Roberta Spelorzi

Roberta Spelorzi is a Lecturer and PhD candidate in Linguistics and English Language at the University of Edinburgh's School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences. Her research focuses on bilingualism across the lifespan, specifically language attrition and second language acquisition, with a psycholinguistic approach examining populations like attriters and heritage speakers. She holds an Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) and is completing a PGCert in Academic Practice.

Teaching roles include undergraduate courses at the School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences (Second Language Acquisition, First Language Acquisition) and School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (Italian 1). She has also been a Teaching Fellow in Italian at the Centre for Open Learning since 2017. Her work with Bilingualism Matters Centre emphasizes public engagement through workshops on multilingualism.

Research interests center on the interplay between first language attrition and second language acquisition, using experimental methods to study Italian and English speakers. Key areas include heritage language maintenance, generational attrition, and multilingual classroom dynamics. Recent conference contributions highlight her exploration of clitic pronoun production in heritage speakers and language transmission patterns.

Her teaching and research emphasize inclusive pedagogy, particularly in hybrid settings, and bridge cognitive, sociocultural, and sociolinguistic perspectives to enhance bilingual education. She collaborates with Prof. Antonella Sorace and Dr. Patrick Sturt, contributing to both academic and community-oriented projects.