Current Studies

PSYCHOLINGUISTICS LAB

Brain Activation during Lexical Processing in Non-Native Speakers

The Psycholinguistics Lab in the Department of Linguistics & TESOL is currently conducting a study looking into the brain responses involved in word recognition and comprehension by non-native speakers of English. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The following is a description of the study:

  1. Second-language learners of English whose first language is Chinese are asked to participate.
  2. The study will take place in University Hall 562.
  3. It will take about 2 hours (120 minutes) to complete.
  4. During the study, you will (i) first complete a questionnaire with questions related to your language/educational background, (ii) take a short (~5-minute long), computer-based vocabulary test, and (iii) then read letter strings on a computer screen while your brain waves are recorded using electroencephalography (EEG).
  5. In order to participate in this study, you must be at least 18 years old, right-handed, and have normal or corrected-to-normal vision. You should also have no history of traumatic brain injury associated with alterations of consciousness, and you should not be taking medications that alter brain activity, such as Ritalin, anti-psychotics, or anti-depressants.
  6. Participation is completely voluntary, and you may withdraw at any time.
  7. You will be paid $20 for your participation.

If you would like to participate in this study, please contact naoko.witzel@uta.edu to schedule a session.