In a nutshell, KOTIVA language clubs allow stay-at-home parents caring for their children at home to learn Finnish while their children play in the KOTIVA club with a child carer. Both the parent and the child can make new friends at the same time.
It is just after nine o'clock on a Tuesday morning when someone knocks the door at a youth centre in the Jakomäki district. The doorbell is broken, and Finnish teacher Katja Kauti-Karakus goes to open the door. Smiling students file in one after another and say good morning. The lesson can begin.
– These KOTIVA groups usually have 7 to 10 students, and the group size is directly determined by the number of children. If the group includes a baby, the group size is smaller than without a baby who needs more attention, Kauti-Karakus says.
She currently teaches a group that combines Finnish language basics three and one. This means that some members of the group have studied Finnish more than others.
– But that's OK, because the group is already small, and we can split up further into smaller groups. Those who are further along in their studies can also teach new words to those who have more to learn.
There's always a lot of talking going on and I meet new people. It has given me the confidence to speak Finnish elsewhere, for example in shops.
Confidence and the courage to speak up
Heba Atiya, who started studying Finnish in January, says she and her husband practise Finnish at home.
– I've learned a lot of new words recently.
Nimo Saleban, on the other hand, has noticed that when she is in the shop, she understands the Finnish people around her and sometimes she can even reply in Finnish. She started the course in January as well.
– I understand more than I can speak, she reflects in Finnish.
Deega Hasan Sim Cale used to study quite a bit of Finnish, but after staying home to care for her new baby, she feels that she has forgotten the Finnish language.
– When I started the course, I realised that I knew a lot. Things came back to me. I've also made friends here, and I see them in our free time now.
She used to be nervous about speaking Finnish.
– The course has given me the confidence to speak, because you have to talk a lot here, she says in Finnish with a laugh.
Maryam Madani nods along.
– There's always a lot of talking going on and I meet new people. It has given me the confidence to speak Finnish elsewhere, for example in shops.
Because the groups are small, the atmosphere is intimate. Katja Kauti-Karakus, who has been teaching at KOTIVA for nine years, believes that you can only learn to speak by speaking.
– The course lasts for a year, and we meet two days a week, so we have plenty of time to get to know each other. Because the group is small, everyone has to talk a lot, but that's a good thing, she says with a smile.
New friends and peer support
The atmosphere in the classroom is supportive and warm. One father is also involved.
– As a rule, KOTIVA students are very motivated to study, as they have come to the course voluntarily and are all in the same situation in life.
Many students say they have made friends in the KOTIVA course, just as their own child has made friends in the KOTIVA club. This is also one of the aims of KOTIVA activities: to get parents out of the home to form social relationships. At the same time, you have the support of peers in a similar life situation: daily life with small children. KOTIVA courses always include follow-up guidance; what the student can do after the KOTIVA course is also planned.
As a rule, KOTIVA students are very motivated to study, as they have come to the course voluntarily and are all in the same situation in life.
The biggest challenge for the course is whether the parent can leave their child in the club.
– Sometimes a parent is not yet ready to leave their child in the club. It's perfectly OK and actually quite usual when it comes to babies, says Kauti-Karakus.
The parent is then encouraged to stay in the queue for the course and come back in six months. In most cases, the parent is already prepared for the child to stay in the club during the studies.
– We maintain a culture in which it is not embarrassing to drop out because your child has too much separation anxiety. Children are different and sometimes it's in everyone's interest to wait a while.