Finnish Me Review (a Unique and Effective Way to Learn Finnish)
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Table of Contents
What is Finnish Me?
The method
Course structure
Who is Finnish Me for?
Pros and Cons of Finnish Me
Will the Finnish Me method work for me?
What level should I be at when I start it?
Price - is it worth it?
Conclusion
I know so many people who have lived in Finland for years but still can’t speak Finnish.
They have taken lots of classes focused heavily on grammar.
But it hasn’t gotten them very far.
I even know someone who did full-time studies in Finnish: 5 days a week, 5 hours a day, for months.
But still can’t speak or understand Finnish.
What’s the reason?
The reason is how Finnish is taught.
It focuses too much on grammar.
Learning the structure and rules behind the language (or any language for that matter) doesn’t translate into being able to understand and speak it.
So if you’re frustrated because this is what you’ve done so far, and you have been unsuccessful in learning Finnish, then know that it’s not because of a lack of talent or inability to learn.
It’s the method.
Anyone can learn Finnish, using the right methods.
The challenge is that there isn’t a lot good of material available.
So when I heard about a new course called Finnish Me, which used a more natural approach to Finnish the language, I was intrigued.
So I decided to check it out.
In this post, I will break down and review this unique Finnish learning course.
What is Finnish Me?
Finnish Me is a self-paced Finnish online course designed to help you be able to understand spoken Finnish (“puhekieli”).
The course uses a method of learning through videos to naturally absorb the language through listening.
It intends to help people learn the spoken language without even having to live in Finland.
The course is built on the idea that even if you learn all the grammar rules it doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to understand, let alone produce the language, fluently and with confidence.
That you need to acquire the language, instead of studying it, which goes hand in and with what Lingtuitive is all about.
About the Creator
Finnish Me is made by Lotta, a native Finnish speaker who was born and raised in Finland.
She speaks 5 languages herself (Spanish, French, Italian, English, and of course Finnish).
She herself has used a natural method to learn all of them, which is what inspired her to create the course Finnish Me.
Lotta has had a Finnish learning YouTube channel called Finnished since 2016, where she regularly posts videos to help people learn Finnish.
She does this by talking about Finnish culture, language learning, the Finnish language, and various funny things about Finnish people.
What makes her channel stand out from other Finnish learning channels is that she doesn’t teach the language.
Instead, she helps people learn Finnish by immersing in the language.
All in Finnish.
Zero English
(except for the dual-language subtitles, to help those at the beginner levels)
The Method
The inspiration for Finnish me comes from Español Automático, which uses a similar method of comprehensible input to learn Spanish.
Finnish Me uses videos to help you naturally absorb the Finnish language.
It also teaches you several different approaches and methods for how to use these videos.
Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or more advanced, you’re still using the same videos.
You only change the methods you use to fit your current level. She even has several methods for each level for you to choose from.
3 things immediately set Finnish Me apart from other Finnish learning materials:
It completely skips learning grammar rules
It doesn’t rely on gimmicky games but goes straight to the meat of language learning
It’s entirely in Finnish (with English and Finnish subtitles)
The choice to ignore grammar (except for one lesson that has a different twist to teaching grammar) is a unique and even bold approach.
Especially for a language with as complicated grammar as Finnish.
So much Finnish material is focused entirely on learning grammar rules.
Using Finnish Me you’ll naturally assimilate the grammar and structure by hearing the language in different tenses.
Learning it by just getting used to it, instead of trying to wrap your head around it.
It’s one of the few resources out there for Finnish that uses pure comprehensible input to learn the language.
Do you want to know how I learned Finnish (and other languages) intuitively?
Check out my guide:
”Intuitive Language Secrets”
(it’s currently available for free)
Course structure
The course starts with an introductory module where you’ll learn:
What Finnish Me is all about
How to use the course
The different learning techniques you can use when studying with the videos.
The rest of the course is divided into 10 modules (“chapters”) that provide the videos that you will use to learn Finnish.
Each video is about 15 minutes long.
Each chapter also includes short stories that are told in different tenses.
These are meant to help you get used to Finnish grammar in a more natural way.
