Teaching Finnish Language and Culture in Seattle

When admitted to Tampere University in 2017 to become an elementary school teacher, I was driven to go on student exchange at some point of my studies. As we know, the COVID-19 pandemic hit us and closed the world for a good while in 2020. 

Luckily, I got the chance to go on an Erasmus+ exchange to the Netherlands for the fall of 2022. The first morning I woke up in the Netherlands, I saw the ad from the Fulbright Finland Foundation (FFF) about the Fulbright Finnish Language and Culture Teaching Assistant (FLTA) grant. I decided to consider applying to the FLTA program, even though I had just arrived to start a totally different adventure and language teaching wasn’t really something I was studying. I was interested to see the world and work abroad, and this seemed like a great opportunity to do so.

The application process was long but smooth, and before moving back to Finland, I was invited to spend my FLTA year at the University of Washington in Seattle for the academic year of 2023–24. After graduating as a Master of Arts (Education) in January 2023, I worked as an elementary school teacher for one semester before heading to the U.S. So, quite early on in my career I was offered the opportunity to work in a university and with adults, which both differed from my earlier experiences and professional aims.

What did I, as an elementary school teacher, gain from this year in the United States, teaching Finnish Language and Culture at the University of Washington in Seattle? 

I got to work alongside a great, supportive, and skillful Finnish Language instructor who brought his expertise with him. After spending a year in Seattle my professional skills in language teaching and especially teaching Finnish as a second language have grown. The skill set that I’ve gained from this experience will aid me in my future career. 

For now, I’m heading back to teaching children, but this year sparked an interest towards working with second language acquisition and with adults. I’m excited to see how this might benefit my career choices in the future!

After spending a year in Seattle my professional skills in language teaching, and especially teaching Finnish as a second language, have grown. 

Should I apply?

If you have even the slightest interest towards living abroad in the U.S., working and studying there and getting to build your life in a new setting, I warmly encourage you to write and send in the application. 

A teacher is a teacher, no matter the background. Working together with a language expert, taught me a lot and now my skill set as an educator is broader than before. Moving to the other side of the world wasn’t simple but all the preparations, including the almost endless paperwork, were more than worth it. 

Both the Fulbright Finland Foundation and the Fulbright Program have been a great support throughout the year whenever needed. After this life changing year, I can look back to the fall of 2022 and be thankful to myself for deciding to apply for this grant.