Find Academic Supervisors

Arturo E. HernandezView profile

Professor

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Bilingual Language Processing
• Second Language Acquisition
• +3 more

Arturo E. Hernandez, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston, specializing in the neural bases of bilingualism. He directs the Laboratory for the Neural Bases of Bilingualism (LNBB) and holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. His research focuses on cognitive neuroscience, bilingual language processing, and second language acquisition. He has authored influential books, including *The Bilingual Brain* and *Mastery*, exploring how learning transforms the brain and cognition. Dr. Hernandez’s work integrates behavioral and neuroimaging methods to study language development, processing, and its neural correlates. His theoretical framework emphasizes emergentist views, where language abilities emerge from multiple interacting processes. He has received prestigious awards like the Wilhelm Bessel Research Award and the Fulbright Global Scholar distinction. His research also examines the cognitive effects of aging, diabetes, and exercise on brain health. He advocates for lifelong learning, emphasizing its role in maintaining cognitive well-being. His interdisciplinary approach bridges neuroscience, linguistics, and education, with a focus on bilingual children’s neurodevelopment and language proficiency. Dr. Hernandez is actively involved in mentoring, though specific advisee names are not listed. His lab collaborates on large-scale studies, such as the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) project, investigating bilingualism’s neural impacts. He emphasizes public engagement through media interviews and accessible writing about cognitive science and language learning.

Catherine Caldwell-HarrisView profile

Associate Professor

• Language Processing
• Second Language Acquisition
• Emotional Aspects of Language
• +5 more

Catherine Caldwell-Harris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Boston University. She holds a PhD from UC San Diego (1991), studying under Elizabeth Bates, Jeffrey Elman, and others. Her research integrates cognitive psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience, focusing on language processing, emotion, and bilingualism. Key contributions include documenting heightened emotional reactivity in native vs. second languages and pioneering work on repetition blindness in visual cognition. Her research interests encompass second language acquisition, emotional language processing, and autism spectrum disorders. Notable projects include cross-cultural studies on Russian, Mandarin, and Spanish bilinguals, and investigations into the Personality-Culture Clash hypothesis regarding mental health and cultural values alignment. She collaborates internationally, notably with German colleagues on consciousness studies using repetition blindness paradigms. Publications span over three decades, addressing topics like neurodivergent language strategies, affective neuroscience, and bilingual ethical decision-making. Her work bridges theoretical models (e.g., emergentist accounts of language learning) with empirical findings in psycholinguistics and cognitive science. She maintains active involvement in deaf education research, exploring ASL's role in supporting English literacy among deaf children.

Oliver BonesView profile

Lecturer

• Auditory Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Pitch Perception
• +7 more

Dr. Oliver Bones is a Lecturer in Psychology and Deputy Head of the Dubai School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham Dubai. He also serves as Head of Year 1 for the BSc Psychology program, where he teaches modules including Introduction to Psychobiology, Cognitive Psychology, Language and Communication, Neural Basis of Vision and Action, and Cognition and Ageing. Education: BSc in Psychology, Sheffield Hallam University (2002) MSc in Audiology, University of Manchester (2011) PhD in Auditory Neuroscience, University of Manchester (2014) Higher National Diploma in Music Production Dr. Bones' research lies at the intersection of auditory neuroscience and cognitive psychology, focusing on how humans perceive pitch, music, and speech. His work investigates the role of cognition in speech perception, the neural basis of musical harmony, and the impact of hidden, non-audiometric hearing loss on cognitive function. He is particularly interested in how hearing loss interacts with cognitive decline in older adults, and how musical experience influences subcortical pitch encoding. His recent publications show a strong trend in auditory perception, neural representation of sound, and the cognitive mechanisms underlying music and speech processing. Many of his studies employ neuroimaging and electrophysiological methods to examine brainstem responses to complex auditory stimuli such as musical consonance and lexical tones. His work also extends to environmental sound classification and the formation of sound categories. Scientific Involvement: Co-Investigator, Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority grant on psychological factors in childhood obesity Dr. Bones advises undergraduate students as Head of Year 1 and contributes to curriculum development in psychology education. While formal PhD or Master's students are not listed, his collaborative research involves multiple institutions and interdisciplinary teams. He is based at the Dubai International Academic City campus, contributing to the growth of psychological science in the UAE.

