The Essentials
All Programs
Year/Semester High School
Summer Homestay
Language Requirements
Year and Semester High School Programs
AFS Finland offers some elementary Finnish to the students at the regional post-arrival orientations held 1-3 weeks after students’ arrival. AFS Finland subsidizes students’ additional language studies during their exchange year. Students are advised to participate in a Finnish or Swedish course offered by the local community college with the exception that if no language courses are available in the community, a high-quality language material will be provided to the students for self-learning. Some host schools also offer Finnish classes for the exchange students.
Digging Deeper
Language Resources
- Memrise: Finnish
- WordDive: Finnish
- Venla
- Infopankki
- Tavataan taas!
- University of Helinski: Learn Finnish
Cultural Resources
- Hofstede Center: Finland
- This Is Finland
- Finlander
- Infopankki
- Expat Finland
- Culture Grams
–Username: afsusa – Password: cgrams
News and Media
- Helsinki Times (English)
- Finland Today (English)
- Iltalehti (Finnish)
- YLE (Finnish)
- Ilta Sanomat (Finnish)
- Tania Islas- My Sumi Finland
- Finnish Youtube Channels
Movies and Documentaries
- The Finland Phenomenon (2011)
- Mother of Mine (2005)
- Mielensäpahoittaja(2014)
- Borrowing Matchsticks (1980)
- The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki (2016)
- Helsinki, Forever (2008)
- The Man Without a Past (2002)
- Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
- Steam of Life (2010)
- Ricky Rapper (2008)
Books
- Maresi. Krönikor från röda klostret (2014)
- Under the North Star (1959-1962)
- Seitsemän veljestä (1870)
- The Year of the Hare (1975)
- Kalevala (1835)
- The Seven Brothers (1870)
- Mr. Boo (2002)
- The Moomins (1945-1993)
- A Concise History of Finland (2006)
- The Finnish Cookbook (1964)
- The Unknown Soldier (1975)
LGBTQ Resources (Diversity)
Heritage and Ethnicity Resources (Diversity)