ELDEL · Enhancing Literacy Development in European Languages

The scientific aims of the ELDEL project are: 1) to produce a model elucidating the relationships among psychological (psycholinguistic, cognitive) and environmental (orthographic, linguistic, educational/instructional, cultural) factors determining the development of literacy skills in European languages, and 2) to uncover the key components of an effective, culture-appropriate intervention program for the prevention and remediation of literacy problems in the languages under study. The research program comprises a number of overlapping cross-linguistic studies that will reveal the language-specific and language-general factors affecting literacy development. This multidisciplinary network includes partners with expertise in developmental, educational, and clinical psychology, experimental psycholinguistics, speech and language therapy, and an industrial partner specialising in the creation of software for the assessment and training of literacy skills. Each partner will also contribute to the network’s training aims, to provide training in generic as well as in state-of-the-art domain-specific research skills. Participants will offer training in one or more of the following specialist areas: (a) specific literacy skills (e.g., phonological skills, spelling, reading comprehension), (b) typical vs. clinical populations (e.g., children with developmental disorders, dyslexia), (c) research methodology (e.g., longitudinal, intervention, experimental psycholinguistic, naturalistic), and (d) use and development of measurement tools (computer-generated, eye tracking, cross-linguistic tests). Additional training in relevant skills will be provided by visiting researchers during workshops and short courses. The projects are conceived to promote mobility within the network and allow young researchers to benefit from the training most relevant to them. This ITN will equip Early Stage and Experienced Researchers for successful careers in cutting-edge literacy research.