Language Science Day 2025

Room 2130

Join us for a catered lunch. Reconnect with language scientists from other departments and meet new members of the UMD community.

Room 2242

Most language research in linguistics, cognitive science, and even speech and communication sciences focuses on monologue: a single person producing or comprehending language, most often isolated sentences. But all child language development and the majority of language use happens in the context of conversation and social interaction. What do we miss by studying only monologue? What new methods can help us study conversation?

Panelists:

• Rachel Romeo (HDQM)
• Megh Krishnaswamy (EDSI)
• Kelly Marshall (NACS)
• Neha Srikanth (CS) Comment end 

Moderator: Shevaun Lewis (LSC)

Rooms 2114 & 2118

Since LLMs blew up 3 years ago, language scientists across all fields have been grappling with how they can or should be used in research and practice. Are they a useful tool for experimental research? A model for human development or language processing? A practical clinical tool? UMD researchers are exploring the potential uses and risks of this technology. 

Panelists:

• Jing Liu (TLPL)
• Sathvik Nair (LING)
• José Ortiz (HESP)
• Rachel Rudinger (CS)

Moderator: Katherine Howitt (LING)

Room 1102

This panel will explore the scientific logic of using computational models in language science, examining what constitutes a good model of language processing. What metrics might demonstrate that models are capturing the underlying mechanism? Specifically, we will debate whether predicting trial-by-trial neural activity and behavioral data is sufficient, or if additional criteria are needed to evaluate model validity.

Panelists:

• Yi Ting Huang (LSC/HESP)
• Philip Resnik (LING/UMIACS)
• Jonathan Simon (ECE/BIO/ISR)

Moderator: Samer Nour Eddine (LSC)

Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity [TABLE]
Amanda Cataneo

Parent attitudes toward bilingualism may differ according to contextual factors
Alexus Ramirez, Mariah Egerton, Paola Rojas, Merari Flores, Angie Sandoval, and Rachel R. Romeo 

The Judy Center-University of Maryland Partnership Phase One: A Qualitative Analysis of Caregiver, Provider, and Partner Perspectives
Carissa Wolff, Ellie K. Taylor, Robinette, S. Alexa McDorman, Cyndi La Marca Lessner, and Rachel Romeo 

What clues do children use to learn their language?
Allison Dods, Alex Emmert, Katherine Gandolfo Howitt, Elizabeth Swanson, William Zumchak, Valentine Hacquard, Jeffrey Lidz, and Alexander Williams

Beyond Boundaries: Envisioning Code-Mixing as a Bridge in Bilingual Language Assessment [MONITOR]
Jessica Nolasco, Jose Ortiz, and Yi Ting Huang 

AI Self-Preferencing in Algorithmic Hiring: Empirical Evidence and Insights
Jiannan Xu, Gujie Li, and Jane Yi Jiang

Mechanisms for language past and future
London Dixon, Allison Dods, Katherine Howitt, Sebastián Mancha, Sathvik Nair, Colin Phillips, Carmen Tang, and Utku Türk

Reading Skill Predicts Variability in Pseudoword Pronunciation: An Experience-Dependent Basis for Neuroimaging Analyses
Michaela Brooks, Caleb Solomon, Cory McCabe, Lucia Zepeda-Rivera, Robert Wiley, D.J. Bolger, William Graves, and Jeremy Purcell 

Immigrant Roots, Cognitive Fruits: Does the bilingual advantage in theory of mind relate to immigration generation?
Paola Rojas, Alexus Ramirez, Ellie Taylor-Robinette, and Rachel Romeo 

Eye Tracking Insights into L2 Homonym Learning from Reading: The Role of Definition Preview and Review Presented Together vs. Apart
Tetiana Tytko and Bronson Hui

The Role of Writing Sequence in Written Word Recognition and Production
Yi Dai and Min Wang 

Spatiotemporal signature of morphosyntactic planning in English sentence production
Yi Wei, Ciaran Stone, Bob Slevc, Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah, and Christian Brodbeck 

Understanding Trust in Machine Translation (MT): A Language Science Station Study at Planet Word
Yimin Xiao, Yongle Zhang, Dayeon (Zoey) Ki, Calvin Bao, Marianna J. Martindale, Charlotte Vaughn, Ge Gao, and Marine Carpuat

Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity [TABLE]
Amanda Cataneo

Does Bilingual Experience affect Cortical Thickness in ADHD?
Anushka Oak, Iria S. Gutierrez-Schieferl, and Guinevere F. Eden

Impact of Auditory Training on Cortical Neural Tracking of Rapid Speech in Aging
Ciaran Stone, Lucia Zepeda-Rivera, Ebtesam Sajjadi, Samira Brake Anderson

Neuroanatomical Differences in Children with Reading Disability
Iria Gutierrez-Schieferl, Alison Schug, and Guinevere Eden

Causal and Concessive Connectives in ESL Learners: Text-based Comprehension and Production
Jessica Sishi Fei and Min Wang 

Children's Auditory Research at Maryland
Joanna Kolker, Vanessa Reyes, Ashley Harman, Sarah Anthony, Kylie Kelleher, Renée Christie, and Stacey Kane

The Relative Importance of Vowels and Consonants for Sentence Recognition 
Renée Christie, Joanna Kolker, and Stacey Kane 

Lexical Overlap and Neighborhood Effects in Bilingual Word Recognition
Lucia Zepeda-Rivera, Michaela Brooks, Cory McCabe, William W. Graves, Jeremy Purcell, and D.J. Bolger

Metapragmatic Constructions in Contemporary English
Michael Israel and Cameron Mozafari

Comprehension of morphological causatives in child Turkish
Mine Muezzinoglu, Meryem Pamuk, Yining Nie, Bob Slevc, and Rochelle Newman

Reëvaluating Memory for Sentences
Sebastián Mancha, Colin Phillips, and Ellen Lau

Sustaining Human Agency, Attending to Its Cost: An Investigation into Generative AI Design for Non-Native Speakers' Language Use

Yimin Xiao, Cartor Hancock, Sweta Agrawal, Nikita Mehandru, Niloufar Salehi, Marine Carpuat, and Ge Gao