Contact Information
707 S. Mathews Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
Biography
Laura D. Cummings Ruiz is a third-year PhD student in Spanish Linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her research interests include second language acquisition, heritage language acquisition, phonology/phonetics, and Spanish-English translation. She has taught Spanish courses at the undergraduate level for four years. Additionally, Laura has completed the Certificate in Translation Studies from UIUC and works as a freelance Spanish-English translator.
Research Interests
Second Language Acquisition
Heritage Language Acquisition
Child Language Acquisition
Phonology/Phonetics
Bilingualism
Psycholinguistics
Spanish-English Translation
Research Description
Laura´s research interests include second language acquisition, heritage language acquisition, phonology/phonetics, and Spanish-English translation. Her Master´s thesis investigated the comprehension of Spanish-accented English by native speakers of English in order to determine how second language transfer affects language processing and perception.
Her PhD research focuses on the production of English and Spanish by heritage speakers of Spanish in order to determine whether these individuals demonstrate a unique phonology when compared to native speakers and second language learners of each language.
Education
Bachelor of Science (Dual Major) in Psychology & Spanish, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Master of Arts in Spanish Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (in progress)
Grants
Department of Spanish & Portuguese Travel Grant
Department of Spanish & Portuguese Summer Fellowship
FLAS Summer Fellowship
Awards and Honors
FLAS Summer Fellowship (2017)
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students (Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018)
Department of Spanish & Portuguese Summer Fellowship (2018, 2019)
Courses Taught
SPAN 122: Intensive Elementary Spanish
SPAN 130: Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 142: Spanish in the Professions
SPAN 200: Readings in Hispanic Texts
SPAN 228: Spanish Composition
SPAN 303: Sounds of Spanish
SPAN 307: Bilingualism
Language Academy for Children
Highlighted Publications
Journal Articles
Cummings Ruiz, Laura D North Midland /u/-fronting and its Effect on Heritage Speakers of Spanish Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Melbourne, Australia 2019.