PhD students
Mada Alhassan
Area of interest: Second Language Acquisition & autism; multilingualism, executive functions & theory of mind.
PhD Thesis: My research investigates the relationship of executive functions and theory of mind and their relation within the frame of second language acquisition on the domains of pragmatics and grammar; bilingualism and cognition; and understanding how these constructs typically developing children and autistic children in Saudi Arabia & the Gulf area. What remains unclear is whether bilingual individuals with autism tend to have difficulties in their performance on language acquisition tasks compared to their age-matched and language-matched peers or whether they are equal to their typical developing peers. Understanding this would shed light on how bilingualism interact with autism.
Area of interest: Second Language Acquisition & autism; multilingualism, executive functions & theory of mind.
PhD Thesis: My research investigates the relationship of executive functions and theory of mind and their relation within the frame of second language acquisition on the domains of pragmatics and grammar; bilingualism and cognition; and understanding how these constructs typically developing children and autistic children in Saudi Arabia & the Gulf area. What remains unclear is whether bilingual individuals with autism tend to have difficulties in their performance on language acquisition tasks compared to their age-matched and language-matched peers or whether they are equal to their typical developing peers. Understanding this would shed light on how bilingualism interact with autism.
Vince DeLuca
Areas of interest: Bi-/multilingualism, MRI, EEG/ERP, second language acquisition, neuroplasticity, executive functions
PhD thesis: My research interests involve the effect of the bilingual experience on cognition, neural structure and function. I study bilingualism as a spectrum- that is as a complex and dynamic experience with many permutations to its outcomes, both in terms of ultimate attainment of an additional language and its effect on the brain and mind. I use a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging (MRI) methods to assess what aspects of bilingualism convey these changes, and how these change through time.
Areas of interest: Bi-/multilingualism, MRI, EEG/ERP, second language acquisition, neuroplasticity, executive functions
PhD thesis: My research interests involve the effect of the bilingual experience on cognition, neural structure and function. I study bilingualism as a spectrum- that is as a complex and dynamic experience with many permutations to its outcomes, both in terms of ultimate attainment of an additional language and its effect on the brain and mind. I use a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging (MRI) methods to assess what aspects of bilingualism convey these changes, and how these change through time.
Yesi Cheng
Areas of interest: syntactic processing, garden-path effect, cognitive and language deficits in individuals with Alzheimer's disease, bi/multilingualism and brain, eye-tracking, EEG/ERP.
PhD thesis: My current research aims to probe whether bilinguals differ from monolinguals with regards to constructing syntactic representation during real-time sentence processing (e.g. syntactic ambiguity resolution, number agreement) through behavioural paradigm, eye tracking and electrophysiological technique. I am particularly interested in looking into the way bilinguals (e.g. French-English, Chinese-English) parse language and how they play with different linguistic cues (e.g. syntax, semantics, and pragmatics) during syntactic ambiguity resolution when compared to monolinguals.
Areas of interest: syntactic processing, garden-path effect, cognitive and language deficits in individuals with Alzheimer's disease, bi/multilingualism and brain, eye-tracking, EEG/ERP.
PhD thesis: My current research aims to probe whether bilinguals differ from monolinguals with regards to constructing syntactic representation during real-time sentence processing (e.g. syntactic ambiguity resolution, number agreement) through behavioural paradigm, eye tracking and electrophysiological technique. I am particularly interested in looking into the way bilinguals (e.g. French-English, Chinese-English) parse language and how they play with different linguistic cues (e.g. syntax, semantics, and pragmatics) during syntactic ambiguity resolution when compared to monolinguals.
Evelyn Egger
Areas of interest: bilingualism, literacy development, cross-linguistic influence, grammatical gender, narrative skills, executive functions
PhD Thesis: My thesis investigates the development of biliteracy in bilingual children. I obtained both online and off-line measures of children’s language abilities and executive function skills. Literacy was measured with standardized assessments in both languages to derive different indices of biliteracy. The measures of biliteracy are used to examine the relationship with executive function skills and oral language abilities. Moreover, the study compares predictors of reading skills in monolingual and bilingual speakers of Greek and English.
