Supporting basic and applied research in language, literacy and numeracy, and facilitating links between research and practice.
Director: Dr Emma Sumner, Associate Professor of Psychology and Special Education Needs
Deputy Director: Dr Miriam McBreen, Lecturer in Psychology
The Centre for Language, Literacy and Numeracy: Research & Practice (LLNR&P) is a cross-departmental unit within IOE.
About us
- Our aim
We draw on a wide range of expertise from psychology, education, and speech and language therapy, aiming to identify the ways in which language and literacy skills work together to support learning and attainment.
Our distinctive focus is on the link between theory and practice and the evaluation of interventions to support oral language, literacy and numeracy competencies.
- Our staff
Members
- Professor Chloë Marshall, Professor Emerita of Psychology, Language and Education
- Professor Julie Dockrell, Professor of Psychology and Special Needs
- Gill Brackenbury, Director of the UCL Centre for Inclusive Education
- Catherine Antalek, Research Fellow
- Dr Claire Forrest, Research Fellow
- Professor Roberto Filippi, Professor in Psychology and Director of Multilanguage and Cognition Lab (MULTAC)
- Dr Rebecca Gordon, Associate Lecturer (Teaching)
- Dr Julia Hofweber, Research Fellow
- Professor Jane Hurry, Professor Emerita of Psychology of Education
- Professor Jackie Masterson, Professor of Psychology of Reading
- Dr Emma Sumner, Associate Professor in Psychology and Special Educational Needs
- Dr Jo Van Herwegen, Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology,
Associates and visiting fellows
- Dr Barbara Arfè, EdPsyLab, DPSS, University of Padua
- Professor Emeritus Richard Cowan, IOE
- Dr Ioanna Bakopoulou, IOE
- Dr Lucie Broc, University of Poitiers
- Dr Susan Ebbels, Moor House School and UCL
- Dr Lisa Fridkin, IOE
- Dr Frances Hampson-Jones, Former PhD Student
- Angela Hobsbaum, Researcher
- Dr Karin Keller, University of Basel
- Dr Anna Llaurado, University of Barcelona
- Ann Nordberg, University of Gothenburg
- Dr Jeni Riley, IOE
- Professor Rhona Stainthorp, University of Reading
- Professor Anat Stavans, Beit Berl College
- Professor Morag Stuart, IOE
- Dr Joanna Vivash (DEdPsy), Cambridgeshire Community Educational Psychology Service, UK
- Professor Dominic Wyse, IOE
PhD and EdD students
- Liz Broadbent
- Terry Bennett
- Keeley Dobinson
- Fifi Haji Zailani
- Carolina Hernandez Jamasmie
- Jana Parolkova
Activities
- Our research
Projects
Upcoming and current projects
- The key to oral language (lead: Julie Dockrell, funded by Heather van der Lely Foundation)
- Empowering staff to enhance oral language in the early years (lead: Julie Dockrell, funded by the Nuffield Foundation)
- Breaking into sign language: the role of input and individual differences (lead: Chloë Marshall, funded by the Leverhulme Trust)
- Language-learning needs on school entry: profiling phonology, morphology and narrative (lead: Julie Dockrell and Emma Sumner, funded by the Heather van der Lely Foundation)
- Teaching Grammar for writing (lead: Dominic Wyse, UCL Learning & Leadership, funded by the Nuffield Foundation)
- Practice around Access Arrangements for Students with SpLDs (PASS) (co-leads: Emma Sumner and Catherine Antalek, funded by the Nuffield Foundation)
Past projects include
- iRead: Personalised reading apps for Primary school children (lead: Asimina Vasalou, UCL Knowledge Lab, funded by a European H2020 grant)
- Multilanguage acquisition across the lifespan (lead: Roberto Filippi, funded by the Leverhulme Trust)
- Flexible Phonics (lead: Professor Robert Savage funded by Education Endowment Foundation)
- Revision of the national curriculum for English
- The Better Communication Research Project - Watch BCRP 1: What is the Better Communication Research Programme? (video)
- Involvement in the COST action "An integrated and inclusive approach to language and literacy in Europe".
- The Early Years Measures database
Hear from our researchers
- Embedding research into language literacy and numeracy practice (March 2022)
- Studying how adults learn sign languages (February 2022)
- Literacy in children and adults: not only cognition but also emotion and motivation (Summer 2021)
- Research updates and Q&As (Summer 2020)
Publications
- Consultancy
Areas of expertise
Our members have considerable expertise in the following areas:
- Oral and written language development
- Psychological processes in reading and spelling
- Specific learning difficulties
- Speech, language and literacy difficulties
- Typical and atypical language development
- Numerical skills development and difficulties
- Language development in deafness and hearing impairment.
Projects
We are currently involved in the revision of the national curriculum for English, in the COST action "an integrated and inclusive approach to language and literacy in Europe", in reviews for the nasen journals and in consultancy for the Educational Services of the Falkland Islands Government.
Julie Dockrell has been carrying a consultancy work in the Falklands Islands this February. This is quite a unique consultancy work commissioned by the Educational Services of the Falkland Islands Government. Julie spent two weeks advising the two schools of the island on their Special Educational Needs provision, assessing the needs and advising on appropriate arrangements.
Previous consultancy works include:
- Evaluation of Talk for Writing (PDF, Education Endowment Foundation)
- Review of the independent report Provision for Children and Young People with Dyslexia
Contact
For further information on our consultancy services, contact Professor Julie Dockrell: j.dockrell@ucl.ac.uk
Resources
- Tools for practitioners
Resources produced by members of our centre useful for professionals and researchers: