Research at the School of Applied Linguistics
Language matters. At the School of Applied Linguistics, we research the key role played by language and communication, enabling practitioners and society at large to reap practical benefits from linguistics.
The two strategic areas of energy research and societal integration shape the ZHAW research agenda, and the School of Applied Linguistics incorporates related topics into its own projects and labs. For example:
- Swiss-AL, a web corpus of Swiss sources, has been compiled by the School of Applied Linguistics and is used by researchers and students to conduct data-supported and data-driven research on public discourses in multilingual Switzerland, including monitoring the energy discourse.
- In the LAIC Lab – Language Accessibility and Inclusive Communication Lab, our researchers collaborate with service providers, target group representatives and relevant associations to develop practical, needs-based solutions. These draw on well-established research about communication modes that foster societal inclusion for everyone.
Professorships
In the professorships at the School of Applied Linguistics, we conduct research on language use in domain-specific communication, language-mediated cross-domain communication and media-mediated public communication.
Domain-specific communication
- German as a Foreign/Second Language (Prof. Dr. Liana Konstantinidou, Prof. Dr. Karin Madlener-Charpentier)
- Digital Linguistics (Prof. Dr. Philipp Dreesen, Prof. Dr. Cerstin Mahlow)
- Intercultural Studies and Linguistic Diversity (Prof. Dr. Christiane Hohenstein)
- Language Management and Globalisation (Prof. Dr. Patrick Studer)
- Professional Literacy (Prof. Dr. Marlies Whitehouse)
Language-mediated cross-domain communication
- Applied Discourse Studies (Prof. Dr. habil. Ulla Kleinberger)
- Accessibility Studies (Dr. Martin Kappus)
- Interpreting Studies (Prof. Dr. Michaela Albl-Mikasa)
- Human–Machine Communication (Prof. Dr. Alice Delorme Benites)
- Creativity and the Language Industry (Prof. Dr. Chantal Wright)
- Translation Studies (Prof. Dr. Caroline Lehr)
Media-mediated public communication
- Journalism Studies (Prof. Dr. Vinzenz Wyss)
- Media Literacy (Prof. Dr. Guido Keel)
- Media Linguistics (Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Gnach, Prof. Dr. Wibke Weber)
- Organisational Communication and Management (Prof. Dr. Nicole Rosenberger Staub)
- Organisational Communication and Public Spheres (Prof. Dr. Peter Stücheli-Herlach)
Labs
The labs at the School of Applied Linguistics bring researchers in the professorships together with stakeholders from all areas of society. These experts from academia and professional practice collaborate to develop innovative and sustainable solutions for the benefit of society.
Projects
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CEFR CV for Sign Languages
This is a project funded by the Counsil of Europe to make the results of an Swiss National Foundation project available internationally to learners and instructors of sign language by providing translations in English and videos in International Sign. The original project empirically developed and statistically ...
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Smart Mobility Experience
In this project, a virtual reality environment will be created to bring concepts around smart mobility closer to a broad audience. These concepts include smart sharing offers (and thus a change of mentality from owning to using), automated driving (which could reduce the number of vehicles in cities to one tenth ...
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The Ergonomics of Socio-Technical Systems and Reflective Practice
With increasing digitisation, purposeful reflection about the potential influence of current and foreseeable developments in socio-technical systems on cognition, meaning making and decision making in education and professional life has become ever more important. In the area of tertiary education, new technology ...