Congratulations to UNBC Psychology Graduate Student Olga (Leah) Prudnikova, who has been awarded a BC Graduate Scholarship valued at $15,000. With a background in applied linguistics, and experience teaching foreign languages to students across age groups and cultural backgrounds on three different continents, Prudnikova plans to conduct formal research on second-language acquisition and foreign language aptitude. Working under supervisor Dr. William Owen, she would like to investigate the most efficient learning techniques for both children and adults, and the practical implications of developing effective methods of acquiring a second language.

 

After completing her graduate coursework in 2020-21, Prudnikova will be taking on new lab techniques, learning EEG procedures and analyses under Dr. Heath Matheson. Previous research has discovered a neural component explaining more than half a person's foreign language learning rate, however that research has been flawed. Prudnikova will be using her new techniques to expand this research and address its flaws and limitations.