Designing Effective Learning Paths for Adult Immigrants to Learn Elementary Finnish Using Service Design

Abstract

The study aims to explore and develop an effective Elementary Finnish language learning paths for adult immigrants who are just starting to learn the language based on a Service Design approach. The goal was to understand the specific difficulties that immigrants face when learning Finnish as a means to integrate into society as well as participate in the local labor market. This study applied theories of education, psychology and sociology, with the pillars of Malcolm Knowles's Andragogy theory, Social Capital and Krashen's Optimal Input theory to build a model of factors affecting language learning including personal motivation, family and community support, and psychological and social factors. Furthermore, this study combined tools such as Personas, Journey map and Empathy map to design flexible language learning paths, adapting to the needs and characteristics of adult learners. The research results provided solutions for designing language learning programs to enhance learning motivation, making language learning interesting and long-term, thereby helping to improve the quality of life as well as career opportunities for adult immigrants.