Internship was a turning point to learn finnish
Saeedeh Poolad Setoon, student of International Business Degree Programme at HAMK, shares her story about learning finnish. Her home country is Iran.
When I started looking for a work placement, I was not expecting it to become such an important part of my Finnish language learning journey. At HAMK, internship opportunities are regularly shared with students, and I applied for one of them. It was a marketing internship at Isosaari Camping, a family-run business where the owners were so kind and welcoming.
I completed the internship as part of a small team with two of my classmates, which gave me valuable experience in communication, collaboration, and navigating different perspectives in a real working environment.
One of the most valuable parts of the internship was the support we received in learning Finnish. Throughout the internship, we were supported by a Finnish language counsellor, Essi Laine, who regularly met with us and followed our progress. She provided us with learning materials, helped us learn Finnish vocabulary and expressions related to marketing, and prepared useful phrases with us for our meetings with business owners. Whenever we had a presentation, she encouraged us to prepare our slides in Finnish and supported us throughout the process. Her guidance gave us the confidence to use Finnish in real work situations and made language learning a natural part of our internship experience.
What surprised me most was not only the improvement in my language skills; it was the change in my attitude towards learning Finnish.
After five months, I could clearly see that my Finnish had improved. But what surprised me most was not only the improvement in my language skills; it was the change in my attitude towards learning Finnish. Before the internship, I knew where I wanted my Finnish to take me, but I did not always know exactly what I should focus on or how to move forward. During the internship, I started to understand my own strengths and weaknesses better. I also became more aware of what I needed Finnish for in my everyday and professional life. By the end of the internship, I felt that I had something I had not had before: a goal, a plan and a roadmap for continuing my Finnish language learning.
The internship taught me that language learning does not happen only in a classroom. It can happen through conversations with colleagues, through work-related tasks, through asking questions, making mistakes and trying again. Being in a real working environment gave me a reason to use Finnish and, more importantly, gave me the confidence to keep using it even when I was not sure that I was saying everything correctly.
I am very grateful to HAMK for providing students with opportunities like this and for creating an environment where studying and practical experience can come together. I am especially grateful to Essi for her patience, encouragement and continuous support throughout the internship.
Looking back, I see the internship as much more than a five-month work placement. It became a turning point in my Finnish learning journey. It helped me see Finnish not simply as another subject that I needed to study, but as a skill that I can continue to develop and use as part of my professional life in Finland. And perhaps the most important thing I learned is that you do not have to wait until your Finnish is perfect before you start using it. Sometimes, you need to start using it in order to become better.
