Niina Kekki
FM | MA
njkekk@utu.fi Office: 151 ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8244-5155 |
Second language acquisition, Finnish as a second language, corpus linguistics, linguistically and culturally responsive education, literature in language learning
My doctoral thesis focuses on the language use of advanced learners of Finnish as a second language.
Currently, I work as a university teacher at the Center for Language and Communication Studies. Additionally, I am a doctoral researcher in the Utuling doctoral program in the school of languages and translation studies.
I have worked as a university teacher of linguistically and culturally responsive teaching (LCR) at the Department of Education and as a project researcher in the project "Tuntemattomalla päähän?" (2020-2024). The project focused on the use of literature to support language learning of adult immigrants.
Previously, I have also worked as a Finnish language teacher in several adult education institutes in the Turku region, and as a visiting teaching assistant at the university of Tartu, Estonia.
In my on-going doctoral research, I use corpus linguistic methods to examine the effect of first language on the use of synonymous expressions in Finnish, such as the close synonymous adjectives tärkeä/keskeinen ('important') and suuri/iso ('big').
In addition, I have conducted research on linguistically and culturally responsive teaching and the use of fiction and the reading circle method in teaching Finnish to adult immigrants.
I teach Finnish for international students and staff.
Previously as a a teacher of LCR, I was teaching multiple courses for pre- and in-service teachers regarding Finnish as a second language and literature, language-awareness, multilingual pedagogy, teaching Finnish in preparatory education and linguistically and culturally responsive teaching.
- Fokusryhmähaastattelu lukupiirissä (2026) Empiirinen kirjallisuuden ja lukemisen tutkimus Jytilä, Riitta; Parente-Čapková, Viola; Kekki, Niina
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Fokusryhmähaastattelu lukupiiritutkimuksessa (2026) Empiirinen kirjallisuuden ja lukemisen tutkimus : Menetelmiä ja käytäntöjä Jytilä, Riitta; Parente-Čapková, Viola; Kekki, Niina
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Kielellisesti ja kulttuurisesti moninaiset kouluyhteisöt (2026)
- Kieli, Koulutus Ja Yhteiskunta
(D6 Editorial work for a professional journal’s theme issue ) - Pääkirjoitus: Kielellisesti ja kulttuurisesti moninaiset kouluyhteisöt (2026)
- Kieli, Koulutus Ja Yhteiskunta
(D1 Article in a professional journal) - The use of near-synonymous degree modifiers in L1/L2 Finnish and English (2026)
- Nordic Journal of Linguistics
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Aesthetic Reading – Reading Circles as a Strategy for Adult Second Language Learning (2025) Skönlitteratur i andraspråksundervisningen Parente-Čapková, Viola; Jokela, Hanna; Jytilä, Riitta; Kastari, Mervi; Kekki, Niina; Päivärinne, Sari
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Itsesäätöiset oppimisstrategiat suomen kielen itsenäisesti suoritettavalla verkkokurssilla (2025) Kielikeskus tutkii 6 Hongisto, Emilia; Kekki, Niina; Suuniitty, Eveliina
(D2 Article in a professional compilation book) - Mapping pre-service subject teachers´ preparedness for linguistically diverse classrooms in Finland (2025) Teacher Education for working in lingusitically diverse classrooms: Nordic perspectives Heikkola, Leena Maria; Repo, Elisa; Kekki, Niina
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Pre-service teachers' perceptions of culture(s) in the classroom (2025) Sprache - Kultur - Kommunikation. Festschrift für Christopher M. Schmidt zuom 65. Geburstag Heikkola, Leena Maria; Kekki, Niina; Repo, Elisa
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Hanke-esittely: SANOJA TERVEYDEN TEKIJÖILLE – KAUNOKIRJALLISUUS, TERVEYDENHUOLTO JA DEMOKRATIA (2024)
- Sanelma
(B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal)



