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University of Essex homepage Centres and Institutes Language Development throughout the Lifespan Our research Early Language Development
Research Cluster

Early Language Development

A group of young toddlers sat at a table with a teacher, playing with pre-school toys.

How do children learn sounds, words and sentences?

This area of our research looks at how children interact with their parents and learn sounds, words and sentences.

We study both babies and primary school children, some who learn only one language and some who learn more. Our studies are carried out in the lab and in other settings, such as the classroom or at home. In the lab, we track children's eye movements as they look at pictures on a television. In schools and homes, the children and our researchers play games together, for example.

Research Cluster Lead

Dr Claire Delle Luche

Dr Claire Delle Luche

Research Cluster Lead

Department of Language and Linuistics, University of Essex

Our members

Dr Ella Jeffries

Dr Ella Jeffries

Member

Department of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex

Dr Laurel Lawyer

Dr Laurel Lawyer

Member

Department of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex

Our research projects:

Early Language Development

Children's Developing Awareness of Regional Accents

This project examines children’s development of implicit and explicit social judgements in relation to different regional accents.

Cross-linguistic Influence in Bilingual Children and Second Language Learners

This project examines the influence of bilingualism in both children and adults.

Learning French From Ages 5, 7 and 11

This ESRC-funded study compared how children aged 5, 7 and 11 learn French in the classroom.

Very Early Language Development

This project seeks to understand how babies are able to spot words alongside their grammatical properties, in order to be able to understand sentences later on in life.

Our affiliated modules
UG Module: Child Language Development
UG Module: Second Language Learning
UG Module: Language and the Mind
UG Module: Language Teaching in Different Contexts
UG Module: First Language Acquisition
PG Module: Phonological Development
PG Module: Nature and Nurture in Second Language Acquisition
Research from the Department of Language and Linguistics
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Contact us
Research Cluster Lead Dr Claire Delle Luche
University of Essex
Telephone: 01206 872083
Centre for Research in Language Development throughout the Lifespan (LaDeLi) University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ
Telephone: 01206 872083
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  • +44 (0) 1206 873333
  • University of Essex
  • Wivenhoe Park
  • Colchester CO4 3SQ

 

 

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