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Department ofSpanish, Italian, and Portuguese

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Spanish and international politics student blends studies for career in law

“Art, History, and Public Memory in Iberia Today”: In conversation with artist Ana Pérez-Quiroga

Graduate Literature Program in Spanish Virtual Open House

Stanislav Mulík to present at Distinguished Language Science Colloquium

Spanish student thrives as Blue Band president

Italian student wins 2025 Dante Prize

Upcoming Events

Nov
19

Study Abroad This Summer in Spain!

5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
22 Biobehavioral Health Building
Nov
18

Study Abroad This Summer in Mexico!

5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
171 Willard Building
Nov
13

Virtual Open House: Graduate Literature Program in Spanish

4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Nov
10

“Art, History, and Public Memory in Iberia Today”

4:15 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
302 Pond Laboratory
Nov
7

Distinguished Language Science Colloquium: Stanislav Mulík

9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Oct
24

Center for Language Science Speaker Series: Bryan Kirschen

9:00 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Oct
16

“Rethinking the Holocaust from the Margins: Migration and Memory in Latin America”

1:30 p.m.–2:45 p.m.
102 Weaver Building
Sep
22

The Italian Student Society of Penn State

8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
131 HUB-Robeson Center
Sep
15

The Italian Student Society of Penn State

8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
131 HUB-Robeson Center
Sep
10

Bate-Papo

4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
227 Burrowes Building
Sep
3

The 2025 Marathon Read

10:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.
Pattee Mall (Lawn in front of Burrowes Building)
May
7

Third Annual Bénédicte Monicat Plant Walk

11:00 a.m.–noon
South Stairs, Pattee Library
Mar
28

“Language Differentiation and Generational Effects on Yes/No Question Intonation in Palenquero/Spanish Bilinguals”

9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Feb
20

“The Spanish Hermes and Wisdom Traditions in Medieval Iberia: Alfonso X’s General Estoria”

3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
102 Weaver Building
Feb
18

Graduate Student Spring Resident Talks

noon–1:00 p.m.
124 Sparks Building
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Spanish

Undergraduate

Graduate

Italian
Portuguese
Department ofSpanish, Italian, and Portuguese
Menu
Department ofSpanish, Italian, and Portuguese

News

Spanish and international politics student blends studies for career in law

“Art, History, and Public Memory in Iberia Today”: In conversation with artist Ana Pérez-Quiroga

Graduate Literature Program in Spanish Virtual Open House

Stanislav Mulík to present at Distinguished Language Science Colloquium

Spanish student thrives as Blue Band president

Italian student wins 2025 Dante Prize

Upcoming Events

Nov
19

Study Abroad This Summer in Spain!

5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
22 Biobehavioral Health Building
Nov
18

Study Abroad This Summer in Mexico!

5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
171 Willard Building
Nov
13

Virtual Open House: Graduate Literature Program in Spanish

4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Nov
10

“Art, History, and Public Memory in Iberia Today”

4:15 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
302 Pond Laboratory
Nov
7

Distinguished Language Science Colloquium: Stanislav Mulík

9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Oct
24

Center for Language Science Speaker Series: Bryan Kirschen

9:00 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Oct
16

“Rethinking the Holocaust from the Margins: Migration and Memory in Latin America”

1:30 p.m.–2:45 p.m.
102 Weaver Building
Sep
22

The Italian Student Society of Penn State

8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
131 HUB-Robeson Center
Sep
15

The Italian Student Society of Penn State

8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
131 HUB-Robeson Center
Sep
10

Bate-Papo

4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
227 Burrowes Building
Sep
3

The 2025 Marathon Read

10:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.
Pattee Mall (Lawn in front of Burrowes Building)
May
7

Third Annual Bénédicte Monicat Plant Walk

11:00 a.m.–noon
South Stairs, Pattee Library
Mar
28

“Language Differentiation and Generational Effects on Yes/No Question Intonation in Palenquero/Spanish Bilinguals”

9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Feb
20

“The Spanish Hermes and Wisdom Traditions in Medieval Iberia: Alfonso X’s General Estoria”

3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
102 Weaver Building
Feb
18

Graduate Student Spring Resident Talks

noon–1:00 p.m.
124 Sparks Building
Facebook Instagram
Spanish

Undergraduate

Graduate

Italian
Portuguese
Menu
Department ofSpanish, Italian, and Portuguese

News

Spanish and international politics student blends studies for career in law

“Art, History, and Public Memory in Iberia Today”: In conversation with artist Ana Pérez-Quiroga

Graduate Literature Program in Spanish Virtual Open House

Stanislav Mulík to present at Distinguished Language Science Colloquium

Spanish student thrives as Blue Band president

Italian student wins 2025 Dante Prize

Upcoming Events

Nov
19

Study Abroad This Summer in Spain!

