CDS Seminar Series : Professor Gigi Luk | Examining Multilingualism in the Intersection of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Education

This seminar is free to attend and is open to all, both within and outside the University. If you wish to attend in person or via Zoom, please register your interest to attend via the Zoom portal using the link above. Zoom details will be shared prior to the event via email.

We are delighted to announce that the Centre for Developmental Science will welcome Professor Gigi Luk, of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, to present a hybrid CDS Seminar, taking place on Friday 14th March 2025, 12:30-13:30 GMT.

You are welcome to attend either in person at 52 Pritchatts Road, Lecture Theatre 1, Room G16, or online via Zoom. If you wish to attend, please register your interest to attend either in person or online via the Zoom portal using the link above. 

There will be the opportunity for an informal discussion after the seminar itself.

Prof. Luk can be contacted via email at gigi.luk@mcgill.ca

CDS Event Hosts - Professor Andrea Krott 

Examining Multilingualism in the Intersection of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Education  

Abstract

Multilingualism is an interactional experience between an individual and her environment through multiple languages. This life experience can be investigated from multiple disciplines. In this presentation, I will present an overview of my research program investigating multilingualism from psychology, neuroscience, and education. First, I will illustrate how linguistic diversity in a child’s proximal and distal environment shapes parental beliefs about multilingualism and usage. From this interactive perspective, I will show how language development and learning reveal different trajectories at home and at school. Connecting these findings to the broader educational context, I will demonstrate how these developmental differences are related to state-level special education data, as well as neuroimaging data among adolescents from diverse language and learning backgrounds. Finally, I will share how research in multilingualism can benefit from a transdisciplinary perspective by integrating ecologically grounded questions and laboratory-based research approaches.

 Speaker Biography

Gigi Luk is full professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She obtained her Ph.D. from York University, Canada, then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Rotman Research Institute before joining the Harvard Graduate School of Education as her first faculty position. She joined McGill University in 2019. Luk examines how diverse language experiences shape development and learning using neuroimaging methods, behavioral methods, and educational data. She has received funding from agencies in Canada and the U.S. and has served as associate editor for Bilingualism: Language and Cognition and is currently an associate editor for Child Development.