What is the focus of our research?

The first few months in the life of a newborn child are already very exciting - it discovers the world. This time is fascinating for both you and your child. When we look at this period of very early development, we can see what amazing abilities even the youngest of babies already have. In their first year of life, for example, children already learn the basic building blocks of the unique human communication system: language. How is it possible for them to manage this task so effortlessly, long before they can count or ride a bike? We, the researchers at the Babelfisch lab headed by Prof. Dr. Jutta L. Mueller, want to unravel some of the secrets of early language and cognitive development. To do so, we conduct different studies with children of all ages - the youngest ones being only 3 months old, but already little language experts! Our studies focus on different questions concerning word learning, learning of grammatical structures, but also using language as a means for inner dialogue or as a tool for problem solving.