Why is it that so many Finnish learners study Finnish for years without significant progress? Why do initially eager learners start their studies with enthusiasm but abandon everything after a few months?
When you ask them what happened, you often get a list of very credible reasons for why they stopped studying Finnish or why they will never be able to learn it.
“Finnish is too difficult.”
“I’m bad at languages.”
“I don’t have time to study Finnish.”
If you’ve ever thought of any of these things, keep reading.
Because these beliefs are one of the main reasons why Finnish learners abandon ship.
Notice how I didn’t say “these facts”, but “these beliefs”. In fact, all of the above are so called limiting beliefs, things that you believe to be true but in reality are just excuses that let you off the hook and make you feel better about yourself when you stop studying Finnish.
As long as you believe in these excuses, you will not see much progress in your Finnish.
It’s much easier to say you’re just bad at languages and give up than keep studying month after month after month.
But if we take a closer look at the reasons you tell yourself – and others – for not being fluent in Finnish, we quickly notice that those reasons aren’t actually true.
Don’t believe me? Let’s debunk the 5 most common limiting beliefs, so that you can get rid of these mental barriers and make real progress in Finnish.
This is a classic. I hear this all. The. Time.
Finnish grammar is so complicated, there are too many rules, the cases don’t make sense. Finnish is just impossible to learn.
Ok, let’s calm down. If we look at Finnish from a linguistic perspective, we notice that Finnish grammar is actually pretty logical and regular, which makes it easier to learn. Finnish also uses the mainstream Latin writing system and doesn’t include rare sounds – other important factors on the scale of difficulty.
The main problem with Finnish is that it is so different from most other languages. This means that Finnish learners can’t rely on shared vocabulary or similar structure with languages they already know. It does NOT mean that Finnish is particularly more difficult.
If you want to read a full analysis on how difficult (or not) Finnish is, check out this article.
Coming back to the limiting belief, if you keep thinking that Finnish is too hard to learn, your study sessions start to feel like trying to create a perpetual motion machine, and you will eventually give up. Why waste your time on something impossible?
Instead of worrying about how difficult Finnish might seem to you, I suggest you focus on the facts: Finnish is a language among others, 5 million people speak Finnish and many foreigners have learnt Finnish before.
Once you truly internalise these facts and drop the mental drama, your Finnish studies will start to feel a lot more appetising!
Another common excuse for not speaking Finnish fluently or quitting your studies attacks your own ability to learn a foreign language.
Perhaps you got poor grades in a foreign language at school. You just never seemed to remember the past forms of irregular English verbs, the rules for when to use the French subjunctive, or the conjugation of Italian passato remoto.
This had to mean that you were just not good at learning languages and therefore, there’s no way you could ever be fluent in Finnish.
I have good news for you: being “bad” at languages is extremely rare. In most cases, if you learned your native language normally and as well as other children, you do not have difficulties with learning a foreign language.
Your poor grades most probably were caused by an inefficient learning method, not by your inability to learn languages. Many language classes aim to prepare students to pass a test that measures the knowledge of grammar and specific vocabulary, not to understand and speak the language with ease.
So before judging your language learning skills, I suggest you try other methods. I use the natural method because it’s the most efficient and – at least for me – the most pleasant way to learn languages. You might find out you’re not that bad after all!
I confess: I’ve used this excuse SO many times. I’m just too busy to study.
But the truth is, I’m simply not prioritising my language studies – so it’s on me to shift things around and make sure I make time for studying.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that our lives are extremely busy and full-on a lot of the time. Everyone and everything seek our attention, and we’re running around like crazy people to get everything done – only to slump down onto the sofa in the evening with just enough brain power for the most basic Netflix series (I recommend Superstore for those moments).
But let’s be honest, it’s not always like this. Sometimes we just prefer “wasting” our time for something completely useless. Most of us are not productive 24/7 – and we shouldn’t be! But if you really want to learn Finnish, maybe, just maybe you could replace some of your idle time with studying.
Here are some ideas:
Wake up 30 minutes earlier (and go to bed 30 minutes earlier – we don’t want to end up sleep deprived!) and study Finnish in the morning before work/school.
