Manuel F. Pulido
Assistant Professor of Spanish and Linguistics
Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802
mpulido at psu dot edu
I am an applied psycholinguist specialized in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). I draw on linguistic theory and cognitive science to conduct empirical research that examines questions such as: How does a speaker's prior linguistic experience influence how they process linguistic input, helping them learn a new language? How are different levels of structure learned by adult speakers (from lexical elements, to multiword units, to morphosyntactic patterns)? What type of learning conditions facilitate second language learning (and which conditions are best for different learners)?
To examine these questions, in the CoALA lab (Cognition of Adult Language Acquisition) my students and I employ a variety of methods, such as the analysis of large collections of language (corpus data), and the use of experimental methods to collect measures from behavior (spoken responses, decision making, reading), including eye-tracking, and EEG (brain potentials).
You can learn more about our research in the subsections of this website. I am happy to be contacted by highly motivated students of all backgrounds.
Publications
(contact me for copies of articles if not accessible here)
Pulido, Manuel F. (2024). Optimizing the input for learning of L2-specific constructions: The roles of Zipfian and balanced input, explicit rules and working memory. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. First View https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263124000081
Pulido, Manuel F. (2024). Words can only get us so far: The role of multiword units in psycholinguistic research. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.23701
Pulido, Manuel F. (2023). Generalizing knowledge of L2 collocations: The influence of within-language and cross-language similarity on acceptability and ERPs. Language Learning, 73(2), 578-612. http://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12543 Accepted pdf
Pulido, Manuel F. & López-Beltrán, Priscila (2023). When native speakers are not “native-like”: Chunking ability predicts (lack of) sensitivity to gender agreement during online processing. Cognitive Science, 47(10), e13366. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13366
Pulido, Manuel F. & Kathy Conklin (2023). Realizing new potential in vocabulary studies: Co-registration of eye movements and brain potentials. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 2(3), 100077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2023.100077 Accepted pdf.
Conklin, Kathy, Ana Pellicer-Sánchez & Manuel F. Pulido (accepted). Cognitive/behavioral methods for investigating incidental vocabulary acquisition. In Barry Lee Reynolds & Mark Feng Teng (Eds.) Researching Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in a Second Language. Routledge.
Pulido, Manuel. F. (2023). Processing conventional and non-conventional multiword units: Evidence of similarity-based generalization from judgements and brain potentials. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 38(3), 651-671. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2022.2157028 Accepted pdf
Pulido, Manuel F. (2022) Why are multiword units hard to acquire for late L2 learners? Insights from cognitive science on adult learning, processing and retrieval. Linguistics Vanguard, 8(1), 237-247. https://doi.org/10.1515/lingvan-2021-0043 Accepted pdf
Pulido, Manuel F. (2021) Individual chunking ability predicts efficient or shallow L2 processing: Eye-tracking evidence from multiword units in relative clauses. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 4004. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.607621 (Open Access)
Pulido, Manuel F. (2021) Native language inhibition predicts more successful second language learning: Evidence of two ERP pathways during learning. Neuropsychologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107732 Access pdf
Pulido, Manuel F. (2021). Remapping variable subject position in Spanish intransitives: A proposal for functionally defined categories in motion verbs. Spanish in Context, 18.2. http://doi.org/10.1075/sic.19006.pul Accepted pdf
Pulido, Manuel F. & Dussias, Paola E. (2020). Desirable difficulties while learning collocations in a second language: Conditions that induce L1 interference improve learning. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, 23(3), 652-667. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1366728919000622 Accepted pdf
Pulido, Manuel F. & Dussias, Paola E. (2019) The Neural Correlates of Conflict Detection and Resolution During Multiword Lexical Selection: Evidence from Bilinguals and Monolinguals. Brain Sciences, 9, 110. doi.org/10.3390/brainsci9050110 (Open Access)
