My research interests lie at the intersection of psycholinguistics and Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA). Additionally, I’m interested in learner individual differences and the effect of these on learning. Theoretically, my perspective on language learning is based on Skill Acquisition Theory. The research I am developing involves investigating how older (teen and adult) learners learn new languages and the factors that can hinder or facilitate learning gains and ultimate attainment. I hope to apply the knowledge gained toward bridging the gap between theory/research and practice. Many of my research interests are rooted in my experiences and observations while teaching English as a second or foreign language. The main languages I research are Spanish and English.

Psycholinguistics

Eye Tracking

I’m interested in using eye tracking methods to measure attention and processing. Primarily, I intend to use eye tracking to measure how learners interact with different learning materials.

ISLA

My research interests pertain to the Aptitude-Treatment Interaction and how aptitude interacts with other individual differences, such as motivation and language learning experience. I’m additionally interested in the effects of variables such as topical complexity and/or difficulty and L1-L2 distance and interaction and developing clear taxonomies for measuring these variables. I hope to apply this research toward developing teaching methods and materials that are rooted in learner processing.