People

Director

Gigi Luk, Ph.D. is Professor at McGill University. Her research on the cognitive consequences of bilingualism extends across the lifespan. In addition to investigating the science of bilingualism, Luk has examined how to harness scientific findings on bilingualism to improve the educational experience for children from diverse language backgrounds. In particular, she has established a research program with a scientific goal to understand the cognitive processes and their underlying neural mechanisms relevant to bilingualism; and a practical goal to promote a culturally responsive environment in educational settings, cultivating respect and inclusion for linguistic diversity.

These two goals guide her research program in three directions: (1) characterizing bilingualism beyond English proficiency in schools and in communities; (2) examining bilingualism and cognitive skills supporting language and literacy outcomes; and (3) establishing the neural correlates of learning new information in learners with diverse language experiences. Her work is currently supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Fonds de recherche Société et culture (FRQSC). Luk obtained her Ph. D. in Developmental and Cognitive Psychology from York University in Toronto, Canada. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Rotman Research Institute at the Baycrest Center in Toronto. She was at the Harvard Graduate School of Education between 2011-2018. She joined the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University in 2019.

Graduate Students

Lauren Schellenberg is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. Her doctoral project focuses on helping French immersion teachers learn about crosslinguistic influence between English and French. In the B.E.E. Lab, she primarily works on speech sample analysis using SALT software. In her free time, she listens to audiobooks and attempts to recreate her favourite restaurant dishes at home.

Jingyi Wang is a Ph.D. student in the Educational Psychology Program – Human Development concentration. Her research interests include heritage language maintenance and the motivation of multilingual students in their second and third language learning. Outside of academics, she enjoys traveling, reading, and trying out new activities and experiences.

Sohyun Cho is a course lecturer and Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology – Human Development concentration. Her research examines bilingual university students’ academic emotions in learning contexts, with a particular focus on how different learning modalities are related to their learning experiences and outcomes. In her spare time, she enjoys walking outdoors and spending time with her family.

Sonya Crocker is a second-year M.A. student in Educational Psychology – Human Development concentration. Sonya is currently leading two studies: 1) a systematic review that examines how the English proficiency of bilingual school-aged children is assessed in research 2) a study examining the impact of child sexual abuse on expressive and receptive vocabulary in preschool-aged children. When she is not studying, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, FaceTiming with her sisters, thrifting, practicing yoga and meditation, and cleaning her house while listening to audiobooks.

Maia Mintzberg is a second-year M.A. student in the Educational Psychology Program – Human Development concentration. Her master’s thesis is looking at sociolinguistic consequences of language perceptions among frontline workers in education, healthcare, social services and community settings. Outside of academia, Maia is a social worker and consults on community-run academic programming. In her spare time, she loves to dance and cuddle with her cats.

Adwoa Boadu is a second-year M.Sc.A. in Speech-Language Pathology. She is currently a research assistant at the B.E.E. Lab collecting data for the fMRI and Bilingualism study. Adwoa has broad research interests but currently enjoys working with various neuroimaging methods exploring how they can be used in language research. In her spare time, she likes to spend time with friends, read and travel.

Judy Chu is a second-year M.Ed. student in the Educational Psychology Program – Project concentration. Her research at the B.E.E. Lab focuses on how learning modalities and language dominance influence comprehension in bilingual learners. Her own research interest is in cognitive processing, with a focus on memory, misinformation, and comprehension. Outside of research, she is more of a homebody and enjoys painting, exploring different forms of art, and solving Rubik’s cubes.

Xiaoran Li is a second-year M.Ed. student in the Educational Psychology Program – General concentration. As a Research Assistant, her current project focuses on comparing Mandarin and English standardized assessments in L1 Mandarin/L2 English students. Outside of academics, she loves experimenting with recipes, taking photos, and spending time with her cat Luna.

Safia Belhattab is a second-year M.Ed. student in the Educational Psychology program – Project concentration. She works as a research assistant at the B.E.E. Lab, where she is exploring how learning modalities, specifically video vs. text, impact multilingual French-English students’ comprehension outcomes. Outside of her studies, she loves knitting while listening to lo-fi beats. It’s her favorite way to relax and tap into her creativity!

Ines Ben Said is a first-year M.Ed. student in the Educational Psychology program – Project concentration in Inclusive Education – and a volunteer in the B.E.E. Lab. She is particularly interested in applied research that addresses sociocultural, linguistic and structural inequities affecting marginalized students. Her goal is to contribute to work that not only enhances the holistic development and long-term outcomes of these students but also informs interventions and policy changes to create more inclusive and equitable educational environments. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, going for walks, and playing badminton.

Undergraduate Students

Emma Macleay is an undergraduate student majoring in psychology and minoring in behavioral science and East Asian language and literature. Last year in the B.E.E. Lab, she worked on a project looking at L2 academic emotions with second language learning. This year, Emma will explore linguistic features in speech from multilingual children and adolescents. In her spare time, Emma does taekwondo, hikes with her dog, and loves studying languages!

Vincent Hou is an Undergraduate Research Assistant majoring in Psychology. At the B.E.E. Lab, Vincent works on the fMRI study, focusing on the behavioural language skills component of the project. His research examines how objective language assessments and subjective self-reported experiences predict language dominance in bilinguals. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing badminton, watching professional sports, and playing in the McGill intramural leagues. He also likes learning languages and about different cultures.

Chloé Renaud is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. She is currently doing a year-long research course (PSYC 484D1/D2) in the B.E.E Lab. Her study is part of a larger project that examines academic emotions, learning modality, and language dominance. More specifically, her research question focuses on the timing of assessing perceived learning and the potential moderating effect of language proficiency. Other than being a student, she is also an athlete. She is part of the women soccer team of McGill. Go Martlets!!!

Alexa de Clerck is a third-year undergraduate studying Cognitive Science. This is her first year in the B.E.E lab where she will be focusing on entropy in language usage and how this can predict language dominance in bilinguals. As a French-English bilingual from Europe, this is a topic that is very relevant to her everyday life. Outside of classes, she enjoys running long distances across Montreal, reading historical fiction and hanging out with her friends!

Winnie Yu is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Behavioural Science and East Asian Language and Literature. Winnie is a Research Assistant examining the individual differences factors that modulate perceived learning. Outside of academics, she enjoys running and spending time with friends!

Research Assistants

Tyler Call is a research assistant in the B.E.E. Lab. He is working on preprocessing and analyzing data from the Video fMRI project. His research concerns how certain experiences (e.g., bilingualism and musical practice) modify brain structure and function in ways that could provide resilience against age-related and pathological cognitive decline. He recently received a Master’s in Cognitive Science from Carleton University. Outside of the lab, he loves to make music, play baseball, boulder, run, and spend time with his partner and their 3 dogs.

Cedric Le Bouar is a first-year student in the M.A. in psychology program (research and clinical training option) at Concordia University. He is currently working on the B.E.E. lab’s ongoing MRI study on bilingualism. His research interests center on how the brain processes language. In specific, Cedric’s research focuses on the mechanisms that allow people to compute the meaning of a phrase or sentence from the words that make it up, and how they are put together. When not working in the lab, Cedric likes cooking, going fishing, spending time outdoors, and spending time with his dogs.