Processing and Acquisition of Language in Multilinguals
Current Projects
Processing of grammatical gender in Spanish-dominant and English-dominant environments
This study investigates how children and adults process grammatical gender in Spanish within an English-dominant environment (central Texas) and a Spanish-dominant environment (Querétaro, Mexico) using eye-tracking methodology.
Comparing the potential reactivity of eye tracking and self-paced reading
In collaboration with Assistant Professor, LeAnne Spino Seijas, PhD, this study explores the potential differences between eye tracking and self-paced reading using an anomaly detection experiment. Researchers generally use one technique or the other in similar research designs, leaving open the question as to what extent the selection of the technique affects empirical research outcomes. By implementing both techniques in a within-subjects design, we seek to explore each technique’s reactivity and the extent to which their implementation may affect empirical research outcomes in participants who have learned Spanish as a first or second language.
A longitudinal study of nonword repetition in Spanish-English bilingual children
These studies explore the developmental trends and individual differences in Spanish-English bilingual children’s nonword repetition performance across elementary school in typically-developing children and children with developmental language disorders (DLD).
Grammatical priming in Spanish-English bilingual children with and without developmental language disorder
This study explores the accuracy of Spanish grammatical constructions across typically-developing children and children with developmental language disorder within a grammatical priming paradigm.
The neural correlates of morphosyntactic processing in Spanish-English bilingual children
This study investigates the neural correlates of English morphosyntactic structures in English-Spanish bilingual children using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). We explore whether age or current English exposure and use affect the functional brain activation of these bilingual children while processing certain morphosyntactic structures.
Neurobiological markers of language and literacy in bilingual and monolingual children
In collaboration with Assistant Professor, Vanessa Harwood, PhD, this study measures neurophysiological aspects of reading in both monolingual and bilingual 1st and 2nd grade using EEG and eye-tracking. Children participated in language and reading assessments, both in English and in Spanish, to gather data on their learning profiles. The goals of the project include defining particular aspects of the learning profile for bilingual readers as well as identifying effective interventions to support reading achievement in bilingual and monolingual populations.