Our research is united by a commitment to empirical rigour, theoretical innovation, and societal relevance—informing language education, public policy, and scientific understanding of the multilingual mind.
About us
The Multilingualism and Cognition Research Group at Lancaster University is an interdisciplinary hub dedicated to understanding how individuals learn, use, and process multiple languages - and how these experiences shape the mind and brain. Our work spans linguistics, cognitive science, neuroscience and education, and brings together researchers working on the cognitive, linguistic, and neural dimensions of multilingualism across the lifespan.
We welcome academic visitors, collaborators and prospective students who are interested in the study of multilingualism and cognition. Whether you’re exploring research partnerships, postgraduate study or a short-term visit, we invite you to get in touch at multilingualism@lancaster.ac.uk.
Core Faculty
Professor Patrick Rebuschat
Professor of Linguistics and Cognitive ScienceLanguage Learning Research Lab, Multilingualism and Cognition Research Group, Research Group in Cognitive Linguistics
Professor Jason Rothman
Professor in PsycholinguisticsBrain and Bilingual Experience Lab (BaBEL), Multilingualism and Cognition Research Group
Dr Fatih Bayram
Senior Research Associate
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+44 (0)7564 774166
Dr Aina Casaponsa
Lecturer in Language, Cognition and NeuroscienceBrain and Bilingual Experience Lab (BaBEL), Research Group in Cognitive Linguistics
Professor Silke Brandt
ProfessorResearch Group in Cognitive Linguistics
Labs
The Multilingualism and Cognition Research Group is supported by two dedicated research laboratories that enable innovative, interdisciplinary research into language, cognition, and the brain.
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Brain and Bilingual Experience Lab (BaBEL)
BaBEL specialises in the cognitive neuroscience of language, examining how bilingual and multilingual experiences influence linguistic processing as well as brain structure and function across the lifespan. The lab employs a range of techniques, including electroencephalography (EEG: event related potentials (ERP), oscillatory dynamics and resting state), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), behavioural experiments, and neurocognitive assessments.
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Lancaster Language Learning Lab (4L)
4L focuses on the cognitive and psycholinguistic mechanisms that underpin language learning and processing. The lab uses a variety of methods, including eye-tracking, reaction time tasks, corpus analysis, and computational modelling, to explore how individuals acquire and process language across different linguistic and learning contexts.
Facilities
The Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University offers exceptional research infrastructure. Our facilities include fully equipped laboratories for eye-tracking, phonetics, EEG (electroencephalography), and child language analysis. These resources are actively used by undergraduate and postgraduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and academic staff across a wide range of projects.
Research Facilities
Our research
Our research investigates how multilingual experience influences language learning, processing and cognition. We explore how individuals of all ages acquire and use multiple languages, and how these experiences shape cognitive and neural development. Our work draws on interdisciplinary methods and frameworks from linguistics, cognitive science, neuroscience and education, and focuses on the following key areas of research:
Key areas of research. accordion
We study how children and adults acquire first, second, third and heritage languages, with a focus on the mechanisms that support both implicit and explicit learning.
Several group members investigate language development and maintenance in heritage speakers, including morphosyntactic development, language attrition and the socio-cognitive factors that shape heritage language outcomes.
We explore how bilingual and multilingual experience in a dynamic sense affects cognitive functions, such as attention, memory, and executive control, as well as brain structure and economy across the lifespan, from childhood to elderly adulthood.
Our work examines statistical learning, syntactic priming, cross-linguistic transfer, and the role of individual differences (e.g., working memory, auditory processing, aptitude) in language learning success.
Using behavioural and neuroscientific methods (e.g., EEG/ERP, eye-tracking), we investigate how multilinguals process linguistic input, manage competing languages, and adapt to novel structures and sounds.
Our research is grounded in both cognitive and usage-based frameworks and aims to refine existing models of language learning and processing. We also contribute to methodological innovation in the study of multilingualism through experimental, corpus-based and computational approaches.
Academic and Public Engagement
The Multilingualism and Cognition Research Group organises a wide range of activities to support both academic dissemination and public engagement.
We regularly host research talks, workshops, reading groups, and conferences to share findings, foster collaboration, and advance scholarship in multilingualism, language learning, and cognition. Many of these events are recorded and made available on our YouTube channel, providing broader access to our academic output.
We are equally committed to engaging with the wider public through public lectures, school visits, and community outreach, promoting the societal relevance and real-world impact of our research. These initiatives aim to raise awareness of the benefits of multilingualism, support inclusive education, and inform language-related policy.
We are a founding member of the Heritage Language Consortium, an international partnership dedicated to research, education, and outreach on heritage language learning and use. We also host the Camões Chair for Multilingualism and Diversity, a collaboration with the Camões Institute, a branch of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Chair promotes research, teaching, and engagement related to Portuguese as a heritage and second language, as well as broader themes of linguistic diversity and inclusion.
To learn more about our current activities, visit our Current Events page, or explore our Events Archive.
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