5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
22 Biobehavioral Health Building
Nov
18

Study Abroad This Summer in Mexico!

5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
171 Willard Building
Nov
13

Virtual Open House: Graduate Literature Program in Spanish

4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Nov
10

“Art, History, and Public Memory in Iberia Today”

4:15 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
302 Pond Laboratory
Nov
7

Distinguished Language Science Colloquium: Stanislav Mulík

9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Oct
24

Center for Language Science Speaker Series: Bryan Kirschen

9:00 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Oct
16

“Rethinking the Holocaust from the Margins: Migration and Memory in Latin America”

1:30 p.m.–2:45 p.m.
102 Weaver Building
Sep
22

The Italian Student Society of Penn State

8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
131 HUB-Robeson Center
Sep
15

The Italian Student Society of Penn State

8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
131 HUB-Robeson Center
Sep
10

Bate-Papo

4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
227 Burrowes Building
Sep
3

The 2025 Marathon Read

10:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.
Pattee Mall (Lawn in front of Burrowes Building)
May
7

Third Annual Bénédicte Monicat Plant Walk

11:00 a.m.–noon
South Stairs, Pattee Library
Mar
28

“Language Differentiation and Generational Effects on Yes/No Question Intonation in Palenquero/Spanish Bilinguals”

9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Feb
20

“The Spanish Hermes and Wisdom Traditions in Medieval Iberia: Alfonso X’s General Estoria”

3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
102 Weaver Building
Feb
18

Graduate Student Spring Resident Talks

noon–1:00 p.m.
124 Sparks Building
Facebook Instagram
Spanish

Undergraduate

Graduate

Italian
Portuguese

Manuel Pulido-Azpíroz

Manuel Pulido-Azpíroz
Assistant Professor of Spanish and Linguistics
  • 246 Burrowes Building

Curriculum Vitae

Download CV352 KB

Websites

https://sites.google.com/view/manuelpulido

Education

Ph.D., Dual Title in Spanish Linguistics and Language Science, Penn State
M.A., Spanish Linguistics, Penn State
M.A., Foreign Language Teaching, the University of Navarra

Research Interests

Spanish linguistics, language acquisition

Research

My research investigates how adults deal with the complexity of Spanish and other languages, and learn regularities from variable and 'noisy' input. A main focus of my work is on how adults acquire lexically-specific as well as abstract constructions in a new language. I am interested in addressing questions such as: How do we acquire the usage patterns of a language (e.g. in multiword units), when these cannot be captured by abstract "rules"? How abstract or concrete are the constructions that we learn in a language? What are the neurocognitive mechanisms that explain individual differences across learners? And what learning conditions and input is optimal for (different) learners? My students and I approach these questions by using various methods in the CoALA lab (Cognition of Adult Language Acquisition), such as brain event-related potentials (ERPs), eye-tracking and corpus data.

Recent Publications

Pulido, Manuel F., Macis, Marijana & Sonbul, Suhad. (2025). The effects of adjacent and non-adjacent collocations on processing: Eye-tracking evidence from "nested" collocations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Language, Memory and Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001469. Download Accepted pdf

Pulido, Manuel F. (2024). Optimizing the input for learning of L2-specific constructions: The roles of Zipfian and balanced input, explicit rules and working memory. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 46(2), 379-403. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263124000081 (Open Access)

Pulido, Manuel F. (2023). Generalizing knowledge of L2 collocations: The influence of within-language and cross-language similarity on acceptability and ERPs. Language Learning, 73(2), 578-612. http://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12543  Download Accepted pdf

Pulido, Manuel F. & López-Beltrán, Priscila (2023). When native speakers are not “native-like”: Chunking ability predicts (lack of) sensitivity to gender agreement during online processing. Cognitive Science, 47(10), e13366. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13366 (Open Access)

Pulido, Manuel F. & Conklin, Kathy (2023). Realizing new potential in vocabulary studies: Co-registration of eye movements and brain potentials. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 2(3), 100077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2023.100077 Download Acepted pdf.

Pulido, Manuel F. (2022) Why are multiword units hard to acquire for late L2 learners? Insights from cognitive science on adult learning, processing and retrieval. Linguistics Vanguard, 8(1), 237-247. https://doi.org/10.1515/lingvan-2021-0043 Download Accepted pdf

Pulido, Manuel F. (2021) Individual chunking ability predicts efficient or shallow L2 processing: Eye-tracking evidence from multiword units in relative clauses. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 4004. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.607621 (Open Access)

Pulido, Manuel F. (2021) Native language inhibition predicts more successful second language learning: Evidence of two ERP pathways during learning. Neuropsychologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107732 Download Accepted pdf

Pulido, Manuel F. (2021). Remapping variable subject position in Spanish intransitives: A proposal for functionally defined categories in motion verbs. Spanish in Context, 18.2. http://doi.org/10.1075/sic.19006.pul Download Accepted pdf

