Courses at Adult Education Centre

Learning languages is fun and useful! With us, you can learn languages in a number of different ways – we offer courses, for example, to promote oral language skills, to support professional skills, and as a captivating hobby and a channel to get to know different cultures.

If I had known that learning languages is such fun, I would have come to the courses 10 years ago!

The key values in our courses are an open attitude towards others, acceptance of differences, active interaction, working in a team and increasing awareness about one’s own culture as well as other cultures.

The classes had such a nice atmosphere where you dared give it a try even if not everything was going exactly right.

Sociability, community spirit and interaction promote learning, that is why in our classes students work a lot in pairs or small groups.

With us, you can study more than twenty languages taught by approx. 70 language teachers. We arrange language courses in the entire Vantaa region as well as distance courses. Our course offer includes day and evening language courses. Apart from traditional weekly courses, we also have fast-moving intensive courses and special and short courses, lectures and events related to languages, cultures, travel, and country knowledge.

At our college, you can take the National Certificate of Language Proficiency (Yleinen kielitutkinto YKI) test in English, Northern Sami and Finnish; besides, our college is the only place in Finland where you can take the official examination in Spanish (DELE).

In the teaching process, we use a variety of different working and teaching methods, and in addition to traditional teaching materials, we utilise new digital learning environments. Handout fees are included the price of language courses; as to the textbooks specified in the course information, you should acquire them yourself.

Our coordinating teachers will be happy to advise you on choosing the right course for you and welcome you to new languages and ideas.

Exercise, dance and yoga courses

Everyone will find an active hobby for themselves from among the exercise, dance and yoga courses of the Vantaa Adult Education Centre. There are courses are for people of all ages and fitness levels, both during the day and in the evening. The aim of the courses is to support the overall well-being of the participants and offer opportunities for versatile exercise. Courses are offered throughout the semester, and we also offer shorter intensive courses on different themes. Welcome to our courses to enjoy exercise, fun working together and a good feeling!

Health and well-being

In health and well-being courses, it would be necessary to consider your clothing; even though the courses are not exercise courses, for many of them it would be good to wear comfortable, flexible clothes. Please always check with your course to see whether anything special has been mentioned about clothing or equipment and prepare accordingly. Please also note that in the couple's massage course both partners of the couple should register for the course. One partner of the couple can register for both by phone, but online registration has to be done in person.

Good to know

Remember to check with your course if a textbook is used in the course. If a textbook is mentioned in the information about the course, it has to be available during the course.

In some courses, the teacher brings the necessary material for which a small fee is collected on the spot. Please make sure you will have the necessary amount of cash on you.

New flavours and ideas for the kitchen

You can try something new in the domestic science classes! We also review basic skills and encourage students to learn from peers. An important part of teaching home economics is to give students the joy of new insight. The themes of the course are versatile. With us, you will get to know different food cultures and ingredients, trends and traditions. Our home economics course teachers are professionals in their field who have designed their courses and will make sure they run smoothly. 

In the home economics class, you can make mistakes and succeed, discuss, challenge and learn with enthusiasm. Our warm welcome!

Joy of creating by hand

Every year we arrange about 200 handcraft courses. Most of the courses are organised close to good transport connections in Tikkurila, but there are many activities in different parts of Vantaa. Our teachers are experts in their handicraft techniques who enjoy creating by hand as well as teaching adults.

Apart from the teachers, the students also praise our good teaching facilities, the condition and number of machines and equipment devices as well as the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere. You will learn more in a group than by drilling alone and get a lot of new ideas from both the teacher and other students of your course!

Materials for handcraft courses

All the materials used in the handcraft courses have to be mainly purchased by students themselves. Exceptions are courses where course content information specifies joint purchase of the materials or the course includes an information session where all the required material and equipment purchases are reviewed. Attending the information session is mandatory; you will not be accepted to the course if you do not attend the information session.

Technical work courses

The teaching of technical work takes place in the technical work facilities of schools and youth activity centres on the conditions of the principal users of these facilities. Students can work there only according to the capacity of the machines and equipment installed in the facilities, i.e. no large-scale work will be done during the course. Small storage spaces also restrict the size of the works; the course participants should be prepared to possibly carry unfinished works with them. The age limit of the participants is the age of majority.