These short stories are also simpler than the main videos so they are more suitable for beginners.
The main lessons are all about different aspects of the Finnish culture, told from the personal perspective of Lotta.
They cover topics that would be helpful for someone to know if they are planning on spending time in Finland.
(especially since it’s a very unique culture that can be difficult for people to understand)
These include topics like: why Finnish people are often silent, sauna culture, what relationships with Finnish people are like, traveling in Finland, etc.
What's included
Tutorial on how to use the videos
10 main lessons (around 15 mins each)
10 short stories (1-2 mins, with 2-3 versions of each in different tenses. A total of 20+)
Pronunciation exercises (to practice tricky sounds and sound combinations in Finnish)
Word-for-word transcriptions of the main videos & short stories (in both English & Finnish)
The Busy Life Guide
The Basics of Finnish in 15 minutes
Personal e-mail support (from Lotta herself).
Monthly calls (in English)
These calls are there to provide support, community with other Finnish learners, and answer questions that you and other students have. These are held by Lotta.
Features:
All the lessons are downloadable in audio format as well as PDF format
All the guides have both Finnish and English versions
Find out more about what’s included on the Finnish Me main page:
Who is Finnish Me for?
People looking to increase their ability to understand spoken colloquial Finnish
People who enjoy learning by listening and watching videos
People who don’t mind ambiguity
People who want to learn Finnish as fast as possible and waste minimal time
Finnish Me is in my opinion for 2 types of people:
Those who have some foundation in the written language but are struggling to understand spoken language
Those who are looking to learn Finnish naturally, without having to study grammar
Who Finnish Me is NOT for
Those who want explanations and understand the logic behind the language
Those who don’t want to listen to the same videos multiple times
Those who have a low tolerance for ambiguity (and need answers right away)
Pros and Cons of Finnish Me
Pros
A no-nonsense and highly efficient approach to learning Finnish
One of the most language-dense courses I have ever seen (everything is in Finnish, even the tutorials)
Very sympathetic and pleasant course host
100% colloquial and spoken Finnish (“puhekieli”)
The different learning methods presented will give new ideas to even the most seasoned language learner
The 15-minute crash course on the basics of Finnish is incredible
Cons
No option to remove subtitles
Not suited for those who want to learn written language (“kirjakieli”)
The level might feel too difficult for some absolute beginners
I love how Finnish Me doesn’t waste any time whatsoever on things that won’t help you learn Finnish.
There’s no fluff (which is rare in language materials and courses).
The course host Lotta is very warm and friendly, which gives the course a very positive vibe overall.
I also like that she gives you different study options, so you can choose the approach that fits you the best.
(You can even use my own 3-1-1 Method with this course).
Even though I have been obsessing about language learning for years (and tried many different methods) I found the “Tutorial video” very interesting.
I got some new and fresh ideas on how to approach learning a language through listening.
Some of her students have found this module to be worth the price of the course alone. Because you get new tools that you can apply to any material, even outside the Finnish Me course.
The course is also very dense language-wise.
Even the introduction videos and different tutorials will help you learn since they are all in Finnish (most courses would have had these in English).
This gives you even more opportunities to be exposed and get used to the Finnish language.
I also really like the fact that the course focused fully on learning through listening.
I have shared in other blog posts that listening is the most important language skill to focus on so this is a wise choice.
One thing that would have been nice to have is the option to remove the subtitles (I heard this might be updated in the future though).
Or even be able to toggle between only English or only Finnish subtitles.
It’s not a big deal though since you can also just download all the audio files and use those if you don’t want to see the subtitles.
Another potential downside is that it might not suit all beginners.
Especially for those of you who are learning Finnish as your first foreign language
It doesn’t mean that it won’t work.
But for you, it might be more comfortable to use simpler materials to warm up first, before starting to use Finnish Me.
At the same time, a language like Finnish doesn’t have a lot of resources.
So it’s impossible to have material at just the perfect level at all times.
There are going to be times when you have to push through with materials that feel quite difficult.
(I have done this many times and still managed to learn Finnish)
All in all, there are way more pros to Finnish Me than cons.
It’s also a user-friendly course with a clear layout.