• Bilingualism
• Language Processing
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• +10 more

Megan Zirnstein is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science at Pomona College, part of The Claremont Colleges. She has been with the institution since 2019, contributing to interdisciplinary research and teaching in cognitive science and bilingualism. Her educational background includes a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, Davis, and a B.A. from the University of Memphis. Megan Zirnstein’s research lies at the intersection of cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, and psycholinguistics. Her work investigates how bilingualism influences cognitive control, reading comprehension, and neurobiological health across the lifespan. She employs multimodal methods including eye-tracking, EEG, ECG, and pupillometry to study language processing, cognitive ability, and emotional regulation in bilingual individuals. A major focus is on how parallel language activation affects comprehension and how cognitive and linguistic factors shape humor appreciation. The recent publications reflect a strong trajectory in bilingual cognition, with emphasis on lexical access, prediction mechanisms, cognitive control, and cross-language activation. The research spans populations from young adults to older adults and includes both hearing and deaf bilinguals, demonstrating methodological rigor and theoretical depth. Scientific Awards and Honors: Kavli Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience Fellow (2017) Kavli Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience Fellow (2018) National Science Foundation Grant (PI), $198,088, 2014–2018 NSF PIRE Postdoctoral Fellowship, Pennsylvania State University, 2012–2014 Megan Zirnstein has served as Principal Investigator on competitive grants, indicating active research funding and leadership. She advises on research within her lab and contributes to training students in cognitive neuroscience methods. She teaches core courses such as Introduction to Cognitive Science, Bilingual Cognition, and Cognitive Neuroscience with Lab, integrating research and pedagogy. Her work is embedded in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment, often co-authored with leading scholars such as Judith F. Kroll. While no formal lab name is mentioned, her research group likely engages in behavioral and neurocognitive studies of language and cognition.

• Educational Psychology
• Student Motivation
• Self-Determination Theory
• +4 more

Dr. Barbara Flunger is an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences , specializing in Educational Psychology . Her research focuses on improving student motivation and learning behavior through advanced statistical modeling and self-determination theory, particularly examining autonomy support, socioeconomic factors, and homework dynamics. She has led projects funded by the PhD Fund of Utrecht University and the Stimuleringsbeurs Rijksoverheid . Key Projects 2022–Present: Role of autonomy regulation in self-directed learning 2024–Present: 'Making homework work: Generating vlogs as learning strategy' Research Themes : Student motivation and self-determination theory Homework behavior and learning types Socioeconomic background impacts on education Collaborative learning environments Scientific Contributions : Developed classification systems for teacher motivational behaviors Advanced Bayesian and latent profile analyses in educational contexts Published extensively on autonomy support and homework interventions Teaching : Involved in Master’s programs for Educational Sciences, teaching research methods, assessment design, and integrative practical courses.

Adele GoldbergView profile

Professor

• Construction Grammar
• Language Acquisition
• Psychology of Language
• +6 more

Adele Goldberg is the Moses Taylor Pyne Professor of Psychology and Associate Chair at Princeton University. She leads the Psychology of Language Lab, where she conducts research on the usage-based constructionist approach to language, emphasizing emergent generalizations based on construction functions, input statistics, and domain-general cognitive processes. Dr. Goldberg's research spans construction grammar, language acquisition, metaphor processing, autism and language, neurolinguistics, and computational linguistics. Her groundbreaking work demonstrates that humans learn language through general cognitive processes rather than language-specific knowledge. She has shown that knowledge of language consists of form-function correspondences (constructions) and that conventional metaphors are more emotionally engaging than literal paraphrases, as evidenced by increased amygdala activation in fMRI studies. Her research on autism has revealed challenges faced by autistic individuals in language learning, particularly regarding flexible extension of word meanings and processing complex word meanings. She has extensively studied statistical preemption in language learning - how speakers learn to constrain generalizations based on the frequency of competing alternatives. Her work with Boyd demonstrated that younger children are less likely to generalize abstract constructions compared to older learners when exposed to the same input. Moses Taylor Pyne Professor of Psychology, Princeton University Associate Chair, Department of Psychology Director, Psychology of Language Lab Dr. Goldberg has mentored numerous students including Abby Fergus and collaborates extensively with researchers like Sammy Floyd, Arielle Belluck, and Karina Tachihara. Her recent work explores parallels between usage-based constructionist approaches and large language models, examining how both human and artificial systems learn from statistical patterns in language input.

