Curricula

Objective

After completing the course, you are able to mainly communicate understandably in speech and writing in simple and routine work tasks and other situations.

After completing the course, you can tell about yourself and your skills when, for example, applying for a job. You are able to perform in Swedish in the communication and interaction situations of working life and in your central field-specific work duties, such as appointments, guidance, field-specific emails, and customer service situations. You are able to assess your language skills in Swedish and have motivation to further your skills based on the principles of life-long learning. You act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

Communication and Team-working: You are able to function in a national and international context and you are able to cooperate with specialists in your own field as well as with other groups of professionals.

Content

During the course, you will study the following contents:
• studies and applying for a job
• oral and written communication situations in working life, for example appointments, small talk, customer service, telephone conversations, emails, and opinions
• producing formal written Swedish, such as reports, instructions, or summaries
• central field-specific terminology
• a field-specific, advanced part carried out as a workshop, a project, a portfolio, a report, or familiarization with working life

Qualifications

Level A2 or B1 in the European Framework of Reference.

This means that you are able to communicate understandably in speech and writing in familiar and routine situations when the course starts. You also understand clear speech and text dealing with familiar topics, such as introducing yourself and others and discussing studies and work. You have a sufficient command of the basic structures of Swedish, such as the use of personal pronouns, the use and inflection of nouns and adjectives, the verbs tenses, and the word order of main and subordinate clauses. Your vocabulary is sufficient for everyday situations. The level of your pronunciation is sufficient for the delivery of the content.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

1 - You can mainly communicate understandably in speech and writing in simple and routine work tasks and other situations although your language use is at times slow and incoherent. You understand the central content of clear speech and text dealing with familiar topics. You have a sufficient command of the basic structures and vocabulary for the delivery of the message. The level of your pronunciation is sufficient for the delivery of the main content of your message. You act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

2 - You are able to communicate understandably in speech and writing in familiar and routine work tasks and situations although your language use is at times slow and incoherent. You understand clear speech and text dealing with familiar topics. You have an adequate command of the basic structures of the language. Your vocabulary is sufficient for everyday situations and reasonably adequate for basic field-specific situations. The level of your pronunciation is sufficient for the delivery of the content of your message. You act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

3 - You can manage well in speech and writing in your work tasks and other everyday situations. You are able to write a text with coherent content. You understand speech with a normal tempo but unusual topics and speech deviating from standard use cause difficulties. You can understand even demanding written content related to your field although some details may remain unclear. You can use the grammatical structures of the language in a versatile way, and their mistakes do not hinder communication. Your command of the vocabulary of the language is sufficient for communicating the central content in different work tasks and situations. Your pronunciation is understandable. You act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

4 - You are able to communicate fluently in different situations and produce clear and fluent language with adequate style. You have no difficulty in understanding and producing speech and writing needed in working life although expressions deviating from the standard use of the language cause problems to some extent. You have a good command of the language and its use, but occasional problems may arise. You act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

5 - You are able to communicate with great fluency and active participation in demanding working life situations. You also portray versatility and an appropriate sense of style in your ability to apply the learning content of the course to demanding working life situations. You have no difficulties in understanding different kinds of language users although fine nuances and speech deviating significantly from standard language can sometimes be challenging. You can understand and produce demanding content in both speech and writing. Your language use is practically flawless. You act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

Further information

Act 6.6.2003/424 on the language skills required from personnel working in general government offices.

Oral and written language skills are assessed separately.

By successfully completing the compulsory course of the Swedish language (Työelämän ruotsi, 4 credits) of the degree program, the student demonstrates that he/she masters the oral and written Swedish language skills required of government officials (Act on language skills required of public sector personnel 424/2003, § 6).

Oral and written skills in the second domestic language are noted separately in the degree certificate. This assessment is based on the oral and written grades of the compulsory course, so that grades 4 and 5 mean good skills in the diploma and grades 1, 2 and 3 mean satisfactory skills.