People

Dr Drasko Kascelan

Lecturer
School of Health and Social Care
Dr Drasko Kascelan

Profile

Biography

Draško Kašćelan joined the University of Essex in February 2023 as a Lecturer in Language and Communication Sciences at the School of Health and Social Care. He is a linguist by training teaching linguistics subjects in the Division for Speech and Language Therapy. Prior to Essex, he worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Leeds on the Quantifying Bilingual Experience (Q-BEx) project: https://www.q-bex.org. His research expertise and interests include bi/multilingualism, autism, autistic-like traits, cognitive skills, figurative language, and language disorders. He is leading a cross-departmental reading group Multilingualism, Language Varieties, and Neurodiversity (MuLaVaN).

Qualifications

  • PhD Theoretical and Applied Linguistics University of Cambridge, (2020)

  • MSc Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition University of Oxford, (2014)

  • Specialist of Art English Language and Literature (PGCE equivalent) University of Montenegro, (2013)

  • BA English Language and Literature University of Montenegro, (2012)

Research and professional activities

Research interests

Bilingualism/Multilingualism

Dynamic nature of bilingual/multilingual development: What are the characteristics of bilingual/multilingual development? How do bilinguals/multilinguals code-switch? How do we document bilingual/multilingual experience?

Key words: bilingualism
Open to supervise

Autism

What are the features of language and cognitive development is autism? How can we improve work on autism to best serve autistic individuals?

Key words: autism
Open to supervise

Developmental Language Disorder

Exploration of language development and difficulties in individuals with Developmental Language Disorder.

Key words: developmental language disorder
Open to supervise

Neurodiversity

Exploring neurodiversity perspectives in research on conditions such as autism.

Key words: neurodivergent
Open to supervise

Figurative language

How do individuals use and understand figurative language such as idioms and metaphors? How is figurative language development linked to general language and cognitive development?

Key words: figurative language
Open to supervise

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Introduction to Speech and Language Therapy (HS235)

  • Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours Portfolio 1 (HS705)

  • Speech and Language Therapy - Paediatrics 4 (HS834)

Publications

Journal articles (5)

De Cat, C., Kašćelan, D., Prévost, P., Serratrice, L., Tuller, L. and Unsworth, S., (2023). How to quantify bilingual experience? Findings from a Delphi consensus survey. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 26 (1), 112-124

Kašćelan, D. and De Cat, C., (2022). A constellation of continua. Epistemological issue. 12 (1), 59-64

Kašćelan, D., Prévost, P., Serratrice, L., Tuller, L., Unsworth, S. and De Cat, C., (2022). A review of questionnaires quantifying bilingual experience in children: Do they document the same constructs?. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 25 (1), 29-41

Kašćelan, D. and Deuchar, M., (2021). Introducing the Special Issue: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Code-Switching. Languages. 6 (1), 19-19

Kašćelan, D., Katsos, N. and Gibson, JL., (2019). Relations Between Bilingualism and Autistic-Like Traits in a General Population Sample of Primary School Children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 49 (6), 2509-2523