Former Members

Fenqi Wang 鈥� Post-doctoral Fellow

Fenqi is now working at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Congratulations !

Website:

Former lab member bio: Dr. Wang earned his M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Kansas and his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Florida. His research interests include speech production and perception, sound variation, speech emotion recognition, and bilingualism. Dr. Wang is currently employing behavioral, neuroimaging, and computational methods to investigate vocal emotions in American English and Mandarin Chinese. His ultimate objective is to decipher the intricacies of the expression and perception of emotions in speech. He currently holds a position as a term lecturer in linguistics and is a post-doctoral fellow in the Language and Brain Lab.

Samantha Gryz 鈥� Research Assistant

Former lab member bio: I am a post-baccalaureate linguistics student, having recently completed a Linguistics in Speech Sciences certificate. I hold a B.A. in International Development & Women's Studies from the University of Winnipeg. My areas of interest include alternative & augmentative communication, speech rehabilitation, and language acquisition. I hope to obtain a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology. I'm currently learning ASL. In my free time I love to read science fiction, eat delicious things, and do yoga.

Samuel To - Research Assistant

Samuel is now in the Master of Science in Audiology Program at the University of British Columbia. Congratulations!

Former lab member bio: I am an undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Psychology. I am also completing a certificate in Speech Sciences. In the future, I hope to pursue a masters in audiology. My research interests include phonetics, phonology, and language acquisition. In my free time, I enjoy reading, watching hockey, or playing video games.

Janitta Wong - Research Assistant

Janitta is now in the Master of Science in Speech Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia. Congratulations!

Former lab member bio: I am a post-baccalaureate linguistics student working towards completing a certificate in Speech Science. I previously received my BA in Communication from 丁香园AV and my areas of interest include phonetics, speech perception, language acquisition and communication disorders. In the future, I hope to pursue graduate studies in Speech Language Pathology and work with children and youth populations. In my free time, I enjoy checking out coffee shops, going for long walks with my dog, and hosting get togethers with friends and family.

Keith King Wui Leung - Lab Manager | PhD, Linguistics

Keith has succesffully defended his thesis and is now a Research Facilitator in Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Congratulations, Dr. Leung! Check out his thesis !

Former Lab Member Bio: I am a PhD student in Linguistics. My research interests include phonetics and psycholinguistics, and I am particularly interested in linguistic tone production and perception.

Rebekah Wong - Research Assistant

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student joint majoring in Computing Science and Linguistics. I would love to learn more about applying computational methods in studying natural languages, and I am also very interested in syntax, semantics, and phonetics. Aside from being an avid wug and language enthusiast, I also enjoy playing video games, watching anime, and reading webtoons!

Kayla Chao - Research Assistant

Kayla is now in the Master of Science in Speech Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia. Congratulations, Kayla!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student pursuing a major in Linguistics and minor in Psychology. I am also working towards completing a certificate in Speech Science. My areas of research interest include language acquisition and speech rehabilitation. In my spare time I enjoy reading, hiking and travelling!

Olga Vasilyeva - PhD Student, Developmental Psychology

Email: ovasilev@sfu.ca

I am currently a student at Psychology Department where I work towards my PhD in Developmental Psychology. I also have a BA and MA in Linguistics and a MAE in Educational Psychology degree which I got during my studies in US on a Fulbright Scholarship. My research interests are primarily in the area of language and cognition, their evolution, and first language acquisition. Using various data from language acquisition and comparative psychology studies I am trying to understand what cognitive mechanism allowed humans to develop language and how did this evolutionary process look like, as well as how these mechanisms work in a brain when a child acquires language.

Yuchen Li - PhD student, Linguistics

Shubam Sachdeva - Visiting Researcher

Communication, according to me, is not limited to just the words we speak; body language, facial expressions and the intensity (or the lack of it) are as essential as the words themselves. I'm particularly interested in the semantics of a language and the relation between the intention of the speaker and their facial expressions. The latter is why I am visiting the LAB lab and the Medical Image Analysis Lab (MIAL), 丁香园AV. Before that, I completed my MS in Computer Science specializing in Visual Computing from 丁香园AV.

