News

Exploring how speech air flow may impact the spread of airborne diseases: Q&A with Dr. Donald Derrick

The COVID-19 pandemic has made research into virus transmission a top scientific priority. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can be spread through virus-infected saliva droplets and particles. The details of how far and fast saliva droplets and particles disperse through the air, and…

One letter that links sound and touch across languages

Turns out, some words are more tactile than you might expect. That’s according to a new global study noting a clear linguistic connection between sound and touch. The study found that words meaning “rough” were four times more likely to contain a rolled or trilled ‘r’ sound than words that…

School of Audiology and Speech Sciences Launch Student-Led Clinics

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a years’ worth of work being cancelled for the Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education team at the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. However, the unexpected shift also presented great opportunities, resulting in two in-house student-led clinics being…

The ABC's of Language Development: A Look Behind the Cover

While the ABC’s of Language Development provides cutting-edge research and science-backed tips to support the language development of children, what really makes it special is how personal the book has become to the co-authors, collaborators and everyone involved. The book, which is published in…

Language Sciences welcomes new Communications Specialist

Language Sciences is pleased to welcome Kelsea Franzke as the institute's new Communications Specialist. Kelsea has several years of experience working collaboratively with teams to produce original communications materials, develop engagement strategies and support the success of…

RSC Working Group develops recommendations for language and literacy development in response to COVID-19

As part of The Royal Society of Canada’s (RSC) Task Force on COVID-19, the Working Group on Language and Literacy has developed 16 recommendations for caregivers, educators, researchers and policymakers for supporting the language and literacy development for our population in response to, and…

Professor Raymond Ng and Nine Other UBC Faculty Elected to Royal Society of Canada

LangSci After Grad: PhD a platform to transform lives, Dr. Harriet Mutonyi

Written by AJ Orena. Image credit: International Network for Advancing Science and Policy (INASP). Doing a PhD is more than just about the knowledge we gain, it is also a platform to transforming lives, according to Dr. Harriet Mutonyi. Dr. Mutonyi received her PhD in Education in 2008 and…

Ensuring Full Literacy in a Multicultural and Digital World project receives BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) award

The Ensuring Full Literacy in a Multicultural and Digital World project has received funding through the BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF). The project, led by Language Sciences co-director Dr. Janet Werker, professor of Psychology, and Dr. Muhammad Abdul-Mageed, Language Sciences Research…

Encouraging little scientists: fostering computational thinking in pre-literate children to teach life skills

Problem solving is a core life skill, tied to many skills found in computational thinking, including literacy and abstraction. Dr. Bowen Hui, a Language Sciences member and Associate Professor of Teaching at UBCO Computer Science, discusses how computational thinking is linked to language…