English teaching in Finland: How have Finnish children attained such high-level English proficiency? Sauli Takala Tokyo, December 13, 2010

Europe- an Union

Area: sq km 5th largest in Western Europe 1160 km long, 540 km max width Helsinki (metropolitan): 1,2 m Fiinnish: 91% Swedish: 5,5% Sami: about Republic: 1917 Parliament: 200 Population: 5, 3 miliion Neighbours: Sweden, Norway, Russia, Estonia Member of EU: 1995 Currency: Euro (2002-) Neutral: not a member of NATO Export: electrotechnical, wood & paper, machibery (ice- brakers, cruise ships) Midnight sun for several weeks Lapland: no sun for 2-3 months, Northerrn llights

PhD Masters Bachelor Upper Vocational Secondary /3 education Basic education, 9 yrs Kindergarten

In the newest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA, 2009), Finland maintained a place near the top of the tables in all categories: reading, mathematics and science. The same pattern since 2001.

My personal history of language study : four years of primary school: no foreign language study : lower secondary school; Swedish from grade 1, English from grade : upper secondary school; Swedish and English continued (3 years); German and Latin started (3 years) five years of university study: MA major in English, minor Swedish Authorized translator (English-Finnish- English 1974) Study/PhD in the USA:

A milestone in language education in Finland: comprehensive school A municipal school system with a national curriculum; free education 9 grades; age 7 – 15/16 Introduced gradually during the 1970s Grades 1-6: lower stage, class teachers; Grades 7-9: upper stage, subject teachers Initially: (1+) 2 languages required; A1- language from grade 3 (age 9 75%, 10% grade 1, 15% grade 2)); B1 language (Swedish/ Finnish) from grade 7; optional C-language grades 8-9 A2-language optional; mostly from grade 5; ( 994-)

Gra de A1 15% 85 % A2*24 % B1100 % B2* 14 B2+ B3 43 %

A1-lan- guage English93.8%90.1%88.3%89.7%90.1%91.0% Swedish5.4%7.3%2.0%1.5%1.1% Finnish4.7%4.5%5.0%5,3#5.2%5.3% French0.2%0.6%1.4%1.0%0.7%0.8% German0.7%1.4%3.1%2.0%1.1%1.2% Russian0.4%0.6%0.3%0.1%0.2%

At the end of the Upper Secondadry School 5 languages studied: 2% of all students 4 languages : 12% 3 languages : 42% 2 languages : 42% (English + Swedish)

What level have pupils/students reached in their study of languages?

International comparisons IEA study (1971) Belgium, Chile, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Israel, The Netherlands, Thailand Finnish lower secondary school pupils ( yrs): performed at theinternational average level Finnish year olds: above average Takala (1998): Using some common items in RC and LC in 1971, 1979, 1983, 1991, 1993: Very clear & consistent improvement;esp. LC Finnish pupils knew about 80-85% of what pupils in Sweden knew (Eng/Swe related)

International comparisons cont. Two studies coordinated by France; 1996, : Denmark, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden Tests: Listening comprehension, grammatical knowledge, reading comprehension, writing

Assessment of Pupils´ Skills in English in Eight Countries; 2002; total score (%)

National assessments of proficiency using the Common European Framewwork of Reference (2001) scales as criteria

F. Kaftandjieva

Breakthrough Waystage Threshold Vantage Effective Operational Proficiency Mastery Language Proficiency: Common Reference Levels

F. Kaftandjieva Breakthrough Waystage Threshold Vantage Effective Operational Proficiency Mastery Basic user Independent user Proficient user Language Proficiency: Common Reference Levels Broader Level Distinction

F. Kaftandjieva Breakthrough Waystage Threshold Vantage Effective Operational Proficiency Mastery Language Proficiency: Common Reference Levels Finer Level Distinction A1.1 A1.2 A2.1 A2.2 B1.1 B1.2 B2.1 B2.2 C1.1 C1.2 C2.1 C2.2

Appraisal: fairly good /good outcome (Note: English and Finnish arre not related

Possible reasons for quite good learning results, even if Finnish in not related to any of the other commonly studied foreiign languages (cf. Japanese!) Education has generally been highly valued; even poor parents have tried to support studying Language skills are essential for the society and individuals (makes possible communication with other people; no one understands Finnish) Finland is strongly dependent on foreign trade Motivation to study languages is quite good (exception: compulsory Swedish/Finnish) English is a popular subject, even among the boys

Possible reasons for quite good learning results English is everywhere present (”sticks to the clothes”) No dubbing of foreign films (TV, cinema) – excellent exposure to genuine foreign speech English textbooks are common in higher education Foreign travel has expanded dramatically: no one understands Finnish abroad; L2s are needed In work, secretaries/translators/interpreters are seldom available any more; empoyees need to be able to communicate on their own ( s, phone/skype, videoconferencing...) A substantial part of English profiency comes from out-of-school use!!

Possible reasons for quite good learning results 40 years of experience in teaching foreign languages to all pupils; no streaming - mixed ability classes; all are expected to learn English (more or less) Listening comprehension and essay-writing tests part of the Matriculation Examination since 1977; positive washback (understand and use L2) L2 used in language tests in testing comprehension (positive feedback to using L2, not L1, in teaching) Four skills as goals for more than 40 years; increasing emphasis on communication competence, less on linguistic correctness Language teachers are well educated and can use L2 fluently (C1/C2); mainly L2 is used in class Only national textbooks/tests basically are used; encourages national development work

Thank you for your attention! Questions and Comments Welcome!