UROP Project
The role of skill and cognitive differences in pronunciation development
second language acquisition; language development; individual differences; phonetics; phonology
Research Mentor: Matthew Patience,
Department, College, Affiliation: Modern Languages and Linguistics, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: mpatience@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: Modern Languages and Linguistics, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: mpatience@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 3
Relevant Majors: This is open to all majors. Spanish, Linguistics, and Education majors are preferred, but definitely not required.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Number of Research Assistants: 3
Relevant Majors: This is open to all majors. Spanish, Linguistics, and Education majors are preferred, but definitely not required.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
- Day: Tuesday, September 1
Start Time: 1:00
End Time: 1:30
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/5634041279 - Day: Wednesday, September 2
Start Time: 3:30
End Time: 4:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/5634041279
Project Description
Have you ever wondered why people acquire pronunciation very differently when learning a foreign language? In this project, we aim to address this question. The goal is to track how the pronunciation of the students in our Spanish courses develops over the course of their studies, and what factors play a role in their development. We will examine whether their speech motor skill and perceptual acuity, as well as working memory and inhibitory control play important roles.Research Tasks: Data collection (by testing participants in the lab); data analysis; potentially some academic writing.
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
- people skills (you will be testing participants in the lab, and working in a larger team)
- organization skills
- communication skills (for communicating with participants, other RAs, and the project leader)
Mentoring Philosophy
My mentoring philosophy begins with a central question: how can we advance the goals of the research project while also ensuring that the experience meaningfully contributes to the student’s intellectual and professional development? I view mentoring as a deliberate process of aligning my research project objectives with each student's individual growth. My approach is guided by three interrelated principles: the development of technical and transferable skills, the deepening of intellectual curiosity, and the provision of structured support that leads to increasing independence.A primary objective of my mentoring is to help students acquire both discipline-specific expertise and transferable professional skills. In addition to providing training in research methods, analytical techniques, and research procedures, I explicitly teach and model professional practices that support long-term academic and career development. By modeling and teaching students these skills, they develop habits that position them for success in future collaborative and professional settings.
It is important to me that students experience research as both meaningful and intellectually engaging. At the start of each mentoring relationship, I meet with students to discuss their personal interests and long-term goals, and I make a deliberate effort to structure their responsibilities in ways that connect project objectives with their individual aspirations. Aligning research tasks with students’ individual interests and strengths helps foster intellectual engagement.
Finally, I view effective mentoring as a balance between providing guidance and promoting independence. I offer consistent feedback, particularly in the early stages of a project, while progressively increasing the complexity of students’ responsibilities.
Additional Information
- You will be using English when testing participants, so no Spanish is necessary.- Most of the data analysis is on English speech.
- If you speak Spanish, or are interested in analyzing some Spanish speech, that might also be an option.