Current Projects:


Title of project Restrictions on participants OK for 300-level and higher courses? OK for ELI? Main Activity Location for participation Sign up Researcher
Vocabulary and Productive Language Skills in Korean Learners of Korean; (1) who have completed KOR 101 or equivalent (including self study learners and learners who took Korean outside of UH), (2) with Korean speaking ability at the novice level of proficiency or above, and (3) with Korean typing (writing) ability at the novice level of proficiency or above. yes no Speaking and writing in Korean Zoom meeting with the researcher and online experiment (90 minutes in total) Sign up Leeseul Park
Korean and English word tasks We are looking for: 1) speakers who grew up in a Korean-speaking country or home, and/or 2) heritage/second language learners of Korean who are taking or have taken KOR 301 level or higher yes yes Reading aloud words and deciding whether words are words or not Moore Hall 264 or Hamilton Library Sign up Sunhee Kim Fujii
Listening to Korean Sentences Non-native speakers of Korean: (1) Your native language needs to be either English or Japanese. (2) You should be at an intermediate or higher proficiency level in Korean (i.e., you have either completed the first year of Korean or above, or you could be placed into one of these courses). yes no listening to sentences and answering comprehension questions online Sign up Youngin Lee
Speaking Filipino Learners (any level) and speakers of Filipino yes no Speak in Filipino about a common topic and repeat some Filipino sentences Spalding Hall 454 or fully online (your choice) Sign up Ces Jocson
The connections between Pidgin and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Attended high school in Hawaiʻi; must be a speaker of basic Hawaiian (at least HAW 102 completed or equivalent; HWST alone is not sufficient) and Pidgin yes no Identify words you hear online Sign up Michelle Kamigaki-Baron
Understanding Japanese: An eye-tracking study We are looking for two groups of people: 1) second language learners of Japanese, JPN 202 level or higher 2) people who grew up in Hawaii/the US in a home where at least one parent spoke Japanese and who can understand basic spoken Japanese (Ok if you fit both profiles!) yes no listen to simple sentences in Japanese and click on pictures Tracker Lab (Moore 427) Sign up Theres Grüter
Rating the pronunciation of newly acquired English words Speakers of English as a first language yes no Scalar ratings of vocabulary items (for accentedness and comprehensibility) Online Sign up Dustin Crowther
Speaking Skills and TOEFL Essentials International students whose first language is not English. HELP, ELI, exchange, undergraduate, and graduate students welcome yes yes Complete 2 speaking tasks in a lab and complete the TOEFL Essentials exam at home Moore 472 Sign up Dan Isbell
Reading English short stories Open to all 1 yes Reading English stories and answering simple questions Online On hold Baorui Xu
Linguistic Variation and Processing Open to All 1 yes Listen to speakers describe events on a screen and select images Moore 162 or Moore 264 On hold Olivia Bianchini

To sign up for a project, see the instructions on the “Information for Students” page. Remember, you must be 18 years or older to participate. We strive to ensure that at least one project per semester will be open to everyone. If you aren’t eligible now or are not interested in the current options, please check back later in the semester.

Additional Notes about Research Participation for Students

  • The researcher is required to describe the activity and get your consent to participate before you begin. Ask the researcher to explain anything you don’t understand about the activity.
  • This is an opportunity for you to learn more about research in linguistics, and the careers of researchers in language studies. Feel free to ask the researcher questions such as how they became interested in this topic!
  • At the end of the study, the researcher will provide you with a summary and explainer of their project. You can use this to help you answer questions on the Project Participation Questionnaire, but please do not share it with other students. Be sure to ask the researcher questions if you do not understand the value or purpose of the study, or how it relates to your class.