• Phonological acquisition
• Early language development
• Second-language production and perception
• +5 more

Natalia Kartushina is a Professor at the University of Oslo, specializing in language acquisition and bilingualism. Her research focuses on phonological development in first and second languages, infant-directed speech, and neuroplasticity in speech production. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Geneva (2015) and has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Oslo (2017–present) and the Basque Center on Brain, Cognition and Language (2016–2017). Her work explores how variability in parental speech influences early language development, particularly in multilingual environments. Key projects include investigating the role of Norwegian dialect exposure in infants’ language acquisition and the impact of pacifier use on vocabulary growth. Kartushina has secured major grants, including an FRIPRO Young Talents award (2020) and University of Oslo funding (2018). Research groups affiliations include Clinical Linguistics and Language Acquisition, Experimental Linguistics, and Second and Third Language Acquisition. Her recent studies address interdisciplinary topics like bilingualism’s effect on color perception and cross-cultural parenting attitudes toward language development. Education: PhD Psychology (University of Geneva, 2015), Master in Cognitive Psychology (University of Paris Descartes, 2010), Master in Speech Therapy (KSPU, 2005) Notable contributions include longitudinal analyses of infant-directed speech properties and collaborative multi-lab studies on vocabulary development. Her work bridges experimental linguistics with developmental psychology, emphasizing real-world applications in education and clinical contexts.

Stephen FafulasView profile

Associate Professor

• Sociolinguistics
• Second Language Acquisition
• Morpho-syntactic variation
• +7 more

Dr. Stephen Fafulas is Associate Professor of Spanish and Linguistics in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Mississippi. He serves as Director of the Study of Communities, Involvement & Outreach and Linguistics (SoCIOLing) Lab, which collaborates with scholars, trains students, and raises awareness about cultural and linguistic diversity across bilingual zones of the Americas. Dr. Fafulas holds a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics from Indiana University with a specialization in the intersection of Second Language Acquisition and Sociolinguistics. His educational background has prepared him for extensive research in language variation, contact linguistics, and bilingual communities. Dr. Fafulas's research incorporates current theories and methodologies in Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition to examine morpho-syntactic and phonetic variation in native, learner, and contact varieties of language. He employs quantitative methods to uncover the social, linguistic, and cognitive factors that shape languages at individual and societal levels. His fieldwork spans various speech communities throughout the Americas and Europe, with particular focus on language shift and bilingualism in distinct settings, including investigations of the ethnolinguistic vitality of minority languages in the Amazon (Bora, Yagua and Ocaina) as well as Spanish in the USA. Dr. Fafulas's scholarly work demonstrates a consistent focus on language variation in contact situations, with particular attention to Amazonian Spanish varieties, Southern US Spanish dialects, and second language acquisition phenomena. His research bridges theoretical linguistics with community engagement, documenting emerging language varieties while addressing practical needs of bilingual communities. Dr. Fafulas has received notable recognition for his work, including: University of Mississippi's inaugural Faculty Laureate program Fulbright award to Spain (2022) Graduation from the Engagement and Outreach Scholars Academy at East Carolina University Dr. Fafulas is dedicated to cross-disciplinary scholarship that integrates community stakeholders in project design. He has secured funding from prestigious agencies including the National Science Foundation, Fulbright, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. As Director of the SoCIOLing Lab, he mentors undergraduate and graduate students, leading research initiatives with bilingual communities globally. He also co-founded the SEC Spanish Consortium, which promotes cross-disciplinary scholarship and cross-institutional collaborations aimed at documenting diversity among Latinx communities in the U.S. South. Through the SoCIOLing Lab, Dr. Fafulas collaborates with scholars across disciplines and institutions to document linguistic diversity in bilingual communities. His lab provides research opportunities for students and serves as a hub for community engagement, particularly focused on Latinx populations in the U.S. South. Current initiatives include documenting Latinx populations in Mississippi through oral histories, student mentoring, and bilingual education initiatives.

