Yunxia Zhang

I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Linguistics and Literary Studies at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where my academic interests focus on psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, multilingualism, and the relationship between language and cognition. Before starting my master’s degree, I studied English and worked for several years in English language teaching and educational research and development. These experiences led me to become increasingly interested in how cognitive processes and individual differences influence language learning and language use. My current research focuses on how working memory and language analytic ability may influence the effectiveness of different types of corrective feedback for adult L2 learners in real classroom settings. More broadly, I am interested in why the same instructional feedback may work differently for different learners, and how teachers can adapt feedback to individual learner differences. I am also participating in the Talent for Research programme at the Brussels Centre for Language Studies, under the guidance of Mathieu Declerck and Esli Struys. Through this programme, I hope to develop my research skills, further refine my master’s thesis project, and explore questions at the intersection of language learning, cognition, and individual differences. In the longer term, I am interested in exploring whether pursuing a PhD and an academic research career would be the right path for me.