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Finnish Language Instruction in North America

A Need

In October 2005, a group of Finnish language instructors in North America gathered as an advisory board at Finlandia University to determine whether there was a need for a consortium of language teachers. Based on results of a survey created by this advisory board, there is a strong desire for such a consortium, and most of the responses indicated that working together with other language teachers would be an effective means to improve a program.

A Solution

Based on the results of the survey, listed below are all known language classes in North America. These listings range from small, informal groups to credited college courses. By request of some instructors, we will not publish specific contact information on this page; rather, we will link to the school or organization's Web site when possible:

Language Villages/Language Camps

Salolampi (Concordia Language Villages) - Bemidji, Minnesota
Finnish Cultural Camps - Sonoma, California
Laestadian Lutheran Church Camps - Becker, Minnesota or Champion, Michigan

Community Courses- U.S.

Finnish American Heritage Center - Hancock, Michigan
Community Language Course - Gray, Maine
House of Finland - San Diego, California
Little Finland - Kimball, Wisconsin
Finnish Center Association - Farmington Hills, Michigan
SISU Seminar - University of Minnesota-Duluth - Duluth, Minnesota
Finnish Heritage House - South Thomaston, Maine
Minnesota Finnish American Historical Society - Wolf Lake, Minnesota
Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter - Seattle, Washington
Finnish American Society of Delaware Valley - Levittown, Pennsylvania
Finnish Language Class - Negaunee, Michigan
Community Schools Programs - Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Finnish Conversation Group - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
Saima Park - Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Finnish Connection - St. Paul, Minnesota
Conversational Finnish - Virginia, Minnesota
Finnish American Club - Tucson, Arizona
Friends of Finland - Flint, Michigan

Public School Courses- U.S.

Calumet Elementary School - Calumet, Michigan
Hancock Elementary School - Hancock, Michigan
Baraga Area Schools - Baraga, Michigan
L'Anse Area Schools - L'Anse, Michigan

Suomi Koulu/Public School Courses - Canada

Scandinavian Cultural Society - Calgary, Alberta
Suomi Koulu - Montreal, Quebec
Suomi Koulu - Ottawa, Ontario
Suomi Koulu - Sudbury, Ontario
Suomi Koulu - Thunder Bay, Ontario
Suomi Koulu - Toronto, Ontario
Toronto Finnschool - Toronto, Ontario
Suomi Koulu - Vancouver, British Columbia
Suomi Koulu - Victoria, British Columbia
Suomi Koulu - Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Algoma School District - Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Ontario North East School District - Timmins, Ontario
Lakehead School District - Thunder Bay, Ontario
Ottawa Carleton School District - Nepean, Ontario
Rainbow School District - Sudbury, Ontario
Toronto School District - Toronto, Ontario

Colleges and Universities

Finlandia University - Hancock, Michigan
Lakehead University - Thunder Bay, Ontario
University of Toronto - Toronto, Ontario
University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Massachusetts
University of California - Berkeley, California
Indiana University - Bloomington, Indiana
University of Oregon - Eugene, Oregon
University of Wisconsin - Madison, Wisconsin
University of Minnesota - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Columbia University - New York, New York
Portland State University - Portland, Oregon
Brigham Young University - Provo, Utah
University of Washington - Seattle, Washington
Northern Michigan University - Marquette, Michigan

Suomi Koulu Programs- U.S.

Atlanta, Georgia
Berkeley, California
Charlotte, North Carolina
Lake Worth, Florida
Los Angles, California
Santa Monica, California
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Boston, Massachusetts
Cresskill, New Jersey
New York, New York
Irving, Texas
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Portland, Oregon
Sacramento, California
San Diego, California
Seattle, Washington
Silicon Valley, California
South Bay, Redondo Beach, California
Washington, D.C.
Finnish Language School Association - Arlington, Virginia