Information about language studies

Course descriptions and Course completion

Course descriptions can be found in Peppi Study Guide and in Tuudo,. One credit point is equal to 27 hours of working time. This includes classroom learning, self-study, homework etc. In the course descriptions you can see the timing of the course, learning methods, objectives, evaluation criteria and assessment scale. When you register for a course in Peppi or in Tuudo you will see the course timetable and venue.

Regular participation in classroom sessions is important. You are expected to commit to the course for which you register and be present at the sessions (100% attendance). In exceptional cases (illness for example) a student may be absent 20% of the time and pass a course if all course requirements have been completed and passed successfully. Note! It is extremely important to participate in the first session. If you must be absent from the first lesson you must contact the teacher and inform the reason for your absence in order to retain your place in the course. If you do not do this the teacher can assume that you are not going to participate and your place may be given to a student on the waiting list.

The level of each course is based on the European Language framework from which CEFR levels and descriptions can be found.

Course materials

Multimodal learning in our courses is arranged through multi-mode methods. At the beginning of the course your teacher will give you information about your course-specific online learning environment and the course materials. One important tool for language courses is MOT/MOT-sanakirjasto. You can find this resource from the university network. If you need to reach this resource from outside the campus use your university username and password and access the library link which is above. You can also use the official Finnish language dictionary and this does not require you to login.

Course completion and the one-year rule

If you do not pass a language and communication course, please try to finish the course as soon as possible.​ You must agree about finishing the course with the teacher within one year from when you first started the course. The teacher will determine what you must do to finish the course. ​The teacher may guide you to retake the whole course if your initial participation has been limited.

You must finish the course according to the teacher’s instructions within one year from when the original course ended. ​If you have not passed the course within one year, you will have to take the whole course again.​

You can only retake a course twice. If you cannot pass the course with two retakes, you will have to take the whole course again.​

The one year rule and the number of retakes also applies to improving your grade.

Example 1: You will start a language course in September 2023 but you do not finish the course by the end of the course in October 2023. In order to finish the course, you must be in touch with the teacher in September 2024 at the latest and agree on how you will complete the course. You must finish the course according to the teacher's instructions by the end of October 2023.

Example 2: You will start a language course in January 2024 but you do not finish the course by the end of the course in April 2024. In order to finish the course, you must be in touch with the teacher in January 2025 at the latest and agree on how you will complete the course. You must finish the course according to the teacher's instructions by the end of April 2025.

Retake exams

If you fail the course exam, you can retake it two times. Contact your teacher to make arrangements for a retake exam. You might for example complete the exam in the Examinarium; this will depend on your teacher. If you miss your retake exam remember to cancel the exam because if you do not, the missed exam will count as your retake exam and the grade will be a Fail.

Grades

Your teacher has up to three weeks to assess your exam. You can see your results from Peppi. Exam results and course grades cannot be shared via email or learning environments.

Special arrangements

If you need special support or arrangements for your studies, you should acquire a statement from the study psychologist. This statement will guide the teacher so that the special arrangements can be organized. You can find instructions here: Accessibility in Studies. The Accessibility Statement of oulu.fi online service is also available.

Course feedback

You can give feedback concerning your courses through the university feedback system in Peppi. Your teacher will inform you of this in class.

Cheating

The University of Oulu has a strict anti-plagiarism and cheating policy. The university law says: any student of or within this university who is guilty of educational or research-related violations may be punished with a warning or expelled for a period, at most one year. The disciplinary procedure will be stipulated according to regulations. (Yliopistolaki § 19)

A student who is guilty of cheating, for example plagiarizing on course work will fail the course and he or she may need to repeat the entire course again.

Degree program language courses are ordained by law

The Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004) stipulate that:

The student must demonstrate that in his or her studies for a lower or higher university degree he or she has attained:

(1) proficiency in Finnish and Swedish which is required of civil servants in bilingual public agencies and organisations under Section 6(1) of the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003) and which is necessary for their field; and

(2) skills in at least one foreign language needed to follow developments in the field and to operate in an international environment.

The provisions of subsection 1 do not concern a student who has been educated in a language other than Finnish or Swedish or a student who has been educated abroad. The language proficiency of such students shall be determined by the university.

For special reasons, the university may either totally or partially exempt a student from the requisite language skills referred to in subsection 1.

If you apply for exemption for proficiency in a second official language (1) above, for the reason that you have been exempted in previous institutions in which you have studied, be aware that you must complete some other course(s), for example some other language to replace the second official language. This is decided by your faculty. Also be aware that this exemption may have consequences if you later apply for public posts in Finland because public officials/personnel must have second official language competence in order to be appointed to a public post. Read more Legislation for languages.

Choose languages for a minor

You can choose languages for a minor subject in two ways. You can complete the KieKuVi study package, which is for students in Humanities, Education and Natural Sciences. In addition, students in the Oulu Business School have their own minor package. If you do not study in these faculties you can still invest in learning foreign languages for example by completing a foreign exchange program or a training period.