Alice Chan

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ABOUT

Dr Alice H.D. Chan investigates how people learn and use language from early childhood through later life. Using behavioural experiments and brain imaging, her work examines the cognitive and neural mechanisms supporting bilingualism, biliteracy, language learning, and speech perception. She has led multiple nationally funded projects, including Ministry of Education AcRF Tier-2 awards (on ageing; early literacy), a Social Science Research Council Thematic Grant on early biliteracy amid language shift, and a Science of Learning project on mechanisms supporting development in bilinguals’ non-dominant language. In partnership with schools and community organisations, she explores pathways from research to practice, including work on auditory training and ageing, and bilingualism and biliteracy with potential educational and clinical applications.

Before joining the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick, Dr Chan was Head of Linguistics & Multilingual Studies at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and Founding Programme Director of the MA in Linguistics. In these capacities, she led departmental strategies and established cross-school partnerships spanning education, psychology, and neuroscience.

Joining the team

Dr Chan welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD and MSc students in bilingualism, second-language learning, ageing and cognition, and lifespan development. Please email alice.chan@warwick.ac.uk for collaboration and supervisory opportunities.

Current Research Interests

-Language and Literacy Development of Bilinguals

-Speech and Language Learning in Healthy Ageing

-Reading Development and Difficulties of Bilinguals and Multilinguals

**LATEST**

UP to three Departmental PhD Fellowships will be available for students intending to begin a PhD in October 2026.

Interested in applying?
Please explore Dr Chan’s current PhD project opportunities here:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/psych/research/language/fellowship2018/

If you’d like to discuss fit, scope, or developing a proposal, please email Dr Chan at alice.chan@warwick.ac.ukwith (i) a brief CV; (ii) a short summary of your research interests.

Full information on eligibility, application requirements, and deadlines is available via https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQH319/phd-studentship-three-phd-fellowships-in-psychology

Closing Date: Closing date - Sunday 15th March 2026 by 23:59pm

Selected Externally Funded Research Projects

Language, Learning, and Living Well in Middle Adulthood and Beyond — Science of Learning (MINISTRY OF EDUCATION), 2025–2028 [Co-I]
Bilingual Metalinguistic Scaffolding for Early MTL Development — MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AcRF Tier 2, 2024–2027 [PI]
Pathways to Early Literacy in Bilinguals’ Non-Dominant Language — Science of Learning (MINISTRY OF EDUCATION) 2023 [PI]
Predicting Reading (Dis)Ability: Advancing Early Intervention — MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AcRF Tier 2, 2021–2024 [PI]
Understanding Bilingual Dyslexia: Identifying Subtypes for Targeted Remediation — MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AcRF Tier 2, 2021–2025 [Co-I]
Ready to Read: Nurturing Bilinguals and Biliterates Amidst Language Shift — Social Science Research Council Thematic Grant, 2021–2024 [PI]
New Sounds to Better Brain Health: Language Learning and Ageing — MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AcRF Tier 2, 2016–2019 [PI]

Representative Publications

Lau, F., Toh, X. R., Ong, J. H., Luk, G., Wong, F. C. K., & Chan, A. H. D. (2025). Relationship between implicit learning and early English reading skills is mediated by morphological awareness. Reading and Writing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-025-10640-0

Lai, C. Y. Y., Ng, P. S., Chan, A. H. D., & Wong, F. C. K. (2023). Effects of auditory training in older adults. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 66(10), 4137–4149. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-22-00621

Kalaivanan, K., Wong, P. C. M., Wong, F. C. K., & Chan, A. H. D. (2023). Native language perceptual sensitivity predicts nonnative speech perception differently in younger and older Singaporean bilinguals. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 66(3), 987–1017. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_JSLHR-22-00199

Ong, J. H., & Chan, A. H. D. (2023). Working memory modulates the effect of music on word learning. Language and Cognition, 15(1), 131–147. https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2022.29

Liu, F., Chan, A. H. D., Ciocca, V., Roquet, C., Peretz, I., & Wong, P. C. M. (2016). Pitch perception and production in congenital amusia: Evidence from Cantonese speakers. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 140(1), 563–575. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4955182

Wong, P. C. M., Ciocca, V., Chan, A. H. D., Ha, L. Y. Y., Tan, L.-H., & Peretz, I. (2012). Effects of culture on musical pitch perception. PLOS ONE, 7(4), e33424. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033424

Chandrasekaran, B., Chan, A. H. D., & Wong, P. C. M. (2011). Neural processing of what and who information in speech. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23(10), 2690–2700. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2011.21631

Chan, A. H. D., Luke, K.-K., Li, P., Yip, V., Li, G., Weekes, B., & Tan, L.-H. (2008). Neural correlates of nouns and verbs in early bilinguals. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1145(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1416.000

Tan, L.-H., Chan, A. H. D., Kay, P., Khong, P.-L., Yip, L. K. C., & Luke, K.-K. (2008). Language affects patterns of brain activation associated with perceptual decision. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(10), 4004–4009. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0800055105

Chan, A. H. D., Liu, H.-L., Yip, V., Fox, P. T., Gao, J.-H., & Tan, L.-H. (2004). Neural systems for word meaning modulated by semantic ambiguity. NeuroImage, 22(3), 1128–1133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.02.034