The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is an international system that classifies levels of proficiency in foreign languages and divides language levels into six categories: A1 (beginner), A2 (upper beginner), B1 (intermediate), B2 (upper intermediate), C1 (advanced) and C2 (near-native).
Here’s a description of Finnish at A1 (beginner) level according to the University of Helsinki:
Speaking
You can interact in a simple way to tell people about yourself or your immediate surroundings. You speak slowly and need to pause often. Your pronunciation is far from perfect.
Listening
You can understand very simple phrases about yourself, people you know and things around you when people speak slowly and clearly.
Reading
You can understand very simple sentences, for example on notices and forms. You can find simple information in short texts.
Writing
You can write short, simple messages and notes. You can fill in forms with personal details. You can use some of the basic structures.
According to Ben Knight (Cambridge University), reaching A1 level in a new language takes 90–200 hours of study. Motivation, learning context and language background make a huge difference in how fast one can aquire another language. Finnish is classified as a languages with significant linguistic and/or cultural differences from English, which makes it harder to learn than many other European languages.
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