DAAD funding: “Corpus compilation and educational approaches in multilingual settings of Germany and Greece”.

PIs: Prof. Bongartz (University of Cologne) and Ass. Prof. Papadopoulou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki).

The main aim of the proposed research project is to explore language teaching approaches in multilingual environments in Germany and Greece. Finally, aiming to further utilize the data of the previous project and maximize their profit, we will compile a German-Greek open corpus. The corpus will be used (a) for academic purposes, i.e. for researchers that are interested in the study of German-Greek bilingual language development and in heritage languages, and (b) for the general public, i.e. educators/teachers and parents, who are interested in the typical bilingual development and language difficulties. The outcomes of the proposed project are expected to be influential on several levels. First, the project will set up a network cluster between participating institutions of higher education and administrative bodies in Greece and Germany. It will also enable the research partners to discuss the language experiences in the participating countries, and submit recommendations to the respective ministries (education, culture). 

SFB 1252 (PI with Jacopo Torregrossa)
Prominence in Language - C03 Reference management in bilingual narratives

The C03 Project examines variation in the encoding of prominence by analyzing the production of referring expressions in discourse by bilingual children. Two focus aspects: a) different bilingual profiles in terms of language and literacy exposure have a varying impact on bilinguals' cognitive and linguistic skills, b) different language combinations (English-Greek, English-Italian, Greek-Italian) give rise to diverse patterns of cross-linguistic influence. The aim of this project is to show how both aspects of variation are reflected in individual strategies of reference production. We assume that prominence serves as a guiding principle, to which any kind of variation in reference management can be attributed.

Funded by DFG

DAAD funding: “Bilingualism in Greece and Germany”.

PIs: Prof. Bongartz (University of Cologne) and Ass. Prof. Papadopoulou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

This project has offered us insights into the linguistic and educational components of bilingual environments of the two participating countries. In particular, via narratives — a literacy practice that depends on a number of linguistic and cognitive dispositions — the abilities of over 150 Greek-German children in Greece and Germany were examined.    

DSLC (PI)
Dynamic Structuring in Language and Communication: Prominence in Language

A dynamic view of language as a new area of expertise will be developed which promises to shed light on concepts that have so far escaped a coherent treatment in linguistics.

Funded by DFG

BALED (Researcher in residence)
Bilingual Acquisition & Bilingual Language Education

The main aim of the proposed project is to include the factors of monolingual / bilingual education and type of bilingualism in the detailed investigation of the interaction between linguistic and cognitive abilities. The project seeks to identify potential correlations among (i) types of bilingualism, (ii) types of education (mono- or bi-literacy), (iii) aspects of language knowledge and processing and (iv) cognitive abilities. The outcome of the study will shed light on the nature of the cognitive and linguistic interaction in different types of bilingualism and the effects of literacy development on this interaction.

Funded by the Greek Ministry of Education

Co-Li-Bi
Cognition, Literacy and Bilingualism in young Greek-German Bilinguals

CoLiBi is an international research collaboration that will investigate the effects of different types of bilingualism and educational setting on cognitive functions and language competence in young Greek-Germans in Germany and Greece.

Funded by IKYDA

EU-Speak

‌International, on-line teacher training and development to improve the educational outcomes for immigrant adults without formal schooling.

Funded by the European Commission

PAGES - "Adult Low Literacy Development"
Projekt Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung für Erwachsene im Sozialraum

PAGES is a research project concerned with adult literacy skills. It focuses on the development of literacy skills in adult learners who have German as their first language as well as in adult learners with an immigrant background who have German as their second language.

Funded by BMBF

IBIS
Initiative for Bilingual Studies

IBIS is a joint project in which the English Department and Department of History cooperate. It aims at connecting the University of Cologne with secondary schools to improve bilingual teacher-training. In addition, the project team conducts SOPA tests and develops teaching materials for the bilingual history classroom.

Funded by Robert Bosch Stiftung

CEDAR
Cyprus English: Data Analysis and Research

CEDAR is a corpus containing L2 English language data currently being collected on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The corpus forms the basis of a dissertation project investigating the variety status of L2 English spoken on Cyprus. The overall aim of the project is to place English on Cyprus within the broader framework of World Englishes.

Funded by DAAD (travel)

ALIC/E
Annotated Language Immersion Corpus / Emergence

ALIC/E is a corpus containing language immersion data in German, English, French, Italian, Greek and Japanese. Data is used for child language acquisition research as well as for teacher trainings and for the implementation of integrative language support programs in multi-national schools.

Funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Magnet Grant