See our lab alumni
Students
We are accepting PhD students for the upcoming academic year. It is possible to apply directly to the PhD program in linguistics with only an undergraduate degree. We do not accept MPhil students into the lab. The application deadline for both CUHK Linguistics and Hong Kong PhD Fellowship is around Dec.
Our research covers a range of basic and translational issues concerning language, language learning, communication disorders, and language and music. Both behavioral and biological techniques (MRI, fNIRS, EEG, genetic) are used. We attempt to address questions that appeal to a broad audience and questions that are for the most part explanatory in nature, regardless of the research technique. At present, we are especially interested in (but not limited to) these topics (see recent papers):
- Early language development, including bilingual acquisition, acquisition of Chinese dialects and minority languages, prediction of language learning outcome from infancy, prenatal and perinatal factors, impact of hearing loss and cochlear implantation on language, and early intervention and enhancement
- Novitskiy N., Maggu A.R., Lai C.M., Chan P.H.Y, Wong K.H.Y., Lam H.S., Leung T.Y., Leung T.F, Wong P.C.M. (in press) Early Development of Neural Speech Encoding Depends on Age but not Native Language Status: Implications for Perceptual Narrowing. Neurobiology of Language
- Wang, L. C., Kalashnikova, M., Kager, R., Lai, R., & Wong, P. C. M. (2021). Lexical and Prosodic Pitch Modifications in Cantonese Infant-directed Speech. Journal of Child Language, 1-27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000920000707.
- Wang, J., Wu, K.C., Mo, J., Wong, W.L., Siu, T.S.C., McBride, C., Chung, K.K.H., Wong, P.C.M., & Maurer, U. (2020). Remediation of a Phonological Representation Deficit in Chinese Dyslexic Children: A Comparison between Metalinguistic Training and Working Memory Training. Developmental Science, 24(3), e13065. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13065.
- Feng, G., Ingvalson, E. M., Grieco-Calub, T. M., Roberts, M. Y., Ryan, M. E., Birmingham, P., Burrowes, D., Young, N., & Wong, P. C. M. (2018). Neural Preservation Underlies Speech Improvement from Auditory Deprivation in Young Cochlear Implant Recipients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,115(5), E1022-E1031. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1717603115.
- Mechanisms of language learning, including explanatory studies of how language structures are learned and how altering training and input environment can target different mechanisms of learning
- Feng, G., Ou, J., Gan, Z., Jia, X., Meng, D., Wang, S., Wong, P.C.M. (in press). Neural fingerprints underlying individual language learning profiles. Journal of Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0415-21.2021.
- Kang, X., Mathews, S., Yip, V.C.Y., & Wong, P.C.M.. (in press). Language and Non-Language Factors in Foreign Language Learning: Evidence for the Learning Condition Hypothesis. npj Science of Learning.
- Maggu AR, Kager R, To CKS, Kwan J., & Wong PCM (2021) Effect of Complexity on Speech Sound Development: Evidence From Meta-Analysis Review of Treatment-Based Studies. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 651900. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.651900.
- Maggu, A. R., Kager, R. W. J., Xu, S., & Wong, P. C. M. (2019). Complexity Drives Speech Sound Development: Evidence from Artificial Language Training. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 45, 628-644. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000633.
- Deng, Z., Chandrasekaran, B., Wang, S., & Wong, P. C. M. (2018). Training-induced Brain Activation and Functional Connectivity Differentiate Multi-talker and Single-talker Speech Training. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 151, 1-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2018.03.009.
- Language and communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder, including early detection and intervention
- Nayar, K., Kang, X., Xing, J., Gordon. P.C. Wong, P.C.M., & Losh, M. (in press). A Cross-cultural Study Showing Deficits in Gaze-language Coordination during Rapid Automatized Naming among Individuals with ASD. Scientific Reports.
- Lau, J.C.Y., To, C.K.S., Kwan, J.S.K., Kang, X., Losh, M, & Wong, P.C.M. (2020). Lifelong Tone Language Experience does not Eliminate Deficits in Neural Encoding of Pitch in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04796-7.
- Language technology, including tools for predicting and enhancing learning outcomes such as those relying on neural feedback and computerized tools that target specific neural mechanisms of learning
- Wong, P.C.M., Lai, C.M., Chan, P.H.Y., Leung, T.F., Lam, H.S., Feng, G., Maggu, A.R., & Novitskiy, N. (in press). Neural Speech Encoding in Infancy Predicts Future Language and Communication Difficulties. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-21-00077
We do not accept students whose primary interest is in literacy (e.g., Chinese character processing) or dyslexia without also addressing core issues of language processing (e.g., phonological processing), representation, and/or impairment. Profs. Cammie McBride and Urs Maurer in CUHK Psychology are the experts on literacy.
High school, undergraduate and taught master's students are also being accepted for conducting research in our laboratory.
Postdocs
Postdoc positions are available from time to time. Please contact the PI if you are interested.
