Curriculum of bilingual classes (in Finnish)

Rajala School has bilingual classes (Finnish-English) for grades 1 - 6. Entrance to the bilingual programme (Finnish-English) requires that students have good language proficiency in both Finnish and English, so that they are able to study in both languages. Students whose Finnish proficiency is inadequate will be allocated a place at Rajala School in the Preliminary Schooling in Preparation for Basic Education at School in Finland Programme there.

All of the bilingual classes follow the same National Curriculum as the regular Finnish classes. In the bilingual programme, the emphasis is on acquiring English proficiency in a naturalistic way. This comes through the daily routines at school, in lessons together with the teacher, and working in English with other students. Some subjects or units are taught exclusively in Finnish. The majority of lessons, however, are taught in English. The aim is for the children to develop a natural and straightforward relationship with the language. A student in the bilingual programme must be able to attain the same curriculum goals with regard to Finnish as a peer in the regular Finnish programme would, i.e. be able to work in Finnish with concepts learned through English. This assures the student’s opportunities to be able to continue studies in Finland through the medium of Finnish, which for the majority of students, is their mother tongue.

Applicants may freely apply for the programme if they already have some proficiency in English. Applications should be made in January. Students will be admitted to the programme based on the results of an English proficiency assessment. A maximum of 24 students may be accepted to the class.