Neurolinguistics Laboratory

The Neurolinguistics Laboratory is a research-oriented unit. Its main objective is to conduct individual and team-based scientific research in behavioral, cognitive, and neurolinguistic domains. The projects carried out within the Laboratory draw on the interdisciplinary nature not so much of linguistics itself, but primarily of foreign language teaching methodology. The Laboratory’s framework enables cooperation for the Institute of Applied Linguistics on four different levels:

1. within-department
2. inter-department
3. inter-university on a national scale
4. inter-university on an international scale

Teamwork within the Laboratory facilitates the development of new projects, establishing collaborations with external institutions, and securing external funding, which is essential for interdisciplinary research. Furthermore, the guiding ideas of the Laboratory are: 1. practical application of neurolinguistic research findings in language pedagogy, 2. fostering dialogue between linguists and foreign language teachers.

Research areas:

• behavioral studies using “off-line” (post-stimulus) methods
• behavioral studies using “on-line” (real-time) methods
• research on cognitive aspects of foreign language acquisition
• research on the cognitive characteristics of foreign/native language attrition and retention
• studies on morphosyntactic (syntax and morphology) and metrical (phonetics and phonology) processing
• use of eye-tracking in speech perception research (vowel contrasts)
• experiments investigating direct brain responses using event-related potentials (ERP) to obtain a more comprehensive analysis of the processed linguistic signal

The results of the projects conducted by the Neurolinguistics Laboratory will have very practical implications, as they can be applied to the development of foreign language curricula based on a fuller understanding of brain functioning (brain-compatible language curricula). Within inter-departmental collaboration at ILS, eye-tracking studies are being conducted and planned for the needs of foreign language teaching methodology. In the longer term, we plan to combine eye-tracking and EEG research to enable a more comprehensive analysis of cognitive processes underlying metrical and morphosyntactic processing of linguistic signals.

Head of the Laboratory:
Małgorzata Szupica-Pyrzanowska, PhD

Members:

• Prof. Janina Mołczanow, PhD, DSc
• Karolina Broś, PhD
• Małgorzata Doron, PhD

Collaborators from ILS:

• Prof. Agnieszka Szarkowska, PhD, DSc
• Dorota Karczewska, PhD
• Katarzyna Malesa, PhD

External collaborators:

• Prof. Loraine K. Obler, Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences Department (CUNY, New York)
• Prof. Gita Martohardjono, Linguistics Department (CUNY, New York)
• Anna Raciborska, PhD, DSc, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw; Harvard School of Medicine

Ongoing and planned research projects:

• Project I: Real-time processing of inflectional material. Principal investigator: Małgorzata Szupica-Pyrzanowska, PhD
• Project II: Cognitive aspects of intensive linguistic training. Principal investigators: Małgorzata Szupica-Pyrzanowska, PhD; Katarzyna Malesa, PhD
• Project III: Cognitive aspects of foreign language attrition and retention. Principal investigator: Małgorzata Szupica-Pyrzanowska, PhD
• Project IV: Use of eye-tracking in language perception research – vowel contrasts. Principal investigators: Małgorzata Szupica-Pyrzanowska, PhD; Katarzyna Malesa, PhD