Dialogue

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to FinnishPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 7 - Getting an Education in Finland. Michael Here.
Nico: Hei. I'm Nico.
Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn vocabulary and phrases you’ll need to register as a new student. The conversation takes place at a university student affairs office.
Nico: It's between Vilja and the student affairs office clerk.
Michael: The speakers are in a kind of customer service situation, so they’ll be using formal Finnish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Vilja: Hei! Onko tämä opintotoimisto?
Student Affairs Office Clerk: Kyllä vain, olet oikeassa paikassa.
Vilja:Minun pitäisi ilmoittautua uudeksi opiskelijaksi.
Student Affairs Office Clerk: Onko sinulla henkilöllisyystodistus ja hyväksymiskirje mukana?
Vilja: Kyllä on, kas tässä.
Student Affairs Office Clerk: Kiitos. Opiskelijakortin saat sitten, kun olet maksanut ylioppilaskunnan jäsenmaksun ja tuonut kuitin maksusta tänne. Sillä saat alennusta muun muassa bussi- ja junalipuista.
Vilja: Hienoa!
Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
Vilja: Hei! Onko tämä opintotoimisto?
Student Affairs Office Clerk: Kyllä vain, olet oikeassa paikassa.
Vilja:Minun pitäisi ilmoittautua uudeksi opiskelijaksi.
Student Affairs Office Clerk: Onko sinulla henkilöllisyystodistus ja hyväksymiskirje mukana?
Vilja: Kyllä on, kas tässä.
Student Affairs Office Clerk: Kiitos. Opiskelijakortin saat sitten, kun olet maksanut ylioppilaskunnan jäsenmaksun ja tuonut kuitin maksusta tänne. Sillä saat alennusta muun muassa bussi- ja junalipuista.
Vilja: Hienoa!
Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Vilja: Hi! Is this the student affairs office?
Student Affairs Office Clerk: Oh yes, you’re in the right place.
Vilja: I need to register as a new student.
Student Affairs Office Clerk: Do you have your ID and letter of acceptance with you?
Vilja: Yes I do, here you go.
Student Affairs Office Clerk: Thank you. You’ll get a student ID after you’ve paid the student union membership fee and brought the receipt here. You can get discounts on bus and train tickets among other things with your card.
Vilja: Great!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Michael: Nico, can you tell us something about student life in Finland?
Nico: Sure! First you should know that studying at universities and vocational colleges is free in Finland.
Michael: Really? Come on, you must be making that up...
Nico: No, it’s the truth! Nevertheless, the cost of living is quite high, that’s why students get some perks to make their lives easier.
Michael: What kind of perks?
Nico: Many student unions offer free or almost free health care for their student members. Students with an official academic year stamp on their cards can also get up to 50% off on long-distance bus and train rides. Many museums and shops also offer some discounts.
Michael: That might be interesting for the listeners who are planning to study in Finland. It sounds like a great place to be a student!
Nico: Here’s a useful word for students opiskelija-alennus, [slowly] opiskelija-alennus.
Michael: That means "student discount." Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is..
Nico: opintotoimisto [natural native speed]
Michael: student affairs office
Nico: opintotoimisto [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: opintotoimisto [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have..
Nico: ilmoittautua [natural native speed]
Michael: to register
Nico: ilmoittautua [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: ilmoittautua [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have..
Nico: opiskelija [natural native speed]
Michael: student
Nico: opiskelija[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: opiskelija [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have..
Nico: henkilöllisyystodistus [natural native speed]
Michael: identification
Nico: henkilöllisyystodistus[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: henkilöllisyystodistus [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have..
Nico: hyväksymiskirje [natural native speed]
Michael: letter of acceptance
Nico: hyväksymiskirje[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: hyväksymiskirje [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have..
Nico: opiskelijakortti [natural native speed]
Michael: student card
Nico: opiskelijakortti[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: opiskelijakortti [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have..
Nico: ylioppilaskunta [natural native speed]
Michael: student union
Nico: ylioppilaskunta [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: ylioppilaskunta [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have..
Nico: jäsenmaksu [natural native speed]
Michael: membership fee
Nico: jäsenmaksu [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: jäsenmaksu [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have..
Nico: kuitti [natural native speed]
Michael: receipt
Nico: kuitti[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: kuitti [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have..
Nico: muun muassa [natural native speed]
Michael: among other things
Nico: muun muassa[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nico: muun muassa [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Michael: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is..
Nico: opintotoimisto
Michael: meaning "student affairs office."
Nico: Opintotoimisto is made up of two words- opinto which refers to opinnot or "studies," and toimisto, which means "office." So it literally means an “office for studies.”
Michael: When can you use this word?
Nico: You can use it when you’re talking about a student affairs office in a university or similar institution.
Michael: Can you give us an example using this word?
Nico: For example, you can say.. Opintotoimisto ei ole auki joka päivä.
Michael: ..which means "The student affairs office is not open every day." Okay, what's the next word?
Nico: Henkilöllisyystodistus,
Michael: meaning "identification."
Nico: It literally means “identification” and has two parts- henkilöllisyys meaning "identity" and todistus meaning "proof" or "certificate."
Michael: When do you use this word?
Nico: You can use it whenever you’re talking about something that confirms identity. Often this word is used in formal situations.
Michael: Is there a more casual word?
Nico: The slang word, henkkari, which is a shortened version of the word henkilöllisyystodistus, is often used between friends and young people.
Michael: Can you give us an example using the formal version?
Nico: For example, you can say.. Passi on ainoa henkilöllisyystodistukseni.
Michael: .. which means "My passport is my only identification." Okay, now onto the grammar.

