Cognitive Neuroscience of Individual Differences in Adult Language Learning: Future Directions

We are pleased to announce the 2025 Language Learning roundtable conference entitled “Cognitive neuroscience of individual differences in adult language learning: Future directions” (CogNeuroIDALL) to be held on May 22-23, 2025, at the University of Illinois Chicago.

This conference brings together linguists, psychologists, and cognitive neuroscientists who share an interest in individual differences in adult second/additional language learning and processing, with a focus on evidence from cognitive neuroscience.

Nine keynote speakers will speak in three sessions focused on (a) linguistic and cognitive individual differences, (b) individual differences stemming from social, cultural, and environmental factors, and (c) biological and genetic individual differences. The keynote speakers are (in alphabetical order):

Dr. Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim (Early Career Keynote; University of Manitoba)
Dr. Alison Gabriele (University of Kansas)
Dr. Sarah Grey (Fordham University)
Dr. Arturo Hernandez (University of Houston)
Dr. Christos Pliatsikas (University of Reading)
Dr. Chantel Prat (University of Washington)
Dr. Debra Titone (McGill University)
Dr. Michael Ullman (Georgetown University)
Dr. Patrick Wong (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

This conference is sponsored by the Language Learning journal. We expect the speakers to identify and present new and exciting evidence on why adult individuals vary in how they learn and process new languages, in preparation for a special issue in Language Learning’s Cognitive Neuroscience Series.

For questions, please contact the organizers and Co-Editors of the Cognitive Neuroscience Series of Language Learning: Dr. Kara Morgan-Short (karams@uic.edu; University of Illinois Chicago) and Dr. Janet van Hell (jgv3@psu.edu; Pennsylvania State University).

We appreciate the UIC Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience, and the School of Literatures, Cultural Studies, and Linguistics for co-sponsoring the roundtable conference.