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The strategic focus areas of societal integration, digital transformation and the energy transition shape the ZHAW’s research profile. The School of Applied Linguistics incorporates these focus areas into its own projects and labs. The research it conducts is interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary in nature and is guided by the principles of open science.

• 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.
• As the Leading House for the “Digital literacy in university contexts” (DigLit) project and other ongoing projects and initiatives, our researchers are actively shaping digital transformation at schools, universities and in the area of professional practice.

What exactly does the field of applied linguistics deal with? In the “Science talks” video series, our researchers provide an insight into what keeps them busy and offer tips from the realm of applied linguistics that can be applied for everyday communication.

In the "Language matters" blog, you can find current posts on the research being conducted at the School of Applied Linguistics. These shed light on the fields in which applied linguistics is being conducted, report on ongoing projects and reveal the people behind the research questions and results.

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.

• German as a Foreign/Second Language (Prof. Dr. Liana Konstantinidou)
• Digital Linguistics (Prof. Dr. Philipp Dreesen, Prof. Dr. Cerstin Mahlow, Prof. Dr. Julia Krasselt)
• Intercultural Studies and Linguistic Diversity (Prof. Dr. Christiane Hohenstein)
• Language Management and Globalisation (Prof. Dr. Patrick Studer)
• Professional Literacy (Prof. Dr. Marlies Whitehouse)

• 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)

• 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)

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.