Dr. Ana I. Schwartz

Ana I. Schwartz

My research focuses on the cognitive nature of bilingual and multilingual language processing. I am particularly interested in the cognitive processes that underlie word identification in reading, and how these processes are influenced by the interactive activation of lexical information from a bi (multi)-lingual’s multiple languages. I use a combination of methods in my work, including eye-tracking and computer response tasks. For example, now that it has been firmly established that bilinguals co-activate word representations across their languages in an automatic way, in our lab we want to know if this co-activation has an influence on overall comprehension. In one recent study (Lauro & Schwartz, 2019) we demonstrated that cross-language activation of cognate words (translations that are identical or very similar in word form like hero/heroe in English and Spanish) allows bilingual readers to more easily link pronouns in a sentence to the nouns they refer to. Currently we are conducting a set of studies to examine if cognate co-activation influences comprehension and memory of text passages as a whole. We also want to understand the specific mechanism through which cognate co-activation exerts an effect on comprehension. Is it based on co-activated lexical form such as orthography and phonology? Or is it based on stronger activation of the underlying concept of the cognate word?

UTEP Faculty Profile

Sample Publications:

Lauro, J.G., Schwartz, A.I., & Francis, W. (2020). Bilingual novel word learning in sentence context. The Journal of Memory and Language, 113, 104-123.

Lauro, J.G., & Schwartz, A.I. (2019). Cognate effects on anaphoric processing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 43(3),381-396.

Lauro, J.G. & Schwartz, A.I. (2017). Bilingual non-selective lexical access in sentence contexts: A meta-analytic review. The Journal of Memory and Language, 92, 217-233.

Schwartz, A.I., *Mendoza, L.E. & Meyer, B.J.F. (2013). The impact of text structure reading strategy instruction in a second language: Benefits across languages. The Journal of Language Learning DOI: 10.080/09571736.2013.837092

Arêas da Luz Fontes, A.B. & Schwartz, A.I. (2011). Working memory influences on cross-language activation during bilingual lexical disambiguation. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 14, 360-370.

Schwartz, A. I., Kroll, J.F. (2006). Bilingual lexical activation in sentence context. Journal of Memory and Language, 55, 197-212.