The city of Espoo has postponed a controversial scheme that would require all Espoo schoolchildren to study English as their first foreign language.

The plan by the city administration is aimed at discouraging so-called school shopping, i.e. parents trying to get their kids into non-local schools that they see as more desirable.

Supporters argue that that practice, in turn, leads to greater segregation and inequality at public schools.

Espoo, just west of Helsinki, is a sprawling area that includes Finland’s wealthiest neighbourhood – Westend – as well as some of the highest concentrations of people of immigrant background.

For example, at the Kirstin koulu comprehensive school in central Espoo's Suvela district, 92 percent of pupils speak a native language other than Finnish or Swedish.

Overall, a quarter of Espoo residents are foreign-language speakers, while nearly 17 percent are foreign citizens.

The chair of Espoo’s school board disagrees with the basic premise of the proposal. It assumes that schools in more upscale neighbourhoods which offer more languages act as magnets for pupils from other areas, in a form of unhealthy competition.

"In my view, the range of language options in Espoo does not cause school shopping," says MP Mia Laiho (NCP), chair of the Espoo Education and Early Education Committee.

"I believe it’s important that by ensuring all areas of Espoo offer diverse language choices, we promote equality among children," she tells Yle News. "School language offerings shouldn’t be used to prevent segregation."

In Laiho’s view, schools should be able to offer another first foreign language besides English if there are enough interested students to form a class.

City councillor Mikko Lievonen (SDP), another member of the education committee member, also downplays the significance of foreign language instruction in inequality between districts and public schools.

"School shopping is a real phenomenon and language choices can play a part in this, but language learning is not a major driver," he tells Yle News.

"The school shopping phenomenon is more associated with various specialised education programmes, for example in arts and sports," Lievonen suggests.

With more than 326,000 residents, Espoo has grown from being a ‘bedroom community’ adjacent to the capital to Finland’s second-largest city in its own right. It’s also one of the country’s fastest-growing municipalities, projected to reach a population of 400,000 by 2037.

Laiho’s NCP dominates the Espoo City Council, followed by the Greens, the Social Democrats and the Swedish People’s Party. With many city councillors also serving as MPs, local politics and decisions are often entwined with national ones.

While the debate over language instruction may be reflected elsewhere, the capital region differs from most of Finland in that number of children is growing. Espoo in particular has a young population.

"Reckless population growth based on immigration"

Opposition to the plan stretches across much of the political spectrum, with Espoo councillor, MP and Finns Party vice-chair Simo Grönroos also rejecting it. In an interview with his party newspaper Suomen Uutiset in November, he noted that the plan to reduce the number of A1 languages ​​on offer was an effort to discourage ‘school shopping’ and segregation.

"For segregation to be truly addressed, instead of tampering with language teaching, Espoo should put an end to reckless population growth based on immigration," Grönroos argued.

While the Finns Party has traditionally opposed mandatory Swedish in schools, in recent months it has been updating its language strategy and changing the target of its criticism from Swedish to English.

National language policy requires that all Finnish-speaking pupils learn Swedish at school, and vice versa – all members of the small Swedish-speaking minority must learn Finnish.

"The status of Swedish language is not affected by decisions on the A1 language that starts at the age of seven," explains Lievonen.

"If a child doesn’t choose Swedish as their first foreign language, they can start learning it in the fourth grade if desired. But at the latest, everyone must begin studying Swedish in the sixth grade," says Laiho.

French, German and Swedish on the menu

Last month’s postponement means that current system will remain in place for the 2026-27 school year at least. That means pupils at some Finnish-language schools will have the option of choosing French, German or Swedish as their first non-native language.

Three schools in the Greater Tapiola area offer students the opportunity to study German and French as their so-called A1 language, the first foreign language that they begin studying in the first grade of comprehensive school.

Some youngsters then also opt for an optional A2 language, an elective foreign language that they typically start in fourth grade.

Tough competition for academic high schools

The uniformity plan presented last year is partly driven by concerns about the A1 language grade impacts a student’s average on their upper secondary school leaving certificate. This can make it difficult for some to enter the upper secondary school of their choice, encouraging them to choose English as a ‘safer’ option.

Competition for upper secondary school places has become tougher in Espoo in recent years, with only about two-thirds of pupils who want to go to an academic high school being able to land a spot.

Most schools in Espoo offer the opportunity to study an optional A2 language from the fourth grade onwards and an optional B2 language in upper secondary school, according to local newspaper Länsiväylä.

Swedish is now offered as an A1 language at three schools, French at two and German at one. A new school set to open next autumn in Kera will teach English, Swedish and German. Other schools offer Spanish, Chinese and Russian as A2 languages, with Spanish particularly growing in popularity in recent years and interest in Russian dropping rapidly.

The proposal to make English the standard first language goes against guidelines by the Ministry of Education. In 2017, it recommended that children should start their linguistic studies in a language other than English as a way to strengthen the country’s language reserve.

Tech-heavy, cosmopolitan city

"Language skills are important in Espoo, where there are many international companies, and they’re a valuable, increasingly necessary asset for young people," says Laiho.

Lievonen also points to the city’s cosmopolitan population, noting that Espoo is home to a significant technology cluster including major research centres such as Aalto University and VTT.

"Consequently, Espoo has an international population, with many foreign workers, students and Finnish returnees, so it can and should offer a range of language options in schools," he says.

In the bigger picture, he says, "Finland is a small, export-led economy with very few resources apart from its educated population. Of course the rise of AI-driven translation is currently reshaping the landscape of language learning, but we believe that once today’s young pupils reach adulthood there will still be a need for speaking foreign languages and understanding other cultures."

Phonetic brain map locks in by age 10

So why does it matter which foreign language a student learns first?

The Federation of Foreign Language Teachers in Finland (Sukol) says that children are most receptive to learning new languages before they turn 10.

According to the Sukol website, "the phonetic map of a child's brain begins to lock in at the age of 8–10. After that, it is more difficult to produce a genuine accent in a foreign language," for example.

Laiho agrees, saying that "the younger a child is when they start learning a language, the easier it is to acquire. However, it’s important to note that there are still good opportunities to learn a language later on, as long as there is motivation," she adds.

Back to the drawing board

Of course, funding is always a crucial issue.

"Espoo is a leading city in education, and we have always invested in high-quality schooling," says Laiho. "However, the city’s finances naturally set the framework for how much funding is available."

The SDP group in the council, meanwhile, argues that the approval of a new language programme "must go hand-in-hand with a discussion on budgetary implications," says Lievonen.

“Currently only the greater Tapiola region has schools that offer languages other than English at age seven; we see this is a major problem from an egalitarian point of view," he adds.

In late January, the education committee sent the plan back to the city administration, which is to come up with a new proposal. That will then be considered for possible adoption in autumn 2027.

In the meantime, says Laiho, "it’s important to enable a diverse selection of languages for all children in Espoo. Families must be informed and heard regarding language offerings, and decision-making must be transparent."