Complete Finnish Beginner to Intermediate Course: Learn to read, write, speak and understand a new language (Teach Yourself)

If you have the old version of this book and had difficulties, try this version. I was using my old book and CDs to really try to learn Finnish this year and after going through the book I had so many questions. The new title/version here is so much more comprehensive. You are constantly interacting with the book. I have had so much more success in a short time in understanding how different cases are built and used. To me it is almost an entirely different book with how it is structured. The old version was a lot of memorizing without much application. The audio which is free on their website has the same amount of chapters as the old CDs but has many new recordings. A lot of the tracks are longer with more information. It was definitely the best choice for me to pick up Complete Finnish. It of course isn't "complete" but it's excellent for a beginner like me.

I knew a tiny bit of Finnish, which is an advantage. I was a language teacher, and found the instruction excellent. However, it is not easy, and you have to work at it. Using free mobile apps are good supplements, but do not explain the grammar like this book does. My only problem with the book is that the print is small and light. I found myself enlarging portions of it. I researched a bit and found this book highly recommended.

It's the now classic Terttu Leney book. My previous one from 2004 was called just Teach Yourself Finnish, but all the readers are the same. There is some additonal material now, such as short paragraphs in English on life in Finland and some vocabulary builder lists. The grammar goes well into everyday use and you can certainly speak Finnish if you know that much of the grammar and know the vocabulary. I had this book when I was teaching my kids Finnish in the US. My son went on to take other classes (summer camp) and eventually a 200 level college class in Finnish. The current version also replaces the old fonts and headings and layout. I think it was actually fine before, and still is not bad but there was no need to change it. The illustrations are the same as in the original book. Well, on page 42 we have euro bills, they might have been markkas back in the 1990s. All in all, Finnish usage is well explained without getting into too much into grammar terms. The cases of nouns have to be named and explained, there is no way around that. Finnish verbs have quite complicated grammar and some of that is explained in text and examples. The index does not even list "participle", a basic part of more advanced Finnish grammar. There have been good books printed in Finland for foreigners, some in English, but they tend to be hard to find from abroad, Also, the modern classroom practice is to explain all in Finnish with perhaps study guides for a few foreign languages. Without a teacher, those are not much use. A few other American texts for the beginner have been around, but I can't say they are better. I've been involved in this somehow for 30 years and I have to say my most favorite book (in English) ever was the Aaltio pair of Finnish For Foreigners 1 and 2. It survived a few printings in Finland past 1990 but I think has been passed by other books. It is still listed in on line bookstores in Scandinavia. Akateeminen, Finland's best book store, has gone downhill and the on line store disappeared. The Aaltio book is in one on line store for 36 euros. The part 2 book goes a little beyond this Leney fine effort, it simply has more advanced material to get you to read newspaper level text. Summary: no better book is available for the beginner. Finnish is best learned with some personal exposure to the country once you finish the Leney book.

I am taking a European trip and one of my stops in Finland for the winter beauty. This book has everything! I can't wait to start speaking fluently!

Very thorough

Most complete offering at Amazon for those who want to learn Finnish.

Book was exactly right.

This book does not contain any IPA transcriptions. You are only given approximate sounds from English. If you buy this book, be aware that the examples are from BRITISH English. The first vowel in "kuka" does not sound like the vowel in "book" to an American.

Didn’t expect it to be such a good learning book! Very detailed

Good option to start learning finnish on your own. Good explanations and methodology.

Logical topics and good flow. Largely focused on what a tourist would need to know, but still very useful for other language learners. The app for the audio is a little clunky but works well enough and is available via web browser as well.

Excellent structured course - can be used for self-teaching.

If u are an independent person studying alone, it is not easy to study via this book. Grammar is too basic for lvA1-A2. Well at least it is not suitable for me. But if you seek for something to hear and u have already have a background of Finnish (A1 for example), this books is interesting and fast enough.