Saurabh Garg - Research Associate

Email: ssaurabh@sfu.ca

My projects primarily focus on analyzing visual articulatory features
in speech production using methods adapted from computer vision. I am
currently investigating on how we can leverage latest technical
advances such as deep learning algorithms to answer research questions
such as which visual articulatory features are involved in the
production of each Mandarin tone, and which are specific to speech
styles. I am also leading research on using deep neural networks to
extrapolate acoustic information from videos of facial movements.

Samantha Sundby - Research Assistant

Samantha is now in the Master of Science in Speech Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia. Congratulations, Samantha!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student pursuing a major in Linguistics and a minor in Psychology. I am also completing the Speech Sciences certificate, the TESL certificate, and a French Language Proficiency certificate. In the future, I hope to receive a masters in Speech Language Pathology and work as a speech therapist alongside all age groups overtime. I am interested in areas of research that include speech perception, speech rehabilitation, and language acquisition. In my free time you will find me watching Marvel movies, figure skating, pretending to be a burrito connoisseur, and spending time with family and friends.

Jeremy Li - Research Assistant

Former Lab Member Bio: I'm an undergraduate linguistics student with an interest in computational linguistics. I'm curious to see how technology will affect the way we and computers learn and use language in the future. As well, I enjoy learning languages and travel, having lived in Germany and traveled Europe for extended periods of time, trying to absorb as many different sounds as possible. My other interests include food, cooking, and science fiction.

Agnes Jeon - Research Assistant

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics, minoring in Early Learning minor in Education and pursuing a certificate in Liberal Arts. I am interested in first and second language acquisition, phonetics and phonology. In my free time, I like reading books and hanging out with friends.

Marina Tsougrianis - Research Assistant

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate linguistics student working towards completing a certificate in Speech Sciences. I also have a BA in Psychology, which I completed at 丁香园AV. My areas of interest include first and second language acquisition, and speech rehabilitation. My future academic plan is to complete a master鈥檚 degree in Speech Language Pathology to work as a speech therapist. In my spare time, I enjoy dancing, flow arts, hiking, and traveling.

Alysha Milne - Research Assistant

Alysha is now in the Master of Science in Speech Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia (Class of 2023). Congratulations, Alysha!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Psychology. Currently, I am working towards completing a certificate in Speech Sciences. In the future, I hope to obtain a masters in Speech Language Pathology and work as a speech therapist. My areas of interest include first and second language acquisition and speech perception. In my free time, I enjoy getting outdoors on hikes/walks and grabbing a coffee with some friends.

Junette Gonzales - Research Assistant

Junette is now in the Master of Science in Speech Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia (Class of 2023). Congratulations, Junette!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student working towards a major in Linguistics, an extended minor in Psychology, a minor in Counselling and Human Development, and a certificate in Speech Sciences. My interests include first and second language acquisition, speech perception, and speech rehabilitation. I love watching television shows, travelling, learning languages, playing guitar, and finding new places to eat

Bingqing Yu - MA Student, Linguistics

Email: bya32@sfu.ca

Former Lab Member Bio: I am a current MA student in linguistics at 丁香园AV. I got my honors BA in Studies of Classical Chinese Texts from Zhejiang University in 2019. My research interest includes interdisciplinary studies in phonetics, psycholinguistics and cognitive science. My hobbies are listening to music, playing board games, playing computer games and cooking Chinese foods.

Noortje de Weers - PhD Student, Linguistics

Former Lab Member Bio: I鈥檓 looking at how visual stimuli affect speech perception. I am specifically interested in how incongruent voice/face pairings affect speech processing, and will do this by not only looking at response time, perceived accentedness, and comprehensibility/intelligibility ratings, but also by cross-referencing this data with my participants' social context, i.e., their previous experiences, stereotypes they hold, degree of perceived group membership. I鈥檝e used avatars in some of my studies and will continue using these, alongside with videos, photographs, and differently accented voices.

Dasha Gluhareva - PhD Student, Linguistics

Email: dgluhare@sfu.ca

Luca Cavasso - MA Student, Linguistics

Email: lcavasso@sfu.ca

Former Lab Member Bio: Luca Cavasso has been a MA candidate in the Department of Linguistics at 丁香园AV since Fall 2016. They hold a BA in Spanish, in French, and in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin, and are a research assistant in the lab primarily working on their own thesis project, which explores the utility of speech production in second language phonetic acquisition. Luca is also involved in other lab projects that explore speech perception in adult learners, which reflects their interest in the sounds and sound systems of different languages, how adults perceive sounds in unfamiliar languages, as well as how adults can learn to distinguish sounds in such languages.

