The Finnish-Canadian Citizenship Project was organized to teach English to older Canadians of Finnish descent in British Columbia. The 24 enrollees had between one and ten years of formal schooling. The Finnish Canadians use a dialect of English words with Finnish pronunciations that must be unlearned in order to learn English. The students established the course objectives and stipulated that they wanted teachers who understood their special linguistic problems. Diagnostic interviews, using an audiovisual device to picture the speech patterns of teacher and student, were used to divide the class into three groups based on the level of fluency. The Berlitz method was used, and teachers concentrated on sounds that present special difficulties for Finns--w, wh, ch, f, z, th. During interviews at the last class, students were permitted to evaluate their experiences. Most reported an improvement in speaking ability and self-conficence and a loss of timidity in communicating with others in groups. Implications of the program considered useful for adult educators include: (1) the wisdom of making initial contacts with participants through a person they trust, who understands the problems of the particular ethnic group; (2) the value of having the participants plan their own program; (3) the importance of arranging for a group to learn together; and (4) the need for diagnostic sessions. (KM)