Professor Patrick Rebuschat
Professor of Linguistics and Cognitive ScienceProfile
Ol¨¢! Hallo! I am Professor of Linguistics and Cognitive Science and the Cam?es Institute Chair for Multilingualism and Diversity at Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é.
My research examines the cognitive mechanisms that underpin language learning and processing. I investigate how learners acquire vocabulary, grammar, and speech sounds in additional languages, with particular emphasis on implicit and statistical learning, cross-situational learning, and the relationship between implicit and explicit knowledge.
A central strand of my work concerns the factors that shape language learning. These include individual differences¡ªsuch as memory, auditory and phonological abilities, and musical aptitude¡ªas well as age, language experience, instruction, and properties of linguistic input, including frequency, variability, and salience. My research also addresses bilingual language processing and heritage-language development. I use experimental methods alongside computational and corpus-based approaches where appropriate.
At Lancaster, I have co-directed the Lancaster Language Learning Lab (4L) since 2021 and have co-directed the Multilingualism and Cognition Research Group since 2024. Earlier leadership roles include Coordinator of the Second Language Learning and Teaching (SLLAT) Research Group (2014¨C2024); Co-Director of the NOVA Lancaster Partnership (2018¨C2022); and Director of the Heritage Language 2 Consortium (HL2C) (2018¨C2020), a strategic partnership between the Cam?es Institute and six European universities dedicated to research, teaching, and outreach on Portuguese as a heritage and additional language.
I am equally committed to ensuring that research informs public discussion, policy, and practice. For more than a decade, I have led impact, engagement, and knowledge-exchange activity with policy makers, educators, schools, parents, and multilingual communities. This work brings research on multilingualism and language learning into dialogue with those who shape and experience language education through public lectures, workshops, round tables, outreach programs, and partnerships. It also creates opportunities for community and practitioner perspectives to inform research questions and their real-world application.
My wider leadership and service include Director of Internationalization in Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (2018¨C2023); Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Portuguese Association of Researchers and Students in the UK (PARSUK) (2019¨C2023), supporting scientific diplomacy and collaboration between Portuguese researchers in the UK and institutions in Portugal; and Advisory Board Member of Native Scientist since 2019.
I received my PhD from the University of Cambridge and my BA from the University of Lisbon. Before joining Lancaster, I taught at Georgetown University, Harvard University, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of G?ttingen, and was a Visiting Researcher at the University of Auckland. From 2018 to 2021, I was Distinguished International Professor at the LEAD Graduate School at the University of T¨¹bingen.
Research Overview
I study the cognitive mechanisms involved in learning and processing additional languages. Key interests include implicit and statistical learning; cross-situational learning; and the relationship between implicit and explicit knowledge. I examine how individual differences¡ªespecially memory, auditory and phonological abilities, and musical aptitude¡ªinteract with age, prior language experience, instruction, and features of linguistic input, including frequency, variability, and salience. My research also explores bilingual language processing and heritage-language development. Methodologically, I combine controlled experiments with computational and corpus-based analyses to investigate vocabulary, grammar, and speech-sound learning in diverse learner populations across the lifespan and in varied educational contexts and settings.
For more information, including publications, please visit or the website.
PhD Supervision Interests
My research looks at the following six questions, so I am interested in supervising projects on the following:1. What role do individual differences (e.g., working memory, intelligence, etc.) play in implicit and explicit learning?2. How does explicit knowledge affect implicit learning?3. What is the role of frequency in language acquisition?4. What is the nature of the (implicit) learning mechanism?5. How do we measure implicit and explicit knowledge?6. How are implicit and explicit knowledge represented in the mind and, ultimately, the brain?
Selected Publications
Rebuschat, P., Monaghan, P., Schoetensack, C. 1/01/2021 In: Cognition. 206, 10 p.
Journal article
Rebuschat, P. 1/08/2022 In: The cognitive unconscious. Oxford : Oxford University Press ISBN: 9780197501573. Electronic ISBN: 9780197650332.
Chapter
Williams, J., Rebuschat, P. 21/12/2022 In: The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Psycholinguistics. London : Routledge ISBN: 9780367893767. Electronic ISBN: 9781003018872.
Chapter
Monaghan, P., Ruiz, S., Rebuschat, P. 30/03/2021 In: Second Language Research. 37, 2, p. 261-289. 29 p.
Journal article
Walker, N., Monaghan, P., Schoetensack, C., Rebuschat, P. 15/06/2020 In: Language Learning. 70, S2, p. 221-254. 34 p.
Journal article
Rebuschat, P. 09/2013 In: Language Learning. 63, 3, p. 595¨C626. 32 p.
Journal article
Rebuschat, P., Williams, J.N. 10/2012 In: Applied Psycholinguistics. 33, 4, p. 829-856. 28 p.
Journal article
All Publications
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01/10/2026 → 30/09/2028
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01/01/2024 → 31/12/2025
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01/10/2023 → 31/12/2026
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01/01/2023 → 01/08/2024
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16/12/2022 → ¡
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01/11/2022 → 31/07/2023
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01/11/2022 → 01/10/2023
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01/10/2022 → 30/09/2023
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01/09/2022 → 31/08/2024
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31/01/2019 → 31/10/2019
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01/01/2018 → 03/05/2021
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01/06/2014 → 01/07/2024
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01/02/2013 → 31/07/2018
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01/01/1900 → ¡
Research
Oral presentation
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Participation in conference - Academic
Participation in conference - Academic
Invited talk
Invited talk
Invited talk
Invited talk
Invited talk
Oral presentation
Invited talk
Oral presentation
Oral presentation
Invited talk
Invited talk
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Invited talk
Invited talk
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Visiting an external academic institution
Visiting an external academic institution
Invited talk
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Publication peer-review
Publication peer-review
Publication peer-review
Invited talk
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Invited talk
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Invited talk
Invited talk
Invited talk
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Invited talk
Publication peer-review
Publication peer-review
- Language Learning Research Lab
- Multilingualism and Cognition Research Group