Espoo residents Lidiia Salo and Tareque Mahmud both passed their Finnish YKI (National Certificate of Language Proficiency) test, and then decided to write the book they wished they'd had to prepare for it.
Salo is from Russia and Mahmud from Bangladesh. Both are entrepreneurs with university degrees, and when they met earlier this year they found their experiences of the YKI test were quite similar.
The test has certain idiosyncrasies and administrative difficulties that can trip up even competent Finnish speakers, so they decided to write a book offering clear guidance on how to register for, and pass, the exam.
The result is A Step-by-Step Guide to Passing the YKI Test, a downloadable e-book that aims to give the information Mahmud and Salo wished they'd had before they took their tests.
Exam can be scary
Salo and Mahmud say they know several people who were scared of taking the test, even though they speak Finnish well. Their book is for these students: it does not teach Finnish language or grammar but rather gives information about how to prepare and what to expect.
One particular pain point is registration for the exam itself. Many test centres fill all their spots within a couple of hours of registration opening, and students are then forced to either wait or travel somewhere less convenient to take their tests.
The exams are held only six times each year. Many people are forced to travel to different parts of the country, because there are no tests in their own town or the available places are snapped up quickly.
Salo says that information about the timetable on test days, and the arrangements for each part of the test, are not readily available.
"I did not know that everyone sits in the same room and speaks at the same time," says Salo. "That was definitely the most difficult thing for me. I knew that I spoke pretty well, because we speak Finnish at home all the time, but even so it was really stressful."
"We would really have liked to have had this kind of book to help when we were preparing for the test," says Mahmud.
Tests meet citizenship requirements
Mahmud moved to Finland 14 years ago to study for a business degree. For the first four years, he spoke mainly English.
"I could only say 'kiitos'," remembers Mahmud. "Only when I first started to work did I realise that I had to learn Finnish."
It took Mahmud years to learn Finnish.
"A month before the YKI test I closed the doors and windows and just studied, ate and slept the Finnish language!" explains Mahmud, who adds that he took the test to aid his job search and in order to apply for Finnish citizenship.
After that, he also performed military service in Finland.
"During military service of course I did learn Finnish, but also some of the culture," says Mahmud. "That allowed me to see and notice things about Finland that I would not have understood otherwise."
The YKI test is one way of proving the required language skills for Finnish citizenship. It grades students on a six-point scale, with level three currently enough to gain citizenship.
The current government has announced it will tighten citizenship rules, extending residency periods and toughening language requirements.
There will also be a citizenship test of knowledge about the country. Salo says it would be good if new citizens learned something about Finnish culture.
"If you really want to live here, you should understand something about Finnish values," said Salo. "It is also important to know who Mannerheim was, for example, what Finland's history with Russia is and why people learn Swedish in Finland."
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