Prof. Anat Prior

Welcome to the website of the Language Laboratory. Our lab is affiliated with the Faculty of Education at the University of Haifa and is headed by Dr. Anat Prior. It is part of the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities and the Department of Learning Disabilities.

We investigate high-level human cognitive functions using experimental psychology, educational research, and electrophysiological approaches (Event-Related Potential Technique - ERP).

Our main courses of research:

• Cognitive consequences of bilingualism
• Second and foreign language learning
• Interactions between first and second language systems
• Minority students' literacy performance
• Reading comprehension in first and second language.
• Individual differences in language learning
• Domain general vs. specific bases of language processing

Our aim is to better characterize and understand the interactions between two languages (or more) in a single neural and cognitive system, and to contribute to the effort to identify the underlying mechanisms leading to individual differences in language learning and processing. Our goal is for this research to foster the development of effective instruction and intervention programs in the domain of foreign language, and programs targeted at minority language students in mainstream education.