16 April 2012
Dr Talia Isaacs
Dr Talia Isaacs has been awarded €100,000 for a four-year European Commission-funded FP7 Marie Curie Career Integration Grant to investigate different facets of listeners’ understanding of second language (L2) speech.
Image by Dave Pratt
The overall goal is to examine how communicative efficiency is mediated by listener perceptual and attitudinal variables, particularly in settings where the stakes for achieving successful oral communication are high.
Dr Isaacs comments: “The overall goal is to examine how communicative efficiency is mediated by listener perceptual and attitudinal variables, particularly in settings where the stakes for achieving successful oral communication are high. Ultimately, identifying the factors that are most important for achieving effective cross-cultural communication will elucidate ways of reducing communication barriers and fostering the social integration of newcomers into society.”
During the tenure of the grant, Dr Isaacswill establish a fully-equipped speech laboratory, designed to elicit, edit, rate, and analyse professional quality L2 speech samples and to train research students in methods for measuring and evaluating speech. This state-of-the-art facility, coupled with the introduction of a new mandatory Second Language Pronunciation and Fluency EdD unit that Dr Isaacs has spearheaded (one of the first such doctoral-level units on offer in the world), will put the University of Bristol at the cutting-edge of research and teaching developments in this area.
Dr Isaacs joined the Graduate School of Education in 2011 from Canada, bringing with her strategic international ties. The FP7 Marie Curie Career Integration Grant is designed to promote the attraction and retention of experienced researchers to Europe by facilitating their integration at a host institution in an EU member state, thereby bolstering European competitivity in the global knowledge economy.
Find out more about Dr Talia Isaacs
Find out more about our Doctor of Education (EdD)
