Period: 1.9.2021 - 21.6.2023

Content: As part of the ”Integrationsmodeller för internationella examensstuderande”
project, Novia UAS has created the ”Framtidens flerspråkiga sjukskötare”
Project. The project's target group is primarily international students in
Novia's English-language nursing education, to improve their language skills
and specifically to become more proficient in Swedish to make it easier for
them to land a job and integrate in the Finnish society. The activities also
involve Swedish- and Finnish-speaking students. These students often also have
a need to improve their knowledge of the second domestic language. This effort
is made to respond to the current need for labor forces in Finland. The
språkklinik, Language Ambassador and Språkcafé are some of the activities that
were born as a result of the “Framtidens flerspråkiga sjukskötare”.

Språkklinik: is a space where students can participate in extracurricular
activities to help them improve their language skills. Through the språkklinik
students will be able to book individual or group language sessions with a
teacher, organize book clubs and games, find tandem partners. Short language
sessions that focus on current topics from the curriculum can be arranged
according to the students’ needs. Language teachers can join students in the
clinical classrooms when they practice techniques taught in clinical courses.
Students will also have the opportunity to participate in the Språkcafé, an
activity held once a week online/on campus that focuses on improving students’
oral skills in Swedish. The Språkklinik pilot project is going to take place at
Alere, room C116, Vaasa campus. Språkklinik is managed by Terese Herrgård-
Backlund. In 2022 language teacher Anne Wähä from VAMK will join the project
and help develop the concept of Språkklinik. Students from VAMK and nursing
students from Novia will have joint activities where focus is on using the
Swedish language.

The Language Ambassador: is an Instagram-driven activity that will follow
international students in their language journey. It is a platform were
volunteer language ambassadors share their experiences in learning the Swedish
language, share tips and tricks on how to improve language skills faster and
the tools that they use to do so. The aim of the language ambassador activity
is to lower the threshold and to inspire students to realize the importance of
learning the language. We hope that through Instagram, we will reach a wider
audience. The language ambassador project is coordinated by Marie Louise Razafy
Kjellman.

The Framtidens flerspråkiga sjukskötare and all its activities focus on Swedish
language leaning for international nursing students in the English degree
program at Novia UAS but it is hoped that the activities are going to expand in
Finnish and English language learning for all degree students in the future.

For more information on the project, please contact the following persons:

Språkklinik coordinator
Teresse Herrgård-Backlund
+358503093141
terese.herrgard-backlund@novia.fi ,

Language Ambassador coordinator
Marie Louise Razafy – Kjellman
+358 50 478 4970
marie.kjellman@novia.fi

Focus area: Interprofessionell hälsa och välfärd

Campus: Vasa Wolffskavägen 31

Rahoittajat: Konstsamfundet, Harry Schaumans Stiftelse, Otto A. Malms donationsfond, Svenska folkskolans vänner

Project manager: Terese Herrgård-Backlund