Learn Finnish from people who actually did it
Is Finnish hard, or do you just not know anyone who's done it as an adult? Meet people who did, and hear what worked, what didn't, and how long it took.
13 episodes · guests from 12 countries
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Pick the situation closest to yours and hear from people who were in it.
Latest episode
014: How Friendships and First Steps Built Ahmed's Finnish Fluency
In this episode of How I Learned Finnish with Ohe, Ahmed Al Rufaye, a 29-year-old Iraqi software developer/IoT engineer and game developer, shares how he moved to Finland around age 19 as a refugee for safety and free education and built a life over the past decade. He explains that early miscommunication in English and stress around interpreters pushed him to learn Finnish to function independently and belong in society. After finding early volunteer-led lessons unhelpful, he progressed through an intensive integration course (five days a week) and passed the YKI test quickly, later realizing his level was around C1–C2 during university courses. Ahmed credits immersion through volunteering, internships (including assisting in a Finnish school), hobbies, and Finnish friends, emphasizing practice, resisting switching to English, and mindset as key to success.Read More
From the archive
A few earlier conversations, different every day.
Erik Åkesson · Banker
Anita Anttila · Restaurant Worker
Oheneba Poku-Marboah · Podcast Creator