Lesson focus

Michael: In this lesson you’ll learn vocabulary you’ll need to register as a new student.
Nico: As I mentioned studying in Finland is basically free for students.
Michael: Can you tell us more about Finnish education? Understanding the background will help us learn the vocabulary more easily.
Nico:Okay! Education is free from elementary school up to vocational colleges and universities. Students in comprehensive school also receive free school meals every day.
Michael: Comprehensive school lasts for 9 years, and is compulsory for all children.
Nico: After they finish, students can freely choose whether to continue their studies through an academic track in “high school,” called lukio, or through a vocational track in “vocational school,” ammattikoulu, both of which usually take three years.
Michael: So even higher levels of education are free.
Nico: Yes, students who have completed high school can apply to universities or polytechnic schools, which usually accept students based on entrance exams and points from their “matriculation examination,” or ylioppilastutkinto. In Finland it’s quite common for students of all ages to apply to universities.
Michael: Are there entrance examinations?
Nico: In some particular fields and universities, the entrance exams can have multiple stages, and in the most challenging and popular study programs only about 5% of the applicants are accepted.
Michael: A bachelor’s degree usually takes between 3 and 5 years, and a master’s degree takes between 2 and 3 years. Now let’s have a closer look at the linguistic side of things.
Nico: In the dialogue, we heard Onko tämä opintotoimisto?
Michael: “Is this the student affairs office?” Can you use this for asking about different places?
Nico: Sure! Just replace the noun opintotoimisto with whatever you need. The structure is onko to make it a question, the pronoun tämä, meaning “this,” then the noun.
Michael: For example, what’s the Finnish for “Is this the library?”
Nico: Onko tämä kirjasto?
Michael: The next sentence used in the dialogue was
Nico: Minun pitäisi ilmoittautua uudeksi opiskelijaksi.
Michael: meaning “I need to enroll as a new student.”
Nico: The sentence here uses the conditional form as a way of expressing that something should be done. In Finnish, the characteristic for the conditional form is the ending -isi. The conditional form is also used as a way of expressing politeness.
Michael: In the sentence we heard, which is the word that tells us that it’s the conditional?
Nico: It is pitäisi, meaning “should.” You can also use it when you’re saying that someone should do something. The structure is the personal pronoun in genitive case plus pitäisi, then a verb in the basic form.
Michael: So how can we translate “He should clean the kitchen.”
Nico: It’s Hänen pitäisi siivota keittiö.
Michael: Okay, and what’s another example?
Nico: Minun pitäisi maalata tänään.
Michael: “I should paint today.” Ok, now let’s have a list of useful vocabulary. Nico will give the Finnish and I will say the English translation.
Nico: Yliopisto
Michael: “University”
Nico: Ammattikorkeakoulu
Michael: “University of Applied Sciences”
Nico: luento
Michael: “lecture”
Nico: koe
Michael: “exam”
Nico: muistiinpanot
Michael: “notes, annotations”
Nico: presentaatio
Michael: “presentation”. Listeners be sure to check out the complete list in the lesson notes. Now, Nico, can you give us some sample sentences that might be useful when enrolling?
Nico: Sure! Missä on opintotoimisto?
Michael: "Where is the student affairs office?"
Nico: Täytänkö tämän lomakkeen?
Michael: "Shall I fill out this form?"
Nico: Mitä minun täytyy maksaa?
Michael:"What do I need to pay?"

Outro

Michael: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Nico: Hei hei.

Comments

Hide