I am a researcher interested in how we acquire linguistic knowledge and how language experience supports learning across domains and throughout life. I am particularly curious about the shift from language as a goal in early development to language as a tool for thinking and learning later on, and how this shift shapes language use and knowledge acquisition. Much of my work focuses on word learning and reading, and within these themes my interests include how prior knowledge guides new learning, how learning mechanisms evolve across the lifespan, and how they adapt to different settings and instructional conditions. I draw on tools from cognitive science, neuroscience, and corpus linguistics in my research. A central aim of my work is to help design instruction that helps learning take off, rather than getting in the way.
I am currently a Vice-Chancellor’s Research Prize Fellow (tenure-track) in the Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment at Aston University. Previously, I was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Rastle lab at Royal Holloway, University of London. I completed my PhD at Macquarie University and University of Potsdam through the IDEALAB PhD programme.
I have a strong interest in applied statistics and care deeply about open science and healthy research culture. I am also passionate about making research accessible and involving diverse voices into research to drive positive change. If you’re an educator, parent, or policymaker interested in collaborating, I’d love to hear from you!
Contact
m [dot] korochkina [at] aston [dot] ac [dot] uk