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AThEME is a collaborative research project studying multilingualism in Europe. This 5-year research project was set up with funding from the European Commission, and it runs from March 2014 until March 2019. The main objectives of the project are: (1) to investigate cognitive, linguistic and sociological issues in multilingual Europe, (2) to assess existing public policies and practices within the areas of education and health as well as their impact on multilingualism and (3) to contribute to evidence-based policy making. AThEME uses a range of research methodology and aims to raise awareness of multilingualism among policy makers, health professionals, academics and educators.

This article brings together the theoretical field of language testing and the practical field of language analysis for the determination of the origin of asylum seekers. It considers what it would mean to think of language analysis as a form of language test, subject to the same validity constraints, and proposes a research agenda.

This paper was written in response to Cambier–Langeveld (2010), ‘The role of linguists and native speakers in language analysis for the determination of speaker origin’ (abbreviated here as RoLaNS).1 As such its first focus is on a discussion of the main conclusion of RoLaNS and the arguments it puts forward. This discussion leads me to conclude that the conclusion that native speaker competence is required for reliable LADO is not justified. I take the view that the crucial issue is not whether an expert is flawless but how reliable the result of the expert’s methods are. In the second half of the paper, I discuss some criteria for valid use of LADO, pointing out some current issues with the formulation of conclusions.

Language analysis is used by Immigration authorities in various European countries, in cases where asylum seekers cannot produce valid identification documents, and, in addition, the Immigration authorities see reason to doubt the claimed origin of the asylum seeker. Language analysis is then carried out to determine the areal or ethnic origin of the asylum seeker, through an evaluation of the language profile and accent of the asylum seeker. To this end, an interview with the asylum seeker is recorded and analysed. The results of this evaluation are reported in a document entitled Language Analysis Report (LAR). This kind of analysis has received some limited academic attention so far and is generally referred to as LADO. This paper presents the working method of one agency and present some of the differences that arise among experts working in this field.

What is innate and what is learned is one of the questions underlying most current work in first language acquisition. The challenge in this field is to develop a theory that accounts for the learnability problems involved in the domain at hand, that makes correct empirical predictions, and leaves room for variation between children exactly in the domains where variation occurs.

Reading this paper might depress you. Although it is certainly not my intention to write a depressing paper, the fact is that language acquisition research faces a major conceptual problem. The present paper cannot resolve it either. It is known as the ‘developmental problem of language acquisition’.