Living in Finland Without Speaking Finnish - Is it POSSIBLE?

[@Cristinapunk]

it is possible, but if you really want to understand the culture and live here I believe it is important to learn the language. I cannot stand walking on the streets and not understanding what other people talk about, but luckily these times are way behind as my Finnish level has improved a lot after 3 years of studying. Keep up the good work Megha!

[@couple_of_expats]

Thank you so much for your encouraging words, Cristina! I completely agree - learning the language is key to a deeper cultural connection. Keep up the great work too! 😊

[@fazlurrehmankhan6078]

Amazingly explained ; keep growing ❤

[@couple_of_expats]

Thank you!

[@farrukhwahla1]

Great content.

[@couple_of_expats]

Thank you!

[@sampohonkala4195]

To get a basic understanding of the level of the English language in Finland, in the EF English proficiency index the top 5 countries in the world are Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland and Norway. Most kids receive formal education in English from grade 1 to 9 or 12. People under 60 years of age have received several years of education in English; for generations considerably older than that the first foreign language may have been German or there may have been very little education of any foreign language, depending on the educational path of each individual. Generally the people in the countryside have received the same education as people in the bigger cities, but there is less possibilities to use English in the country, so people may be less eager to try, even if they could. But one obstacle in learning Finnish in Finland is that if you struggle, people are likely to switch to English and you never get the chance to develop your skills.

[@couple_of_expats]

We agree that the challenge of learning Finnish, due to people often switching to English when someone is struggling, is a significant issue. This has happened to us many times - at stores, at work while having lunch, communicating with others on the street to get instructions, and elsewhere. While switching from Finnish to English might be easier for others, from the language learners' point of view, that does not help at all.

[@just42tube]

​​@@couple_of_expats Similar challenge of learning local language exist also in Scandinavian countries. My experience has been that they either expect especially a Finn to use Skandinaviska (some kind of common intersection of Scandinavian languages) without struggling, or they switch to English. They know Finland to be bilingual and they probably mostly know Finns who are fluent in Swedish. This kind of friendliness isn't really so useful for someone who needs and would like to get practice. And even if you would be able to handle standard Swedish, dialects are still likely to be beyond your skills. It is tempting to try to use English, if it is foreign language to both parties, since then they both are like to use more simple language without so much influence from dialects. Keeping language simple helps even though then some nuances of the communication can get lost.

[@OrdinaryManSisu]

your videos are so informative, Keep up the good work!

[@couple_of_expats]

Thanks! Glad you’ve found them to be useful. 😊

[@sabrinajunejo5110]

Very informative Thanks for sharing

[@couple_of_expats]

Glad to hear it was helpful! 😊

[@just42tube]

Language is one of the corner stones of most, of all, cultures. Common company language is fairly necessary to build a company culture. The Finnish society has been fairly homogeneous, but not without own subgroups. It has been able to build national identity of different groups and language has been a big part of that process. There is old long history of some subgroups, minorities, and struggles of having separate ethnic groups with own languages protected and still integrated to the greater common identity. Integration to the society makes things easier, and common language is required for that. It doesn't need to mean abandoning your other identities. Building a more complex hybrid identity is enough, unless you're comfortable staying as a foreigner forever.

[@ajewolemayokun7696]

Is there a website where I can start learning from, before I begin studying. Thank you

[@couple_of_expats]

We recommend using a mobile app called Duolingo or looking into the possibility of booking a private Finnish teacher to help with learning the language.

[@jerryberry5480]

Some Swedish Finns (especially in the past) don’t even speak Finnish haha