easier for you to learn, because both of them are Germanic languages.

[@marjanmarbouti5425]

Kiitos...voisitteko kirjoittaa tänne kirjakieli 'joillaki ihmisillä'? onko se 'joillakin'?

[@petino1110]

Joillakin

[@elenak2304]

I actually think that to make a proper experiment you should try to learn language with the different alfabet (hebrew, arabic or such) or for example any tonal language. A lot of foreigners who try to study Finnish have those languages as a mother's tongue.

[@finnished]

That's a good point! From my understanding however (and correct me if I'm wrong) those people often already learn the Latin alphabet from an early age so that's no longer such a challenge with Finnish 😊

[@elenak2304]

@@finnished The majority yes. Except that now in Finland there really a lot people with arabic (farsi), Chinese and asian background. A lot if unalphabet arabic women.

[@kamillakinder5391]

Please I am looking for some finns podcast who offer finnish subtitle please anyone can help with this ?

[@finnished]

I'm afraid I'm not aware of any podcast with subtitles or transcription :/

[@pinguinomediterraneo4471]

Hei! Haluaisin itse opiskella Saksan kielen perustasolla ja lyhyellä ajalla. Voitko jakaa linkit niille videoille joista sä puhuit, ja/tai muille materialeille, jotka on saatavilla netissä?

[@finnished]

Moi! Mä opiskelin kanavan Easy German avulla, mä alotin videoilla jotka on tarkotettu täysin alottelijoille: kzbin.info/aero/PLk1fjOl39-50kWobutO8NVFzbw9PHtbbg

[@pinguinomediterraneo4471]

Kiitti! Olin jo löytänyt tämän kanavan muiden sivustojen parissa, ja nähnyt joitakin videoita; nyt ku sä suosittelet, siitä tulee suuri osa mun opiskelurutiinia 😉

[@marjanmarbouti5425]

Anteeksi enemmän kysymys...onko 'nopeampiin vieoihin' oikein tai 'nopeempiin '?

[@petino1110]

Nopeampiin on oikein.

[@finnished]

Molemmat on oikein, mutta 'nopeampiin' on kirjakielen versio :)

[@anahvincent-us1bu]

Cute. How can I learn finnish in a natural ways

[@finnished]

You can start by joining my free mini course to learn the key guidelines of he natural method: www.learnfinnished.com/5guidelines

[@marcinminkowski345]

Ennen kuin muutin Suomeen asuin kaksi ja puoli vuotta Wienissä ja siksi opin saksaa. Minun mielestäni Itävallan saksa kuulostaa pehmeämmältä kuin Saksan saksa, mutta tietysti sekä Saksassa että Itävallassa on paljon erilaisia murteita. Aiotko tehdä tulevaisuudessa videon, jossa puhut vain saksaa, kuten kerran teit espanjan kielen kanssa?

[@Skye_world88]

Just curious, if I understood 95% of everything you said, what level of Finnish is this? I lived in Finland as a child and spoke it as a native before, but haven’t used it much at all for the past 23 years so forgot a lot. Planning to re-learn it.

[@finnished]

To me that's a really good level, and means that if you listen regularly and make an effort to activate it, you will be able to speak without effort soon. On the European level that could be something like B1 in listening comprehension. I would definitely encourage you to re-learn it!

[@ДмитрийОгцов]

Haven´t you thought (from this point) to divide your channel into 2 parts - 1st one for beginners, the 2nd one for more experienced...... May be the time will show the demand of the 3rd one - for advanced.............. To tell the truth some of your videos are related to different levels................ That was personal opinion.......suppose to be right ..... but we are all humans and we can make mistakes...........what do you think about all of it?

[@finnished]

Thanks, I understand that some of my videos are more challenging, and clearly the very slowly spoken ones are for beginners. The problem is that one video can be easy for someone and difficult for someone else, even if the two are on the same level - depending on their own mother tongue, different vocabulary they know or their own strengths in language learning. So I think it would be hard to make such a differentiation :)