Saioa Larraza

Saioa Larraza

University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
Department of Language and Literature Didactics
Juan Ibañez San Domingo, 1
01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz
+34 945 014204
Email: saioa.larraza@ehu.eus

 

Saioa Larraza is an Associate Professor at the Department of Language and Literature Didactics of the University of the Basque Country. She has a degree in Basque Philology (2006) and a PhD in Linguistics (2014). She has published studies on L1 and L2 perception in early and late bilinguals, both infants and adults (e.g. Basque-Spanish, Basque-French, English-Italian, etc.), in language variation contexts. Since 2015, she has been teaching language didactics in multilingual and multicultural contexts at the UPV/EHU. Her work combines psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and language didactics, to understand how languages, and specially minority ones, are acquired and processed and, consequently, how they should be taught.

 

Research Interests

Language Acquisition, Bilingualism, Multilingualism, Language Development in Infants, Second/Third Language Learning and Teaching, Phonetics & Phonology, Language Processing, Speech Perception, Spoken Word Recognition.

 

Publications

Publications

Larraza, S. & Diaz-de-Gereñu, L. (2024). Culturally and linguistically diverse practices for teaching students of diverse backgrounds. In L. Veliz (Ed.), Multiculturalism and Multilingualism in Education: Implications for Curriculum, Teacher Preparation and Pedagogical Practice. Brill.

van Ommen, S., Boll-Avetisyan, N., Larraza, S., Wellmann, C., Bijeljac-Babic, R., Höhle. B., & Nazzi, T. (2020). Language-specific prosodic acquisition: A comparison of phrase boundary perception by French- and German-learning infants. Journal of Memory and Language, 112, 104108. ISSN: 0749-596X / E-ISSN: 1096-0821.

Larraza, S., Molnar, M., & Samuel, G. A. (2020). Phonemic contrasts under construction? Evidence from Basque. Infancy, 25(3), 304-318. ISSN: 1525-0008 / E-ISSN: 1532-7078. 

Larraza, S., & Best, C. T. (2018). Differences in phonetic-to-lexical perceptual mapping of L1 and L2 regional accents. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 21(4), 805-825. ISSN: 1366-7289 / E-ISSN: 1469-1841.

Larraza, S., Samuel, A. G., & Oñederra, M. L. (2017). Where do dialectal effects on speech processing come from? Evidence from a cross-dialect investigation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70(1), 92-108. ISSN: 1747-0218 /E-ISSN: 1747-0226. 

Larraza, S., Samuel, A. G., & Oñederra, M. L. (2016). Listening to Accented Speech in a Second Language: First Language and Age of Acquisition Effects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 42(11), 1774-1797. ISSN: 0278-7393 / E-ISSN: 1939-1285. 

Samuel, A. G., & Larraza, S. (2015). Does Listening to Non-Native Speech Impair Native Speech Perception?. Journal of Memory and Language, 81, 51-71. ISSN: 0749-596X / E-ISSN: 1096-0821.  

Larraza, S. (2010). Acquisition of phonology and Spanish-Basque bilinguals’ phonological systems. Actes du Colloque AcquisiLyon – Colloque Jeunes Chercheurs en Acquisition du Langage. 102-105.

 

 

Recent research projects

"Hizkuntzaren irakaskuntza, jabekuntza, eta erabilerak 3. Euskara, erdara, elebitasuna eta eleaniztasuna" (Language Teaching, Acquisition and Uses 3. Basque, Spanish/French, Bilingualism and Multilingualism) [IT-1627-22].

Funding agency: Basque Government

Duration: 01/01/2022-31/12/2025

Principal Investigator: Maria Jose Ezeizabarrena.

"Hizkuntzaren irakaskuntza, jabekuntza, eta erabilerak. Euskara, erdara, elebitasuna eta eleaniztasuna" (Language Teaching, Acquisition and Uses. Basque, Spanish/French, Bilingualism and Multilingualism) [IT-983-16].

Funding agency: Basque Government.

Duration: 01/01/2016-31/12/2021

Principal Investigator: Maria Jose Ezeizabarrena.

"Hizkuntzaren irakaskuntza, jabekuntza, eta erabilerak. Euskara, erdara, elebitasuna eta eleaniztasuna" (Language Teaching, Acquisition and Uses. Basque, Spanish/French, Bilingualism and Multilingualism).

Funding agency: Basque Government.

Duration: 2016-2021

Principal Investigator: Maria Jose Ezeizabarrena.

"Multilevel Prosodic Processing in a Cross-Linguistic Perspective".

Funding agency: Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France).

Duration: 01/04/2014-31/03/2017.

Principal Investigator: Ranka Bijeljac-Babic.

"COEDUCA Project (Cognición y Educación)". 

Funding agency: The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (MINECO).

Duration: 15/12/2008-15/12/2013

Principal Investigator: Manuel Carreiras. (CSD2008-00048).

"El cerebro viaja contigo" (The brain travels with you).

Funding agency: The Spanish Science and Technology Foundation (FECYT).

Duration: 2012 – 2013

Principal Investigator: Manuel Carreiras.

"Conecta tu cerebro" (Connect your brain).

Funding agency: Basque Government. 

Duration: 2012 – 2013

Principal Investigator: Manuel Carreiras.

"Procesamiento de automaticidad de la segunda lengua en bilingües Castellano-Vasco" (Automaticity of Second Language Processing in Spanish-Basque Bilinguals).

Funding agency:  Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government. 

Duration: 2011 – 2013

Principal Investigator: Arthur G. Samuel (PSI 2010-17781).

