Speaker 1: Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Alice Irazari and I'm Patrick Woodwood.
Speaker 2: Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is
Speaker 2: easier for people to understand no matter where in the
Speaker 2: world they live.
Speaker 1: It is not covered with beautiful beaches by the warm ocean.
Speaker 1: It is not Hawaii or the Caribbean. It is not
Speaker 1: a quiet, peaceful town unknown to the rest of the world.
Speaker 1: It is not filled with huge homes or wealthy people.
Speaker 1: It is not known for its stunning art or dominant
Speaker 1: sports teams. It is a small, cold country in the north,
Speaker 1: but every year Finland is picked as the beest place
Speaker 1: in the world.
Speaker 2: Today's Spotlight is about Finland. We explore why its people
Speaker 2: are so happy. We examine the way they look at life.
Speaker 2: We look at their customs and traditions. We identify what
Speaker 2: makes them enjoy life so much.
Speaker 1: Finland is a small country in northern Europe. It is
Speaker 1: next to Sweden, Norway and Russia. Finland is one of
Speaker 1: the oldest countries in the world. In the winter, there
Speaker 1: are days when the sun does not rise the temperature
Speaker 1: can drop to minus fifty degrees celsius. But each year
Speaker 1: its people say they are happy The World Happiness Report
Speaker 1: asks people all over the world to rate the quality
Speaker 1: of life in their country on a scale of one
Speaker 1: to ten. Most years, Finland scores the highest.
Speaker 2: There are many reasons why Finland is so happy. Trust, honesty,
Speaker 2: and equality have always been very important in their culture.
Speaker 2: This trust applies to every part of their society, including
Speaker 2: their government. Their elected officials talk honestly about what they're doing.
Speaker 2: They do not try to keep things from the people
Speaker 2: of Finland. They also encourage citizens to share their opinions
Speaker 2: on government decisions. Leaders want to work with people to
Speaker 2: solve problems.
Speaker 1: The Finns share a responsibility to keep their country clean
Speaker 1: and safe. Children learn to help clean their house and
Speaker 1: their neighborhood from an early age.
Speaker 2: Finland's schools are considered some of the best in the world.
Speaker 2: Their teachers are highly skilled. They try to develop lessons
Speaker 2: that fit each student's needs. They value every student's growth.
Speaker 2: All students are given equal opportunities to succeed. They do
Speaker 2: not assume everyone has the same ability. Instead, teachers judge
Speaker 2: each student's progress separately. This allows students to feel more
Speaker 2: relaxed and enjoy learning. Also, their school days only last
Speaker 2: five hours. They focus on fewer topics during the day
Speaker 2: to learn more about them. Parents are involved in their
Speaker 2: children's education. They help review their homework. They attend school
Speaker 2: activities and meetings whenever possible. This holds students accountable because
Speaker 2: their parents know what they're studying.
Speaker 1: Finns take pleasure in simple things. One example is eating.
Speaker 1: Finns love to share meals together. The University of Oxford
Speaker 1: published a report that said people who eat with others
Speaker 1: are more likely to feel good about themselves. They will
Speaker 1: have a bigger group of friends who can provide emotional support.
Speaker 2: According to the staff of This Is Finland, family meals
Speaker 2: remain a strong tradition in Finland. Eighty one percent of
Speaker 2: families with children eat together at least once a day.
Speaker 1: Finns love simple things inside and outside the home. They
Speaker 1: spend part of each day outside enjoying nature. The Finnish
Speaker 1: Forest Research Institute reports that ninety six percent of adult
Speaker 1: Fins spend regular time outdoors. Some of their favorite summer
Speaker 1: activities are walking, riding a bicycle, picking berries, swimming, and
Speaker 1: going to the beach. During the winter, Finns enjoy skiing,
Speaker 1: ice skating, and sitting with family by a warm fire.
Speaker 1: Their time outdoors calms them and reduces.
Speaker 2: Finns also love to relax in a sauna. The sauna
Speaker 2: is a small, heated wooden room. It is usually heated
Speaker 2: to eighty degrees celsius. Just over five million people live
Speaker 2: in Finland. They own over three million saunas. Finns are
Speaker 2: famous for their love of saunas. In fact, the word
Speaker 2: sauna is the only Finish word borrowed by the English language.