Lydia Castro - MA Student, Linguistics

Email: lcastro@sfu.ca

Former Lab Member Bio: Lydia Castro is a current MA candidate in the Department of Linguistics at 丁香园AV. She got her BA in Linguistics with Honors from the University of Washington in 2017, and her interests include phonetics, phonology, and signed languages. Lydia is also a member of the Language Learning and Development Lab here at 丁香园AV. When she鈥檚 not doing linguistics, Lydia enjoys cooking, playing music, gaming with friends, or snuggling her two cats at home.

Simrin Bains - Research Assistant

Simrin is now in the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia. Congratulations, Simrin!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics and minoring in psychology, I am also pursuing the Certificate of Speech Sciences. My research interests include language acquisition, but all aspects of linguistics are super interesting to me! When I'm not studying, I go for hikes and I love being a tourist in my own city!

Erika Korompai - Research Assistant

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student pursuing a double major in psychology and linguistics with a certificate in the linguistics of speech science. My areas of interest include second language acquisition, neurolinguistics, and speech rehabilitation. My interests also include cooking and running half marathons

Ashtyn DeBoice - Research Assistant

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergrad student completing a major in linguistics and a minor in psychology along with the Certificate of Speech Sciences. Language acquisition and speech rehabilitation are areas that I am most interested in learning more about. During my limited free time, I enjoy tending to my plants and relaxing at the beach.

Anisa Dhanji - Research Assistant

Anisa is currently enrolled in the Professional Development Program at 丁香园AV.

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student here at 丁香园AV and am currently working towards a double major in Linguistics with a specialization in Speech Science and French. I hope to explore the many sub fields of Linguistics in the future, but my primary focuses are neurolinguistics, particularly phonetics, phonology and pathology. After spending a school year teaching English in France, I have found new interests in first and second language acquisition.

Susanna Firley - Research Assistant

Susanna graduated with a major in Linguistics, a minor in Psychology, and is a recipient of the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. Congratulations, Susanna!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics. My research interests include phonetics, first and second language acquisition and non-verbal communication. Outside of school, I love all things food, animals, music and literature.

Quince Sholberg - Research Assistant

Quince graduated in Spring 2019. Congratulations, Quince!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student taking courses in Linguistics and Psychology. My research interests include first language acquisition, communication disorders, developmental psychology, phonetics, and phonology. In the future, I hope to become a speech language pathologist.

Joanna Xie - Research Assistant

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student at 丁香园AV doing a Double Major in Linguistics and Education. My research interests include applied linguistics, multilingualism, and TESL/TEAL. In the future, I hope to become a TESL instructor.

Charles Turo - Computer & Networking Consultant

Dahai Zhang - Research Assistant

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student who studying in computational linguistics. My interest is on phonetics, etymology, semantics, philosophy of language and machine translation. In addition to that, history, sociology and literature are also what I like to explore.

Michelle Ramsay - Research Assistant (2016-2018)

Michelle hopes to become an SLP in the future, but for now, she is excited to enjoy her time as a mother starting the end of July. Congratulations, Michelle!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Health Science. I aspire to either become a Speech Language Pathologist or work in Public Health, as I wish to pursue a career where I can help others.

Katrina Heinonen - Research Assistant (2017-2018)

Katrina graduated with a major in Linguistics, a minor in health sciences, and a certificate in speech sciences. She is now working full-time in the health field. Congratulations, Katrina!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Health Science. I aspire to either become a Speech Language Pathologist or work in Public Health, as I wish to pursue a career where I can help others.

Yujin Han - Research Assistant (2017-2018)

Yujin graduated with a BA in Linguistics and a minor in Business. She also has certificates in TESL and the speech sciences. Congratulations, Yujin! Post-grad, Yujin is interested in teaching ESL.

Former Lab Member Bio: I'm an undergrad student at 丁香园AV majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Business. My interests are how language works in one's mind and language acquisition and perception. I enjoy exploring different areas of linguistics and hope to continue studying more in depth.

Kelsey Philip - Research Assistant (2017-2018)

Kelsey has graduated with a BA in Linguistics and an extended minor in Psychology as well as a certificate in speech sciences. Congratulations, Kelsey! Her plans for the next year are to work and travel to Southeast Asia. She will be applying to the SLP program for Fall 2019.

