Bio

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Second Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics program, and I work with Dr. Seth Wiener in the Language Processing and Pedagogy (LAPP) Lab. With a background in cognitive science, I conduct interdisciplinary experimental research investigating the psycholinguistic and perceptual learning mechanisms involved in the second language acquisition of non-native speech categories. My primary research goal is to create computer-assisted language learning (CALL) tools to be used both in and out of the foreign language classroom that makes learning the sounds of a new language easier, particularly sounds and contrasts that don't exist in the learner's known language(s). In my research, I focus on native Japanese speakers learning the English "r" vs. "l" contrast (as in "right" vs. "light") and native English speakers learning Japanese vowel and consonant length contrasts (e.g., "i" (stomach) vs. "ii" (good)). In my research, I focus on Japanese learners. I conduct this research using frameworks and methods from the fields of auditory cognition, psycholinguistics, speech perception and categorization, perceptual learning, multilingualism, phonetics and phonology, corpus phonetics, CALL and language assessment.

Department Member Since 2023