Dr Lluisa Astruc

Professional biography

My research has dealt mainly with phonetics and phonology (especially prosody), with language acquistion in the L1 and L2, and with the motivation to learn Modern Languages.

I have worked in several research projects as Associate Researcher, Co-Investigator, and Collaborator over the last few years.

My new project (with Co-Investigator Inma Álvarez) is called "Diasporic identities and the politics of language teaching" will run between July 2016 and July 2020. The aim is to investigate the role of the modern language teachers in a changing linguistic, social, and cultural landscapes. "Diasporic identities" is part of a large interdisciplinary project, Language Acts and Worldmaking, with colleagues in Kings’ College London, Queen Mary University of London, and University of Westminster, and one of only four projects funded by the AHRC under the Open World Research Initiative (OWRI).

Read about Language Acts and Worldmaking here:  http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/newsevents/news/open-world-research-initiative-launched/

Associate Researcher

2008-2009  ‘Rhythmic Timing and Dyslexia: A Causal Connection?’

Funder:  ESRC (RES-000-23-0475, £181,740.08). Principal Investigator: Professor Usha Goswami (Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Cambridge U.).

Co-Investigator

2009-10 ‘A cross-linguistic study of intonational development in young infants and children’

Funder: British Academy Small Research Grant (£7,365). Collaborators: Brechjte Post (Principal Investigator, Cambridge U.), UAB (Pilar Prieto, Maria del Mar Vanrell), Elinor Payne (Oxford U.).

2008-09 ‘The acquisition of intonation in Catalan, Spanish, and English’

Funder: Generalitat de Catalunya, Beques Batista i Roca, 2009 PBR 00018, (€ 7,100). Collaborators: Pilar Prieto (Principal Investigator, UAB), Maria del Mar Vanrell (UAB), Elinor Payne (Oxford U.), Brechjte Post (Cambridge U.). 

2007-08 ‘Rhythm acquisition in Catalan, Spanish, and English’

Funder: Generalitat de Catalunya (Beques Batista i Roca,  2007 PBR 29, Grant: € 9,290) Collaborators: Pilar Prieto (Principal Investigator) and Maria del Mar Vanrell (UAB). Elinor Payne (Oxford U.), Brechjte Post (Cambridge U.).

International Collaborator

2010-12 ‘The role of tonal scaling and tonal alignment in distinguishing intonational categories in Catalan and Spanish’

Funder: Spanish Government (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, FFI2009-07648/FILO, Grant: € 88,330).

With Pilar Prieto (Principal Investigator, UPF), Joan Borràs, Veronica Crespo, and Maria del Mar Vanrell (UPF); Eva Estebas (UNED), Teresa Cabré (UAB).

2006-09 ‘Estructura prosódica y adquisición de la prosodia en catalán y español’

Funder: Spanish Government (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia-FEDER, HUM2006-01758/FILO, Grant: € 93, 000).

With Pilar Prieto (Principal Investigator, UPF), Eva Estebas (UNED), Teresa Cabré UAB) , Maria del Mar Vanrell (UPF).

Internally-funded projects

2011- 2012 ‘The acquisition of fluency  (intonation, speech rhythm, and the prosody of lexical chunks) by advanced learners of Spanish’

Funder: CREET Small Grant and Strategic Investment, £2000.

2010-2011 ‘Spanish in Second Life’

Funder:  PVC-LTQ budget, The Open University, £3400.

Spanish language and linguistics. For instance, I teach in L204, the OU upper intermediate level course in Spanish. I have taught Spanish linguistics as an Affiliated Lecturer (University of Cambridge) and Spanish language at beginners and intermediate level as an Associated Lecturer (The Open University).