Bilingualism and Linguistic Diversity (BiLD) Lab
Primary Investigator: Janet van Hell
Postdocs:
Danielle Dickson
Li-Fang Lai
Eric Pelzl
Lab Affiliates:
Fatemeh Abdollahi
Katharine Donnelly Adams
Carla Fernandez
Rafał Jończyk
Kaitlyn Litcofsky
Yushuang Liu
Graduate students:
Cristal Giorio Jackson
Daisy Lei
Adriana Miller
Holly Zaharchuk
The Bilingualism and Linguistic Diversity (BiLD) Lab studies the cognitive and neurocognitive processes related to language development, second language learning, and bilinguals’ use of two languages. We combine neuropsychological (ERPs), behavioral, and linguistic techniques to study word and sentence processing, and patterns of cross-language interaction, in child and adult second language learners at different levels of proficiency. We also study the neural and cognitive mechanisms involved in code-switching and in the comprehension of foreign accented speech. Part of our neurocognitive research takes place in an RV mobile lab parked at schools, the ‘brain bus’. We also use the ‘brain bus’ for outreach activities, e.g., science fairs or research demonstrations. For more information on our research projects, the people in the BiLD lab, how to get involved, and our recent publications, see the BiLD lab website, http://bild.la.psu.edu/
Recent Publications:
* denotes graduate student or postdoc author; ** denotes undergraduate author
Cohen, C., Schwarz*, L., Nabi, S. W., Higham, C., Putnam, M., Kootstra*, G. J., & Van Hell, J. G. (in press). Individual variation in the structure of bilingual grammars. Language.
Park*, J., Miller, C. A., Sanjeevan*, T., Van Hell, J. G., Weiss, D. J., & Mainela-Arnold, E. (in press). Non-linguistic cognitive measures as predictors of functionally-defined developmental language disorder in monolingual and bilingual children. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders.
Bakker-Marshall*, I., Takashima*, A., Fernandez*, C. B., Janzen, G., McQueen, J. M., & Van Hell, J. G. (2021). Overlapping and distinct neural networks supporting novel word learning in bilinguals and monolinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 24 (3), 524-536.
Pelzl*, E., Carlson, M. T., Guo, T., Jackson, C. N., & Van Hell, J. G. (2021). Tuning out tone errors? Native listeners do not down-weight tones when hearing unsystematic tone errors in foreign-accented Mandarin. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 24 (1), 215-222.
Prior, A., & Van Hell, J. G. (2021). Including bilingual participants in cognitive research. In: W. S. Francis (Ed.), Bilingualism across the lifespan: Opportunities and challenges for cognitive research in a global society, pp. 47-66. Routledge.
Rossi, E., Dussias, P. E., Diaz, M., Van Hell, J. G., & Newman, M. (2021). Neural signatures of inhibitory control in intra-sentential code-switching: Evidence from fMRI. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 57, 100938.
Zaharchuk*, H. A., Shevlin**, A., & Van Hell, J. G. (2021). Are our brains more prescriptive than our mouths? Experience with dialectal variation in syntax differentially impacts ERPs and behavior. Brain and Language, 218, 104949.
Grant*, A., Grey*, S., & Van Hell, J. G. (2020). Male fashionistas and female football fans: gender stereotypes affect neurophysiological correlates of semantic processing during speech comprehension. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 53, 100876.
Grey*, S., Cosgrove**, A. L., & Van Hell, J. G. (2020). Faces with foreign accents: An event-related potential study of accented sentence comprehension. Neuropsychologia, 147, 107575.
Jackson, C., Lorimor, H., & Van Hell, J. G. (2020). The ERP correlates of predicting thematic roles during the comprehension of passive versus active sentences. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 54, 100886.
Jonczyk*, R., Liu*, Y., Dickson*, D., Okudan Kremer, G. E., Siddique, Z., & Van Hell, J. G. (2020). Does stereotype threat affect creative thinking in female engineering students? A behavioural and neurocognitive study. Proceedings of the 127th Annual conference of the American Society for Engineering Education, paper 30740.
Jonczyk*, R., Kremer, G., Siddique, Z., & Van Hell, J. G. (2020). Engineering creativity: Prior experience modulates electrophysiological responses to novel metaphors. Psychophysiology, 57(10), e13630.
Kootstra*, G. J., Dijkstra, T., & Van Hell, J. G. (2020). Interactive alignment and lexical triggering of code-switching in bilingual dialogue. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1747.
Lai*, L-F. & Van Hell, J. G. (2020). Intonation and voice quality of Northern Appalachian English: A first look. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Speech Prosody, 655-659. DOI: 10.21437/SpeechProsody.2020-134
Liu*, Y., & Van Hell, J. G. (2020). Learning novel word meanings: An ERP study on lexical consolidation in monolingual, inexperienced foreign language learners. Language Learning, 70, Issue S2, 45-74.
