News - Svenska Steg

Svenska Steg workshops for migrants in 2025

The project “Svenska Steg” is a series of Swedish language workshops for young migrants held in the Helsinki and Espoo capital area. The initiative is coordinated by Learning for Integration ry and supported by partners Learnmera Oy and Mirsal ry. The workshops began in spring 2025, where sessions were originally held at Itäkeskus Library and Stoa Cultural Centre, and later developed into more structured mini-courses lasting 4–5 weeks, held in Espoo, in cooperation with multicultural organisation Mirsal ry.

The workshops are facilitated by a Swedish speaking tutor as well as an Arabic speaking tutor, even though English is normally used as the main language during the sessions. The project was designed especially for migrants, with strong participation from Arabic speakers, but also attendees from many other nationalities participated in the workshops.

The workshops combine grammar and vocabulary with interactive exercises, games, pair work and discussions on everyday topics such as family, work, travel, food and Finnish as well as Finnish-Swedish culture. In addition, a multilingual website (svenskasteg.eu) was created with downloadable materials and digital exercises to support independent learning.

During 2025, the project grew significantly in popularity and received very positive feedback from participants. The Svenska Steg workshops for 2025 finished in December, and now we are continuing with new Svenska Steg courses in 2026, supported by further funding from Svenska kulturfonden. We believe that interactive, informal Swedish workshops strengthen migrants’ Swedish language skills and support their integration and employment opportunities in the capital region. Also, the lessons are informal, interactive and so much fun, we can’t wait to continue!