For many, studying Finnish is an important step towards a smoother everyday life and participation in Finnish society. At the beginner level, learners often face similar challenges: the grammar feels difficult, the spoken language sounds different from what is written in textbooks and using the language in everyday situations feels intimidating.
The WordDive Finnish course package responds to these needs of the students. The course package has been revised to include more grammar, current vocabulary and spoken language, especially at the basic level, so that students could apply their learning even better in real-life situations. Feedback on the revised material has been positive, and the update has attracted attention from learners of Finnish.
When the grammar barrier prevents you from speaking
The revision of the course package has been designed by S2 teacher Evgenii Kondratenia. Kondratenia has gone from being a Finnish language learner to an S2 teacher and understands the most frustrating stages of language learning.
For beginners learning Finnish, grammar is often the biggest challenge. “The most intimidating thing in the early stages is definitely the grammar barrier. Many Finnish learners are afraid to speak until they know how to conjugate words correctly,” says Kondratenia. Even if students are familiar with the grammar rules, they will often run into a new problem in everyday situations: the difference between written and spoken language. In the revised WordDive Finnish course package, the different forms of the language are presented side by side, and grammar is taught in understandable chunks as part of vocabulary learning. “As soon as you learn a new word, you will also learn to use it in a sentence,” Kondratenia explains.
According to Kondratenia, incorporating grammar and spoken language already at the beginner level saves students time. “We need grammar in order to construct sentences, and we need spoken language to understand what is being said to us,” he summarises. The revised course package does not focus only on memorising words, but on everyday life and culture in Finland: the courses teach students how to talk about their day at work, introduce them to nature and teach them the language using situations they may come across in everyday life. The goal is to make learning simple and practical and easy to combine with other Finnish language studies.
Language as a tool for everyday life
One of the professionals who plays a part in promoting the WordDive Finnish course packages is Sami Puttonen from Tampere. Puttonen has been using the WordDive Finnish course package for several years in the Finnish language courses that he teaches. Students purchase a Finnish language course from his website, receive a WordDive license and then do exercises in both the WordDive app and Puttonen’s online course. The courses are intended for A1–A2 level students, i.e. students who are just starting to learn the language.
Finnish language students who enrol on Puttonen’s courses share a desire, above all, to build a life for themselves in Finland. “The people who set out to learn Finnish have understood the importance of the language as part of their own future,” Puttonen explains. Many of the students are already living in Finland or are about to move to the country; some are studying and some are working or looking for a job. The need to learn Finnish often arises because the student’s own studies do not include sufficient language training or the student wants to build a stronger language foundation already before their actual studies begin. The goal is to make everyday life smoother and, over a longer period, to become a more integral part of Finnish society.
“Learning requires active engagement and self-discipline, but the service concept built around WordDive has helped students stay on track and practise the language through interaction,” says Puttonen. The revised Finnish course package features a more diverse range of exercises and a clearer overall structure. “The feedback from students has been consistent: they find the topics logical and clear,” he summarises.
Two stories about starting to learn Finnish
We interviewed three Finnish language students who have participated in Sami Puttonen’s online course. One of them is 32-year-old Filipino Sharmaine Ceballos, who has been studying Finnish for a few months. Ceballos moved to Finland in October 2025 in search of nature, safety and a better work-life balance.
Ceballos, who is studying restaurant services, lives in Tampere and is learning the language because she wants to continue living and working in Finland in the future. Ceballos describes grammar and remembering the grammatical cases as the trickiest aspects of learning Finnish. “Knowing the language helps me communicate better, understand everyday life and feel at home in my community. Studying with WordDive helps me stay motivated and consistent in my studies. I make a little progress every day,” says Sharmaine Ceballos.
Thu Nguyen, a 39-year-old Vietnamese, moved to Finland in December 2025 to study. Nguyen is a Japanese translator by profession and is studying Finnish at the beginner level so that she would be able to communicate with Finns. She chose this form of study because it is easy to use and allows her to study flexibly at her own pace. “Repeating vocabulary helps you learn effectively,” says Thu Nguyen.
The students described the revised WordDive Finnish course package as beginner-friendly and practical. The course package was praised for including examples of how words are used in everyday conversations. Clear explanations of grammar make the tricky language easier to understand. The students also like the fact that the same app can be used to practise listening, reading and writing.
