Dr Merle Mahon

Research summary

My research focuses on bi/multilingualism; on deaf children's spoken language development and on the role of gesture in language development. I am particularly interested in how children learn spoken English when English is an additional language at home.  I am collaborating with colleagues in examining outcomes for deaf children and young people and in investigating the relationship between special educational needs, school exclusions and youth offending.

I use both qualitative and quantitative research methods (Conversation Analysis, questionnaire and interview techniques, experimental designs). Much of my work involves the collection, analysis  and archiving of longitudinal video data sets.

Teaching summary

Graduate Tutor in the Language and Cognition Department, Division of Psychology and Language Science, Faculty of Brain Science UCL

Contributor to Modules SLAN0005; SLAN0006; PLIN0044; PALS0004; HCSC0003

Current PhD students:  Mario Bustos (with Dr Fiona Kyle);  Rima Alhaider (with Prof Chris Donlan); Kinjal Mehta (with Dr Debi Vickers);

Coordinator of Psychology and Language Science CPD course for practitioners on intervention with bi/multilingual children (with Sunita Shah, specialist speech and language therapist, ).

Education

University College London

Doctorate, Doctor of Philosophy | 1998

University of South Africa, Pretoria

First Degree, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) | 1978

University of the Witwatersrand

First Degree, Bachelor of Arts | 1972

Publications

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