Applied linguistic research in health provides a rich heritage to show how epistemological inequity is found and reproduced in clinical encounters. Marmot’s globally influential policy for health inequalities demonstrated the determinants of health sit outside it. He prioritised the early years and the education system – calling for schools, families and communities work to work in partnership to reduce the gradient in health, well-being and resilience of children and young people.
But interactions are also places where emotions can be regulated, trauma repaired, and self-esteem given a chance to grow. They are spaces for encounter.
Martin Buber (2023), a 20th century Austrian–Israeli philosopher, said that human existence is characterized by two fundamental modes of relating: the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship. An I-It relationship involves objectification where we experience the world and others as objects to be analyzed, used or categorized. In contrast, the I-Thou relationship is a reciprocal encounter in which individuals meet as whole beings, free from instrumental purposes. Buber states that we oscillate between the two modes (I-Thou, I-It), but if we approach in the subject-object mode (I-It) our learning from the observation is encapsulated in that mode, remaining an ‘it’ fixed for use in the purpose of the subject’s endeavour. According to Buber, ‘the improvement of the ability to experience and use generally involves a decrease in a man’s power to relate’ (2023, p. 92). The I-It mode is dominated by causality where ‘every event that is either perceivable by the senses and physical or discovered or found in introspection and psychological is considered to be of necessity caused and a cause’ (Buber, 2023). Conversely, the world through the I-Thou lens (Subject-Subject) is a world of relation in which ‘I’ and ‘You’ confront each other freely in reciprocity that is not involved in or tainted by causality.
In this series of talks I will share examples from family and workforce practices, which attended to micro moments of interaction. I conceive these interactions within a dialogic lens, looking beyond language as message coding and decoding system, seeking to explore the meaning of the interaction within the concepts that child, family or worker is going on inside of (Shotter, 2011). The examples are from early years with children/families with hearing impairment, mainstream school with neurodiverse children in the looked after system and workers in service leadership roles in the early years.
DLD and ASD have received a lot of attention in the literature of neurodevelopmental language and communication disorders. In the first seminar, we will discuss differences and similarities between the two conditions in monolingual children with the diagnosis and evaluate their respective profile in lexical, syntactic and discourse-related skill development against the backdrop of some milestones attested in neurotypical first language acquisition. The role of external factors, such as the family's socioeconomic status, will be discussed with the aim of understanding how SES can be a proxy for language experience and its role in neurodivergence.
This series of three seminars explores the relationship between formal linguistics, second language acquisition (SLA) research, and language education. The first seminar maps the theoretical landscape, examining where linguistic and acquisition research connects with - and diverges from - language classroom practice. The second seminar challenges disciplinary silos, arguing for greater integration across linguistic paradigms despite competing assumptions about the nature of language knowledge, and shows how such paradigmatic integration can enrich language education. It also redirects attention to a frequently undervalued dimension of language learning: the quality of language input. The third seminar turns to concrete action, presenting findings from textbook input research and making the case for structured knowledge exchange between SLA researchers and language teachers, before charting directions for future collaboration. Together, the seminars offer both a critical diagnosis of current disconnects and a constructive, evidence-based vision for bridging research and practice in language education.
This first seminar will provide an overview of language development in children with Down syndrome as the most common type of genetic condition associated with learning difficulties and which disproportionately affects children's language development. Looking at the latest research findings and some raw data from children's language output, we will discuss whether the language trajectory is simply delayed but typical or whether it is different. When considering the language development trajectory of children with Down syndrome, we will explore what is currently known about prelinguistic precursors of language are in Down syndrome and compare it with another condition (e.g. children with Williams syndrome). In particular, we will consider prelinguistic early social communication skills such as joint attention, which have been shown to predict language development in both neurotypical children and those with Down syndrome; we will explore ways of how joint attention can be measured in children with Down syndrome (by looking at experimental video data) and advantages and disadvantages of different approaches (for example: experimental tasks versus parent completed assessments). We will evaluate the theoretical implications of exploring early social communication as the foundation for language development.
