Ulla Kleinberger

Prof. Ulla Kleinberger is a Professor of Applied Discourse Studies at the ZHAW School of Applied Linguistics, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). She holds a position at the Institute of Multilingual Communication. Her research focuses on text linguistics, conversation analysis, multilingualism, media linguistics, and professional communication in organizational and healthcare contexts.

Her work addresses discourse analysis in healthcare communication, health policy debates, and multilingual challenges in homecare nursing. She has led projects like 'Digital Health for parents facing language barriers' and 'Energy Discourse and Phraseology'. Her publications span peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, and conference proceedings addressing topics such as intercultural communication, digital media competence among youth, and phraseology in online debates.

Key thematic trends in her articles include: 1) Discourse analysis in healthcare contexts (e.g., patient-professional interactions, medical terminology evolution), 2) Multilingual communication challenges in globalized workplaces and healthcare systems, 3) Digital media literacy and youth communication patterns, and 4) Energy policy discourse analysis. Projects often bridge applied linguistics with interdisciplinary fields like healthcare and education.

Kleinberger has advised on overcoming language barriers in homecare nursing and collaborated on virtual patient education systems. She co-edited volumes like *Doing Applied Linguistics* (2017) and *Energiediskurs* (2017). Her work emphasizes practical applications of linguistic research to improve communication in healthcare, education, and corporate environments.