By implementing this project we wanted to develop a digital language learning game adapted to early childhood education didactics through a design-based research method. One of the goals was to create a game that exposes elementary school pupils to the Scandinavian neighboring languages Norwegian, Danish and Swedish. The goal was also to create a digital resource that all Nordic teachers could use in their neighboring language teaching. By developing the language learning game we also wanted to preserving both the Scandinavian languages and the Scandinavian cultural heritage in a meaningful way in school. Another goal we wanted to achieve through this project was to develop the digital game based on collected research data through using various research methods.
We applied for the Erasmus+ program with the aim of creating an engaging and creative approach to learning while exposing elementary school students in the Nordic countries to Scandinavian languages. At the same time, our goal was to provide teachers with a valuable tool that would simplify the integration of neighboring languages into education. In our role as elementary school teachers, we discovered a lack of learning resources to teach students about the Scandinavian neighboring languages. Initially, there were limited resources available for introducing these neighboring languages at the primary school level, particularly for the youngest students. Based on this, we identified the need to develop learning resources for the youngest students in elementary school.