Park*, J.S., Miller, C. A., Sanjeevan*, T., Van Hell, J. G., Weiss, D., Mainela-Arnold, E. (2020). Bilingualism and processing speed in typically developing children and children with developmental language disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(5), 1479-1493.
Van Hell, J. G. (2020). Lexical processing in child and adult classroom second language learners: Uniqueness and similarity, and implications for cognitive models. In: K. D. Federmeier & H-W. Huang, Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Volume 72 (pp. 207-234). Elsevier.
Walker, A., Fernandez*, C., & Van Hell, J. G. (2020). The effect of talker-identity on dialect processing. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 26(2), Article 16.
Fernandez*, C. B., Litcofsky*, K. A., & Van Hell, J. G. (2019). Neural correlates of intra-sentential code-switching in the auditory modality. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 51, 17-41.
Grey*, S., Schubel**, L., McQueen, J., M., & Van Hell, J. G. (2019). Processing foreign-accented speech in a second language: Evidence from ERPs during sentence comprehension in bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.
Jonczyk*, R., Van Hell, J. G., Okudan Kremer, G. E., & Siddique, Z. (2019). Neurocognitive evidence on the impact of topical familiarity in creative outcomes. Proceedings of the 126th Annual conference of the American Society for Engineering Education, paper 26595.
Litcofsky*, K. A., & Van Hell, J. G. (2019). Bi-directional evidence linking sentence production and comprehension: a cross-modality structural priming study. Frontiers in Psychology, 10: 1095.
Lorimor, H., Jackson, C. N., & Van Hell, J. G. (2019). The interaction of notional number and morphophonology in subject-verb agreement: A role for working memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Park*, J., Miller, C. A., Sanjeevan*, T., Van Hell, J. G., Weiss, D. J., & Mainela-Arnold, E. (2019). Bilingualism and attention in typically developing children and children with developmental language disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62 (11), 4105-4118.
Poarch*, G., & Van Hell, J. G. (2019). Do performances on executive function tasks correlate? Evidence from child trilinguals, bilinguals, and second language learners. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism.
Stoehr*, A., Benders, T., Van Hell, J. G., & Fikkert, P. (2019). Bilingual preschoolers’ speech is associated with non-native maternal language input. Language Learning and Development.
Van Hell, J. G. (2019). Words only go so far: Linguistic context affects bilingual word processing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.
Van Hell, J. G., Donnelly Adams*, K., & Abdollahi*, F. (2019). Individual variation in bilingual language processing: the impact of second language proficiency and executive function on cross-language activation. In: J. Darquenne, J. Salmons, & W. VandenBussche (Eds.), Language Contact.
Zirnstein*, M., Van Hell, J. G., & Kroll, J. F. (2019). Cognitive control and language ability contribute to online reading comprehension: Implications for older adult bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism.
Bakker-Marshall*, I., Takashima*, A., Schoffelen, J.-M., Van Hell, J. G., Janzen, G., & McQueen, J. M. (2018). Theta-band oscillations in the MTG reflect novel word consolidation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 30(5), 621-633.
Park*, J., Miller, C. A., Rosenbaum, D. A., Sanjeevan*, T., Van Hell, J. G., Weiss, D. J., & Mainela-Arnold, E. (2018). Bilingualism and procedural learning in typically developing children and children with language impairments. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 61, 634-644.
Poarch*, G., & Van Hell, J. G. (2018). Bilingualism and the development of executive function in children – the interplay of language and cognition. In: S. A. Wiebe and J. Karbach (Eds.), Executive function: Development across the lifespan (pp. 172-187). New York, Routledge.
Stoehr*, A., Benders, T., Van Hell, J. G., & Fikkert, P. (2018). Heritage language exposure impacts voice onset time of Dutch-German simultaneous bilingual preschoolers. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 21(3), 598-617.
Van Hell, J. G., Fernandez*, C., Kootstra*, G. J., Litcofsky*, K. A., & Ting*, C.Y. (2018). Electrophysiological and experimental-behavioral approaches to the study of intra-sentential code-switching. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 8 (1), 144-171.
Zirnstein*, M., Van Hell, J. G., & Kroll, J. F. (2018). Cognitive control abilities mediate prediction costs in monolinguals and bilinguals. Cognition, 176, 87-106.
Fairchild**, S., & Van Hell, J. G. (2017). Determiner-noun code-switching in Spanish-English heritage speakers. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 20 (1), 150-161.
Grey*, S. E., Tanner*, D., & Van Hell, J. G. (2017). How right is left? Handedness modulates neural responses during morphosyntactic processing. Brain Research, 1669, 27-43.
Grey*, S. E., & Van Hell, J. G. (2017). Foreign-accented speaker identity affects neural correlates of language comprehension. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 42, 93-108.
