Multilanguage and Cognition Lab

• Professor Roberto Filippi, IOE (Lab Director)
• Professor Jackie Masterson, IOE, London (Lab Co-Director)
• Professor Peter Bright, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge (Lab Co-Director)
• Milica Andjelkovic, University of Birmingham
• Dr Froso Argyri, IOE, London
• Professor Lucia Bigozzi, University of Florence (Italy)
• Dr Mirjana Bozic, University of Cambridge
• Professor Andrea Ceccolini, IOE
• Dr Bonnie Chow, UCL, London
• Dr Liory Fern-Pollak, IOE, London
• Dr Xuran Han, University of Greenwich, London
• Dr Julia Hofweber, IOE and Northeastern University, London
• Professor Zhu Hua, IOE, London
• Dr Magdalena Kachlicka, Birkbeck
• Dr Yarden Kedar, Cornell University (USA) and Beit Berl College (Israel)
• Dr Joanna Kolak, IOE
• Dr Gigi Luk, McGill University, Montreal
• Dr Evelyne Mercure, Goldsmith, London
• Dr Claudio Mulatti, University of Trento, Italy
• Dr Katherine Oberc, IOE
• Dr Julia Ouzia, King's College London
• Dr Chiara Pecini, University of Florence (Italy)
• Dr Ana Pellicer-Sanchez, IOE
• Dr Jackie Phelps, University of Cambridge
• Dr Christos Pliatsikas, University of Reading, UK
• Dr Silvia Purpuri, University of Trento, Italy
• Dr Christian Tarchi, University of Florence, Italy
• Dr Adam Tierney, Birkbeck College, London
• Dr Nicola Vasta, University of Windsor, Canada
• Dr Giulia Vettori, University of Florence, Italy
• Dr Tianyi Wang, IOE
• Professor Li Wei, IOE, London
• Dr Gillian West, UCL

• Nourah AlNeaim, UCL/PALS
• Giada Bassoli, IOE
• Chang Chung-Li
• Shiyu Ji, IOE
• Jiamu Li, IOE
• Chen Liu, UCL PALS
• Lewis Liu, UCL
• Hillarie Man, UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences
• Alina Marinca, IOE
• Kamila Naeem, IOE
• Christopher Pelz, IOE
• Serena Shi, UCL
• Jenny Weng

• Promoting language competence in bilingual children using their language repertoires: A pilot carer-child reading intervention study – Dr Bonnie Wing-Yin Chow, UCL/PALS (PI), Professor Roberto Filippi, UCL/IOE (Co-PI), Dr Silke Fricke, University of Sheffield (Co-PI), Funder: HABILNET
• Is the bilingual advantage linked to the depth of knowledge of two languages? – Roberto Filippi & Lucia Bigozzi – UCL Global Exchange Funds
• The impact of COVID-19 on early literacy and numeracy amongst disadvantaged pupils in Israel – Roberto Filippi, Li Wei and Yarden Kedar
• Effects of biliteracy on cognitive and social development in school children – Kasia Oberc, Li Wei and Roberto Filippi
• The relationship between linguistic experience and cognitive control in adulthood – Xuran Han, Li Wei and Roberto Filippi
• Cognitive effects of multilanguage acquisition in ADHD children – Chris Pelz, Emily Midouhas and Roberto Filippi
• Raising bilingual children (completed)
• Multilanguage acquisition across the lifespan (completed)
• Early Years Oral Language and Communication: Supporting improvements in professional practice and understanding of high quality adult/child interactions in the Early Years setting to improve attainment in Key Stage 1 (completed)

2025

Kakoulidou, M., Filippi, R., Pavlopoulou, G., Hurry, J. (2025) Hooked on Books: A Deep Dive into the Reading Motivations of ADHD and Non-ADHD Children. Neurodiversity

Oberc, K., Vettori, G., Bigozzi, L., Filippi, R. (2025). Effects of bilingual education on cognitive development: A pilot study. International Journal of Bilingualism

2024

Silvia Purpuri, S., Treccani, B., Filippi, R., Mulatti, C. (In press). Bicultural bilinguals: juggling languages, shifting “personalities”, destroying barriers. International Journal of Bilingualism

Muszyńska, K., Łuniewska, M., Dynak, A., Kolak, J., Lohrum, R., Otwinowska, A., … Haman, E. (2024). Bilinguals’ knowledge of ‘home’ and ‘school’ words revisited: evidence from Polish-English bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1–19 https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2024.2399639

Filippi, R., Ceccolini, A., Perry, R.C., Thomas, M.S.C. (2024). The impact of multilingualism and socio-economic status on academic performance: Evidence from the SCAMP and the National Pupil databases. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2024.2397445.