Francesca TalaminiView profile

Research Fellow

• Music Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Working Memory
• +6 more

Dr. Francesca Talamini is a post-doctoral University Assistant at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, within the Department of Personality Psychology, Differential Psychology & Assessment . She holds a Ph.D. and leads research bridging music psychology and cognitive science. Research Interests: Music Psychology: expertise, aptitude, emotions, contour perception, inter-individual differences Cognition: working memory, memory-perception interactions Aesthetic emotions: cross-arts emotion comparisons Methods: meta-analysis, multi-lab replication studies Her investigations exploit behavioral, meta-analytic and multi-lab approaches to understand how musical training modulates memory and emotion processing across auditory and visual domains. Projects & Collaborations: She currently manages studies on contour perception, music-emotion congruency effects, and memory differences between musicians and non-musicians, and welcomes motivated students for master-thesis supervision and internships. Publications Profile: Talamini’s 2022-2024 output reveals concentrated attention to the cognitive repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on relationships, as well as continued exploration of auditory-cognition interactions, with papers appearing in Journal of Personality , Music Perception , Hearing Research , Scientific Reports , PLOS ONE and other high-impact journals.

Jieun LeeView profile

Visiting Assistant Professor

• Second Language Acquisition
• Psycholinguistics
• Speech Perception and Production

Jieun Lee is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Kansas. She earned her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2022 and a B.E. in English Language and Literature from Kangwon National University in 2015. Her research focuses on second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and speech perception and production. Dr. Lee teaches courses including Language and Mind (LING 110/111), Capstone: Research Language Science (LING 420), Second Language Acquisition (LING 715), Psycholinguistics (LING 435/735), and Research Methods in Linguistics (LING 720). Her research examines acoustic cues in speech perception, phonological learning, and cross-linguistic perception. Recent publications investigate native and non-native speech perception patterns and their implications for language acquisition. Awards include: Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship (UWM, 2020) Chancellor’s Graduate Student Award (UWM, 2019)

Nicole ZieglerView profile

Associate Professor

• Second Language Acquisition
• Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL)
• Task-Based Language Teaching
• +3 more

Nicole Ziegler is an Associate Professor and Graduate Chair at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, holding a PhD from Georgetown University. Her research focuses on second language acquisition (SLA) in instructed contexts, with particular emphasis on task-based language teaching (TBLT), computer-assisted language learning (CALL), and maritime English communication. She investigates how corrective feedback in traditional and digital environments influences learners' perceptions and language development, while also exploring lexical and socio-pragmatic challenges in the commercial shipping industry. Her expertise spans interdisciplinary research methodologies, including mixed-methods and synthetic approaches to enhance SLA and CALL research quality. Dr. Ziegler collaborates with cooperating faculty such as Graham Crookes, Dustin Crowther, and others, contributing to the development of authentic teaching materials based on real-world maritime communication needs. Her work bridges theoretical SLA frameworks with practical pedagogical applications in digital and traditional settings.

Anna Mystkowska-WiertelakView profile

Professor

• Second Language Acquisition
• Willingness to Communicate
• Learner Engagement
• +12 more

