Principal Investigator:
Stefka H. Marinova-Todd , ED.D. , Associate Professor
- Bilingual language and cognitive development
- Language and literacy development in second language learners
- Second language acquisition
Description of our main research activities
This is an interdisciplinary research lab devoted to studying the various psycholinguistic, socio-linguistic and educational aspects of bilingualism and second language acquisition. Currently, three main research projects are underway at the lab:
1) The language and cognitive abilities of bilingual children with autism
The main goal of this line of research is to establish whether children with autism can function successfully in two or more languages. Our findings so far have revealed no differences between monolingual and bilingual children with autism in terms of language abilities. Therefore, children with autism should not be discouraged from being bilingual.
For a media interview on this topic with Dr. Marinova-Todd, please click here.
2) Language and Literacy development in French Immersion programs
- Ensuring reading success for all students in early French immersion. Chen, B. (PI), Marinova-Todd, S.H. (Co-Invesitgator), Deacon, H. (Co-Investigator), funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant.
This is a large-scale four-year longitudinal project with children in early French immersion in Toronto and Vancouver, two major Canadian cities with diverse populations. The project has three objectives. The first objective is to understand cross-language transfer between English and French. The second objective is to compare literacy development in English and French between multilingual children and English L1 children across multiple time points between Grade 1 and Grade 4. The third objective is to identify screening measures that accurately identify at-risk reading status for both English L1 and multilingual children.
3) Age Effects in Second Language Acquisition
- Age Effects in Child English Second Language Acquisition. Paradis, J. (PI), Marinova-Todd, S.H. (Co-Invesitgator), Järviki , J. (Co-Investigator), funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant.
This research project examines the English abilities of ELL children and addresses various factors, including age of first exposure to English, and how they influence long-term L2 attainment in these children.
Collaborators
- Dr. Monique Bournot-Trites (Department of Language and Literacy Education, UBC)
- Dr. Becky Chen (Ontario Institute for Study of Education, University of Toronto)
- Dr. Hélène Deacon (Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University)
- Dr. Juhani Järviki (Department of Linguistics, University of Alberta)
- Dr. Johanne Paradis (Department of Linguistics, University of Alberta)
- Dr. Yuuko Uchikoshi (School of Education, UC-Davis)
Location & Contact Information
Bilingualism Research Lab
Friedman Building, Room 428
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3