Leigh B Fernandez

Biographic Data

ID5677271
NAMELeigh B Fernandez
GIVEN NAMESLeigh B
FAMILY NAMEFernandez
SIGNATUREFERNANDEZ L B
AFFILIATIONSUniversity of Kaiserslautern
ORCID0000-0002-1635-2671
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS9
TOTAL CITATIONS3
AUTHOR COUNT9
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2017
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX1

  • Involvement of executive resources in prediction

    Open AccessLeigh B Fernandez, Muzna Shehzad et al.ARTICLEPsychonomic Bulletin & Review2026

    Whether linguistic prediction requires executive resources is currently unclear. Supportive evidence comes from reduced/delayed prediction in populations with fewer available executive resources, such as children or second-language speakers. However, it is possible that differences in these groups instead stem from differences in linguistic experience. In this study we test prediction using the visual world paradigm, investigating two factors pro…

  • The impact of speech rate on first- and second-stage prediction in L1 and L2 speakers

    Open AccessLeigh B Fernandez, Lauren V Hadley et al.ARTICLEBilingualism Language and Cognition2025

    We investigate timing and eye-movement behavior during semantic prediction in L1 and L2 speakers of English using the Visual World Paradigm, additionally exploring speech rate. We differentiate first-stage predictions, considered to be automatic and relatively cost-free, from second-stage predictions, which are non-automatic and more cognitively demanding, with differences between L1 and L2 speakers believed to arise in second-stage predictions. …

  • Novel metaphor processing in dyslexia

    Rita Cersosimo, Paul E Engelhardt et al.ARTICLEDiscourse Processes2025References: 87

    Metaphor comprehension has been investigated in neurodevelopmental disorders, but studies devoted to adults with dyslexia are few and present inconsistent results. The present study sought to investigate how adults with dyslexia process novel metaphors. Individual differences in vocabulary, working memory, and Theory of Mind were also assessed. An online metaphor comprehension task based on the Visual World Paradigm was carried out with eye-track…

  • Effects of listening demand on turn-taking processes

    Open AccessRuth E Corps, Munham Shehzad et al.ARTICLEActa Psychologica2025References: 1

    During conversation, speakers often take turns with little gap or overlap. But older adults with hearing loss are often slower to take turns and show more variability in turn timing than older adults with normal hearing, potentially due to increased cognitive demands of processing speech with hearing loss. In this study, we investigated how hearing loss and listening demand affect turn-end prediction and verbal response planning - two processes t…

  • Cross-language semantic and orthographic parafoveal processing by bilingual L1 German–L2 English readers

    Open AccessLeigh B Fernandez, Christoph Scheepers et al.ARTICLEBilingualism Language and Cognition2024

    In a recent study, Fernandez et al. (2021) investigated parafoveal processing in L1 English and L1 German–L2 English readers using the gaze contingent boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975). Unexpectedly, L2 readers derived an interference from a non-cognate translation parafoveal mask ( arrow vs. pfeil ), but derived a benefit from a German orthographic parafoveal mask ( arrow vs. pfexk ) when reading in English. The authors argued that bilingual read…

  • Proficient L2 readers do not have a risky reading strategy

    Open AccessLeigh B Fernandez, Agnesa Xheladini et al.ARTICLELinguistic Approaches to…2023

    Proficient first-language (L1) readers of alphabetic languages that are read left-to-right typically have a perceptual span of 3–4 characters to the left and 14–15 characters to the right of the foveal fixation. Given that second-language (L2) processing requires more cognitive resources, we hypothesize that L2ers will have a smaller perceptual span than L1ers, and may rely on a compensatory risky reading strategy with a more symmetrical perceptu…

  • The role of L1 reading direction on L2 perceptual span

    Open AccessLeigh B Fernandez, Ricarda Bothe et al.ARTICLESecond language Research2021References: 2

    In the current study we used the gaze-contingent moving window paradigm to directly compare the second language (L2) English perceptual span of two groups that speak languages with essentially the same lexicon and grammar but crucially with different writing directions (and scripts): Hindi (read left to right) and Urdu (read right to left). This is the first study to directly compare first language (L1) speakers of languages that differ primarily…

  • Psycholinguistic approaches to production and comprehension in bilingual adults and children

    Open AccessMaialen Iraola Azpiroz, Shanley E M Allen et al.ARTICLELinguistic Approaches to…2019

    Preview this article: Psycholinguistic approaches to production and comprehension in bilingual adults and children, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/lab.19025.azp-1.gif

  • Investigating auditory processing of syntactic gaps with L2 speakers using pupillometry

    Open AccessLeigh B Fernandez, Leigh Fernandez et al.ARTICLESecond language Research2017Cited by: 3

    According to the Shallow Structure Hypothesis (SSH), second language (L2) speakers, unlike native speakers, build shallow syntactic representations during sentence processing. In order to test the SSH, this study investigated the processing of a syntactic movement in both native speakers of English and proficient late L2 speakers of English using pupillometry to measure processing cost. Of particular interest were constructions where movement res…