Anna Mystkowska-Wiertelak is a Professor at the University of Wrocław, affiliated with the Faculty of English and the Department of Glottodidactics. Her scholarly work centers on second language acquisition, particularly the psychological and emotional dimensions of language learning. Education: Habilitation in Humanities (Linguistics), Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 2018 PhD in Linguistics, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 2010 MA in English Philology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 1990 Her research focuses on willingness to communicate (WtC) , learner engagement , emotion regulation , motivation , and learning strategies . She investigates how affective and cognitive factors influence language performance, especially in classroom speaking tasks. Her work often employs mixed-methods designs, including idiodynamic and retrodictive qualitative modeling, to capture the dynamic nature of language learning processes. The analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a strong trend toward studying the interplay of emotions, engagement, and self-regulation in language classrooms. Her research spans theoretical and empirical domains, with a particular emphasis on advanced learners and third age learners . She frequently collaborates with scholars such as M. Pawlak and J. Bielak, contributing to both monographs and high-impact journal articles. Scientific Contributions: Co-author of key monographs such as Willingness to Communicate in Instructed Second Language Acquisition (2017) and Production-oriented and Comprehension-based Grammar Teaching (2012) Guest editor of special issues, including Contemporary Challenges in Language Education (Anglica Wratislaviensia, 2024) Regular presenter at international conferences such as AAAL, EUROSLA, and Psychology for Language Learning She actively supervises and collaborates with researchers, though specific advisee names are not listed. She has not received specific awards mentioned in the text, but her extensive publication record and editorial roles indicate high scholarly recognition. She is involved in ongoing research projects exploring motivational dynamics, teacher strategies, and learner psychology, contributing significantly to the advancement of applied linguistics and language pedagogy.

Jeffrey SteeleView profile

Professor

• Second Language Acquisition
• Laboratory Phonology
• Language Assessment
• +3 more

Jeffrey Steele is a Professor in French Studies at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on second language acquisition, laboratory phonology, and bilingual literacy. He explores how phonological and phonetic factors influence language learning, particularly the acquisition of French and Spanish segmental and prosodic features by Mandarin, Japanese, and English speakers. Steele also investigates the role of phonological awareness in bilingual children's literacy development. PhD in Linguistics, McGill University MA in French Linguistics, Queen’s University BA Hons in French, University of Manitoba Steele’s work employs electropalatography (EPG) to analyze articulatory timing, assimilation, and cluster simplification in native and non-native speech. His publications address topics like cross-linguistic influence on coda voicing, syllable position effects, and the impact of phonetic input variability on L2 learning. Recent studies highlight gradient and categorical effects in bilingual phonology, phonological licensing asymmetries, and prosodic prominence acquisition. He co-developed the University of Toronto Test of French and maintains the Romance Phonetics Database (2004–Present). SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2022–2027) on Reading Comprehension in French Immersion Learners Steele teaches courses in French language skills, linguistic analysis, and individual differences in language acquisition. His collaborations with researchers like Colantoni and Kochetov bridge theoretical linguistics and applied pedagogy.

• Second Language Acquisition
• Language Learning Psychology
• Classroom Dynamics
• +3 more

Miroslaw Pawlak is affiliated with Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland, focusing on second language acquisition and language learning psychology. Key research areas: Emotional dynamics in language classrooms, strategic grammar instruction, blended learning environments Recent work explores foreign language enjoyment/boredom, grit in SLA, and technology-mediated learning Publications from 2025 investigate: Emotion mediation in Chinese student engagement Pronunciation knowledge development through explicit/implicit learning Playfulness as a counterbalance to language learning boredom His work employs advanced statistical modeling and mediation analysis to understand affective factors in multilingual education contexts.

• child language acquisition
• heritage speaker bilingualism
• acquisition of morphosyntax and prosody
• +2 more

Selim Tiryakiol is a Research Fellow at the Department of Language and Culture , UiT The Arctic University of Norway. His work focuses on heritage language acquisition, particularly examining how linguistic and extra-linguistic factors influence language development and maintenance. Research interests include: Heritage language bilingualism Morphosyntactic and prosodic acquisition Community engagement's role in language competence Individual and social variables in language development Notable scientific award: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship (MSCA) . Current project CODE-V (2023-2025) investigates capacity, opportunity, and desire in heritage language variation. Recent publications emphasize: Heritage language input quality vs. quantity Comparative analysis of Turkish monolingual and heritage speakers Pedagogical grammar frameworks for Turkish Memory systems and cognitive factors in language learning He is affiliated with research groups AcqVA Aurora , C-LaBL , and AcqVA-Nor , focusing on experimental and theoretical approaches to language variation.