Johanna Haapala

I am a university teacher of Finnish language and business communication. I teach Finnish in all levels: for international students (Finnish as a 2nd language), for Swedish-speaking and bilingual Finns (finska) and for native Finnish speakers.

In addition to teaching, I am post-doctoral researcher in a bilingual project funded by Svenska Kulturfonden, where I analyse the learning and use of Finnish by Swedish-speaking Finns in business life. Besides of applied linguistics (learning and teaching Finnish as a 2nd national language and as a 2nd language), my research interests include language use in professional work life, multilingualism and language awareness. My doctoral dissertation (2012) dealt with Finnish language study books and politeness: I compared how we teach Finnish and how we actually talk in real life situations.

I am also participating in the national programme Kielibuusti (Language Boost) which develops materials and tools to help international talents learn Finnish and Swedish.  My key concept in teaching is meaningfulness: in order to learn, all we do in the class and outside it needs to be meaningful and relevant for the student. I see learner as an active agent and myself as teacher as a supporter of learning.