Litcofsky*, K. A. & Van Hell, J. G. (2017). Switching direction affects switching costs: Behavioral, ERP, and time-frequency analyses of intra-sentential codeswitching. Neuropsychologia, 97, 112-139.
Stoehr*, A., Benders, T., Van Hell, J. G., & Fikkert, P. (2017). Second language attainment and first language attrition: The case of VOT systems in immersed Dutch-German late bilinguals. Second Language Research, 33 (4), 483-518.
Takashima*, A., Bakker*, I., Van Hell, J. G., Janzen, G., & McQueen, J. M. (2017). Interaction between episodic and semantic memory networks in the acquisition and consolidation of novel spoken words. Brain and Language, 167, 44-60.
Tanner*, D., Grey*, S. E., & Van Hell, J. G. (2017). Dissociating retrieval interference and reanalysis in the P600 during sentence comprehension. Psychophysiology, 54(2), 248-259.
Van Hell, J. G., & Abdollahi*, F. (2017). Individual variation in syntactic processing in the second language: Behavioral and electrophysiological approaches. In: E. Segers & P. van den Broek (Eds.). Developmental Perspectives in Written Language and Literacy (pp. 257-273). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Litcofsky*, K.A., Tanner*, D., & Van Hell, J.G. (2016). Effect of language proficiency, use, and cognitive function on bilingual word production and comprehension. International Journal of Bilingualism, 20 (6), 666-683.
Lorimor, H., Jackson, C., Spalek, K., & Van Hell, J. G. (2016). The impact of notional number and grammatical gender on agreement with conjoined noun phrases in Dutch. Language, Cognition, and NeuroScience, 31 (5), 646-661.
Poll*, G., Miller, C. A., & Van Hell, J. G. (2016). Sentence repetition accuracy in adults with developmental language impairment: Interactions of participant capacities and sentence structures. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 59, 302-316.
Van Hell, J. G. (2016). Relative language proficiency affects language production in unimodal and bimodal bilinguals. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 6(6), 834-836.
Van Hell, J. G., Cohen*, C., & Grey*, S. (2016). Testing tolerance for lexically-specific factors in Gradient Symbolic Computation. Commentary. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19, 897-899.
Van Weerdenburg, M. & Van Hell, J. G. (2016). Taalontwikkeling and taalproblemen [Language development and language disorders]. In: K. Verschueren & H. Koomen, Handboek diagnostiek in de leerlingenbegeleiding, Second Edition [Handbook for diagnostics in school service] Leuven, Belgium: Garant.
Bakker*, I., Takashima*, A., Van Hell, J. G., Janzen, G., & McQueen, J. M. (2015). Changes in theta and beta oscillations as signatures of novel word consolidation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 27 (7), 1286-1297.
Bakker*, I., Takashima*, A., Van Hell, J. G., Janzen, G., & McQueen, J. M. (2015). Tracking lexical consolidation with ERPs: Lexical and semantic-priming effects on N400 responses to newly learned words. Neuropsychologia, 79, 33-41.
Bultena*, S., Dijkstra, T., & Van Hell, J. G. (2015). Language switch costs in comprehension depend on language dominance: Evidence from self-paced reading. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 18, 453-469.
Bultena*, S., Dijkstra, T., & Van Hell, J. G. (2015). Switch cost modulations in bilingual sentence processing: Evidence from shadowing. Language, Cognition, and NeuroScience, 30, 586-605.
Dijkstra, T., Van Hell, J. G., & Brenders*, P. (2015). Sentence context effects in bilingual word recognition: Cognate status, sentence language, and semantic constraint. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 18, 597-613.
Poarch*, G. J., Van Hell, J. G., & Kroll, J. F. (2015). Accessing word meaning in beginning second language learners: Lexical or conceptual mediation? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 18 (3), 357-371.
Poll*, G. H., Miller, C. A., & Van Hell, J. G. (2015). Evidence of compensatory processing in adults with Specific Language Impairment: Testing the predictions of the procedural deficit hypothesis. Journal of Communication Disorders, 53, 84-102.
Sanjeevan*, T., Rosenbaum, D. A., Miller, C., Van Hell, J. G., Weiss, D., & Mainela-Arnold, E. (2015). Motor issues in specific language impairment: a window into the underlying impairment. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 2 (3), 228-236.
Van Hell, J.G., Litcofsky*, K. A., Ting*, C. Y. (2015). Sentential code-switching: cognitive and neural approaches. In J. W. Schwieter (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingual Processing (pp 459-482). Cambridge University Press.
Bakker*, I., Takashima*, A., Van Hell, J. G., Janzen, G., & McQueen, J. M. (2014). Competition from unseen or unheard novel words: Lexical consolidation across modalities. Journal of Memory and Language, 73, 116-130.