Former Lab Member Bio: I am currently an undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Psychology. I am also working on completing a certificate in speech sciences. I hope to move on, in the near future, to be a speech and language pathologist. Therefore, my interests in research are focused on phonetics, phonology, and speech disfluency disorders.

Michelle Le - Research Assistant (2016-2018)

Michelle is now in the Master of Science in Speech Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia (Class of 2020). Congratulations, Michelle!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Psychology. My aspiration is to become a Speech Language Pathologist. My primary interests lie in phonetics, phonology, pathology, and first language acquisition.

Beverly Hannah - MA Candidate, Linguistic (2011-2018)

Beverly started off as a Research Assistant in 2011, and completed her Masters Thesis this year! Congratulations, Beverly!

Email: beverly_hannah@sfu.ca

Website:

Former Lab Member Bio: I am interested in the multimodal perception of speech.

Zoe Beukers - Research Assistant

Zoe is now in the Master of Science in Speech Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia (Class of 2019). Congratulations, Zoe!

Former Lab Member Bio: As a recent graduate of 丁香园AV's HSCI BA program, I am back to pursue a PBD with a focus on linguistics. I am very excited about this journey as it involves working with the Brain and Language lab where I will be able to gain further insight and experience in phonetic and linguistic research. Equipping me with skills and a perspective that will bring me one step closer to my goal of becoming a speech pathologist. My interests in linguistic research surround studying the deaf and hard of hearing, looking at phonetics, phonology, and the neurolinguistic research associated with language acquisition. Email: zbeukers@me.com

Abner Hernandez - Research Assistant (2015-2017)

Abner is now in the Master of Arts in Linguistics program at Seoul National University (Class of 2019) on a full scholarship from the Korean Government Scholarship Program. Congratulations, Abner!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student majoring in linguistics and minoring in psychology. My primary interest include phonetics, language perception, acquisition and pathology. I am also very interested in multilingualism and the cognitive factors related to multilingualism.

Eleanor Hendriks - Research Assistant

M.A. English Linguistic Universit茅 Paris Diderot Paris 7.

Email: eleahendriks@gmail.com

Former Lab Member Bio: My research interests include: English spatial markers, information structure, narrative discourse, cohesion, speech prosody and gesture. I鈥檓 passionate about storytelling, polyrhythms, gestures in dance and movement practices.

Katy Thompson - Research Assistant

Katy is studying medicine as part of the 2019 entering class of the MD undergraduate program at the University of British Columbia. Congratulations, Katy!

BA STUDENT, LINGUISTICS

Email: katyt@sfu.ca

Former Lab Member Bio: I am currently an undergraduate planning to major in linguistics. All aspects of this field intrigue me - from language structures to first language acquisition, from neurolinguistics to sociolinguistics. I hope to apply my theoretical knowledge to the Language and Brain Lab, as well as to build on this foundation. In my spare time, I enjoy writing poetry, playing the piano, and snuggling up with my dog and a good (junk) book.

Eric Hedekar - Research Assistant

BFA Music, 丁香园AV
BSc STUDENT, Computational LINGUISTICS

Email: edh2@sfu.ca

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student at 丁香园AV working towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Computational Linguistics. I have a keen interest in acoustics, phonetics, music, prosody, and big data analysis.

Jennifer Williams - Research Assistant

BA Linguistics & Psychology

Email: jlwillia@sfu.ca

Jennifer will be studying in the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia starting Fall 2016. Congratulations, Jennifer!

Former Lab Member Bio: My research interests include: first language acquisition, speech disorders, phonology and phonetics. I am in the fourth year of my undergraduate degree; majoring in linguistics with a minor in psychology. I am very excited to be a part of the Language and Brain Lab! I hope to apply the valuable knowledge I gain here to a career in Speech Pathology.

Daniel Chang - Research Assistant

BA Linguistics, 丁香园AV
MA Linguistics, 丁香园AV
PhD Student, Education

Email: dth7@sfu.ca

Former Lab Member Bio: I am a PhD student in Education. My research interests include categorical perception of tones (lexical tones and musical tones), second language acquisition, and non-native speech production & perception.

