The aim of the IKI project was to map, develop and share innovative practices in language education. The three year IKI project was a spearhead project funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture designed to develop teacher education in Finland. The three university partners included the University of Jyväskylä (coordinator), University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University.
The IKI project has published an international version of the IKI handbook to support the development of language education providing research-based information, concrete examples and practical advice. The handbook is for teachers in basic education and early childhood education, student teachers, teacher educators, head teachers and educational authorities. The handbook gives inspiration and support for planning, developing and implementing language education at different levels and contexts.
The handbook takes a broad view of language education with innovative examples from language aware education, bilingual and multilingual education, foreign language education and foundational language education in basic and early childhood education.
The handbook includes short, accessible theoretical texts based on recent research. The activity descriptions are based on activities observed in schools and day cares. The book highlights the principles behind the activities, different practices and challenges practitioners can face when reflecting on their work. At the same time the handbook promotes an innovative, development oriented and an adaptive way of working in language education by giving lots of examples and advice on how to modify the activities and practices in response to different environments.
A Map and Compass for Innovative Language Education: Steps towards development
