Learning English

Real estate and construction sector developer & leader. I love to solve problems!

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Hello from Vaasa, Finland. Looks like summer, still not so warm. Today we have +17 C, so it's quite warm. But houses are quite cold inside, if the sun doesn't shine inside.

Today's 5 words:

malice=pahantahtoisuus. I came across this term while studying for an exam. "Mala fides" is a Latin phrase that means your intentions aren't sincere or that you lack good faith. In other words, it means malice. So, malice = mala fides.

means=tarkoittaa. But you can use it =keinot. So "means to achieve (verb) goals". And yes, I like goals😊

achievement=saavutukset. Kind of goals, but still not.

conduct=käytös, käyttäytyminen. I can't say that I recognize this word. Even it is so normal. Behave I recognize.

impeccable=moitteeton, virheetön.

Have a nice monday!

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Good morning from Vaasa, Finland! Sun is not shining today, but temperature still +15 C. I think it's going to rain today, smells like that😊 In Finland I love the nature. Trees, birds singing and smells so good😊In Vaasa I love these old houses! We live in Palosaari area, which is actually an island. But not an isolated one, it’s part of the city. It’s about 2 kilometers from here to downtown, and I like to bike there because I get to see the sea along the way. There are a lot of this kind of houses in Palosaari and this part of Palosaari where we live, is also so quiet and peaceful☘️🌱 Now 5 new (or some that I should remember) words from Business English-book:

to break down: jäsennellä. Deepl.com says=hajota🤔Ok, maybe it's like you have to break something and organize it again. concise=suppea, lyhyt. Brief I knew, this means pretty much the same.

courteous=kohtelias, ystävällinen. New word for me, I didn't ever recognize when I listened how it's pronounced. Polite I knew.

for future reference=tulevaa tarvetta varten.

to indicate=osoittaa, ilmaista. I know this word, but repetition is good, so I could learn to use it too.

Bye😁

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Hello from Vaasa Finland! We have some flowers on our backyard✌️Not so warm yet, but +13 C and the sun is shining🌞 5 words from Business English-book:

to debit=veloittaa. We have debit and kredit cards in Finland. They'called that name. Kredit I get, but I have always wondered this debit, that what does it mean and so I could remember it when lifting money "from the wall" or something. Well now I know, it means that it will take the money from you bank account straight away. Kredit means of course that you "loan" the money.

to displace= syrjäyttää. Somehow you can many times find the logic in words, but still I have to ensure or confirm the meaning. So DIS and PLACE, like take away and place. Funny😊 jargon=ammattikieli. Ok, I have always thought that it means not so nice, nonsence talk. But no, quite the opposite😅

versatile=monipuolinen. This is hard to remember, if I don't find any remembering rule. Versace? to adhere to=noudattaa. Totally new for me! Like: we adhere to you practice, and do something... In this book, they add greetings to a letter, even if we don't do it in Finland. Yes ok, as I earlier mentioned, we only talk when necessary😎

Have a nice monday!

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Hello from Vaasa Finland😊Still raining and not so warm weather +6 C, but it's ok. Nature needs some water and after rainy days sun always shines🌞 Business English-book and vocabulary project goes on! I've used Duolingo from 2018. For this English-course I had an idea that I try to find English from Duolingo. English is one of the most familiar languages for me, so I hadn't use it for English. It's like this idea that I allready know english, which is not totally true. I can, but there sure is always something new to learn. Back to Duolingo! I found English and I thought that I want to really learn something new, so I started from the hard lessons. BUT! I thought that Duolingo challenges forever and always harder and harder. It did not! It took two long playing sessions and I had played the English lessons through🤔🤔🤔I was waiting more! I am learning many other languages with Duolingo too, so I have to go on with those! And find something else with English-game based I mean.

Those 5 new words in English:

dish=I knew this, but if someone would ask it so that I wouldn't have time to remember it, I wouldn't remember it. So this is why I write it here!

to interpret=tulkata. Yesterday I lifted up word interpretation, which means=tulkinta. So this is a verb of it!

Jacuzzi, I've heard this on tv very often and I suppose it's not originally an English word? Maybe Italian?

starter=alkuruoka, alkupalat. We don't eat this very often in restaurants in Finland. Main course is often quite big, so maybe because of that. Or it's just not culture here.

main course=pääruoka. This word came also in Duolingo. Course-word is also known (=kurssi), so it was kind odd, when it's about food. But I write it down here, so I could start to remember it.