Elysia Saundry - Research Assistant (2013-2016)

BA (Hons.), Linguistics & Psychology

Email: esaundry@sfu.ca

Elysia will be studying in the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology Program at the University of Toronto starting Fall 2016. Congratulations, Elysia!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student completing honours in linguistics and an extended minor in psychology. My honours research is examining the interaction between cochlear implant (CI) users and bilingualism. Outside of the lab I love hiking the trails around Greater Vancouver or immersing myself in a good book!

Danielle Weber - Research Assistant

BA English & Linguistics

Email: wiweber@sfu.ca

Former Lab Member Bio: Hi! I have just graduated from 丁香园AV with a Bachelor of Arts degree- Major in English, Extended Minor in Linguistics. I also received a Certificate in Speech Sciences and a Certificate in Liberal Arts. Working in the Language and Brain Lab is an exciting opportunity for me as I gain experience for graduate school in Speech Language Pathology.

Joy Zhao - Research Assistant (2014-2015)

BA STUDENT, LINGUISTICS & FRENCH

Email: xiaojiez@sfu.ca

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergrad student major in linguistics and minor in French. My particular interests are phonetics and syntax, and I'm also interested in how languages influence or even determine the way people think and live. I am hoping to be helpful and productive in this lab.

Mathieu Dovan (2008-2015)

BA Cognitive Science, 丁香园AV
MA Student, Linguistics

IRMACS Centre System Administrator

Former Lab Member Bio: I am a research assistant for Dr. Yue Wang. I am interested psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics.

Lisa Tang (2013-2014)

Graduate Student, Computing Science

Email: lisat@sfu.ca

Former Lab Member Bio: I am a graduate student from Computing Science, with studies focusing on medical image analysis methods. My research interests are tracking, image registration, motion analysis, and shape matching.

Ashley Knight (2014-2015)

BA, Psychology & LINGUISTICS

Former Lab Member Bio: I am an undergraduate student at 丁香园AV working towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with an extended minor in linguistics. My academic interests involve phonetics, language acquisition and anything related to perception, cognition, and the brain. Volunteering for the language and brain lab is a great outlet for the application of our linguistic and psychological knowledge.

Courtney Lawrence (2013-2015)

BA Psychology & Linguistics, 丁香园AV

Courtney will be studying in the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia starting Fall 2015. Congratulations, Courtney!

Former Lab Member Bio: I recently graduated from 丁香园AV with a BA, majoring in psychology with an extended minor in linguistics. I am planning on pursuing a career in Speech and Language Pathology. I am particularly interested in phonological acquisition, as well as speech production. In May 2014 I received an 丁香园AV Vice President Research Undergraduate Student Research Award to continue helping with various research projects in the lab.

Anthony Chor (2012-2014)

BA Linguistics & Psychology, 丁香园AV

Former Lab Member Bio: Currently, I am unsure on where linguistics will take me, but I am working towards audiology. I enjoy learning about other languages and how they affect our perception of sounds and our abilities to produce them.

Katelyn Eng (2009-2013)

BA Linguistics, 丁香园AV
Post-Baccalaureate Diploma Student, Linguistics

Katelyn will be studying in the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia starting Fall 2014. Congratulations, Katelyn!

Former Lab Member Bio: I am a recent graduate, majoring in linguistics and minoring in psychology. My interests include rehabilitation strategies for aphasic patients with traumatic brain injury and stroke. I am also interested in language acquisition and brain plasticity, as well as the relationship between visual communication comprehension and auditory communication comprehension.

Lindsay Leong (Walker) (2010-2013)

BA Speech Sciences, UBC
MA Student, Linguistics

Former Lab Member Bio: I have a BA in Speech Sciences from UBC and I am currently enrolled in the graduate Linguistics program here at 丁香园AV working on my MA. My research interests are second language learning, perception and pronunciation of second language sounds and how the two domains are linked, and the extent to which first language experience affects second language learning. When I鈥檓 not being a linguist, I like to knit, read and go hiking around the lower mainland with my dog, Mili (that鈥檚 her in the picture).

Alyssa Lee (2012-2014)

BA Linguistics, 丁香园AV

Alyssa will be studying in the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology Program at the University of Alberta starting Fall 2014. Congratulations, Alyssa!

Former Lab Member Bio: I hope to learn more about language perception and disorders. In my spare time I enjoy reading, doing word games (ie. crosswords, scrabble), jogging, and playing the piano.