Speaker 2: Most Finns use a sauna at least once a week.
Speaker 2: The extreme heat helps calm a person's mind, it relaxes
Speaker 2: their body. Saunas may even help fight off disease.
Speaker 1: The people of Finland often help others in their free time.
Speaker 1: This type of work is very rewarding. It makes Finnish
Speaker 1: people feel good about themselves. They donate to charities. They
Speaker 1: work with different organizations that help people.
Speaker 2: Finns also enjoy playing various sports like football and hockey,
Speaker 2: again played on ice with a rubber disc called a puck.
Speaker 2: They also like floorball, a sport unique to Finland. It
Speaker 2: is just like hockey, but played indoors with sticks and
Speaker 2: a plastic ball. Finns also love to play bandy. Bandy
Speaker 2: is similar to hockey. It is also played on ice,
Speaker 2: but a bandy field is much larger. Players use a
Speaker 2: plastic ball instead of a puck.
Speaker 1: Finland offers public health care to everyone who lives in
Speaker 1: the country. Finland's large taxes pay for this privilege. Patients
Speaker 1: usually do not have to wait long to see their doctors.
Speaker 1: Their system is considered very good. Fins do not need
Speaker 1: to worry about large medical bills that cause debt.
Speaker 2: Just like with their educational system, Finland's workforce cares about
Speaker 2: the individual's needs and well being. Workers usually only work
Speaker 2: thirty five five hours a week. They get a lot
Speaker 2: of holiday time. Employers discourage emails after work hours. Finland's
Speaker 2: Working Hours Act allows freedom in setting up a work schedule.
Speaker 2: Writer Maddie Savage says it.
Speaker 1: Gives the majority of full time workers the right to
Speaker 1: decide when and where they work for at least half
Speaker 1: of their working hours. Wesley Mercer moved to Finland. He
Speaker 1: lived there for a year to experience Finland's happiness. He
Speaker 1: wanted to discover if living there actually made him happier.
Speaker 1: He wanted to learn their secret. He found that Finns
Speaker 1: have an outlook on life called sisu. This means that
Speaker 1: they value courage. When things get difficult, Finns continue with
Speaker 1: a good attitude. Mercer began to use this philosophy. At first,
Speaker 1: it was strange not to let himself be bothered by
Speaker 1: mistakes or inconveniences. He resisted his natural reaction to get
Speaker 1: mad when this happened, But then he noticed that cisu
Speaker 1: made it easier to deal with difficult situations.
Speaker 2: He also began to appreciate silence. Like Finn's, they enjoy
Speaker 2: peaceful moments. It allows them to sit and think. Mercer
Speaker 2: realized that the key to happiness for Finns is balance.
Speaker 2: They maintain a healthy balance in all areas of life.
Speaker 2: Mersa said it is.
Speaker 1: A balance between work and personal life, joy and sorrow,
Speaker 1: activity and relaxation. Finns find joy in simple pleasures they
Speaker 1: do not take for granted, a meal with friends or
Speaker 1: a walk by a lake. They have learned to slow
Speaker 1: down to pay attention to these simple joys. They are
Speaker 1: satisfied with what they have and who they are. Their
Speaker 1: ideal life is the one they already have. They do
Speaker 1: not want anything more. They learned this secret to happiness
Speaker 1: a long time ago.
Speaker 2: Have you ever been to Finland? Did you know it
Speaker 2: is such a happy country. Would you ever like to visit?
Speaker 2: You can leave a comment on our website at www
Speaker 2: dot Spotlight English dot com, or you can find us
Speaker 2: on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Blue Sky, and x. You can
Speaker 2: also get our programs delivered directly to your Android or
Speaker 2: Apple device through a free official Spotlight English app.
Speaker 1: The writer of this program was Peter Anderson. The producer
Speaker 1: was Dan Christman. The voices you heard were from the
Speaker 1: United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted
Speaker 1: for this program and voiced by Spotlight. This program is
Speaker 1: called the Happiest place in the World.
Speaker 2: We hope you can join us again for the next
Speaker 2: Spotlight program. Goodbye,