The thematic area Language Competence is concerned with different aspects of human linguistic competence in native languages, second and foreign languages, and heritage languages. In this thematic area, we have a particular focus on grammatical questions (i.e. phonology, morphology, syntax and pragmatics), but include also vocabulary, early reading and writing abilities, and didactic perspectives. Multilingualism is taken to be the normal case, and studies of multilingual language competence play a central role in the thematic area. We investigate for instance how language competence can vary between different speakers, depending on linguistic background, group membership, literacy and other individual factors, such as language impairment or language use throughout the life span. Important questions are also how language is acquired in first language and additional languages, what the similarities are across languages, and what the best practice for multilingual language learning is.
Some relevant research questions are:
- How does grammar vary between speakers, and how can this variation be explained?
- How does grammatical competence develop in native speakers and heritage speakers (i.e. speakers that acquire their native language in a society where a different language dominates)?
- How do adults learn languages as compared to children and adolescents?
- How are additional languages acquired as compared to native languages?
- How can teachers best fascilitate language learning and development? How can multilingualism be utilized as a resource in the classroom?
The description and research questions above are meant as guidelines and can be amended in consultation with researchers and research groups.