Please see above
Please see above
Please see above
The second session will focus on health inequalities for people who have language and communication difficulties (with a specific focus on those with Down syndrome). Health inequalities is a significant issue, affecting length of life, health conditions, and access to healthcare services. A recent report by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in the UK identified people with learning disabilities (which would include those with genetic conditions such as Down syndrome) as an under-served group which may have different outcomes due to health inequalities (RCSLT, 2021). The reasons for health inequalities experienced by people with learning difficulties are complex and multifaceted; the World Health Organisation published a report in 2022 highlighting that although progress has been made in recent years, people with disabilities still experience poorer health outcomes. We will review what is currently known about the quality of life of people with Down syndrome and critically evaluate how quality of life is measured in people with learning disabilities such as those with Down syndrome and the role of language and communication. It has been well established that persistent speech/language/communication difficulties in childhood are associated with poorer educational and psycho-social outcomes (McCormack et al., 2009; Lewis et al., 2019; Wren et al., 2023), making early intervention essential to help children reach their full potential (Buckley et al., 2024). Given that 98% of people with Down syndrome experience speech/language and communication difficulties, one way to improve better access to healthcare services is to provide early speech/language/communication support.
Language development is both a cornerstone of children’s educational attainment and a fundamental right, yet it is increasingly shaped by environmental conditions that are often overlooked in educational and clinical practice. Drawing on research from child development and environmental studies, and using Greece as a case study, this talk argues that environmental degradation – through rural abandonment, urban density, and reduced access to green space – poses a significant but underrecognized threat to children’s language, communication, and educational outcomes. The talk foregrounds the advocacy role of educators and Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs). As professionals working at the intersection of child development, education, and community systems, they are uniquely positioned to identify environmentally mediated inequalities in language opportunities and to respond to them. The talk invites participants to rethink advocacy in education and speech-language therapy as extending beyond the classroom and clinic, towards shaping the environments in which children grow and communicate.
The focus of the second seminar will be on how language experience in the form of bilingualism in the family and school has been evaluated in recent studies on bilingualism and autism as well as bilingualism and DLD. We will focus on cognitive and linguistic effects of children with ASD or DLD growing up with two languages and consider the reasons behind possible advantages or disadvantages found in the relevant studies. A discussion of how interventions enhancing the role of language experience can compensate for specific challenges faced by children with either diagnosis.
The third session will focus on current approaches to optimising language outcomes, the importance of early health interventions such as speech and language therapy and the home learning environment. We will look at how the evidence base for interventions is build by focusing on what constitutes good evidence and we will evaluate the findings of recent systematic reviews of speech/language/communication interventions for individuals with Down syndrome (e.g., Seager et al., 2022). As most interventions for young children with Down syndrome involve parents/carers, we will consider the role of parents/caregivers in supporting early language and communication development and what best practice may look like. We will review recent findings from parent-delivered shared book reading interventions and interventions focusing on optimising the development of early social communication skills and we will also discuss the importance of outcome measures: how do we decide what a good outcome measure of language is and what may be considered a clinically significant difference in intervention studies.
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has emerged as a prominent educational approach in multilingual and international educational contexts, fostering the parallel development of subject knowledge and language competence. Despite its growing implementation, a major challenge in CLIL pedagogy remains the need to make the relation between language and content development more transparent to both teachers and learners. This presentation explores the role of specially designed CLIL descriptors in making learning processes more visible and transparent within CLIL classrooms. CLIL descriptors (Moe et al, 2015; Daryai-Hansen et al., 2023) aim to map the cognitive operations realized through disciplinary discourse, while aligning with the proficiency levels of CEFR (2020). The descriptors build on Beacco (2010) and Linneweber-Lammerskitten’s discourse functions (2012) as well as on Dalton-Puffer’s framework of Cognitive Discourse Functions (2013) and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between content, cognition and language in CLIL instructional contexts.
