Finnish belongs to the Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric family of languages. There are approximately 5.2 million Finnish speakers, mostly in Finland, and some in Sweden and Russia as well. There are 3 varieties of standard Finnish: "kirjakieli" or “book language” which is used in official documents, official speeches and the daily news; "yleiskieli" or “standard language” which is taught in schools - formal and correct, though more relaxed than the "book language"; and "puhekieli" or "spoken language" which is a frequently changing, more casual variety used in everyday conversation. This course teaches the standard Finnish language, "yleiskieli."

The Pimsleur® Method is scientifically proven to be your fastest route to near-native fluency. Finnish Phase 1, Units 16-20 build on material taught in prior units. Each lesson provides 30 minutes of spoken language practice, with an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and structures. Detailed instructions enable you to understand and participate in the conversation. Each lesson contains practice for vocabulary introduced in previous lessons. The emphasis is on pronunciation and comprehension, and on learning to speak Finnish. These units contain reading lessons designed to teach you to sound out words with correct pronunciation and accent. A Reading Booklet to be used with the audio lessons is also included in PDF format.