My main research interest lies in the field of developmental psychology, with an emphasis on language and literacy development. My specific areas of research include second/ foreign language acquisition, language learning anxiety and motivation, and reading development and difficulties. I am particularly interested in investigating how different factors affect language and literacy development (e.g., genetic contribution and home literacy environment) and developing effective methods for facilitating language acquisition in linguistically diverse children (e.g., interactive shared reading and creative literacy activities). My research has involved a range of approaches including behavioural genetics, cognitive and linguistic theories and experimental, longitudinal and intervention designs.