Dr Elizabeth Wonnacott

Honorary Asssociate Professor

Language & Cognition

Div of Psychology & Lang Sciences

Joined UCL: 1st Sep 2020

Research summary

roadly speaking, I am interested in how we learn language. I have a longstanding interest in the role of statistical learning mechanisms in language acquisition and how learning processes shape human languages. More recently, I have begun to explore how the statistical structure of the input can affect learning of a modern foreign language, and how this might differ for learners of different ages. I also have an ongoing interest in reading development, and in particular in the role of statistical learning in the written domain.

Teaching summary

I currently teach on the BSc Psychology and Language Sciences. I am module convener for PALS2005 Development of Communication and Cognition I also act as an academic and personal tutor.

Biography

I began (academic) life with an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 2000. I then moved to the US for a PhD in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester. After getting my PhD in 2006, I moved back to the UK and spent six years as Postdoctoral research fellow at University of Oxford, followed by two years as an Assistant Professor at University of Warwick. I am a currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Language and Cognition at UCL.