Areas of interest: bilingualism, literacy development, cross-linguistic influence, grammatical gender, narrative skills, executive functions
PhD Thesis: My thesis investigates the development of biliteracy in bilingual children. I obtained both online and off-line measures of children’s language abilities and executive function skills. Literacy was measured with standardized assessments in both languages to derive different indices of biliteracy. The measures of biliteracy are used to examine the relationship with executive function skills and oral language abilities. Moreover, the study compares predictors of reading skills in monolingual and bilingual speakers of Greek and English.
Hiroki Fujita
Areas of Interest: Psycholinguistics (mainly sentence processing/parsing). Second Language Acquisition. Multilingualism.
PhD thesis: My PhD project investigates second language learners’ ambiguity resolution processes. I am especially interested in how language learners of English recover from garden paths, which aims to explore the possibility of native-like attainment by second language learners. I use both offline and online experimental techniques for the project.
Areas of Interest: Psycholinguistics (mainly sentence processing/parsing). Second Language Acquisition. Multilingualism.
PhD thesis: My PhD project investigates second language learners’ ambiguity resolution processes. I am especially interested in how language learners of English recover from garden paths, which aims to explore the possibility of native-like attainment by second language learners. I use both offline and online experimental techniques for the project.
Julia Hofweber
Ares of interest: Multilingualism and cognition; code-switching; language acquisition
PhD thesis: In my PhD project I explore the effects of different types of code-switching on specific aspects of the executive system. Bilinguals’ code-switching habits are assessed using frequency judgement tasks, as well as questionnaires, and an email production task. Their frequency of engaging in different types of code-switching is then correlated with their performance in a range of executive tasks, such as the flanker task, the Go / Nogo task, as well as the global-local task. The project also explores whether any potential executive function modulations brought about by code-switching translate into bilingual advantages, when comparing the bilinguals to a monolingual control group.
Ares of interest: Multilingualism and cognition; code-switching; language acquisition
PhD thesis: In my PhD project I explore the effects of different types of code-switching on specific aspects of the executive system. Bilinguals’ code-switching habits are assessed using frequency judgement tasks, as well as questionnaires, and an email production task. Their frequency of engaging in different types of code-switching is then correlated with their performance in a range of executive tasks, such as the flanker task, the Go / Nogo task, as well as the global-local task. The project also explores whether any potential executive function modulations brought about by code-switching translate into bilingual advantages, when comparing the bilinguals to a monolingual control group.
David Miller
Areas of interest: L2 acquisition, bi- and multilingualism, EEG/ERP, morphosyntax, semantics and pragmatics.
PhD thesis: My PhD thesis investigates the online processing of scalar implicatures among both native monolingual Spanish speakers and bilingual Spanish-English attriters (L1 attrition) via Event-related potentials. I have studied the acquisition of this same phenomenon among L1 English L2 Spanish speakers; progressive aspect in L2 German (L1 English); negative polarity items in Spanish and Catalan among monolingual Spanish and Catalan Speakers, as well as bilinguals; the processing of gender and number agreement in L1 and L2 Spanish using ERPs; and methodological design alongside several of my colleagues here in the psycholinguistics lab.
Areas of interest: L2 acquisition, bi- and multilingualism, EEG/ERP, morphosyntax, semantics and pragmatics.
PhD thesis: My PhD thesis investigates the online processing of scalar implicatures among both native monolingual Spanish speakers and bilingual Spanish-English attriters (L1 attrition) via Event-related potentials. I have studied the acquisition of this same phenomenon among L1 English L2 Spanish speakers; progressive aspect in L2 German (L1 English); negative polarity items in Spanish and Catalan among monolingual Spanish and Catalan Speakers, as well as bilinguals; the processing of gender and number agreement in L1 and L2 Spanish using ERPs; and methodological design alongside several of my colleagues here in the psycholinguistics lab.
