About Julia Hofweber

Julia is an Assistant Professor in Cognitive Psychology at Northeastern University London. Julia’s research interests are wide, but she is primarily interested in the cognitive processes underlying language acquisition and language selection in multilinguals. In her PhD, she investigated the effects of bilingualism on cognition, focusing on the question of whether frequent switching between languages (code-switching) had the potential to enhance bilinguals’ executive functions. The project was funded by the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading. In her postdoc, Julia conducted research about the acquisition of sign languages, notably implicit learning processes, as part of a project funded by the Leverhulme trust and hosted by the Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL (PI: Prof. Chloë Marshall).

Julia Hofweber's Research

Julia is involved in several bilingualism-related research projects. In an ongoing NU-funded “Tier 1” project, Julia explores visual statistical learning processes in the context of sign language, comparing experienced signers to sign language novices (PIs: Hofweber & Qi). Moreover, Julia is a co-investigator on a project that explores the potential impact of different code-switching patterns on creativity and executive functions in Turkish-English bilinguals, funded by the Centre of Literacy and Multilingualism, University of Reading (PI: Prof. Treffers-Daller). In addition, Julia is PI of a small project grant investigating the cognitive processes underlying language switching in (Bengali-English) bilinguals with aphasia, with the aim of teasing apart typical and atypical switching. The project is funded by the IOE International Fund supporting collaborations with the Global South, and conducted in collaboration with Dr. Arpita Bose, University of Reading, and Prof. Niladri Dash, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. Julia is also PI of a project exploring multi-modal translanguaging involving sign languages and visual forms of communication, funded by the UCL Research Culture Award. Finally, Julia is comparing pilot research into the similarities and differences between human- versus machine-generated code-switching. Julia’s current NU-funded PhD supervision includes a project on how theory of mind and decoding strategies influence literacy development, comparing individuals who are DHH versus individuals diagnosed with ASD (PhD candidate: Lizzy Aumônier).

Selected Publications

Hofweber, J., Aumônier, L., Janke, V., Gullberg, M., & Marshall, C. (2024. Accepted final revisions) .Can sign-naïve adults learn about the phonological regularities of an unfamiliar sign language from minimal exposure? Language Development Research. TBC

Janke, V., Aumonier, L., Hofweber, J., Gullberg, M., & Marshall, C. (2024). From gesture to Sign?: An exploration of the effects of communicative pressure, interaction and time on the process of conventionalization. Linguistics. TBC

Graham, S., Zhang, P., Hofweber, J., Fisher, L., & Krüsemann, H. (2024). Second language vocabulary learning outcomes from different text types and teaching approaches. The Modern Language Journal. in print

Hofweber, J., Aumônier, L., Janke, V., Gullberg, M., & Marshall, C. (2023). Which aspects of visual motivation aid the implicit learning of signs at first exposure?. Language Learning, 73(S1), 33-63.

Hofweber, J., & Jaworska, S. (2022). Polite impoliteness? How power, gender and language background shape request strategies in English as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF) in corporate email exchanges. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 11(2), 223-253.

Hofweber, J., Zeller, J.-P., Treffers-Daller, J. (2023). Editorial: Challenging basic assumptions about code-switching. Languages, 8(1), 70.

Hofweber, J., & Marinis, T. (2023). What Sentence Repetition Tasks Can Reveal about the Processing Effort Associated with Different Types of Code-Switching. Languages, 8(1), 70

Hofweber, J. E., Aumonier, L., Janke, V., Gullberg, M., & Marshall, C. (2022). Breaking Into Language in a New Modality: The Role of Input and Individual Differences in Recognising Signs. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 895880. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.895880

Treffers-Daller, J., Ruigendijk, E., & Hofweber, J. (2021). Editorial: Behavioral and Neurophysiological Approaches to Code-Switching and Language Switching. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 660695. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.660695

Hofweber, J. (2021). Evidence for executive function advantages in low SES bilingual children. But why do they arise? A commentary on Grote, Scott and Gilger (2021). First Language. doi:10.1177/01427237211028678

Hofweber, J., Marinis, T., & Treffers-Daller, J. (2020). Experimentally Induced Language Modes and Regular Code-Switching Habits Boost Bilinguals’ Executive Performance: Evidence From a Within-Subject Paradigm. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.542326

Treffers-Daller, J., Ongun, Z., Hofweber, J., & Korenar, M. (2020). Explaining Individual Differences in Executive Functions Performance in Multilinguals: The Impact of Code-Switching and Alternating Between Multicultural Identity Styles. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 561088. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.561088

Hofweber, J., Marinis, T., & Treffers-Daller, J. (2020). How different code-switching types modulate bilinguals’ executive functions-a dual control mode perspective. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. doi:10.1017/S1366728919000804

Hofweber, J., Marinis, T., & Treffers-Daller, J. (2019). Predicting executive functions in bilinguals using ecologically valid measures of code-switching behaviour. In I. A. Sekerina, L. Spradlin, V. Valian (Eds.), Bilingualism, Executive Functions, and Beyond. Questions and Insights. Benjamins.

Hofweber, J., & Graham, S. (2018). Linguistic creativity in language learning: Investigating the impact of creative text materials and teaching approaches in the second language classroom. Scottish Languages Review. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.5925100

Hofweber, J., Marinis, T., & Treffers-Daller, J. (2016). Effects of dense code-switching on executive control. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 6 (5), 648-668. doi:10.1075/lab.15052.hof

Balasubramanian, A., Hofweber, J., & Bose, A. (n.d.). Double-dissociation in Noun and Verb Production in Bilingual Aphasia. Presented at: Academy of Aphasia 56th Annual meeting, null.
doi:10.3389/conf.fnhum.2018.228.00039