Research lines:

  • Bi/tri/lingual language acquisition in infancy and adolescence, with a special interest in English, but not only.
  • The impact of Study Abroad periods spent in the target language country, on the acquisition of English lexis, formulaic language, pragmatics, and writing and listening skills.
  • Content and language integrated learning (CLIL/EMI) in the primary and secondary school classroom, and at university level.
  • Institutional multilingual language policies (in primary, secondary and, most centrally, tertiary education).
  • Individual differences in the acquisition of second and foreign languages.

Research activity:

  • PI of the consolidated research group ALLENCAM (Language Acquisition from Multilingual Catalonia) (since its foundation in 2005 to 2017). Since then a member.
  • A member of the research group 'The Age Factor' (UB) (2000-2010).
  • Vice-President of the COST ACTIONS SAREP (Study Abroad in European Perspective) network (2016-2020). 
  • PI of 8 competitive research projects both European and nationally funded (2000-2018): CDA/CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT- ADVANCED LEVEL PROGRAMME IN MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION (ALPME) CDA SOCRATES PROGRAMME DGC XXII. IntClass: FFI2013-48640-C2-1P. CO3: FFI2010-21483-C02-01. COLE: HUM2007-66053-C02-01. SALA: HUM2004-05442-C02-01. ALLENCAM: 2014 1538; 2009 SGR140; 2005 SGR 01086 (2000-2017).
  • A member of the GREILI-UPF (Grup de Recerca en Espais Interculturals, Llengües i Identitats) and of the consolidated new research network ICLHE 2024-2027 ("Internationalization and Multilingualism: Strategies of Integration of Contents and Languages in Higher Education") funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. I also founded and co-coordinated the AILA ReN on Study Abroad, with Martin Howard from University College Cork.

Doctoral dissertations supervised:

Machin, Elizabeth Anne Marie (2020) Motivation in time: Identity and agency of learners of a foreign language. UPF.

Ament, Jennifer (2018): Textual and interpersonal pragmàtic markeres in full- and semi-English-immersion instruction: Their acquisition and the impact of learners’ motivational profile. UPF.

Kushch, Olga (2018): Beat gestures and prosodic prominence: impact on learning 

Zaytseva, Victoria (2916): Vocabulary acquisition in study abroad and formal instruction: an investigation on oral and written lexical development (Mención: Internacional). UPF.

Denissenko Denissenko, Anna (2016): L'Adquisició del rus com a llengua estrangera en un context d'instrucció formal a l'aula: complexitat, correcció i fluïdesa i ús del cas en la producció escrita. UPF.

Lara, Rebecca Ann (2014): Complexity, accuracy and fluency development through study abroad programmes varying in duration. UPF.

Tejada Sánchez, Isabel (2014): L'acquisition de l'anglais écrit et l'exposition intensive en contexte d'immersion scolaire en Colombie. UPF-Université Paris IX.

Del Río San Román, Carmen (2013): Perceived foreign accent and comprehensibility in the oral production of adolescent learners of English: study abroad vs. at home learning contexts. UPF.

Barquin, Elisa Leslie (2012): Writing development in a Study Abroad context. UPF.

Valls Ferrer, Margalida (2011): The development of oral fluency and rhythm during a Study Abroad period. UPF. 

Roquet i Pugès, Helena (2011): A study of the acquisition of English as a foreign language: integrating content and language in mainstream education in Barcelona. UPF. 

Mehotcheva, Teodora (2010):  After the fiesta is over: foreign language attrition of Spanish in Dutch and German Erasmus Students. UPF-Gröningen University, Holland. 

Vicente Rasoamalala, Leticia (2009): Teachers' reactions to foreign language learner’s output. UPF-UB. 

 

Master's dissertations supervised:

​Maria Vrban (2021), Ebn-Yun Su (2021), Polina Stepanova (2021), Grace Moran (2020), Brigitte Valleffuocco (2020), Karissa Dominic (2020), Xiarong Chen (2019), Jarna Van Gelder (2019), Krystin Johnson (2019), Ai Muto (2019), Thomas Luke Sprack (2018), Silvia Milazzo (2018), James Hearsey (2018), Yiqiong Hao (2018), Yuhan Jiang (2018), Chengyu He (2017), Marta Segura Mollà (2017), Molina, Esther (2016), Kieffer, Emily Jean (2016), Geoghegan, Leah (2016), Monje Sangüesa, V. (2016) Thomas, Dakota (2015) Machin, Elizabeth Anne Marie (2015) Zaytseva Zaytseva,Victoria (2012), Sahnsi, Amrik (2012), Denisenko Denissenko, Anna (2010), Lara, Rebecca (2010), Tejada Sánchez, Isabel (2010), Avello, Pilar (2009), Barquin, E. (2008) Valls Ferrer, M. (2008), Mehotcheva, T. (2007) , Aparicio, Helena (2007); Merino, Mª E. (2007);, Roquet, H. (2005), Oliver del Olmo, S. (2004).