Elisabet Garcia Gonzalez

Academic interests

My interests lay within the neuroscience of bilingualism. In particular, I’m interested in how the brain processes two or more languages, and how that might affect its development and that of the neurocognitive system.

My PhD project deals with one of the hottest topics in bilingualism: the relationship between bilingualism and Executive Function. While a lot of research has found that bilingualism generally improves EF, these findings are increasingly controversial. I approach this question differently: could individual differences in EF affect the acquisition and development of bilingualism in young children? My goal is to better understand this relationship and hopefully make an impact in the lives of multilingual speakers, their families and educators.

Background

I earned my BA’s degree on Spanish Language and Literature (2014) by the Autonomous University of Madrid. Later I obtained a MA in General Linguistics (2015) and a research MA in Linguistics (2017) with a focus on language acquisition, both at the University of Amsterdam. I have worked as a teacher of Spanish as a second language and assisted in various projects related to bilingualism.

I am also an avid reader and writer (see links below if interested). My topics of interest are usually related to language and society or life in a foreign country. I have a great interest in history and the diaspora of communities.

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