"Promoción de la cultura científica sobre neurociencia cognitiva y lenguaje en los campus universitarios de Gipuzkoa" (Promoting scientific culture on Cognitive Neuroscience in the campuses of the university in Guipuzcoa).

Funding agency: The Spanish Science and Technology Foundation (FECYT).

Duration: 2011-2012

Principal Investigator: Manuel Carreiras.

"Portal web de divulgación científica sobre Neurociencia Cognitiva y Lenguaje" (Web entrance for the popularization of science on Cognitive Neuroscience and Language).

Funding agency: Department of Education, Universities and Research. Basque Government.

Duration: 2011

Principal Investigator: Manuel Carreiras.

"Schuchardt Project".

Funding agency: Fundation Malvinen-Stiftung, Land Steiemark Government (Austria), Karl-Franzenz Universität Graz (Austria), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Leibniz Preis Küpper), University of the Basque Country, Basque Government.

Duration: 2009

Principal Investigator: Bernhard Hurch.

 

Selected conference and workshop presentations

Larraza, S. & Diaz de Gereñu, L. (2023). “Teacher attitudes towards and practice relating to linguistic diversity: How do we revitalize Basque, the local minority language?”. XIX International Conference on Minority Languages. June 20-23, Carmarthen (UK).

Merino, A. & Larraza, S. (2023). “Arrazakeria eta eskola: nazioarteko ume adoptatuen kasua” [Racism and school: The case of internationally adopted children]. V Congreso Internacional en Inclusion Social y Educativa. June 1-2, Bilbao (Basque Country).

Larraza, S. & Munarriz-Ibarrola, A. (2019). “Elebidun goiztiarrak: nola hauteman, hala ekoitzi?” [Bilingües tempranos: ¿producen tal cual perciben?]. Euskara oinarri eta eleaniztasuna helburu jardunaldiak. October 4-5, Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country).

Larraza, S., Samuel, A., & Molnar, M. (2017). “Diskriminazio fonemikoaren garapena euskara-gaztelania haur elebidunengan” [Desarrollo de la discriminación fonológica en niños bilingües de euskera-castellano]. Hizkuntzalari Euskaldunen III.Topaketa. July 4, Baiona (Basque Country).

Van Ommen, S., Boll-Avetisyan, N., Larraza, S., Wellmann, C., Bijeljac-Babic, R., Höhle, B. & Nazzi, T. (2017). “Language-specific sensitivity to prosodic boundaries. Evidence from French- and German-learning infants”. Workshop on Infant Language Development. June 15-17, Bilbao (Basque Country).

Van Ommen, S., Boll-Avetisyan, N., Larraza, S., Wellmann, C., Bijeljac-Babic, R., Höhle, B. & Nazzi, T. (2017). “Phonetic cues in French prosodic boundaries and infant prosodic processing”. Phonetics and Phonology in Europe conference. June 12-14, Cologne (Germany).

Boll-Avetisyan, N., Larraza, S., Rose, A., Margules, S., Bijeljac-Babic, R., Nazzi, T. & Höhle, B. (2016). "Categorical perception of lexical stress: A cross-linguistic study". Poster presented at the Conference on Laboratory Phonology. July 13-16, New York, US.

Larraza, S., Wellmann, C., Bijeljac-Babic, R., Höhle, B. & Nazzi, T. (2016). "Early prosodic boundary processing: Evidence from French learning infants". Poster presented at the International Conference on Infant Studies. May 26-28, New Orleans, US.

Larraza, S., Molnar, M. & Samuel, A. (2015). "The Development of Phonemic Discrimination in Spanish-Basque Bilingual Infants". Poster presented at the Workshop on Infant Language Development. June 10-12, Stockholm, Sweden.

Larraza, S. & Best, C. (2014). "Regional Accent Variation in the L1 and L2: How do early bilinguals and late L2-learners deal with it?". Spoken presentation given at the Variation in Language Acquisition conference. December 3-5, Grenoble, France.

Larraza, S. (2014). "Hizkuntza eta Burmuinaren Arteko Elkarrizketa" (The Conversation Between Language and Brain). Invited Talk at the 4th Workshop on the Transmission of Basque. May 6, Eibar, Basque Country.

Larraza, S. & Samuel, A.G. (2013). "Do Spanish-Basque and French-Basque Simultaneous Bilinguals Perceive Basque Dialectal Variation Differently?". Poster presented at the Psychonomics Society: Annual Scientific Meeting. November 14-17, Toronto, Canada.

Larraza, S. & Samuel, A.G. (2013). "Perceiving Dialectal Variation in L2: The effect of AoA". Poster presented at the AMLaP -Architectures and Mechanisms for Language Processing- Conference. September 2-4, Marseille, France.

Larraza, S. & Samuel, A.G. (2013). "How is Dialectal Variation Treated by Bilinguals with Different Native Dialects?". Poster presented at the ESCOP Conference. August 29- September 1, Budapest, Hungary.

Samuel, A.G. & Larraza, S. (2012). "Is Listening to Non-Native (L2) Speakers Detrimental to Native (L1) Speakers?". Spoken presentation given at the Psychonomics Society: Annual Scientific Meeting. November 15-18, Minneapolis, US.

Larraza, S. (2012). "Nola Hautematen dute Euskalki Aldagarritasuna Natiboak ez diren Hiztun Trebeek?" (How do Proficient Non-Native Listeners Perceive Dialectal Variation?). Invited Talk at the IKER-CNRS Research Center. March 26, Bayonne, France.

Larraza, S. (2009). "Acquisition of Phonology and Spanish-Basque Bilinguals' Phonological System". Poster presented at Colloque Jeunes Chercheurs en Acquisition du Langage. December 3-4, Lyon, France.