Please see above
Increasing linguistic diversity in contemporary societies has transformed educational contexts and highlighted the need for approaches that recognize and build upon learners’ multilingual resources. This session explores multilingual approaches in language teaching and learning, focusing on key concepts such as crosslinguistic pedagogy, pedagogical translanguaging, and linguistically responsive teaching. Drawing on recent research studies and classroom practice, participants will explore how multilingual pedagogies can support language development, learner engagement, inclusion, and academic success. Through examples from diverse educational settings and hands-on activities, the session will also offer practical strategies for creating inclusive learning environments that value and leverage linguistic and cultural diversity.
Developmental Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental condition which is characterized by difficulties in accurate and fluent reading and writing and is one of the most frequently diagnosed developmental disorders. A considerable body of research has attempted to explore dyslexia’s causes and characteristics. Phonological awareness processing deficits have been identified as a core feature, however dyslexia remains a complex and heterogeneous condition that continues to generate scientific debates. The seminar provides an overview of dyslexia as a neurodevelopmental disorder, focusing on the cognitive mechanisms that underlie reading and writing difficulties. Key processes, interventions and factors such as phonological awareness, working memory, rapid automatized naming and emotions are examined in relation to literacy development.
Dyslexia is associated with poor spelling and decoding difficulties, which affect reading fluency and literacy performance collectively. It is best understood as a developmental disorder, meaning that its manifestations change over time as children progress through different stages of reading acquisition. Research consistently shows that difficulties are not static but evolve alongside literacy development, especially when individuals are bilingual. Bilingual children are reported to differ from monolinguals in metalinguistic and morphological tasks. The seminar explores reading development in monolingual and bilingual learners and its interaction with dyslexia with emphasis on how literacy skills develop across languages as well as the influence of orthographic transparency.
Please see above
This workshop explores how major European and international competency frameworks address digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence in education and communication. Through collaborative analysis and discussion, participants will examine the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment – Companion Volume (CEFR, 2020), the European Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp), the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu), and the UNESCO AI Competency Framework for Teachers. The workshop focuses on the evolving concepts of digital literacy, multimodality and AI literacy, encouraging participants to critically reflect on the competences required for language teaching and learning in AI-mediated environments.
Please see above
Oral language is a foundational skill, with far-reaching consequences for children's literacy skills, academic achievement and social development. It is also a domain that young second language (L2) learners might struggle with, making it an important target for intervention. In these seminars, we will introduce important theoretical frameworks for understanding oral language development in an L2 learning environment (i.e., the Simple View of Reading, the Interaction Hypothesis and the Output Hypothesis). We will then move to examine how arts-based approaches, like drama, might be especially well-suited to supporting oral language development in young L2 learners by targeting specific linguistic domains, fostering communication and making language learning more engaging. Drawing on empirical research, we will consider what the evidence shows, and where it falls short. We will argue that enthusiasm for creative approaches is not a substitute for scientific rigour. To this end, we will put forward five principles for conducting high-quality intervention research: (1) adopting pre-registration, (2) engaging in transparent reporting practices, (3) sharing materials and data, (4) embracing pragmatic methodological approaches (quantitative, qualitative or mixed – as long as they are fit for purpose), and (5) prioritising replication studies to build a cumulative and reliable evidence base.
This hands-on seminar is designed for students who wish to broaden their understanding of language from an interdisciplinary and cross-linguistic perspective. Participants will work with linguistic data and explore the system and structures that underlie individual languages as well as Language more broadly. Through guided activities, they will examine patterns across languages and develop an appreciation of linguistic diversity and universals.
The seminar will also introduce key principles of pedagogical linguistics, highlighting the interface between linguistic theory and language teaching. Students will explore how linguistic insights can inform classroom practices in both first and additional language contexts. This component aims to equip participants with the ability to translate theoretical linguistic knowledge into pedagogically meaningful descriptions, fostering reflective and research-informed approaches to language education.
Please see above