See you next time😊

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Hello everybody! Vaasa and Finland here again✌️ I have been so busy with other courses, that I have not posted anything. But no worries, we're going towards summer, also here in north🌳Tree leaves are already here and in a little while we'll get to spend some time under the trees😎 I have been studying English in the mean time, mostly vocabulary and listening English from tv, without text! Did you know that in Finnish tv, we don't dub. Which means that someone would speak over the other language, using your countries language. They do it in France and Germany. So, we don't have it at all. Which means that we actually have opportunity to learn other languages, just by watching tv! You can choose to have texting in Finnish, or Swedish, sometimes even in English. It's actually really effective, because you kind of learn, even if you don't try. It's called suggestopedic learning I think. But what I have done now, is that I have watched BBC, and of course criminal series (😁), and I have taken the text away. Sometimes it's irritating if they use some word or concept which I don't understand and it's relevant to the plot. But I have also learned new words. But I've also gotten better at listening to and understanding the different British accents. But not the one that Adele speaks😅

📖I found one business English book from home. I'm going to get rid of it. But I thought that I could test my English skills and go through vocabulary in every chapter. And yes, even though I recognized almost all the words just by the way they were pronounced, I didn't know what they meant in Finnish. Here are first 5: 1. appearance=ulkonäkö. How you look, awful or beautiful😅

2. facial expression=ilme. 🤔f.ex.

3. gesture=ele; this one was brand new for me. I might have heard it, but I didn't know it. 4. interpretation=tulkinta. This world came earlier this year in some other course (in some article), and I didn't know what it means! World is very often used in academic English, but somehow I have avoid to understand it. Now I do. 5. to overstate=liioitella. Add something "too much" to a story f.ex. There is something that I have noticed with languages. You have to review a word about 3-5 times until you really remember it. Sometimes not so many if the word is linked to some impressive (positive or negative) situation which helps your brain to remember it (by linking it to something). You have maybe noticed this when you have been traveling? At least I have. When I was in Canary Islands I asked all the time from other people how do you say this and this in Spanish. Then I wrote those down. And juhuu! I still remember how you say f.ex. "Quiero ir a Yombo". I’m continuing to go through the vocabulary in my Business English book, but I remembered that I once printed out a list of the 100 most common academic English words. I’m going to look for that list and start going through it. There’s always something new to learn that makes reading English texts easier✌️

See you next time😁

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Hello from Vaasa Finland! We have not winter, but not spring either. Something so Finnish😁

Our land has again said to be the happiest country in the world. Something that we Finns of course wonder 😅Because you can't feel happiness in Finland. We are very quiet and reserved. But I think we are quite satisfied, because we're happy with VERY little🤔

The data in this research is based on different factors, like freedom, generosity, social support, healthy life expectancy. So maybe this explains. Not peoples situations, but different factors. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2026/03/18/the-25-happiest-countries-in-the-world-according-to-a-2026-report/) Finnish people are actually quite poor. You can see the difference, when you go to Sweden f.ex. They have much more money to spend. Good for them. We have also high unemployment, so future doesn't look so good. So this post was a lot like the picture. Gray and gloomy! But if you look really closely, you can see two swans flying behind the trees😊They are so beautiful! Have a happy weekend!

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Good morning from Vaasa, Finland. Here we are: https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?language=fi&pagename=Luettelo_Suomen_kuntien_koordinaateista&params=63.092588875_N_21.615874122_E_&title=Vaasa, quite north, but still not. Temperature this morning -17 C, but actually it wasn't so cold, because it was not winding. I am already at the campus and starting my "study day". I came here by bike 2,1 km, I had A LOT of clothes on. Maybe even too much. But now drinking coffee (by the way, did you know that Finnish people drink so much coffee, that we have been ranked 1. or 2. in the whole world!), and preparing for a new course. #ProceduralLaw , which refers to how legal court processes work. So very important subject, although going to court is certainly not anyone's goal, it is possible to get justice there, if at all. I have also studied a bit English. The schedules are tight, but you can always multitask. I really like watching crime series, my favorites later, but now I listened to #FatherBrown, without subtitles. He is a priest in the small town of Kembleford, but murders are happening and for some reason he can't keep himself from solving them😅 He has the vicarage employees as assistants and the police are pretty annoyed with him.

So now my head is full of English, British English. It's fun. In honor of the #criminaljustice course that just ended, I picked one word from the series, which is #manslaughter . It means that you kill someone, but you have not plan to do it, which would be a #murder . Words/sanat: *manslaughter=tappo *murder=murha But back to Father Brown⛪ Like many other British tv series, it's very well done, landscapes are beautiful, towns are what I could think normal old British towns look like. They are all very well dressed, I mean very well. And that is one very important part of the series😎Father Brown is a catholic priest, and series includes nice elements of the catholic life also. Virgin Mary of course, beautiful church, confession, etc. There is something fascinating in catholic church's things. I don't know what, but they have this strong habit to pray and practice religion. Now proceduralLaw lecture, lunch, more proseduralLaw and then home. It's funny that it's not so dark in Finland anymore. Sun got up 7.51 and we can actually see the sun today🌞!

