Toisto Method in Schools!

Friendly Finnish – Toisto Method in Schools Project 17.2.2025-16.2.2028

The project is co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (AMIF) during 17.2.2025-16.2.2028.

Friendly Finnish – The Toisto Method in Schools is a nationwide project in Finland that promotes Finnish language learning in preparatory education in comprehensive schools by using the Toisto Method.

The project supports newly arrived schoolchildren and their guardians in learning to speak beginner-level Finnish, strengthens cooperation between home and school, and fosters integration. The Toisto Method is introduced in preparatory education by training education professionals to use the Toisto Method, training Finnish-speaking guardians to become volunteer Toisto guides, and by developing ready-made, free materials for the guides and teaching staff.

TARGET GROUPS OF THE PROJECT

• professionals in the field of education across disciplines,
• comprehensive school pupils learning Finnish,
• their guardians from countries outside of Europe,
• Finnish-speaking guardians.

GOALS AND ACTIVITES

The project supports the use of the Toisto Method as part of preparatory education in comprehensive schools. Education professionals and experts in collaborating schools are trained to use the method and to organize Toisto sessions.

During the project, a Friends in Finnish Model (Kaverikieli-malli) is developed, focusing on teaching Finnish language skills with an emphasis on social relationships and interaction within the school context. Ready-made Friends in Finnish materials will be produced for teachers and educational staff to support Finnish language teaching to children and youth with the Toisto Method. The materials will be made publicly available during the project.

A Toisto for Guardians Model is being developed for the guardians whose children attend the same school. The Model fosters guardian community building across language barriers. In this model, the guardians who want to learn to speak Finnish and those who already do will come together in Toisto groups. Via the language learning, the guardians will also become familiar with some practices of home-school collaboration. Finnish-speaking peer guides, and integration and education professionals are trained to use of the Toisto Method and the materials designed for guardians, and organize Toisto groups. Additionally, ready-made Toisto materials will be created to help the volunteer guides to facilitate the groups. The materials for the Toisto for Guardians Model will be published and made freely available during the project so that schools, municipalities, and organizations across Finland can benefit from them.

The overall goal is for the Friends in Finnish and Toisto for Guardians Models to be adopted in comprehensive schools across the country.

Toisto Method

The Toisto Method is a verbal teaching method developed at the University of Helsinki in 2015. Learning with the Toisto Method is based on the natural order of language acquisition: listening, repeating, and speaking. The Method does not involve reading, writing, or lecture-based teaching.

During Toisto sessions, picture cards are used to teach the words and phrases, modeling with an assistant guide replaces verbal explanations and the ”talking dictionary” ensures help upon each learner’s request.

Read more about the Toisto Method here.

Friends in Finnish Model

The Friends in Finnish Model also aims to support trust and cooperation between home and school and to increase pupils’ participation from the very beginning of their language learning journey.

The Friends in Finnish Model is being developed for preparatory education in comprehensive schools. It helps newly arrived children learn to speak beginner-level Finnish with the help of the Toisto Method. The model teaches useful phrases and words that support social interaction and communication, and foster a sense of belonging, and linguistic connection among classmates and school staff.

Friends in Finnish materials are being developed specifically for teachers and school staff. These materials are designed especially for teaching children and are generally applicable across the school context. They will be published and made available free of charge on this website.

Free training will be provided for school professionals on how to use the Toisto Method and the Friends in Finnish Model materials. In addition to training, hands-on support by the project staff is provided for professionals when starting the first Friends in Finnish sessions.

Its long-term implementation will be supported through training of trainers, ensuring that the methodological and training know-how stays in the local area and within the educational sector.

Toisto for Guardians Model

The second goal of the project is to develop the Toisto for Guardians Model for parents and guardians whose children are in preparatory education. This model enables schools to support guardians in learning beginner-level Finnish and to promote more balanced integration processes within families.

The aim is for newly arrived guardians to learn useful everyday Finnish phrases and vocabulary through the Toisto Method. The model also aims to improve understanding of the Finnish school system and strengthen trust between guardians and educational staff via language learning. Tailored materials will be developed for the Toisto for Guardians Model.

Finnish-speaking guardians and school staff will be trained to become volunteer Toisto guides. The project staff provides hands-on support with organizing the Toisto groups and communicating about them in various languages.

Toisto groups will meet 10 times at schools, each session lasting no more than one hour. Ideally, each group will have two Toisto guides and maximum of 10 participants.

Toisto groups are led by volunteer peer guides (i.e. Finnish-speaking guardians). They are guardians whose children go to the same school. The guides need be fluent in Finnish but neither a native speaker nor remember grammar rules. In addition to learning Finnish, guardians can establish linguistic connections with other parents and school staff. This, in turn, helps promote the well-being of the whole family and supports the integration process. Toisto groups enable useful and reciprocal interaction among the guardians regardless of language barriers and build trust and a sense of community thus supporting parenting and promoting inclusion.

The sustainability of the model will be strengthened through training of trainers which help to ensure that the knowledge and motivation of organizing Toisto groups for guardians remain locally — for example in parent associations and schools.

Cooperation with schools and municipalities

The pilot schools are comprehensive schools in Espoo and Nummela (Vihti). After the 2025 initial phase, both models will be implemented in other municipalities and schools with preparatory education for newly arrived children and their guardians, teaching staff and Finnish-speaking guardians.

The project aims to implement the Friends in Finnish and Toisto for Guardians Models in comprehensive schools in six municipalities across Finland during 2026–2027.

Municipalities and schools across Finland that interested in collaboration are welcomed to contact the project specialist: Minna Savolainen, tel: +358 (0) 50 3303132, email: minna.savolainen (a) toistomalli.fi.

Download the project brochure here.

Materials for Toisto guides and teachers

All the materials for teachers and Toisto guides will be published on this website during the project.

The publication will be announced in the newsletter. Sign up for the Toisto newsletter below.

The project’s data privacy statement is available in Finnish here.