Boor-Klip*, H. J., Cillessen, A. H. N., & Van Hell, J. G. (2014). Predictors of social understanding in high ability children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 58, 259-271.
Bultena*, S., Dijkstra, T., & Van Hell, J. G. (2014). Cognate effects in sentence context depend on word class, L2 proficiency, and task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 67 (6), 1214-1241.
Poarch*, G., & Van Hell, J. G. (2014). Cross-language activation in same-script and different-script trilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, 18(6), 693-716.
Starreveld, P. A., De Groot, A. M. B., Rossmark**, B. M. M., & Van Hell, J. G. (2014). Parallel language activation during word processing in bilinguals: Evidence from word production in sentence context. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 17, 258-276.
Takashima*, A., Bakker*, I., Van Hell, J. G., Janzen, G., & McQueen, J. (2014). Richness of information about novel words determines how episodic and semantic memory networks interact during lexicalization. NeuroImage, 84, 265–278.
Tanner*, D. & Van Hell, J. G. (2014). ERPs reveal individual differences in morphosyntactic processing. Neuropsychologia, 56, 289-301.
Van Hell, J. G., & Poarch*, G. J. (2014). How much bilingual experience is needed to affect executive control? Applied Psycholinguistics, 35, 925-928.
Bultena*, S., Dijkstra, T., & Van Hell, J. G. (2013). Cognate and word class ambiguity effects in noun and verb processing. Language and Cognitive Processes, 28 (9), 1350-1377.
Van Hell, J. G. & Poarch*, G. J. (2013). Lexical and conceptual representations in second language acquisition. In C.A. Chapelle (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics.
Van Hell, J. G., & Kroll, J. F. (2013). Using electrophysiological measures to track the mapping of words to concepts in the bilingual brain: a focus on translation. In J. Altarriba & L. Isurin (Eds.), Memory, Language, and Bilingualism: Theoretical and Applied Approaches (pp. 126-160). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hoogeveen*, L., Van Hell, J. G., & Verhoeven, L. (2012). Social-emotional characteristics of gifted accelerated and non-accelerated students in the Netherlands: Social and emotional characteristics and behavior. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82 (4), 585-605.
Poarch*, G., & Van Hell, J. G. (2012). Executive functions and inhibitory control in multilingual children: Evidence from second language learners, bilinguals, and trilinguals. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 113, 535-551.
Kootstra*, G. J., Van Hell, J. G., & Dijkstra, T. (2012). Priming of code-switches in sentences: The role of lexical repetition, cognates, and language proficiency. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15 (4), 797-819.
Poarch*, G. J. & Van Hell, J. G. (2012). Cross-language activation in children’s speech production: Evidence from second language learners, bilinguals, and trilinguals. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 111 (3), 419-438.
Schwartz, A. I. & Van Hell, J. G. (2012). Bilingual visual word recognition in sentence context. In J. Adelman (Ed.), Visual Word Recognition (pp. 131-150). Hove, England: Psychology Press.
Van Beijsterveldt*, L. M., & Van Hell, J. G. (2012). Temporal reference marking in narrative and expository text written by deaf children and adults: A bimodal bilingual perspective. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15, 128-144.
Van Hell, J. G., & Tanner*, D. (2012). Second language proficiency and cross-language lexical activation. Language Learning, 62,148-171.
Hermans, D., Ormel, E., Van den Besselaar**, R., & Van Hell, J. G. (2011). Lexical activation in bilinguals’ speech production is dynamic: How language ambiguous words can affect cross-language activation. Language and Cognitive Processes, 26 (10), 1687-1709.
Jackson, C. N., & Van Hell, J. G. (2011). The effects of L2 proficiency level on the processing of wh-questions among Dutch second language speakers of English. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 49 (3), 195-219.
Brenders*, P., Van Hell, J. G., & Dijkstra, T. (2011). Word recognition in child second language learners: Evidence from cognates and false friends. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 109, 383-396.
Kootstra*, G. J., Van Hell, J. G., & Dijkstra, T. (2010). Syntactic alignment and shared word order in code-switched sentence production: Evidence from bilingual monologue and dialogue. Journal of Memory and Language, 63, 210-231.
Kroll, J. F., Van Hell, J. G., Tokowicz, N., & Green, D. W. (2010). The Revised Hierarchical model: A critical review and assessment. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13 (3),
Van Beijsterveldt*, L. M. & Van Hell, J. G. (2010). Lexical noun phrases in texts written by deaf children and adults with different proficiency levels in sign language. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 13 (4), 439-468.
Van Hell, J. G., & Tokowicz, N. (2010). Event-related brain potentials and second language learning: Syntactic processing in late L2 learners at different L2 proficiency levels. Second Language Research, 26 (1), 43-74.