Jan Edwards joined the University of Maryland Fall of 2016 as a faculty member in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences and she also serves as an Associate Director of the Maryland Language Science Center. Her research centers on how preschool-aged children learn the sounds and words of language, how this relates to language skills, literacy and school success. She investigates how children learn to talk with a wide range of language experiences - multiple languages, cochlear implants, autism spectrum disorders, and mainstream and nonmainstream dialects of English. One of her current grants is the UMD Toggle Talk Project, a randomized control trial of a dialect shifting curriculum for kindergarten and first grade children in the Baltimore City Public Schools.
Areas of Interest
- Language acquisition
- Phonological acquisition
- Speech and language processing
- Language diversity and dialect shifting
- Speech perception and production
- Language disorders
- Cochlear implants
Degrees
-
Ph.DSpeech & Hearing Science, Graduate Center, CUNY, 1985
-
MSLinguistics, MIT, 1981
-
BAEnglish Literature, Barnard College, 1980
| Course Name | Course Title | Semester | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|
| HESP620 | Speech Production Disorders Across the Lifespan | Spring 2022 | |
| HESP601 | Foundations of Scientific Inquiry | Spring 2022 | |
| HESP620 | Speech Production Disorders Across the Lifespan | Spring 2021 | |
| HESP601 | Foundations of Scientific Inquiry | Spring 2021 | |
| HESP620 | Speech Production Disorders Across the Lifespan | Spring 2020 | |
| HESP601 | Foundations of Scientific Inquiry | Spring 2020 | |
| HESP620 | Speech Production Disorders Across the Lifespan | Spring 2019 | |
| HESP601 | Foundations of Scientific Inquiry | Spring 2019 | |
| HESP818G | Language and Poverty: Beyond the Word Gap | Fall 2018 | Syllabus |
| HESP620 | Speech Production Disorders Across the Lifespan | Spring 2018 | Syllabus |
| HESP620 | Speech Production Disorders Across the Lifespan | Spring 2017 |
My research aims to better understand various aspects of language development such as the interactions between vocabulary growth and phonological acquisition, cross-linguistic phonological acquisition, and the impact of dialect mismatch on academic achievement. My research focuses on both typical and atypical language development (including the language development of children with cochlear implants or autism spectrum disorders). Although most adults take the ability to speak for granted, children who are learning language must acquire and synthesize a complex system of sounds, words, and social understanding. Doing so competently supports future language development, reading ability, and academic achievement. Learning to Talk describes my research on typically developing children and children with cochlear implants. Little Listeners describes my research on children with autism spectrum disorders. One of my current grants is the UMD Toggle Talk Project, a randomized control trial of a dialect shifting curriculum for kindergarten and first grade children in the Baltimore City Public Schools.Downloadable publications are available on these websites.
-
CampusAssociate Director, Maryland Language Science Center
-
CampusCo-director, HESP seminar series
-
CampusAcademic Faculty Advisor, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity clinical track
Current Students
Former Students
-
Benjamin Munson (Ph.D., 2000)Professor, University of MN
-
Shurita Thomas-Tate (Ph.D., 2002)Associate Professor, Missouri State University
-
Asimina Syrika (Ph.D., 2009)Speech Language Pathologist, Roseville Area Schools
-
Hyunju Chung (Ph.D., 2010)Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University
