27-year-old Dóra Kenyeres immigrated to Finland in September 2019. She made the difficult choice of lea-ving her home country Hungary to join her then partner who found a job all the way in Finland. Dóra is currently a part of the Valmet Automotive working force but is looking into something closer to her profession.
She has a masters degree in landscape architecture, but has had a hard time finding suitable positions. Very soon after arriving to Finland Dóra embarked on a journey to learn the Finnish language. She found out that not only it is a difficult language but also the resources to learn it are very limited and focused on the beginners level.
– I would love to learn something else as well than how to say “hei” in fifteen different ways, Dóra explains.
For two years she has attended language courses but without much development. Due to corona virus the meetings have been held via platforms such as Zoom. Dóra meant to attend a new course this fall but since the schedule wasn’t ideal for some students it was cancelled.
At the moment she has approximately eleven 90 minute meetings per semester. According to Dóra, there are some problems with the level of intensity as well.
– Me and my original group haven’t finished any books in two years and the content is pretty much concentrated only on the grammar. It’s really hard to find advanced learning material as well as progress in such a slow pace. On top of all that, I find it very difficult to ask questions. The waiting time is long since we have only one meeting per week and I have to limit the amount of questions so they won’t take so much time from the actual class. Sending an email would of course be an option but it’s not that practical. I just feel like once a week in Zoom is really not enough to actually learn a language, Dóra states.
A private teacher was also an option for her, but she quickly realized it wouldn’t work in her situation.
– I haven’t found any from Uusikaupunki and since I’m working a three-shift job I really can’t make it to Rauma or Turku on the weekdays, Dóra adds.
She would have never thought the lack of her Finnish skills would affect her life in Finland so tremendously.
– In Hungary we wouldn’t expect immigrants to learn the language in a short period of time – we know it’s a hard one. The lack of language skills wouldn’t make it that much harder to get a job like it does here in Finland. It’s like some Finns think immigrants are either fluent in Finnish or have absolutely zero Finnish skills. They forget some of us are in the process of learning and like me, are constantly trying to find new courses and ways to develop.
Dóra didn’t want to come to a new country without a job so she made sure she had one.
– Because of that I can’t attend some certain language courses that require you to be unemployed. One of these being “kotoutumiskoulutus”, also known as an intensive language course every immigrant has three years to attend to. After those three years it’s not possible anymore. I have tried to get study leave for this course but it seems like there is absolutely no way I can attend without quitting my job. My three years is running out and so are my options. I find it extremely frustrating that immigrants are expected to learn the language and work, but at the same time they’re not provided practical solutions to do so, Dóra wonders.
– I would love to attend a course face to face without Zoom or other online platforms, with my qualified Finnish teachers, a consistent group, more than one meeting a week and different kinds of learning methods like games and conversations. I could even pay a reasonable price for a concept like that, she admits.
The issues that come with poor Finnish skills cause great inconvenience: finding a job outside of a big factory or with higher educational requirements is very difficult, dealing with organizations like Kela requires a lot of translation and the integration to the community becomes a long and lonely journey.
– I would be so happy to see Finnish employers hi-ring more skilled immigrants and providing them a way to start or keep learning the language instead of expecting fluent skills right from the beginning. This would be beneficial for everyone, Dóra explains.
Jasmin Jussila
Uudenkaupungin Sanomat julkaisee myös englanninkieli-siä juttuja huomioiden kaupungin vieraskielisen väestön. Samalla voit harjoittaa englannin kielen taitojasi.
Suomen kielen opiskelu – pitkä ja kivinen tie
27-vuotias Dóra Kenyeres muutti Unkarista Uuteenkaupunkiin vuoden 2019 syyskuussa, ja aloitti heti suomen kielen opiskelun. Kieli osoittautui kuitenkin vaikeaksi, ja oppimismahdollisuudet rajoitetuiksi. Lisäksi edistyneempää oppimateriaalia on Dóran mukaan ollut vaikea löytää.
Hänellä on kahden vuoden kokemus suomen kielen opiskelusta ja kursseista, mutta valitettavasti kehitystä on tapahtunut vain vähän. Koronaviruksen takia tunnit siirtyivät nettisovelluksiin tai aikatauluongelmien vuoksi peruuntuivat kokonaan. Dóralla on yhdessä lukukaudessa vain noin 11 puolentoista tunnin pituista oppituntia
– Kahdessa vuodessa emme ole alkuperäisen ryhmäni kanssa päässeet yhtäkään oppikirjaa loppuun asti – tahti on liian hidas. Yksi etäoppitunti viikossa ei vain ole tarpeeksi kielen oppimiseksi, Dóra avaa.
Dóra haki ja pääsi töihin Valmet Automotivelle jo ennen Suomeen muuttoa. Tämän vuoksi hänen ei kuitenkaan ole mahdollista osallistua kotoutumiskoulutukseen ja siihen kuuluvalle intensiivikielikurssille, jota tarjotaan ensimmäisen kolmen asuinvuoden ajan työttömille maahanmuuttajille. Tämän jälkeen kurssille ei ole enää mahdollista osallistua, edes maksusta.
– Olen yrittänyt kysyä opintovapaata kurssin suorittamisen ajaksi, mutta huonolla menestyksellä. Ainoa vaihtoehto näyttäisi olevan irtisanoutuminen. Minusta on äärimmäisen turhauttavaa, että maahanmuuttajilta odotetaan kielen oppimista ja työntekoa, mutta samaan aikaan heille ei tarjota toimivia ratkaisuja niiden mahdollistamiseksi, hän ihmettelee. Dóraa hämmästyttää myös se, miten moni työnantaja odottaa täysin sujuvaa suomen kielen taitoa.
– Jotkut meistä ovat opiskeluvaiheessa, ja niin kuin minä, etsivät jatkuvasti uusia kursseja sekä mahdollisuuksia kehittää kielitaitoaan, hän kertoo.
– Toivoisin lähiopetuksena sekä pätevien opettajieni ohjauksessa tapahtuvaa kurssia, jossa olisi vakiintunut ryhmä, useampi tapaaminen viikossa ja monipuolisia opiskelutapoja. Olisi ilo nähdä suomalaisten työnantajien palkkaavan ammattitaitoisia maahanmuuttajia, ja tarjoavan heille mahdollisuuden opiskella suomen kieltä, Dóra pohtii.