Graduate Advising

Current Ph.D. Students

• • Alexandre Alves Santos. Research project: Lexical Development and Oral Proficiency in Portuguese Heritage Speakers.

  • Marco Bittencourt. Research Project: The Acquisition of Derivational Morphology and Reading Proficiency in Portuguese as a Heritage Language.

  • Isaura de los Santos. Research project: Phonological Awareness and Fluency in Early Literacy in Chatino (Otomanguean).

  • Isaac McAlister. Research Project: The Acquisition of the Present Perfect in English and Spanish L2 by Portuguese L1 Speakers.

  • Abril Navarro. Research Project: Language Assessment in Spanish Heritage Speakers.

Welcome Carlos Flores and Jaqueline Ionson, who are beginning their PhDs in 2022!

Former Ph.D. Students at UMass

• • Ana Alonso (2021) - PhD dissertation: The Acquisition of Positional Verbs in Yalalag Zapotec by Bilingual Children. (Currently: Assistant Professor at University of Querétaro - Mexico)

  • Andie Faber (2017) - PhD dissertation: Assigning Grammatical Gender to Novel Nouns in L1 and L2 Spanish. (Currently: Assistant Professor at Kansas State University)

  • Esther Castro Cuenca (2017) PhD dissertation: Clítico de Acusativo como Introductor de Construcciones Aplicadas en Español. (Currently: Spanish Language Program Director at Mt. Holyoke College)

  • Bridget Pinsonneault (2016) - PhD dissertation: The Effect of Enhancing Learner Input via Computer Assisted Language Learning Tools: On the Acquisition of Clitics by Spanish Second Language Learners. (Currently: Spanish Curriculum Coordinator and English Learner Educational Director at Sabis Educational Systems)

  • Jon Nelson (2016) (co-advisor with Prof. Tom Roeper) - PhD dissertation: First and Second Language of Recursive Operations: Two Studies.

  • Maria Turrero García (2015) - PhD dissertation: How Far Can They Go? Non-native speakers of Spanish and Wh-questions. (Currently: Visiting Assistant Professor at Drew University)

  • Beatriz Pariente (2013) - PhD dissertation: Rethinking Translation in the Second Language Classroom. (Currently: Spanish Language Program Director at Carlton College)

  • Brian Boisvert (2011) - PhD dissertation: The Relationship Between Implicit and Explicit Feedback Episodes, Student Uptake and Repair. (Currently: Associate Professor at State University of New York Fredonia)

Former Doctoral Co-advising in Brazil

• • Maria de Nazaré Moraes da Silva (2019) (co-advisor with Prof. Marília Ferreira - UFPA). Research project: Second Language Instruction in Parakatêjê.

  • Márcia Nascimento (2017) (co-advisor with Prof. Marcus Maia - UFRJ) - PhD dissertation: Evidenciadade em Kaingang: Descrição, Processamento e Aquisição. (Postdoctoral researcher at UFRJ - Brazil)

  • Raquel Lawal (co-advisor with Prof. Marcus Maia - UFRJ) (2014) - O Processamento do Clítico SE Incoativo e Télico em Espanhol como L1 e como L2. (Associate Professor at Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora - Brazil)