International students went to classroom to experience the atmosphere in the classrooms, this is what they found out:
1)
“Today we were in the 8th grade class during an English lesson.
We have talked with students and they asked us some questions about our school and traditions, they were kind and funny but someone was very shy and quiet.
They are about 14 years old but they have a really good English.
It was a really good experience because Finnish students had the possibility to improve their English and they were so curious and they wanted to know everything about us.
We think that they have open minds and a good understanding of English.”
2)
“Me and my group which is number 3 have attended two classes in the school.
The first class was a music lesson for 10 years old students. There they were making their own music and they are very talented. The teacher was very helpful and she answered all our questions. She showed us a Finnish instrument called ”KANTELE”.
The second lesson was Geography class. There was a substitute teacher. She was showing them a short video about the reindeers in Finland. I am from Sweden so I did not notice any difference between the ways of learning. But my friend from Italy noticed some differences between the way of teaching in Finland and Italy. In Italy they do not study music as they do in Finland. They do not have a music class and instruments. We had another member in the group who is from Spain. In Spain they are not allowed to use their cell phones but in Finland there were some students who were using their cell phones.
The music class is also difference because they only study the history of the music. Moreover in Germany the students discuss with each other but in Finland the teacher is talking most of the time. We have also a member in the group who is from Poland. She noticed that in Poland there are more students in the class that the classes in Finland.”
Featured image by Angela Varona Rodriguez