Mit pitkitt istutkimus paljastaa edistyneiden suomenoppijoiden kielitaidosta?

In this article we will make a suggestion on how to longitudinally study the language proficiency of advanced Finnish learners’ writing. In such a study individuals’ actual development can be examined. The study is comparable to variation studies and real-time methods. At the beginning of a two years observation period, the language skills of the students are already quite good; therefore, their development is not rapid. Most likely their language will not be much better at the final stage compared to the initial phase, but it will probably be different. This article resembles a case study with only three informants. The observation period comprises 7 months for informants 1, 2 and 3. From informant 3 we also have material from the subsequent 7 months; thus this material comprises 14 months after the beginning of observation.