Simona Montanari

Simona Montanari is a Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA), specializing in bilingual and multilingual language development. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Southern California (USC), focusing on early trilingual development. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), emphasizing speech perception, vocabulary growth, and narrative skills in Spanish-speaking bilingual/trilingual children in the U.S. Dr. Montanari co-founded an Italian/English dual language program in Los Angeles County in 2009, studying its educational outcomes. She received CSULA’s prestigious Outstanding Professor Award in 2021.

Her research highlights include examining heritage language development, parental attitudes toward bilingual education, and the impact of socioeconomic status on language outcomes. Key projects involve analyzing phonetic and phonological differences in bilingual preschoolers and evaluating the role of maternal education in speech development. Montanari’s work bridges theoretical linguistics with practical educational policy, emphasizing the importance of multilingualism in diverse communities. She collaborates internationally, contributing to edited volumes on multilingualism and bilingualism across the lifespan.

Research Trends: Her publications consistently address bilingual/multilingual speech development, dual-language program effectiveness, and sociolinguistic factors influencing language acquisition. Recent work explores the impact of community language exposure and maternal cultural orientation on linguistic outcomes. She also investigates narrative development through parent-child interactions and evaluates retention challenges in Hispanic-serving institutions.

• Awards: 2021 CSULA Outstanding Professor Award
• Grants: NIH-funded research on bilingual child development
• Program Impact: Italian/English dual-language program evaluation since 2009

Montanari’s contributions span academia and community advocacy, shaping educational policies to support multilingual learners. Her edited volumes and collaborative research reflect a commitment to interdisciplinary approaches in linguistics and education.