Theodora Papastefanou
Areas of interest: Second Language Acquisition, Bilingualism and Literacy development
PhD thesis: My PhD thesis aims to investigate how growing up bilingual influences literacy development. The project targets to collect data from Greek-English speaking children aged 6 to 8 concerning their phonological awareness, morphological awareness, vocabulary and grammar, and literacy skills (decoding and reading comprehension).
Areas of interest: Second Language Acquisition, Bilingualism and Literacy development
PhD thesis: My PhD thesis aims to investigate how growing up bilingual influences literacy development. The project targets to collect data from Greek-English speaking children aged 6 to 8 concerning their phonological awareness, morphological awareness, vocabulary and grammar, and literacy skills (decoding and reading comprehension).
Eloi Puig Mayenco
Areas of Interest: Psycholinguistics; adult L3/Ln acquisition; Child and adult L2 acquisition, contexts of micro-variation; Multilingualisn; Morphosyntax; Syntax-semantics interface.
PhD thesis: I am currently working on the acquisition of Negative Polarity Items and Negative Quantifiers in L3 English by early bilinguals of Catalan and Spanish. I use both off-line and online measures to assess morphosyntactic transfer at the early stages and subsequent development. I am also interested in looking at possible regressive transfer effects from the L3 to the two previously acquired languages.
Areas of Interest: Psycholinguistics; adult L3/Ln acquisition; Child and adult L2 acquisition, contexts of micro-variation; Multilingualisn; Morphosyntax; Syntax-semantics interface.
PhD thesis: I am currently working on the acquisition of Negative Polarity Items and Negative Quantifiers in L3 English by early bilinguals of Catalan and Spanish. I use both off-line and online measures to assess morphosyntactic transfer at the early stages and subsequent development. I am also interested in looking at possible regressive transfer effects from the L3 to the two previously acquired languages.
Toms Voits
Areas of interest: Bi-/multilingualism, neurolinguistics, language pathology, dementia.
PhD Thesis: My PhD thesis explores the cognitive and neurological effects of bilingualism on the progression on dementia. While there is some evidence that bilingual individuals experience clinical symptoms of dementia later in life than comparable monolinguals, there is no confirmation on the possible effects of bilingualism on the progression of the disease. I am addressing this gap in the literature via a longitudinal study employing a combination of neuroimaging (MRI) and behavioural techniques by directly addressing claims that bilingualism can provide protection against cognitive decline and brain deterioration in older age.
Areas of interest: Bi-/multilingualism, neurolinguistics, language pathology, dementia.
PhD Thesis: My PhD thesis explores the cognitive and neurological effects of bilingualism on the progression on dementia. While there is some evidence that bilingual individuals experience clinical symptoms of dementia later in life than comparable monolinguals, there is no confirmation on the possible effects of bilingualism on the progression of the disease. I am addressing this gap in the literature via a longitudinal study employing a combination of neuroimaging (MRI) and behavioural techniques by directly addressing claims that bilingualism can provide protection against cognitive decline and brain deterioration in older age.
Shi Zhang
Areas of interest: Psycholinguistics, language processing, language attrition.
PhD thesis: Shi Zhang is a PhD student at the University of Reading, and his current work uses eye tracking to examine the on-line processing of perfective/durative aspect marking and reflexive binding among overseas Mandarin Chinese speakers. His research interests include language processing, language attrition and heritage language acquisition.
Areas of interest: Psycholinguistics, language processing, language attrition.
PhD thesis: Shi Zhang is a PhD student at the University of Reading, and his current work uses eye tracking to examine the on-line processing of perfective/durative aspect marking and reflexive binding among overseas Mandarin Chinese speakers. His research interests include language processing, language attrition and heritage language acquisition.