Hei! In addition to being the official language of Finland, Finnish is also one of the official languages of the European Union, one of the working languages of the Nordic Council, and is spoken in Sweden, Norway, Russia and the Republic of Karelia. More than six million people worldwide speak Finnish.

Meet

your Finnish Teachers

Emmi

Finnish teacher @ #BHLingual
for 4 years

The best part about living in Los Angeles is...

Without a doubt, the diversity of cultures, nationalities, and languages, and the opportunities that rise from such cultural richness. It feels as though the whole world is represented here.

Recommend a place to visit where Finnish is the native language, and tell us why you like it.

The only place in the world where Finnish is spoken as the native language is Finland. So if you want to fully immerse yourself in Finnish, you'll have to travel to Finland! The capital of Helsinki is a wonderful city to start your Finnish experience with: it's an international city, but its distinctive culture, nature, architecture, culinary scene, and relaxed atmosphere make it a profoundly Finnish place. But be warned; Finns speak excellent English and switching to it comes naturally to them, so you will have to tell them that you would prefer to get the full Finnish language treatment!

What Finnish film or musical artist do you recommend students watch or listen to?

I would recommend the movies by the Finnish auteur/ filmmaker, Aki Kaurismäki. His films are quirky and minimalistic, funny and humane, and quintessentially Finnish. His latest film, 'The Other Side of Hope' (2016), not only takes place in Helsinki, but also is painfully and beautifully current because of its subject matter.

What most surprises your students about Finnish?

Finnish is unique in that it bears very little resemblance to its Indo-European neighbor-languages, and therefore it may come as a surprise to the students that it really does take an extra amount of dedication to dive into the language. In essence, the student will have to adapt a new way of thinking about language because of its grammar structures: Finnish has no grammatical gender and has only gender-neutral pronouns (one word for she/he), and the seemingly endless inflection of nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and numerals may take some time to get used to. Finnish is certainly not an easy language, but that is what also makes it all the more rewarding; you'll be in a special club of around 5 million people who can converse in Finnish, and the Finns will love you doubly more for embracing their idiosyncratic language.

What one thing would you like your students to know about you?

I'm a native Finn, but I have a long history of learning languages myself, from English to Japanese, and from Swedish to German, so I know the intricacies and tricks of getting into the mindset of learning a challenging language.

Mastering a new language can change your life.

More About Finnish

Online Language Classes at the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute

The Beverly Hills Lingual Institute offers the most comprehensive selection of language classes you'll find in the Los Angeles area.

Classes are held in live online sessions, where students interact with their teacher and peers in real-time.

Classes are held at our facility located at 8383 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 800 in Beverly Hills, California.

Some of our 80-minute classes are scheduled during the evening with the first session running from 6:00 to 7:20 pm, and the second session running from 7:35 to 8:55 pm.

Classes are also offered during the day. See the schedule for a complete list of all classes.

We all speak one.
Some of us speak several.
A few of us know dozens.

Languages are a staple of everyday life, a necessity for getting by in the world and communicating with each other. They can help you get jobs, help you enjoy another country and culture—and even get you out of trouble.

Learning a new language can change your life.

Knowing how to say at least a few words in another language will break the ice at any business meeting, and will certainly make your vacation more pleasant.

You may also want to get in touch with your heritage by learning some of the language that your ancestors spoke. Language is a particularly good bridge in this regard, as it can often be a guide to the ways in which different cultures express not only ideas, but emotions. By exposing you to every aspect of the human condition, language allows you to study the past, understand the present, and ponder the future.

Choose a language and begin to enjoy the extraordinary benefits of being bilingual or multilingual.

Private Classes

Some students prefer private lessons instead of a scheduled class, or occasionally take private classes to augment their existing, scheduled group course.

Private classes are more flexible than Group classes. They are tailored to specific learning and scheduling needs. They can be useful if a student's language knowledge is uneven, if a more intensified study program is needed, or if privacy is a concern.

With our large staff of native speakers, we can schedule private lessons in most languages.

Private lessons are available in packages of eight, 80-minute sessions; or, if you are enrolled in a group class, your private lesson can be scheduled individually.

Please write us or call (323) 651-5000 to schedule your private class.

Alternative Programs

The majority of our scheduled language classes are designed for adult students who want to learn another language. We also offer the following alternative programs.

English · Accent Reduction

Classes evaluate the student's problem areas and focus on exercises designed to target and remedy those areas. Our Accent Reduction course focuses on pronunciation, stress, enunciation, diction, tonality, musicality, syntax, and articulation, through vowel and consonant exercises, work chants, tongue twisters, and readings. Individual attention is given to each student's area of difficulty.

English · Native Speaker

These classes are for those who grew up speaking English but want to improve and refine their English. Designed to give you the critical edge in English communication, they target grammar, spelling, and pronunciation.

Little Linguals

Designed for children aged 6 - 11, our "Little Lingual" classes meet once a week during the afternoon for one hour. Class content includes Alphabet, Songs, Games, Practical Words and Phrases, and Basic Dialogue. Children aged 12 and above can join our regularly scheduled adult classes.

These exciting classes are geared to get an early start on language learning while helping children enjoy and appreciate a different culture. This is the best time for them to learn a foreign language. The younger the learner, the better they are at mimicking new sounds and adopting pronunciation. The brain is open to new sounds and patterns in preadolescence.

Young children have the luxury of taking in a new language naturally. A child's brain is like a sponge, soaking up new vocabulary, sentence structure, words stress, pronunciation, and everything that makes up language quickly, easily—and, most importantly, without explicit grammatical instruction.

When you're an adult, learning a new language takes a bit more effort!

Young children have time to learn through play-like activities. Language lessons can be informal. Children's minds are not yet cluttered with facts to be stored and tested. Before children become self-conscious, they can try out their newly acquired languages without fear of embarrassment.

Children who grow up learning about languages develop empathy for others and a curiosity for different cultures and ideas. They're better prepared to take their place in a global society. In later years, career opportunities increase for those with additional languages to offer.

Studies by Harvard University confirm that learning additional languages increases critical thinking skills, creativity and flexibility of the mind in young children. Moreover, pupils who learn a foreign language outscore their non-foreign-language-learning peers in standardized verbal and math tests, indicating that learning additional language is a cognitive—and not just linguistic—activity. The brain, like any muscle, functions better with exercise. Learning a language involves memorizing rules and vocabulary, which helps strengthen that mental muscle.

Travel Classes

Our Travel Classes are designed for those who are planning a trip and want to get more out of their travel experience. These classes are held twice a week for one month. They are language classes focused on travel conversation, pronunciation, and culture.

Translating and Interpreting

With a roster of over eighty native-speaking teachers in over 30 different languages, the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute has the expertise to address many translating and interpreting challenges. This is a highly customized service. Please contact us to discuss your translating or interpreting requirements.