Taking part in the woodworking and metalworking courses requires students’ participation in the orientation session where they will be introduced to and instructed on the use of the machines and equipment used in the relevant courses. By participating in the orientation session, the students of the course will acquire the occupational safety card. The acquisition of the occupational safety card is mandatory for all the participants, and only after it has been acquired the participants will be allowed to use the machines and devices at the course location.

For occupational safety reasons, the course participants are required to purchase their own hearing protection and safety glasses.

Native language/language care

In the courses, the students will review the basics of grammar, previously learned, e.g., sentence structures, compound words or/and punctuation rules.

The courses are suitable for all previous language learners interested in Finnish grammar, students, those preparing for matriculation examinations, those enjoy writing as well as those who write for work.

Literature

The literature courses of the Education Centre are mainly literature circles where students acquire books themselves, but the choices are made together with the group, except for the choice of the first book. Choices are made based on topicality. Besides reading experiences, students will also learn about the author, author’s personal history, social background and other works.

Creative writing

Writing courses are provided both remotely and face-to-face in West and East Vantaa. There are several creative writing courses because expressing oneself through writing is very popular. There are courses for those who try writing as well as for those who have been writing for a longer time. Writing also seeks well-being and positive thinking, so writing courses may have various goals.

What these courses have in common is the production of a text and voluntary distribution of the produced writings either only to the teacher or to the whole group and a discussion with the group online, on a closed teaching platform, by e-mail or on site whole listening to the texts produced.

Unleash your creativity with visual art courses

The visual art course offerings include courses of various range, which create opportunities for, e.g., versatile practise of visual arts, strengthening perception and creativity, developing artistic means of expression and understanding the phenomena of visual culture.

Short courses are educationally focused on the relevant theme or method of implementation, in which case they may awaken participants to new prospectives on artistic work and thinking. We offer opportunities of registering in advance from autumn courses to spring extension courses, so that the studies can become a unified whole spanning over the entire academic year. The option of a longer goal-oriented study is a 4-year visual arts curriculum.

Your own motivation and diligence determine the goal that enables your actions. The teaching takes individuality into account, therefore the students themselves can influence the level of challenges and demands of the studies in guidance discussions.

Please note! The course fees do not include materials or personal tools unless otherwise stated. In some courses, study materials are purchased centrally, in which case a separate material fee is charged.‍

Digital everyday life and social media

The objective of digital everyday life courses is to bring citizens to a more equal position in terms of IT skills. Digital advice is also offered individually, according to the needs of the client. Digital skills are a today thing, without smart devices, network connection and basic skills citizens are not able to smoothly interact with the authorities, reserve a time for vaccination or any other appointments, let alone participate in the online courses of the Education Centre. Digital skills also include information security: relevant information and protection against online scams. In social media workshops, the participants learn social media skills and how to surf safely in the ever-expanding and wonderful world of the Internet.

Information technology

Information technology courses can be online courses, in which case the student needs to have their own computer, a laptop or a mobile device as well as Internet connections. There is a lot of different free software on the web, and students can practice commercial or recreational use of such software in IT courses. The college building has two computer classrooms. In face-to-face teaching courses, you can learn different, more demanding, installable, paid software. For information technology projects that last several days it is recommended to use your own storage medium or network storage service.

Digital consultations

Digital consultations during the spring semester 2023 starts on 26.1.-15.5., and they are available on Mondays between 13:00 and 16:15.

Digital consultations are free of charge for personal sessions of a maximum 45-minutes. You can book an appointment by phone at 09 8392 4342 from Monday to Thursday from 12:00 to 15:00 and on Fridays from 12:00 to 14.00 or from the appointment calendar.

People and society

At the Education Centre, we talk about social subjects when we mean teaching that is related to people and society. The offering is very diverse, it includes lectures and lecture series and courses on various topics. The lectures are mainly free and the teaching is arranged both online and as face-to-face courses, so participation in the courses is not necessarily tied to a location.

Culture, art history, philosophy, self-development and active citizenship

The range of social subjects is wide, from history to the present day, from local knowledge to international issues and phenomena. From practical knowledge and skills to theoretical considerations. From self-development to joint responsibility, sustainable development and active citizenship.