As a professor of Finnish, Jyrki Kalliokoski’s teaching is concentrated on two areas: Finnish as a second language and Finnish language and culture, which is a subject aimed at international students. In his research, he explores second language use, language learning and multilingualism to find out how communication works…

I wrote my dissertation on the Finnish word for ‘and’, ja. And I got to explain why on more than few occasions. One consequence of this is that one of the requirements in my MA thesis seminar is to formulate your topic so that you can explain it in one sentence to people who ask about it in a café or bar.

I wanted to write my MA thesis on the language of literature, preferably on a writer whose language was considered difficult. I chose the Finnish modernist Volter Kilpi, who by the turn of the 1970s had received very little scholarly attention.

Universities train the teachers who work in Finnish schools. School offers a foundation and the building blocks for the pupils’ worldview. It affects the view we have of different areas of research and their meaning in life. When we think of the attraction of the humanities when compared to the…

As a working environment, the University is constantly evolving. I have had nice moments in various parts of my career, with various people.