Use 20-30 minutes of your lunch break for Finnish.
Listen to Finnish while you drive or go to work/school (this works once you understand slow Finnish to some extent).
Notice that I’m not suggesting you study for hours a day. I’m well aware that few people have that kind of time. But studying for even 30 minutes every day will get you results if you keep consistent.
If the issue is that your evenings are so full that you can’t go to classes, don’t worry. The internet has opened a whole new world for language learning, and there are many Finnish resources available online – If you don’t believe me, look at point 5.
The lack of access to Finnish classes can be broken down into two main excuses:
1. I don’t live in Finland
2. I can’t afford Finnish classes
Let’s look at the former first. If you don’t live in Finland, it will be more difficult to find an in-person Finnish class at your local institute or university. It will be harder to find a native speaker to practise with. You are not surrounded by Finnish all the time and thus can’t absorb it passively (this actually doesn’t really even work).
How come, then, so many foreigners living in Finland with a plethora of Finnish classes on their doorstep still don’t speak Finnish?
I would argue that rather than having access to all the in-person Finnish classes you can imagine, what really counts is how much time you actually spend studying – whether you live in Finland or not.
And again, you can find many Finnish courses online that allow you to study when and where you want.
Moving onto the second excuse, not being able to afford Finnish classes, I hear you. Especially if you’re a student or have a large family, you might not always have the resources for extra activities at the end of the month. Also, investing in yourself – because that’s what learning Finnish essentially is – doesn’t come naturally to all.
But rather than thinking about whether learning Finnish is worth the money, think about whether the experiences, relationships and other benefits you get from speaking Finnish are worth it.
Landing your dream job in Finland? Definitely worth the money.
Finding your Finnish sweetheart? Priceless!
Another thing I would mention is that learning Finnish doesn’t necessarily require you to pay heaps of money for private classes. You can do this if you want to, but there are other options that might be more suitable for your budget.
Group evening classes are generally very affordable. If you’re like me and want to study in the cozyness of your own home, you can find online courses with a fraction of the price of private or in-person classes – and you get to study as much as you want, whenever suits you.
Finally, if you are not ready to invest in your Finnish, you can still find free resources online. Finding resources you like and piecing it all together tends to take more time to see results than following a proper course, but this doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
I feel like I’ve already pre-emptied this one. Of course, there aren’t as many resources available as for more popular languages like English, Spanish or French. But with some googling, you will soon find several online Finnish courses, websites and videos for learning Finnish.
If you want to try out the natural method, here’s what you can do:
Watch the free video class to learn what to change in your Finnish learning – and how to finally make it work.
Watch my YouTube videos in normal spoken Finnish.
Jump straight into my full online course Finnish Me: Understand and start to understand real Finnish in just a few months.
The purpose of this article is not to tell you to “stop complaining and just get on with your Finnish studies”. Learning Finnish does require brain power, focus, good resources and time. And sometimes we lack one or more of those things.
But if you notice yourself using some of the above excuses to explain what is stalling your Finnish progress, I encourage you to dig a bit to understand whether it’s just a mental block that you can quite easily erase.
Once you’ve identified your mental blocks, ask yourself these questions:
Do I have experiences in my own life that prove this belief to be false?
Think about a time when you did something that contradicts your belief. For example, perhaps you’ve already learned another language pretty easily, and thus cannot say that you simply are bad at languages.
Do I know someone with similar conditions who has learned Finnish?
If you do know or know of someone who has succeeded in learning Finnish despite the same perceived barrier you have (e.g. not living in Finland or being very busy), you can be confident that it is possible for you too.
These questions will help you see that beliefs you thought were absolute truths, might not be that at all. And when you realise this, you can change those beliefs. Instead of thinking about how bad you are at learning languages, try to think for example: “I learned my native language like other children and can speak another language”.
This new thought will remove your resistance to studying Finnish, which means that you will start to enjoy your study sessions and then actually make progress!
My FREE video class can help you break beliefs number 2 and 5, so if you suffer from either of those, you should definitely check it out.