Research

Individual Differences in Language Learning

Not all individuals acquire a language with the same level of success. One of the main goals of my work is to explain variability in language learning and processing outcomes. To that end, I examine the role of learner-internal factors (such as native-language skills or cognitive abilities), external factors (such as the context of learning), as well as their interaction in capturing variation in second language acquisition, processing, and use.

Cross-linguistic Influence

Speakers of more than one language are faced with the task of managing more than one linguistic systems. How do those systems interact and shape each other? My work examines the bidirectional interaction between the native language and the language learned later in life in the domain of grammatical knowledge and processing, phonological perception and production, and pragmatics.

Language Learning in Context

[When there is not a global pandemic] each semester millions of students go abroad with the goal of improving their language skills (European Commission, 2019; Institute of International Education, 2019). My work investigates language learning as it occurs in the study abroad setting as well as the techniques available to researchers to capture language processing in this setting.

Language Processing

My work aims to understand how languages are processed in the brain. As a window into language processing, I use electrophysiological methods (ERP and qEEG) as well as behavioral methods such as accuracy and reaction time. This line of research addresses questions such as: Does native-language processing shape second language processing? Do we process language differently depending on the type of knowledge we use or the linguistic properties of the input? Can learners’ power and network coherence explain variation in second language proficiency?

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