Child Language Lab

Our research is focused on speech, language and emerging literacy development of young children, especially those who are developing bilingually and in children with hearing loss. Our work has direct implications for clinical and educational practice.

Our studies are funded by the Australian Research Council, the National Health Medical Research Council, the NSW Department of Education, and Philanthropic sources. We have state-of-the-art production and perception facilities, including fixed and mobile eye-tracking systems.

Learn more about our range of ongoing studies, below, some of which are actively recruiting participants.

Supporting language development in children with hearing loss

Currently recruiting participants: Understanding your baby's language journey from early childhood.

Working with National Acoustic Laboratories, we are exploring how the speech your baby hears in their early childhood may shape their communication abilities. Join us for a relaxed Nap & Play visit, where we observe your natural interaction during a free-play session and measure your baby's brain responses to speech during a nap.

We are currently welcoming families with babies under two years old, with or without hearing loss, to join us. In the future, we hope to extend this invitation to older children and teenagers, building a complete picture of how language develops across childhood.

If you are interested, please contact Jessi (qianxi.yu@students.mq.edu.au) to learn more or book a visit. You are also warmly welcome to join our newsletter, where you'll find more ways to support your baby's growth and contribute to research that helps children everywhere.

Supporting bilingual education

Australia faces a critical shortage of Asian language skills, with fewer than one in 100 NSW students studying Chinese at HSC level. We are developing an innovative and scalable language learning program, starting with Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), that reimagines how young Australians engage with language learning.

Replacing traditional textbooks with popular culture, bilingual STEM content, and AI-powered tools, lessons are delivered bilingually using both English and Chinese to build language skills and cultural understanding through content that resonates with young learners.

Co-designed with a diverse advisory board of educators and parents, we are designing curriculum materials for students, online professional development modules to train and upskill teachers and building a digital platform to host everything. Built for scale, the program will be accessible to teachers across Australia and adaptable to other languages and communities nationwide – contributing to a generation of bilingual, Asia-capable young Australians and strengthening Australia's regional ties for the future.

Communicating meaning

When we speak, we shape meaning with invisible punctuation, through pauses, rhythm, pitch and loudness. For example, a pause can help the listener tell the difference between a "greenhouse" (for plants) and a "green house" (a house that's painted green). We can also emphasis what's important, like saying "I want the RED cup" so we don't get the blue one. These vocal cues are called prosody.

For Mandarin speakers, mastering these cues is uniquely demanding as pitch plays two roles at once. It is essential for distinguishing word meanings (for example, changing the tone of a word can completely change words) but it is also used to express emphasis, emotion and intent.

For Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants, separating these overlapping layers of sound can be particularly challenging. While implants are remarkable devices that provide access to sound, they do not fully capture the fine details of speech, especially subtle changes in pitch.

Our research focuses on how these children learn to use prosodic cues to understand and express meaning. By better understanding this process, we can help parents, educators and speech-language pathologists provide more targeted support – helping children avoid everyday misunderstandings, follow conversations more easily and express themselves with confidence.

Academic lab members:

• Professor Katherine Demuth (language acquisition expert)
• Dr Nan Xu Rattanasone (speech, language and hearing lead)
• Dr Iain Giblin (syntax and writing lead)
• Dr Rebecca Holt (language and processing expert)
• Dr Jane Man-Yu Lai (bi and multilingualism expert)

Student lab members:

• Andy Morrison (PhD candidate)
• Mitchell Robinson (PhD candidate)
• Dr Feng Xu (PhD candidate)
• Qianxi (Jessi) Yu (PhD candidate)
• Emily Chen (postgraduate research assistant)
• Kayla Josephine Wibowo (undergraduate research intern)

Affiliated members and collaborators:

• Dr Titia Benders
• Professor Felicity Cox
• Dr Jae-Hyun Kim
• Dr Loes Koring
• Associate Professor Michael Proctor
• Associate Professor Ping Tang
• Dr Chi Lo

Past members:

• Rosanne Abrahamse (PhD graduate)
• Dr Laurence Bruggeman (postdoctoral fellow)
• Dr Thembi Dube (PhD graduate)
• Professor Stephen Crain
• Professor Jason Hollowell
• Dr Margaret Ryan (research assistant)
• Professor Rosalind Thornton