Thanks to the participants, and to all our collaborators in @UCLanguageLab, esp. co-authors @FrancescoCabid1, Harriet Hill-Payne, Quitterie d’Estalenx, @Ed_Donnellan, @Yan__Gu & @vigliocco_g, for their work on this huge task! Please do drop by on Friday to find out more! (8/8)

This suggests that multimodal communication – and the physical context of face-to-face communication – matters for learning in the real world, though perhaps in some unexpected ways… (7/8)

We found that the Teachers’ multimodal cues predicted learning above linguistic factors alone, as well as some intriguing main and interaction effects across all levels of our model: Learners’ cognitive differences, and both Teachers’ linguistic and multimodal behaviours. (6/8)

We measured Learner characteristics and properties of Teachers’ linguistic output and use of several multimodal cues. Then we tested Learners’ recall of semantic information about the objects (and their names – see @FrancescoCabid1's talk on Thurs!) (5/8) https://t.co/g6VnJGRuuK

To see how these cues impact learning in naturalistic communication, where they occur spontaneously and together, we used the ECOLANG corpus ( https://t.co/H8V5cOdi8o): 33 40-minute conversations in which a participant (Teacher) explains 12 new objects to a friend (Learner). (4/8)

Face-to-face communication is multimodal. Speech is accompanied by multiple behaviours across modalities – e.g., gesture, pointing, gaze, prosodic modulation – which combine to shape speakers’ messages, potentially influencing what and how their conversation partners learn. (3/8)

Object concept acquisition is often studied in development, or in formal education settings. But it occurs continually throughout the lifespan, often during informal face-to-face communication with friends or family. (2/8)

How do adult speakers’ use of multimodal behaviours influence others’ semantic learning in naturalistic face-to-face communication? This Friday at 2.15pm I’ll be presenting our paper explaining how ( https://t.co/NTIDLYp7Es) at @cogsci_soc in Rotterdam (T.31.02) – join me! (1/8)

What do teachers do to boost adult word learning in real-world settings? Join our @cogsci_soc talk (Thu, 2.15, T.10.01) by @UCLanguageLab to find out! See paper: https://t.co/8acwJvqEF9 (1/6)

Nick Papadimitriou would *strongly* disagree.

Tomaz Salamun forever. 🖤

Remembering flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía, born on this day in 1947 in Algeciras, Cádiz, Spain. Here he is performing “Bulerías” on Spanish television in 1973.

Huge thank you to participants to the 1st Multimodal Language Corpora Workshop! Looking forward to the 2nd in Marseille! @Adinseg

This is absolutely appalling. We simply CANNOT have a ‘world class university system’ if we deny permanent academics the possibility of having their small children join them. The Home Office… https://t.co/hvaHcmaylt

The best we can currently say is that we—each of us as individuals—are self-sustaining patterns that become imposed on matter.

"To be a part of the universe that gets to spin for a time, and to create a unique pocket of meaning: That is indeed something to be grateful for..." Just as @philipcball uncovered a new way to understand life, he received some news about his own: https://t.co/xD7hjzidMg

Ashbery and poet Farida Majid winning the 1970s with this amazing snap.

*Pls Repost* If you are interested in a career in language research and have data science skills, join the Lab! We have an opening for a Research Data Analyst. Details here:

the stuff that the UK does that the world likes, and that actually make money -- university education, art, music -- is the stuff they are actively destroying because people with mortgages find them annoying

“We know the equations for human behavior”… 😂