UMD Ph.D. Candidate Ruirui Jia Awarded Competitive Language Learning Dissertation Grant

Jia’s eye-tracking study on how second-language readers learn new meanings for familiar words is one of only 10 doctoral projects selected globally.

Ruirui Jia, a Ph.D. candidate in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and Graduate Assistant at the University of Maryland, College Park, has been awarded a dissertation grant from the prestigious Language Learning Dissertation Grant Program. Jia’s project was selected as one of just 10 doctoral research proposals funded worldwide by the journal’s Board of Directors this year.

The grant supports advanced doctoral candidates conducting high-impact research in the language sciences, providing direct funding for essential research expenses such as participant compensation and specialized testing materials.

Jia’s study, titled “Learning new meanings of familiar ambiguous words in context: An eye-tracking study,” addresses a critical gap in second-language (L2) vocabulary research. When people learn a new language, vocabulary growth involves much more than matching a brand-new word form to a single definition. Many common words carry multiple meanings—a feature known as lexical ambiguity. While existing L2 research has focused heavily on how learners acquire primary definitions or memorize word lists using flashcards, very little is known about how readers acquire additional meanings for words they already recognize while reading in context, or how prior vocabulary knowledge affects that process.

To map this learning process in real time, Jia utilizes state-of-the-art eye-tracking technology. By recording moment-by-moment reading behaviors—such as where a reader’s gaze lingers, re-reads, or skips—eye-tracking offers a direct window into underlying cognitive processing without interrupting the natural flow of reading.

Her dissertation centers on two key research questions:

• Word Types in Context: How do learning trajectories and processing patterns differ when readers encounter new meanings for polysemes (words with related meanings, like a tree branch vs. a bank branch), homonyms (words with unrelated meanings, like a flying bat vs. a baseball bat), and completely new words?
• Strength of Prior Knowledge: How does the strength of a learner’s initial connection to a word’s primary meaning influence or interfere with their ability to map on a secondary definition?

In alignment with Language Learning’s commitment to open science, Jia will make her research data and testing materials publicly available in registered open-access archives such as the Open Science Framework (OSF) or IRIS.

By connecting cognitive science with practical reading research, Jia’s findings will advance second-language acquisition theory and equip educators with evidence-based insights to support natural, context-driven vocabulary development.

About Language Learning

Language Learning: A Journal of Research in Language Studies is a premier peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to understanding the fundamental cognitive, neural, and social processes of language learning. Published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Language Learning Research Club at the University of Michigan, the journal sponsors international grant programs to support innovative research across the language sciences.