Signe Tonér

Signe Tonér is a Lecturer at the Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics and is also a licensed speech therapist, bringing clinical expertise to her academic work.

Her educational background includes a doctoral degree in Linguistics with a dissertation titled "Language and executive functions in Swedish preschoolers" defended in June 2021. This research examined associations between language abilities and executive functions in 4-6 year old Swedish children and whether specific pedagogical interventions could influence these abilities.

Dr. Tonér's primary research interests focus on individual differences in language development, multilingualism and second language acquisition, parent-child interaction, and children's use of gestures in storytelling. She is particularly interested in how executive functions relate to language development in preschool children. Her work often examines socioeconomic factors and bilingualism's impact on language acquisition. She is currently leading the INVENT-project, which will map children's language abilities at school start beginning in fall 2025, and participates in the MINT-project examining the role of interaction in children's language development.

Dr. Tonér has made significant contributions to understanding the relationship between language skills and cognitive functions in young children, particularly in the Swedish context. Her research combines behavioral tests, language samples, parent and teacher ratings, and neurophysiological measures to provide comprehensive insights into early language development.

• Ph.D. in Linguistics
• Licensed speech therapist

Dr. Tonér teaches several courses related to language development, including "Typisk tal-, språk- och läsutveckling" (Typical speech, language, and reading development), "Språkutveckling från födsel till skolstart" (Language development from birth to school start), and "Variation i barns språkutveckling" (Variation in children's language development) for the speech therapy program.