Toppatakin alla on sydän - Tuija Hannula |
Culture. History Manners.
SUBJECT: In this non-fiction book, different segments of Finnish society, culture, history and manners are broken down into short texts. This book is ideal for newcomers to Finland to learn and understand about Finland.
LANGUAGE: Each section is about 3-5 pages in length. A broad range of topics are covered and discussion questions are found in the back of the book. The text itself is just over 100 pages. While the topics are beneficial to any language level, most of the texts contain grammar and vocabulary suited towards B2 levels. Despite this, I recommend this book to B1 language learners, who will benefit highly from the content with a little bit of extra study.
CONTENT: This book discusses Finns and non-native Finns who live in Finland. There is much stereotyping of Finns, but in a positive or in a self-deprecating way. At the same time, there is much discussion of people who live in Finland who don't have a Finnish last name and who have traditions and customs other than those traditionally found in Finland - and it welcomes and celebrates these too.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: This book is a joy to read. While in integration courses, most of the hours are (needfully) devoted to grammar and vocabulary, topics such as culture, society and manners are just as essential to newcomers to Finland. Since there's not enough time to pack this information into an already packed language course, a book like this is absolutely essential reading. It allows readers to learn about Finland and Finns, answers those burning questions in the back of their heads, and gives answers to questions they haven't even formed.
It's this reader's opinion that if you are a newcomer to Finland, you should own: a dictionary, a grammar book and this book. And if you follow up this book by doing the discussion questions, visiting/watching the subjects mentioned throughout the book, then you'll have a well-rounded study in Finland/Finnish and be well prepared to go out into the world - be it to a job, an appointment or even just to the local market.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: This book is a joy to read. While in integration courses, most of the hours are (needfully) devoted to grammar and vocabulary, topics such as culture, society and manners are just as essential to newcomers to Finland. Since there's not enough time to pack this information into an already packed language course, a book like this is absolutely essential reading. It allows readers to learn about Finland and Finns, answers those burning questions in the back of their heads, and gives answers to questions they haven't even formed.
It's this reader's opinion that if you are a newcomer to Finland, you should own: a dictionary, a grammar book and this book. And if you follow up this book by doing the discussion questions, visiting/watching the subjects mentioned throughout the book, then you'll have a well-rounded study in Finland/Finnish and be well prepared to go out into the world - be it to a job, an appointment or even just to the local market.
5/5