WA Labs

Experimental Phonology and Phonetics Laboratory (EPPL)

EPPL focuses on investigating the intricate relationship between phonetics and phonology, using experimental methods to shed light on how physical speech features underpin phonological representations. Researchers at EPPL explore fundamental questions, such as how to distinguish phonological aspects of speech from non-phonological ones, and where the line between these domains truly lies. Recent studies have examined the role of voice quality in the Polish phonological system and how Polish learners acquire English phonology.

EPPL is more than a research facility – it is a community of phonetics and phonology enthusiasts. The lab fosters collaboration and idea exchange, creating a supportive environment where members and visitors can regularly meet, share insights, and tackle research challenges together.

Head: Prof. Geoffrey Schwartz (geoff@amu.edu.pl)

Speech and Language Processing Laboratory

Established by prof. Katarzyna Dziubalska-Kołaczyk in 2005 as Center for Speech and Language Processing and transformed into Speech and Language Processing Laboratory in 2019. The lab offers help to researchers and students of the Faculty of English in audio and video recording, speech articulation imaging, speech and language data collection and scientific programming. It also provides lighting, live sound and video services for events organized by the Faculty of English, AMU. Audio and video recordings may be conducted in the soundproof anechoic chamber designed as a floating floor box-in-box drywall construction. For speech articulation imaging, electropalatography, optopalatography and electromagnetic articulography may be used. Multimodal data are collected in the form of corpora and processed programmatically to create models for the purpose of research and language pedagogy.

Head: Dr. Grzegorz Krynicki (krynicki@amu.edu.pl)

The Neuroscience of Language Laboratory (NeuroLang)

NeuroLang is an interdisciplinary laboratory in which we use electroencephalography to examine processes and mechanisms engaged in language processing. This method involves recording bioelectrical signals of the brain with 64 active electrodes in real time while participants complete language tasks. The laboratory is equipped with an EEG system, as well as hardware and software dedicated to running experiments and analyzing behavioral and electrophysiological data. Ongoing projects focus on linguistic creativity, the relationship between cognitive control and semantic processing in the native and non-native language, as well as speech processing in bilingual and multilingual speakers.

Head: Dr. Karolina Rataj (krataj@amu.edu.pl)

Eye-tracking Laboratory for Research in Language (EYE-LANG)

Launched in 2021, the EYE-LANG – Eye-tracking Laboratory for Research in Language is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to exploring the intricate relationship between language and eye movement. Equipped with four high-performance eye-trackers, EYE-LANG offers unparalleled precision and versatility for diverse research needs. Two EyeLink 1000 Plus desktop systems are globally recognized as the most accurate video-based eye trackers. These systems seamlessly integrate with EEG, fMRI, MEG, ECoG, and other advanced technologies, expanding possibilities for interdisciplinary research. The EyeLink Portable Duo provides fast and precise data collection for eye-movement studies both in and out of the lab. Additionally, the Tobii Pro Glasses 3, a cutting-edge wearable tracker, ensures reliable eye-tracking while allowing users to move into the real world, freeing participants to act naturally. EYE-LANG Lab’s research projects address vital questions in linguistics, technology, and human behaviour. Current studies include analysing how text translation quality impacts reading behaviour, the influence of AI on simultaneous interpreting, language processing in conference translation, and the reception of taboo language across native and foreign speakers. Another fascinating project explores the differences in how Polish and international tourists perceive Polish museum exhibits and their textual information. EYE-LANG combines advanced tools with innovative research, setting new benchmarks in language studies.

Head: Dr. Agnieszka Lijewska (alijewska@amu.edu.pl)

Psychophysiology of Language and Affect (PoLA) Laboratory

The PoLA lab is a state-of-the-art research facility designed for advanced studies in cognitive neuroscience. It is equipped with a twin setup of 64-channel Biosemi ActiveTwo EEG systems, housed in two separate booths, which enables simultaneous recording of neural activity in dyads during hyperscanning. Main research topics investigated in the PoLA lab include the neural correlates of language, emotion, stereotypes, and creativity in both monolingual and bilingual individuals.

Head: Dr. Rafał Jończyk (rafal.jonczyk@wa.amu.edu.pl)

Language and Communication Laboratory (LCL)

The Language and Communication Laboratory (LCL) at the Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU), is an experimental research facility established in 2011. Its primary goal is to support researchers—both staff and students—in conducting interdisciplinary experimental research focused on language and communication processes. LCL's main objective is to explore and explain the dynamic interactions underlying language and communication processing across phonological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic faculties. The laboratory offers innovative interdisciplinary research assistance, particularly for those at the beginning of their scientific journey (B.A., M.A., and PhD students) who are keen on testing their hypotheses using behavioral experimental methods. LCL provides a behavioral testing room that can run up to eight experiments simultaneously in eight independent, isolated experimental terminals: four booths and four cubicles equipped with hardware and software for real-time visual and auditory stimuli presentation and millisecond-precise data collection. Research at LCL often features interdisciplinary topics at the interface between language and emotions in bilinguals, for instance the Foreign Language Effect, which seeks to explore and explain the differences in linguistic and emotional processes in bilinguals. In addition to collecting and analyzing response times and accuracy rates when bilinguals process emotional language or make moral decisions, the laboratory employs tools such as VR Goggles (Oculus Quest 2) and BIOPAC (MP160 system with EDA and ECG amplifiers) to access physiological processes underpinning the reception and comprehension of verbal messages.

Head: Prof. Katarzyna Bromberek-Dyzman (kabrod@amu.edu.pl)