New Language café brings students and staff together at Hanken

Mirjam Granström and Sonja Antell work with integration-related initiatives at Hanken, and together they have introduced and managed the process of launching the new Language Café concept.

“The idea of starting Hanken’s own Language café was born out of conversations with our international students, who clearly expressed a wish to practise Swedish and Finnish in daily life,” says Granström.

By combining formal Finnish and Swedish language courses offered by the Centre for Languages and Business Communication with informal social spaces like the Language café, Hanken aims to help international students and staff feel at home both within the university and in Finnish society. 

“Hanken supports international students and staff in learning Swedish or Finnish, as it helps them integrate into Finnish society and the job market. It also aligns with the national goal of ensuring that 75% of international talents stay and find employment in Finland after graduation”, Granström continues.

The newly launched Language café brings together around thirty participants – both students and staff – for informal language practice every two weeks until spring. The cafés are hosted by four student tutors, including Minerva Åminne and Tega Oke. Together they are responsible for planning the teaching content and facilitating the sessions. 
 

“I have good experience of language training through discussions and challenging yourself by speaking a foreign language. You really learn a lot that way!”, says Åminne, who has also been substituting as a teacher before.

During the first session, the tutors introduced a fun and interactive activity where participants judged whether various statements about Finland were true or false. This not only encouraged conversation in Finnish and Swedish but also helped participants learn new facts about the country.

“We noticed that there was a big spread regarding the participants’ language skill levels, but especially in the group practicing Swedish the participants naturally found a partner on the corresponding level when forming pairs,” says Oke.

The tutors successfully created a relaxed and inclusive atmosphere during the first session, encouraging all participants to actively take part in the discussions.

Wen Zhang from China started her Master’s studies in International Strategy and Sustainability this autumn. She is very enthusiastic about the Language café.

“I really want to learn Finnish and this is a perfect opportunity for me to practice it with somebody else. This is also a very good networking event! There are so many nationalities here, it’s a good way for us to mingle and learn from each other.”
 

The Language Café is carried out with support from the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland.

Text and photo: Marlene Günsberg