Have a nice day, all of you😎 #DreamBig

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Good morning from Finland😀 How are you all doing? I'm fine, a bit tired, because I have so so so many assignments in progress, exams coming up, etc. Yesterday when I remembered to give my computer a break too! I shut down all programs and the entire computer overnight. So it wouldn't over heat like me😁 And this was also an example of how we Finnish people if someone asks "How are you doing?" We actually start to tell about -how we are doing, because we are polite and hey! you asked!😅 But now something I love: Books! I have a lot of them, more than the law allows, but still I go to a library and borrow more. I have now a routine going on, which is reading as many books as possible instead of browsing social media. So I easily read 100 pages per day, because I read quite fast (years of practice💪). Our English-course includes also reading a book in English. So I when to a library yesterday and tadaa! I found Donna Leon's book. I love Donna Leon's books. I have read I think 10 them in Finnish. They are quite light to read, no unnecessary "bloodshed" and the most important thing: no descriptions of sex scenes or revolving around sex relationship! How refreshing, just crimes, murders, Venice and good Italian food❤️😬😅

This "By its covers" is new for me. I already started it yesterday. Someone is stealing valuable books from library! How awful. I'm sure Commissario Brunetti will find out who it is and get back those books👌 I will report later how it went! 📜New words, or actually I was a bit unsure what this means: *additional = lisä, ylimääräinen, täydentävä

And that's all! Have a nice day all of you😎

Niina P.S. Vaasa -9° C and I think we are going to see the sun today⛅

[niinalearningenglishalms]

The second video I watch and want to lift up is "Why love is harder in a second language?" Magdalena Hoeller

Hoeller is a German speaker and her fiance English. They speak English together. But she brought up that language is not just a language and words.

Your first language has normally the strongest meaning. "I love you" from my mouth wouldn't be so strong than "Minä rakastan sinua" in Finnish, my first language. Hmm, I have to think about this, because we Finnish people very rarely (!) express our feelings, let alone talk about them! And I have heard that Finnish language sounds harsh. Anyway, Hoeller continues about jokes and about laughing in your own language. Ok, sounds first odd, but I think we have to be quite good in some language that we understand the content of jokes. It is often related to culture and understanding it. But I have to say, that we Finnish laugh and understand for same odd reason: British humor. Even though we have nothing else in common with them😅

Hoeller talks about languages global status. Meaning English, Spanish and Mandarin. Yes haven't really thought about what it means earlier. But native English speaker is in another situation in this world (power dynamics) than Finnish speaker. Also people in different situations can feel this power dynamics. If they travel, this power dynamics changes. Suddenly the other one is ordering food in restaurant! Multi-language relationships and notes: be aware about power of world, humor, jokes. Some world which is neutral in your country, might be very bad in other language and culture. Build your own micro-culture. Have a nice Monday!

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Hello from Finland! I've listened couple of Youtube-videos yesterday and tomorrow. First was "3 Best TED talks for learning English" There were three speakers in the video. I don't remember the name of one of them, but the other two were familiar: Rene Brown and Simon Sinek. In fact, I am currently reading Simon Sinek's book "Why." I saw Rene Brown's TED talk "Vulnerability" years ago and liked what she had to say.

I picked up a couple of things: 1) Status quo = is latin and it means that we maintain things us they are (Apple does not:)

2) Why? It always important think why we are doing something. If we have strong why, it's easier to do things, because we have so strong motivation and goal (this might be from Sinek's book, but anyway👌)

And 5 new words:

grit= longtime goal (kind of why)

2) fuzzy=epäselvä, esimerkiksi kuva.

3) worthy=arvoinen (trustworthy=luotettava eli sananmukaisesti luottamuksen arvoinen)

4) consequently=therefore eli seurauksena

5) folks=parents; people

Well I knew the word, but not that I can use it when talking about my parents. And yes "That's all folks!" 😁

[niinalearningenglishalms]

Good morning from Finland😁 I started morning by listening news in English! Normally I listen news in Swedish, because I have a goal to be better in Swedish language too. This mornings topics from CNN: mostly Trump and not a single positive word about his actions or him. Hmmm🤔Most topics were somehow connected to him or his politics f.ex. Harvard University and federal funds and Canada's election. Yes, Canada's election. Other topics were about: Pope Francis (is he dead already and they have a new?), lower consumption, don't compare your life in social media and others life there (I agree with this!) and China made cars. They actually have nowadays also luxury cars. Not in my taste, but I bet many like them. I learned 5 new words (my goal):

curated=valikoitu, kuratoitu, koottu (esim. curated list=huolella valittu lista)

backtracked=pyörsi sanansa, perääntyi, palasi takaisin

warrant=pidätysmääräys, etsintälupa (substantitiivi); valtuuttaa, oikeuttaa (verbi)

great recession=suuri taantuma vuosina 2007-2009

harness=ottaa hyötykäyttöön, hyödyntää, valjastaa; wiring harness=johtosarja; dog harness=koiran valjaat

In Finland we talk about "The financial crisis" and we all know it's about year 2008. Also funny that it's not enough that you know the translation for some word, you have to also understand it. Like curated. I had heard it before concerning art exhibitions, but I didn't know the meaning of that word. Now I know😊 Have a nice day all of you!

[niinalearningenglishalms]

I'm starting an English course today! The course is an ALMS course, which stands for autonomous language learning modules.

There are different types of assignments in different categories. The most difficult part for me is the so-called formal or academic vocabulary. So one of the most important goals of the course is to expand my academic vocabulary. Of course, I also plan to have fun, i.e., read something enjoyable, watch a movie (without subtitles), etc. P.S The photo shows the paws of our family's other cat, Sirius Black **

I study law at the University of Helsinki's Vaasa campus. Mastering academic English is important in this field! So let's go!