TIP:
For those of you who use LingQ, you can easily upload the lessons with both audio and text and make LingQ lessons out of them.
That way you can easily look up the words by clicking on them, add all the lessons to a playlist for convenient listening, and keep track of your progress (just make sure to keep the lessons “private” since it’s a paid course).
Will the Finnish Me method work for me?
From my own experience of having learned several languages (including Finnish) using natural methods, I can tell you that this method will work very effectively.
No matter what your current level is (or how good you think you are or aren’t at learning languages).
Using Finnish Me you’re going to see much faster results than using a traditional school approach of learning the language.
This won’t happen overnight, but if you stay consistent with the material you will see great results.
Will it improve my understanding of spoken Finnish?
Most materials focus on the written language (kirjakieli”), which is very different from the spoken language (“puhekieli”).
So for those who have learned the written language, it can be quite challenging to understand native Finnish people.
Since Finnish Me is only in spoken colloquial Finnish - it will help you learn and get used to the way people in Finland actually speak.
It’s without a doubt one of the best materials out there for improving understanding of spoken Finnish.
The student testimonials speak for themselves.
Will it improve my speaking?
While Finnish Me won’t directly focus on your speaking skills (except for some pronunciation lessons) it will indirectly improve it.
Because to be able to say something, you have to first understand and internalize the language (which is exactly the purpose of Finnish Me).
The best investment you can make in your speaking is spending a lot of time listening.
Then when you do speak, you will improve quickly, and the language that comes out will sound much more native-like.
Will it improve my Finnish grammar?
There is no teaching of grammar rules in Finnish Me.
If that’s what you’re looking for, you’re better off buying a different course.
The whole idea behind the course is to acquire the language, without necessarily knowing how the language works on an intellectual level.
There is however a short lesson called “The Basics of Finnish in 15 minutes”.
This lesson goes through some things to look out for that make the Finnish language different.
It’s a bit of a non-grammar-rule grammar lesson if you will.
It gives you some tips on what to look out for and how Finnish is different from other languages.
It’s there to help make you more aware.
This lesson is by far the best 15 minutes you’ll ever spend on Finnish grammar.
What level should I be at when I start it?
Finnish Me is made for all levels - beginner, intermediate to advanced.
Even though you can use different methods with the material depending on your level, I personally think the sweet spot is at an upper beginner (A2) to lower intermediate (B1).
This is when you’re at a place where you’ve gone through some basics and gotten a foundation in the language, but you still have a hard time understanding spoken Finnish.
That’s the perfect level to begin Finnish Me in my opinion.
That being said:
If you’re a beginner, and up for a challenge, you can go ahead and use Finnish Me right away.
You will just have to be okay with going through that first phase of:
“I don’t understand anything!”
But once you come out on the other side of that, it’s a great feeling!
Price - is it worth it?
The full price of the course is a one-time payment of 190€.
Or you can choose to pay 3 monthly payments of €70 per month.
I personally think Finnish Me is underpriced.
The value you’re getting is way more than what courses at a higher price point give you.
The methods taught in the “Tutorial video” and “The Basics of Finnish in 15 Minutes” are honestly worth the price alone.
The course also has a 14-day Money Back Guarantee, which makes it risk-free to buy.
Conclusion
If you decide to use Finnish Me, and you take your time with it, your comprehension (and as a result, your speaking ability) is going to skyrocket.
You will get an intuitive sense of how the language works.
Finnish will start making more sense and feel more “normal”.
There’s no fluff or anything unnecessary Finnish Me.
It goes straight to the point.
All the lessons are valuable in terms of getting input in Finnish, even the tutorials.
When she’s teaching you grammar, it’s in Finnish.
No time wasted.
Because you’re getting comprehensible input in the language at the same time.
For any serious Finnish learner at the beginner or intermediate levels (that are okay with not knowing all the rules), this course is a must.
I wish I would have had a course like Finnish Me when I started learning Finnish.
I believe it would have made me able to speak the language more comfortably at an earlier stage.
(it all worked out in the end for me though)
So if you’re right now learning Finnish, consider yourself lucky that a course like Finnish Me is available.
