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English Department

Simone E. Pfenninger

Simone E. Pfenninger, Prof. Dr.

  • Full Professor for English Linguistics
Room number
PLH 204

Research Interests

  • The age factor in second language acquisition (SLA) 
  • Lifespan perspectives of language learning 
  • Speech and language disorders 
  • Multilingualism inside and outside the classroom 
  • Cognitive mechanisms driving language change  
  • Causal and mechanism theories of explanation

About Me

I am Professor of English Linguistics in the English Department. Before coming to Zurich in August 2022, I was Associate Professor of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and Psycholinguistics at the University of Salzburg, Austria. I received my PhD in English historical linguistics in 2009 (UZH) and obtained my habilitation in 2016 (also from the UZH) in the area of SLA. My work has addressed a wide range of topics related to variationist SLA, multilingualism and psycholinguistics, with a focus on quantitative research methods and statistics. My teams and I study how effective early versus late foreign language instruction is, bilingual education in schools, the impact of occupational and educational life-course transitions on patterns in English language use and learning, language learning in people with specific learning differences (such as dyslexia), and how well older adults learn new languages and the benefits they gain from it. 

I edit the Second Language Acquisition book series published by Multilingual Matters, and currently serve as Past President of the International Association of Multilingualism IAM and as Vice President of the European Second Language Association EuroSLA.  

  • Research awards: 
  1. 2018 Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Prize for outstanding research 
  2. 2015 Mercator Award for outstanding scientific achievements of young researchers 
  • Journal article awards: 
  1. 2021 Top Cited Article in the Modern Language Journal 
  2. 2021 Roger W. Shuy Best Paper prize, American Speech  
  3. 2020 Winner of the "Best of MLJ 2020" (The Modern Language Journal
  4. 2020 The Modern Language Journal Research Article Award  
  5. 2020 Top Downloaded Article in the International Journal of Applied Linguistics 
  6. 2018 Best Article Prize (European Second Language Association) 

Recent Activities

In the longitudinal VARIAGE project (Website), we explore for the first time if retiring from work is also linked to notable changes in adults’ communication skills, second language abilities and overall cognitive function and wellbeing (and if yes when). Additionally, we investigate how second language development affects individual differences in mental, social, emotional, and motivational factors during this transition period. Understanding how language learning and other activities before and after retirement impact cognitive health is crucial, given recent votes on raising the statutory retirement age across various European countries as well as the necessity to develop new and satisfying retirement and leisure roles. 

This project receives support from: 

- VELUX Stiftung (Project website)

- UZH Foundation (Project website

- “Giving Back Initiative der UZH Foundation” 

- Bohny Stiftung 

- Kerscher und Avenira Stiftung 

Upcoming symposium:  

“Nightmare on ILM Street: Intensive Longitudinal Methods from a Quantitative and Qualitative Perspective” (8–9 July 2025) 

English Department, University of Zurich, Switzerland 

Teaching (sample)

“The mind behind language change” AS 2024
“Chunking” SS 2024
“Speech and language disorders” SS 2023
“Language learning across the lifespan” AS 2022)
“Introduction to Neurolinguistics”

AS 2029

Teaching awards: 

2024 Shortlisted for the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching, University of Zurich 

2022 "Excellence in Teaching Award", University of Salzburg 

2022 "Best Teacher Award" (English Department), University of Salzburg 

2017 Nominated for the University Teaching Award at the University of Salzburg  

2013 Shortlisted for the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching, University of Zurich 

Recently supervised theses (sample)

  • PhD thesis, “Similar wording, similar perception? A cognitive linguistic study of food labels” (Tamara Johnson; AS 2024) 

  • PhD thesis, “Inter- and intra-individual variation in adult L2 sociolinguistic repertoires: Dynamics of linguistic, socioaffective and cognitive factors” (Mason Wirtz; SS 2023) 

  • PhD thesis, “New languages and old brains: A dynamic approach to language learning in third age” (Maria Kliesch; AS 2021) 

I supervise BA, MA and PhD theses in the following areas: 

  • Second language acquisition across the lifespan 

  • Psycholinguistics 

  • Multilingualism inside and outside the classroom 

  • Language change from a cognitive perspective 

See my full bio at https://www.simonepfenninger.eu/