Language and Speech, Learning and Therapy
Researchers of our group focus on second language acquisition and speech and language therapy. These domains have in common that they need to ground teaching and therapy on both theoretical insights and empirical practice. Moreover, they intend to exploit the possibilities speech and language technology provides to test theoretical concepts and generate new research questions.
An important aim is to develop technological tools for specific communicative modes. A broad range of techniques and data sources is applied to test research hypotheses on the structure and functioning of communicative competences: spontaneous speech data, directed elicitation tasks, survey methods, computer modelling, protocolled therapy, experimentation and brain imaging.
Second Language Acquisition
The main aim of second language acquisition is to explain the construction and architecture of a second language and its relation to the properties of the first language and/or cognitive principles or preferences.
Speech and Language Therapy
We study sub-populations which need to develop or improve communicative competences under specific communicative modes such as language impairment, speech disorders, deafness, or cognitive limitations.
