Future of language: Young research school in Lübeck!

Future of language: Young research school in Lübeck!

On September 12, 2025, the University of Lübeck announces an upcoming event focused on children's language development. The junior school for doctoral students and postdocs will take place on September 16th and 17th, 2025 and is organized by the Department of Speech Therapy at the University of Lübeck and the Department of Pedagogy for Language and Communication Impairments at the European University of Flensburg. The Society for Interdisciplinary Language Acquisition Research and Childhood Language Disorders in German-Speaking Areas. V. (GISKID) is also involved in the alignment.

This event aims to shed light on important topics related to language development, including ethics notices and ethics applications in studies involving children, as well as subject acquisition, particularly in monolingual and multilingual children. In addition, the focus is on participant selection for studies with multilingual children. The exact venue on the Lübeck campus will be announced later.

Relevance of multilingualism

The importance of multilingualism for children's language development cannot be overemphasized. Loud Herder Multilingualism means that children develop different language skills in different languages, which is a dynamic and normal process. These capabilities depend heavily on the frequency of use and the context in which the languages ​​are used.

Multilingual children often show greater flexibility in language use and have improved cognitive abilities, particularly in areas such as memory and attention control. This highlights the importance of a linguistically stimulating environment. Development risks are not necessarily associated with multilingualism; Rather, the conditions under which a child grows up are crucial.

Influence of social and individual factors

The acquisition of languages ​​often happens not only out of free will, but can also be due to necessities such as migration or mixed family constellations. In Germany, multilingualism is often a consequence of these factors. Children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds often have less linguistic stimulation, which can have a significant impact on their development.

Linguistic stimulation remains a central part of language development, and it is crucial that language support encompasses all of a child's languages, including dialects. This is particularly important for immigrant children, whose well-mannered language skills could potentially put them at a disadvantage, particularly in social interactions.

The discussion of developmental language disorders (SES) is another key topic as they are common and require early diagnosis and treatment. IALP Global illustrates that a differentiated diagnosis is essential, especially for multilingual children with language problems.

In conclusion, it can be said that the upcoming event at the University of Lübeck offers a valuable platform for exchanging ideas about the challenges and opportunities of language development and can thus contribute to better monitoring of understanding and support for multilingual children.