New Research Centre Investigates the Significance of Language for Subject-Related Educational Processes

2021-05-17 Leuphana University Lüneburg has established a new research centre that is unique in Germany and focuses on the relationship between language and education. The research centre ERLE (Empirical Research on Language and Education) brings together researchers from different disciplines. They pursue the goal of conducting interdisciplinary basic research in the field of language education. Researchers from German and Mathematics didactics, empirical educational research, and psychology are currently working on the development of a structured empirical research programme.

In terms of content, ERLE focuses on basic research in the area of language and education in school context. The participating researchers intend to investigate how linguistic features influence subject-specific learning in different subjects. The focus of interest is on learners and the question of what significance linguistic features have for subject-related learning success.

Initial studies address questions regarding the difficulties that learners may experience as a result of certain subject-specific or linguistic features in explanatory texts. Prospective teachers are to identify and classify such features in the subjects German and Mathematics. Third-party funded projects already underway are also located in the new research centre.

ERLE members hope to recruit additional supporters for their project, not only from Leuphana, but also within the scope of Germany-wide and international collaborations. At the same time, they have launched a colloquium in which researchers will present current research work related to the field of language and education. The first event will take place on 20 May 2021. On that occasion, Prof. Dr. Dominik Leiß and Prof. Dr. Timo Ehmke (Leuphana University Lüneburg) will discuss the question: "Do we also have to reckon with language in Mathematics education?”

Contact

  • Prof. Dr. Dominik Leiß