Finnish C2 level YKI test

[krtk]

As someone who grew up speaking Finnish outside of Finland, I'd like to bring my language level up to C2 so I'm treating the YKI test as a target for myself. I had a look at some practice tests for the YKI and based on that I would estimate that I'm already at C2 level in reading comprehension but not yet in other areas. The main issue is that I have a lot of passive vocabulary so I can understand texts at any level, but I haven't had enough experience using the language so it's tricky to recall a lot of this vocabulary on the spot.

For people who have attained level 6 on the YKI test, what resources did you use? Is this something for which I'll need to get a private tutor? Most resources I've come across seem to be intended for a lower level, with the exception of the 'Iso suomen kielioppi' which is extremely useful, though due to the sheer length it's difficult to motivate myself to finish the entire book when studying independently. (Maybe I'm answering my own question and I really should look into a private tutor?)

[tiia]

I wrote YKI at the C-level in November 2022 and got three 5's and one 6 (reading). I'd recommend you to take a look into my log, where I documented quite a bit of what I did over the years. The most important posts are probably the ones around the exam date. Here is the one I posted directly after the exam.

Serpent has also written the C-level YKI test in Finnish at some point, but that was still during the times of HTLAL (so before this forum came into existence) and I never managed to find the corresponding posts.

Otherwise I cannot remember anyone on this forum, who actually took YKI in Finnish at the C-level, though personally I may know 1-2 more (+ 1 who wrote it in Swedish).

The main issue with preparing for the test is the lack of adequate material, which was the reason why I decided to participate in a preparatory (online) course. I feel like even many teachers may not know exactly how the test is graded. Finding a tutor/teacher to prepare you for C2 may be quite difficult.

Reading regularly of all kinds of articles from Yle uutiset and Helsingin Sanomat is excellent preparation for the reading part of the exam.
For speaking, writing and listening I don't know what's the best way to get from C1 to C2.
Definitely practise to write by hand and to write fast. Skip tasks if necessary and do them later. Many people are having time issues during the exam.

Do you plan to travel to Finland just for the test? I mean as far as I know there are no test locations elsewehere (except Tallinn?).

[kapybara]

Hey, I have the C2 level, got the level 6 in all four areas in YKi Ylin taso.

My story is kinda similar to "grew up speaking Finnish outside of Finland": I've lived in Finland as a child, moved away at the age of 12 and moved back at the age of 27. I'm guessing both me and @krtk learned the language as children but haven't used it as extensively as native Finns living in Finland. I was also struggling with my passive vocabulary, but it quickly became active after I moved back to Finlad.

I did the C2 test at the age of 30, three years after moving back to Finland. I wasn't super sure if I could make the writing part (I haven't really had to write in formal Finnish after I left the country), so I practiced for that. You can find some writing topics on the internet to practice, e.g. check the website of University Jyväskylä for all the languages, not just Finnish. If there is an example topic for Spanish C2, you can use it to practice for Finnish C2
I used ChatGPT (asked ChatGPT to evaluate which level does my text have on A1-C2 scale and asked to modify my text if not good enough). I also practiced writing by hand (a skill which I do not really have lol so I needed to practice to write fast). You can also practice speaking, just set a timer and do the speaking exercises on the jyu.fi website. Again, if you want more exercises, check the example tasks for other languages, not just Finnish.
Also I did some free online course by Savonia-AMK which was supposed to focus on C1 writing but also covered the other areas. The course was free for non-Finnish people living in Finland and was kinda useful. One of the sites they recommended was https://webcgi.oulu.fi/oykk/abc/kielenhuolto/ , I liked it quite a lot.

Hope that helps!