Purpuri, S., Vasta, N., Filippi, R., Treccani, B., Li W. and Mulatti, C. (2024). The Foreign Language Effect on Core Knowledge Confusion, Superstition and Conspiracy. The role of semantic acquisition in second language learning. International Journal of Bilingualism

Creed, E., Filippi, R., Holliman, A.J. (2024). Teaching bilingually: Unlocking the academic and cognitive potentials – Teachers' insight. Education Sciences.

Purpuri, S., Mulatti, C., Filippi, R., Treccani, B. (2024). Inside the Kaleidoscope: unravelling the “feeling different” experience of bicultural bilinguals. Frontiers in Psychology

Han, X., Li, W., Filippi, R. (2024). Modulating bilingual language production and cognitive control: how bilingual language experience matters. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition

2023

Lerner, I., Guijarro-Fuentes, P., Filippi, R., Li, F., Schwieter, J.W. (2023). New Ideas in Language Sciences: Language Acquisition

Purpuri, S., Vasta, N., Filippi, R., Li W. and Mulatti, C. (2023). Does language shape the way we think? A review of the Foreign Language Effect across domains. International Journal of Bilingualism

Purpuri, S., Vasta, N., Li W., Filippi, R., Mulatti, C. (2023). The Foreign Language Effect on Tolerance of Ambiguity. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition

2022

Filippi, R., Bright, P. A cross-sectional developmental approach to bilingualism: Exploring neurocognitive effects across the lifespan. Ampersand, 100097.

Han, X., Li, W., Filippi, R., (2022). Modulating effects of interactional contexts on bilinguals’ cognitive control: evidence for the Adaptive Control Hypothesis. International Journal of Bilingualism, doi.org/10.1177/13670069221102011.

Filippi, R., Ceccolini, A., Booth, E., Shen, C., Thomas, M.S.C., Toledano, M.B. & Dumontheil, I. Modulatory effects of SES and multilinguistic experience on cognitive development: a longitudinal data analysis of multilingual and monolingual adolescents. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism.

Han, X., Li, W., Filippi, R., (2022). The effects of habitual code-switching in bilingual language production on cognitive control. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, doi.org/10.1017/S1366728922000244.

Mercure, E., Bright, P., Quiroz, I., Filippi, R. (2022). Effect of infant bilingualism on audiovisual integration in a McGurk task. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

Mercure, E., Bright, P., Quiroz, I., Filippi, R. (2022). Effect of infant bilingualism on audiovisual integration in a McGurk task. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

2021

Filippi, R., Bright, P., (2021). Cognitive Reserve and Language Experience: Can Long-Term Use of Multiple Languages Protect Our Brains from the Effects of Aging? Frontiers in Psychology.

Filippi, R., Ceccolini, A., Bright, P., (2021). Trajectories of verbal fluency and executive functions in multilingual and monolingual children and adults: A cross-sectional study. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.

2020

Filippi, R., Ceccolini, A., Periche-Tomas, E., Bright, P., (2020). Developmental trajectories of metacognitive processing and executive function from childhood to older age. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1747021820931096.

Filippi, R., Periche Tomas, E., Papageorgiou, A., & Bright, P. (2020). A role for the cerebellum in the control of verbal interference: Comparison of bilingual and monolingual adults. PloS one, 15(4), e0231288.

Filippi, R., Ceccolini, A., Periche-Tomas, E., Papageorgiou, A., Bright, P. (2020). Developmental trajectories of control of verbal and non-verbal interference in speech comprehension in monolingual and multilingual children. Cognition.

Phelps, J., Filippi, R. (2020). The multilingual world: building a bridge between science and education. Educational neuroscience volume on lifespan, individual differences, and enhancing cognition. Denis Mareschal, Iroise Dumontheil and Michael Thomas. Psychology Press (Taylor & Francis).

Filippi, R., Periche-Tomas, E., Papageorgiou, A., Bairaktari, O., Bright, P. (2020). Multilingualism and Cognitive Development. The Oxford Handbook of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (Oxford University Press).

