Multimodality and Embodiment in Language Development (MELD) is dedicated to exploring language development and use across lifespan, encompassing typical and atypical populations. Adopting a multimodal perspective, our scope extends beyond speech to co-speech gestures, sign languages, and communicative visual cues and integrates insights from linguistics, cognitive science, and embodied cognition.

Scientific Objectives:

• Bringing multimodal theories of language development and use into the attention of the researchers and the graduate students (MA, PhD) in ACLC.
• Training young researchers on novel methods: (i) multimodal language data analysis, or (ii) participatory research methods that foreground the lived experiences of people alternative communication needs
• Offering a platform for interdisciplinary collaborations (e.g., Educational Sciences, Psychology, AI) in the form of research projects and/or workshops.

Impact Objectives:

• Bridging Research and Inclusive Education: Develop evidence-based insights to support multimodal language learning approaches in educational and clinical settings, particularly for individuals with language-related developmental or communicative challenges.
• Enhancing Public Awareness and Policy on Language Diversity: Disseminate findings to policymakers, clinicians, educators, and the broader public to promote awareness of the importance of multimodal communication and linguistic diversity in fostering inclusive and effective communication environments.

Impact

The Multimodality and Embodiment in Language Development (MELD) research group aims to generate two key areas of impact:

• Expanding Research Opportunities and Training: MELD will broaden the scope of research topics available to graduate students at ACLC and the Linguistics department, encompassing areas such as non-verbal communication in Autistic children and other multimodal aspects of language development. Additionally, the group will provide essential methodological and theoretical training to equip students with the skills necessary to conduct innovative, interdisciplinary research in this domain.

• Fostering Interdisciplinary and International Collaborations: Leveraging the well-established research networks of the coordinators, MELD will enhance interdisciplinary collaborations across faculties at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and strengthen connections with leading research institutions across Europe. By fostering cross-disciplinary partnerships, MELD aims to advance theoretical and applied research in multimodal communication and language development.

• Combating Stigma, Raising Awareness and Promoting Inclusivity of Non-Speech Communication: Despite the availability of multimodal language intervention methods (e.g., Alternative Augmented Communication, etc.) many clinicians still uphold the supremacy of speech over alternative modes of communication even with nonverbal children. MELD aims to start a conversation with societal stakeholders about the role of multimodal communication in the support that we offer to children and adults with atypical language.

Events

The Multimodality and Embodiment in Language Development (MELD) research group will organize three key types of events on a monthly basis to foster collaboration, knowledge exchange, and methodological expertise:

• Research Seminars: These meetings will feature presentations on MELD’s core themes, including contributions from UvA-affiliated researchers as well as invited external experts. The seminars will serve as a platform for discussing cutting-edge research in multimodal language development and fostering interdisciplinary dialogue.
• Reading Groups: Aimed particularly at graduate students, these sessions will focus on the critical discussion of selected papers relevant to language use and development from a multimodal perspective. These meetings will provide an opportunity for students to engage deeply with theoretical and empirical literature, refining their understanding of multimodal communication.
• Methodological Training Workshops: These sessions will equip students and ACLC researchers with the necessary skills to analyze multimodal language data across diverse populations. Training will include hands-on workshops on tools such as ELAN and other software essential for the annotation and analysis of multimodal language behaviour. In addition, workshops will be organized on participatory research methods that empower non- and minimally-verbal individuals (and/or their caretakers) to foreground their lived experiences in scientific research.

Coordinator and group members

Dr. Ileana Grama and Dr. Beyza Sümer will be the coordinators of this group.

We anticipate that the scope of this group is broad enough to attract interest ACLC-wide considering the exiting expertise on first and second language development, language disorders and sign language.