News
Center for Career Development’s Code-Switching & the Workplace
We also wanted to give a big shoutout to Malvika who was recently invited to form part of the panel at the Center for Career Development’s Code-Switching & the Workplace event.
This event delved into the challenges faced by BIPOC professionals and offered strategies for achieving authenticity and belonging in the workplace.
You can learn more about it at the BU Career Development blog: https://bu-beyond.blog/2024/04/19/dismantling-bias-embracing-identity/
April’s Research in Progress Meeting
We want to thank Boston University's Wheelock College Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being for inviting Dr. Kimberly Crespo to their April Research in Progress Meeting. It was a privilege to form part of such an inspired conversation. Research in Progress aims to bring together BU faculty and graduate students and community partners to share research focused on young children. The interdisciplinary setting encourages all participants to think beyond their individual frameworks, producing lively conversations and innovative research ideas.
Thank you for the opportunity to share our research! We look forward to future events!
Successful Master’s Thesis Defense – Gabby Rushi
We wanted to congratulate Gabby for successfully defending her Master's Thesis! We are incredibly proud of your work. We also wanted to extend our gratitude to Gabby's committee, Boston University's Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, and all the families who participated in the study for making this possible.
Congratulations, Gabby!!
UROP 2024 Spring Research Recipient!
We are thrilled to share that Paulina Villanueva Salcedo has received funding from Boston University's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), which supports undergraduates conducting research projects under faculty mentorship. Under the direction of Dr. Crespo, Paulina will conduct a study to examine how exposure to multiple speakers and bilingual language experience influences children's productions of novel words. Congrats, Paulina!
To learn more about BU's UROP program, visit https://www.bu.edu/urop/
Boston University’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Presentation!
Congratulations to Renzo on his successful Summer UROP Presentation. Over the summer, Renzo researched the effects of bilingualism and input variability in children’s word-learning. Huge shoutout to everyone who made this possible, especially Dr. Crespo for her guidance, and UROP for providing the funding. We are incredibly proud of your work, Renzo!🎉
Puerto Rico Festival of MA 2023
Throwback to the summer, when we had the honor to attend "The Puerto Rican Festival of MA" with the Bilingual Language Development Lab and the Sound2Syntax Lab from UMass-Amherst. A great reminder of the importance of Hispanic communities!
Recordando el verano cuando tuvimos el honor de atender el Festival puertorriqueño de MA en colaboración con el Laboratorio del Desarrollo Bilingüe y el laboratorio Sound2Syntax de la universidad UMass-Amherst. ¡Un recordatorio importante sobre la importancia de las comunidades hispanas!
Successful Master’s Thesis Prospectus!
Congratulations Gabriela Rushi on successfully presenting your master's thesis prospectus! We are incredibly grateful to the committee, Dr. Perrachione and Tim DeLuca, M.S., CCC-SLP, for their insightful feedback and comments that will strengthen the proposal.
Summer Research Program 2023
We would like to extend our gratitude to Janelle Beth Flores, MS, CCC-SLP for the summer she spent at the Bilingual Learning Lab participating in the collaborative Boston University - University of Houston Summer Research Program. Janelle is a second year PhD student in the Dual Lab directed by Dr. Anny Castilla-Earls. Her research interests center on cognition, assessment, and language development of linguistically and culturally diverse populations. This summer Janelle learned about eye tracking methods and experimental design. She also worked on projects examining the role of lexical competition and semantic knowledge in children's cross-situational word learning. Outside of the lab, she enjoyed exploring Boston and spending time with visiting family and friends!
Thank you for the time and expertise you have shared with us!
Successful Master’s Thesis Prospectus!
Congratulations Melanie Thomas on successfully delivering your master's thesis prospectus! We are incredibly grateful to the committee, Dr. Jennifer Zuk and Dr. Alyssa Boucher, for their insightful feedback and comments that will help strengthen the proposal.
ISB14 Early Career Keynote
Dr. Crespo attended the International Symposium on Bilingualism 14 (ISB14) at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia! ISB is a biennial conference on a wide range of issues concerning bi/multilingualism. ISB has become the most significant conference in the field of bi/multilingualism with a strong focus on showcasing multidisciplinary research from a range of disciplines, including education, linguistics, neuroscience, psychology and sociology.
On Monday, Dr. Crespo presented a talk on the effects of input variability, bilingual experience and language ability on children's word learning. On Thursday, she presented as an Early Career Keynote where she shared her research on how exposure to code switching, dual language input, and other forms of input variability shape children's language and cognitive skills.
And no conference in Australia is complete without a little fun visiting the Featherdale Wildlife Park, Opera House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Harbor and Bondi Beach!
UROP & Newbury Center 2023 Summer Research Recipient!
We are excited to share that one of our lab members, Renzo Quintero, has received funding from Boston University's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), which supports undergraduates conducting research projects under faculty mentorship. Renzo also received the Newbury Center Summer Research Award to support summer housing costs. Under the direction of Dr. Crespo, Renzo will conduct a study to examine bilingualism, language ability, and variability effects in children's word-learning skills. Congrats, Renzo!
To learn more about BU's UROP program, visit https://www.bu.edu/urop/
SDSU Empowering Future Scholars
This past Friday, Dr. Crespo visited San Diego State University in San Diego, California. She presented her research and had lunch with doctoral students in the Joint Doctoral Program at San Diego State University and UC San Diego. She also met with master’s students involved with SDSU's National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) and discussed the clinical impact of her work as well as opportunities for clinicians to engage in research and advance science.
Welcome Dr. Gross
Colloquium Speaker: Dr. Megan Gross
Department of Communication Disorders, UMass Amherst
"Bilingual Development and Neurodiversity: Examining Children's Communication and Family/Clinical Perspectives"
Friday, April 7
4:00-5:00 pm
610 Commonwealth Ave, Boston MA
Room 106B
We are excited to welcome Dr. Megan Gross from UMass Amherst to campus next week as part of BU's Research Colloquium Series! Dr. Gross is the director of the Bilingual Language Development Lab at UMass Amherst, and her work focuses on the intersection of bilingual development and neurodiversity in children, and her talk will incorporate family, clinician, and community perspectives related to bilingual language development. Please join us for her presentation discussing her research on Friday, April 7.
Volunteers in Training
Our research assistants have been hard at work learning about different assessment protocols used in our lab studies!