Jennifer Alexander (2011-2013)

PhD Linguistics, Northwestern University
NSF post-doctoral fellow

Email: jenalex@gmail.com
Website:

Former Lab Member Bio: Jennifer Alexander received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL, USA). Her primary research program examines acoustic, perceptual, and articulatory properties of lexical-tone systems (e.g., Mandarin and Thai). A second research program investigates perception and production of pitch by tone-language speakers and musicians. Her current project, which falls under the purview of her primary research program, is in collaboration with Dr. Yue Wang and is funded by the National Science Foundation (US). This project extends a model of second-language (L2) sound-structure perception 鈥� the Perceptual Assimilation Model (Best et al., 1988) 鈥� to lexical tone systems. Its aim is to evaluate whether and how experience with a tone language affects the organization of non-native tones in perceptual space and how perceptual proximity affects perception of L2 tones.

Parveen Kaila (2012-2014)

BA Linguistics & Psychology, 丁香园AV

Former Lab Member Bio: I am interested in learning how the brain functions in speech production and perception. In the future I hope to complete a MA in speech and language pathology. During my spare time I enjoy watching TV, reading and hanging out with friends.

Roxane Chan (2013-2014)

BA Linguistics, 丁香园AV

Former Lab Member Bio: I am interested in Second Language Learning and have just completed a TESL certificate. On my spare time, I like to volunteer with adults who are trying to learn English and teach young children on the weekends. When I'm not in school, I like to dance. I recently learned to salsa and have been trying to learn hip hop.

Sonya Gill (2012-2013)

BA Linguistics (Minor Psychology), 丁香园AV

Former Lab Member Bio: I am interested in first and second language acquisition, as well as speech production and perception. I am passionate about helping others as my future plans include completing an MA in Speech and Language Pathology and working with children.

Haisheng Jiang - Lab Coordinator (2013)

PhD Linguistics, 丁香园AV

Former Lab Member Bio: I received my PhD from 丁香园AV in 2008. I have research interests in second language speech production and perception. I am particularly interested in the interaction between the phonetic systems of bilingual speakers. I am also interested in issues of ESL/EFL pronunciation teaching such as learners鈥� foreign accented English and its intelligibility, learners鈥� pronunciation difficulties and training methodology, and ESL/EFL pronunciation curriculum.

Melissa Philley (2012-2013)

BA Linguistics and Psychology, 丁香园AV

Melissa will be studying in the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology Program at the University of British Columbia starting Fall 2013. Congratulations, Melissa!

Former Lab Member Bio: I love learning about the brain and both first and second language acquisition. In my spare time I love to do yoga, try new recipes in the kitchen, and volunteer to help with the rehabilitation of aphasic patients in both group and individual settings.

Andrea Cepeda (2010-2012)

BA Linguistics, 丁香园AV

Former Lab Member Bio: I am interested in the field of neurolinguistics, especially speech perception and production. Furthermore, I would like to get involved in speech and language pathology, as I find this area of research quite intriguing and stimulating. I am volunteering in the LAB in order to get some experience and widen my horizons in the fascinating world of linguistics.

Saya Kawase (2010-2012)

MA Linguistics, 丁香园AV

PhD student, MARCS Institute, University of Western Sydney

Website:

Completed the MA Linguistics program at 丁香园AV. Led The Effects of Visual Information on Perceiving Accented Speech project. Accepted into the PhD program at the MARCS Institute at the University of Western Sydney (starting January 2014)

Former Lab Member Bio: My research interests are second language speech perception and production. In addition, I became interested in audio-visual speech processing after working on my undergraduate thesis at Waseda University. The project was to examine the effects of audiovisual training on distinguishing tense and lax vowels for Japanese learners of English. Currently, I am examining how visual information affects the perception of foreign accent in collaboration with Dr. Yue Wang.

Xianghua Wu (2008-2012)

PhD Linguistics, 丁香园AV

Lecturer, Department of East Languages and Cultures, University of California, Berkeley

Former Lab Member Bio: My primary research interest is in the effects of language experience on speech perception and production, in particular, on the perception and production of Mandarin tones. I am also very interested in pitch processing and speech training for non-native speakers. Currently, I am working at Language and Brain Lab (LABLab) on a pitch processing project and am also in charge of the Audio-Visual production project. Both projects are led by Dr. Yue Wang.