Language Bites sessions introduce children in pre-primary education in Helsinki to different languages

In pre-primary schools, Language Bites sessions are led by the early childhood education teacher. The teacher introduces the children to languages through songs and play during a 20- to 30-minute Language Bites session.

Most families choose English as their child’s first foreign language, or A1 language, in comprehensive school. In Helsinki, however, children can also study other languages from the first grade onwards. The Language Bites sessions held in pre-primary education teach children that there are many languages in the world.  

“This strengthens diversity and broadens the language environment. Introducing children to languages improves their ear for languages and strengthens their Finnish proficiency and general language learning,” says Kirsi Saarinen, early childhood education teacher at Daycare Kanerva.  

This autumn, her pre-primary education group has been sampling Swedish and German during Language Bites sessions. Through these activities, the children have learned about colours, greetings, numbers and modes of transport, and more.

Aiming to expand A1 Swedish

Language Bites sessions have been added to Helsinki’s curriculum for pre-primary education, which was updated in August 2025. The Language Bites sessions in early childhood education are part of the Helsinki oppii ruotsia (‘Helsinki Learns Swedish’) project, which aims to expand A1 Swedish in basic education. Helsinki aims to promote the status of Swedish and other languages through a range of actions, also in the lives of children and young people with an immigrant background, to combat segregation.  

“We inform families about the benefits of Swedish and encourage them to choose Swedish as their child’s A1 language. Language Bites sessions are held in every pre-primary school, and Swedish is one of the languages introduced,” says Project Coordinator Ina Saloheimo.  

The Language Bites material produced by the project is easy for anyone to start using, and the teacher does not need to know much Swedish, if any. The material includes vocabulary and phrases, pronunciation, various themes, ready-made videos with subtitles, and choreography.  

Helsinki also works closely with Kielilähettiläät ry (‘Language Ambassadors association’). Language ambassadors visit Helsinki’s comprehensive and general upper secondary schools, and the cooperation is also being expanded to pre-primary education.  

“The aim is to get children excited about languages. Studies show that early positive experiences with languages stay with you,” says Saloheimo.  

In addition to pre-primary schools, the Language Bites material is suitable for Language Bites sessions for second graders in comprehensive school before they choose an optional A2 language to study from the third grade onwards.