2019

Ouzia, J., Bright, P., Filippi, R. (2019). Attentional control in bilingualism: an exploration of the effects of trait anxiety and rumination on inhibition. Behavioural Sciences.

Bright, P., Filippi, R (2019). Perspective on the Bilingual Advantage: Challenges and Opportunities. Frontiers in Psychology, doi/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01346

Filippi, R., D’Souza, D. & Bright, P. (2019). A Developmental Approach to Bilingual Research: The Effects of Multi-language Experience from Early Infancy to Old Age. Contemporary Studies in Bilingualism and Multilingualism (Masayo Yamamoto Eds). Sage Publications

Bright, P., Ouzia, J., Filippi, R. (2019). Multilingualism and Metacognitive Processing. In John W. Schwieter (Ed.) The Handbook of the Neuroscience of Multilingualism. Wiley-Blackwell

2018

Filippi, R., D'Souza, D., & Bright, P. (2018). A Developmental Approach to Bilingual Research: The Effects of Multi-language Experience from Early Infancy to Old Age. International Journal of Bilingualism, 1–13

Filippi, R. (2018). Bilingual cognition and language: The state of the science across its subfield. First Language, 38, 669-671. doi:10.1177/0142723718802034

Papageorgiou, A., Bright, P., Periche Tomas, E., & Filippi, R. (2018). Evidence against a cognitive advantage in the older bilingual population. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1–10 doi:10.1177/1747021818796475

Mercure, E., Quiroz, I., Goldberg, L., Bowden-Howl, H., Coulson, K., Gliga, T., Macsweeney, M. (2018). Impact of language experience on attention to faces in infancy: Evidence from unimodal and bimodal bilingual infants. Frontiers in Psychology, 9 ARTN 1943. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01943

D'Souza, D., & Filippi, R. (2018). Progressive modularization: Reframing our understanding of typical and atypical language development. First Language. 37, 518–529. doi:10.1177/0142723717720038

Naeem, K., Filippi, R., Periche-Tomas, E., Papageorgiou, A., & Bright, P. (2018). The Importance of Socioeconomic Status as a Modulator of the Bilingual Advantage in Cognitive Ability. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, ARTN 1818. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01818

2017

D'Souza, D. & Filippi, R. (2017). Progressive modularization: reframing our understanding of typical and atypical language development. First Language Acquisition.

2016

Folke, T., Ouzia, J., Bright, P., De Martino, B. & Filippi, R. (2016). A Bilingual Disadvantage in Metacognitive processes. Cognition, 150, 119–132

Kerrigan, L., Thomas, M.S.C., Bright, P., & Filippi, R. (2016). Evidence of an advantage in visual-spatial memory for bilingual compared to monolingual speakers. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, 1–11

2015

Filippi, R., Morris, J., Richardson, F., Bright, P., Thomas, M.S.C, Karmiloff-Smith, A., and Marian, V. (2015). Bilingual children show an advantage in controlling verbal interference during spoken language comprehension. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, 18(03), 490–501.

Filippi, R. (2015). Antecollis: case report. Reactions, 1573, 182–17.

2014

Filippi, R., Rasetti, M., Lenzi, M., Bright, P. (2014). Possible effects of pramipexole on neck muscles in a patient with Parkinson's disease. Oxford Medical Case Report, 2014(1), 8–10

2013

Filippi, R., Karaminis, T., Thomas, M.S.C. (2013). Bilingual language switching in production: empirical and computational studies. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, 17, 294–315

2012

Filippi, R., Leech, R., Thomas, M.S.C., Green, D.W., and Dick, F., (2012). A bilingual advantage in controlling language interference during sentence comprehension. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, 15(04), 858–872

2011

Filippi, R., Richardson, F., Dick, F., Leech, R., Green, D.W., Thomas, M.S.C., and Price, C.J. (2011). The right posterior paravermis and the control of verbal interference. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(29): 10732–10740

2009

Richardson, F., Thomas, M.S.C, F., Filippi, R., Harth, H., and Price, C.J. (2009). Contrasting effects on vocabulary knowledge on temporal and parietal brain structures across lifespan. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 83, 109–113.

