Making the famous and scary YKI test was on my to-do list for a while. I was a couple of months between jobs in spring and decided to invest my energy exactly into this exam. A short story: it was surprisingly easy, and I passed with a B2 level. But the longer story is, what does it show?
The YKI test is the indicator of someone’s Finnish language skills. The government made it obligatory to prove the language skills when applying for Finnish citizenship. B1 or B2 levels are considered sufficient for the application.
When I received the results, of course, I was happy and relieved. But I did not have any doubts – the test was not as demanding as I imagined and I left the exam with a positive feeling. Additionally, my advantage was that I didn’t go to the exam straightforwardly from the course, but spent several years at the workplace and at least on some level using Finnish daily. I was also much more relaxed than many other people because I did not need to pass. As an EU citizen, I have the advantage of permanent residence, but I can only imagine that the YKI exam must be very stressful for many, whose future rely on passing.
Many times I also heard from Finnish language teachers, that B1 and B2 are already the high levels of Finnish skills. They said, that e.g. medical doctors or nurses with foreign backgrounds should be fine in the labour market when reaching these levels. I am a social worker, and B2 is far away from being enough for the job.
What the YKI exam tests is the general language. Topics such as sauna, shopping, asking for help, expressing opinions, making short conversations, and understanding the advertisements or news. It is logical because these topics are covered by the books for Finnish language students. The exam for B1 or B2 level does not examine your grammar. If you are lucky with a good combination of topics, you can pass the YKI test even if your grammar is bad and you don’t speak so smoothly.
For using Finnish professionally in jobs where communication is essential, B2 is hardly enough. It is a huge step from “I would like to buy this dishwasher” to “Integration is a multi-stakeholder responsibility, where active participation of foreigners should be supported.” This is an actual example from my YKI test and the sentence I use in my job and I still can’t memorise it.
I understand that encouraging students is very important but I feel frustrated when people think that B1 is enough to get a job. It is perhaps enough in some jobs, but definitely not enough in others.
My B2 Finnish is enough for general jibber-jabber. It’s wonderful that I can have small talks with my neighbours, discussing my kids with teachers or even medical professionals, when describing the most common symptoms. But if in my work people are not flexible with jumping in between the languages, I would be doomed. Speaking English is not even an advantage when learning Finnish. It provides the comfort to skip the effort of studying harder and trying to express yourself better.
The way how I see it at the moment is, that passing the YKI test is just another beginning. I am happy that I passed, I am happy to have proof on the paper and not just personal impressions. And now, I should push myself more – reading more books in Finnish, watching more movies in Finnish, making more conversations in Finnish. I am thankful to be in an environment, where people value also other skills and can adjust to whatever language comes first out of my mouth 🙂