• Multilingualism and Diversity: Impact on Education, Health and Society – A Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series 2022-2023
• Growing Up bilingual How may we use our understanding to help bilingual children towards optimum development? – Talk by Dr Roberto Filippi. Sponsored by the British Psychological Society | 23 June 2022.
• The Psychology of Multilingualism: A 14-year research journey from infancy to older age – Keynote lecture by Dr Roberto Filippi. Communication & Language Acquisition Studies in Typical & Atypical populations (CLASTA) conference, University of Florence in Italy | 13–15 May 2022.
• Growing Up Bilingual: Researcher and Practitioner Synergies seminar – Talk by Dr Roberto Filippi. Sponsored by the British Psychological Society | 25 February 2022.
• Multilingualism: an investment in our children’s future. Bloomsbury Festival. By Dr Roberto Filippi | 2024.
• The impact of Multilingualism and Socio-Economic Status on Academic Performance in the UK – Psyched in Education Celebration. By Dr Roberto Filippi | 2024.
• The bilingual brain. Invited talk at the Kensington Wade School. By Dr Roberto Filippi | 2024.
• Multilingual Question Time. Panel meeting with parents and educators of multilingual children – The Tapscott Learning Trust. Filippi, R., De Houwer, A., Chow, B | 2024.
• The impact of multilingualism on brain and behaviour. Key note lecture at the University of Warsaw, Poland. By Dr Roberto Filippi | 2024.
• The impact of multilingual upbringing on brain and behaviour. Key note lecture at the University Centre of Maghnia, Algeria. By Dr Roberto Filippi | 2024.
• Tra lingue e menti: l'Impatto del multilinguismo sulla crescita cognitiva e l’evoluzione della mente attraverso l'arco della vita. Key note lecture at the University of Florence, Italy. By Dr Roberto Filippi | 2024.

2025

• Filippi, R. –  Rasekh and Beyond: Cognitive Research and Global Models in Dual Language Education –WISE 2025 in Doha (Qatar)
• Filippi, R. –  The impact of multilingualism on cognitive development and education - International Symposium of Bilingualism, ISB 15 -  San Sebastian, Spain
• Filippi, R. – The impact of multilingualism and socio-economic status on school performance - Educational Neuroscience Conference, ENCoRE 2025, London, UK

2023

AAAL conference Portland, 2023 – Dr Xuran Han. Dr Xuran Han presented her latest research co-authored with Professor Li Wei and Professor Roberto Filippi on how bilingual language use experience affects adults' spontaneous language production behaviours and their domain-general cognitive control. The study highlighted the importance of language use experience in modulating bilinguals’ deployments of cognitive control in language processing. By shedding light on the adaptation of cognitive and behavioural responses to individual's language use and experience, the outcome of this research furthers scientific understanding on the cognitive mechanisms underlying language processing, and consequently assist the improvement in language and cognition assessments, as well as in clinical language therapy. 

2025

• Filippi, R., The Educational Impact of Multilingualism: Insights from Recent Research in the UK – Invited talk at the UNESCO webinar on Multilingual Education
• Filippi, R., Echoes of Language: How Multilingualism Shapes Minds, Learning, and Futures – Invited talk at the Education Development Institute in Doha (Qatar)
• Filippi, R., Rasekh and Beyond: Cognitive Research and Global Models in Dual Language Education – Invited talk at the WISE 2025 in Doha (Qatar)
• Filippi, R., Multilingualism in Action – Invited talk at the University of Bologna
• Filippi, R. Multilingualism in Action – Invited talk at the University of Kassell
• Filippi, R. ADHD and Multilingualism – Invited talk at the University of Warsaw
• Filippi, R., The Academic Benefits of Multilingualism – The Grand Multi-Literacy Event – and online, live event for multilingual families and educators, London UK
• Filippi, R. The Impact of Multilingualism and Socio-Economic Status on Academic Performance. Healthy School Event – Newham, London UK
• Filippi, R., Multilingualism and Academic Performance - Culture and Linguistic Diversity in Education in the UK and Japan Conference, London, UK
• Filippi, R., Mentoring early-career academics – Habilnet3 Symposium – San Sebastian, Spain
• Filippi, R., Podcast:  How multilingualism boosts academic success – Academic coaching for parents with Anna York-Weaving, Cambridge, UK
• Filippi, R., The Importance of Multilingualism in the UK – Flash Academy Webinar series, London, UK

2024

• Filippi, R., – The Impact of Multilingual Exposure on Hyperactivity/ Inattention Symptom Trajectories During Childhood. Key note lecture at the University of Warsaw, Poland
• Filippi R., Multilingualism: an investment in our children’s future. Bloomsbury Festival
• Filippi R., Cognitive development and multilingualism. Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London