Pulido, Manuel F. & Dussias, Paola E. (2020). Desirable difficulties while learning collocations in a second language: Conditions that induce L1 interference improve learning. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, 23(3), 652-667. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1366728919000622 Download Accepted pdf

Courses Regularly Taught

300 Level

Spring 2026 Semester

SPAN 315N Spanish and Spanish speakers in the U.S.
This course, taught in Spanish, examines the use and role of Spanish in the United States, asking who speaks it, when, where, and why, and exploring its importance in Hispanic and Latino identity formation and U.S. society. Students will develop a deeper understanding of the linguistic dynamics of U.S Latino communities, in connection with cultural and historical aspects. Through hands-on assignments and a final project involving an interview with a Latina/o individual, students will practice critical and integrative thinking and cross-cultural analysis.

Class Times

Tuesdays, Thursdays from 12:05 p.m.-1:30 p.m.


The course fulfills General Education requirements in Communication, Literacies, and Humanities.


400 Level

3 Credits

SPAN 417 How Languages Are Learned
This class is a linguistics course that focuses on language acquisition in children and adults. Linguistics is the scientific study of language and its structure, and linguistic inquiry focuses on various levels of language: phonology examines the sounds of language, morphology examines the structure of words (e.g., root words and their inflections), and syntax focuses on the structure of phrases and sentences. Using the tools of phonology, morphology, and syntax, this course will address the following questions. What is unique about human language? How is language learned in infancy? How do humans learn additional languages after they have learned their first language? How does bilingual language development compare to monolingual language development? Can knowing more than one language actually be detrimental? What are the different languages spoken by bilinguals in the Spanish-speaking world? What sorts of bilingual education programs are there in the Spanish-speaking world, including in the U.S.? By answering these questions, this course introduces students to bilingualism and bilingual language acquisition.

Prerequisite

(SPAN 100A or SPAN 200) and SPAN 215


Bachelor of Arts

World Language (All), Social and Behavioral Sciences


400 Level

3 Credits

Spring 2026 Semester

SPAN 418 The Evolution of Spanish
Why do Spanish speakers say el arte but las artes? Why is mano feminine but día masculine? Why do some dialects use vos tenés instead of tú tienes? This course explores these and other puzzles of Spanish, tracing how sounds, words, and grammar have shifted across history and how change shapes today’s diverse varieties. Students will analyze data, study language contact, and connect linguistic evolution to issues of identity and justice. By the end, you’ll not only understand how Spanish came to be but also develop a sharper eye (and ear) for the living history behind today's language.

Class Times

Tuesdays, Thursdays from 3:05 p.m.-4:20 p.m.


Prerequisite

(SPAN 100A or SPAN 200) and SPAN 215


Bachelor of Arts

World Language (All)


Bachelor of Arts

Social and Behavioral Sciences


3 Credits

Graduate Linguistics

SPAN 509 Functional Syntax
Students will (1) become acquainted with the study of grammatical constructions and the cognitive and interactional processes that shape them, in their social context; (2) sample approaches in this area, including usage-based theory, grammaticalization, typology, construction grammar, interactional linguistics; and (3) drawing on the methods of linguistic variation analysis, gain practical skills for carrying out a quantitative morphosyntactic analysis of appropriate (speech) data. Students will learn to distill findings into suitable format for scholarly venues and, by the end of the course, should have a paper to submit as a conference abstract and develop for journal submission.

3 Credits

Graduate Linguistics

SPAN 597 Seminar in Psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics is increasingly an important branch of linguistics, supported by the exponential growth of the use of experimental methods in linguistic research, to examine the cognitive processes underlying human language. In this seminar we will examine psycholinguistics through the lens of bilingualism. Bilingualism is of interest for a number of reasons. First, despite the prevalence of monolinguals in the United States, most people of the world are bilingual. To develop a truly universal account of human cognition, it is essential to gain a detailed understanding of the relationship between language and thought in individuals who speak and comprehend multiple languages. It will be essential that research on basic cognitive functions in bilinguals examine both the course and the consequence of second language acquisition. The primary goal of this course will be to introduce the core themes of psycholinguistics, using multilingual speakers as the case study. We will begin with issues concerning the acquisition of core linguistic levels, continue with lexical (e.g. how do multilingual speakers process cognates [piano] and false cognates [fin]?) and sentence processing (e.g. How do the two languages influence each other in predictive processing or when resolving syntactic ambiguity?), and finish with the cognitive neural consequences of bilingualism on general cognition, examining both production and comprehension throughout. A secondary goal for the course is to help students become familiar with current experimental methods used in psycholinguistic and increasingly in traditional linguistic research, e.g. self-paced reading tasks, syntactic priming, eye-tracking methodologies, EEG recordings, and fMRI.

3 Credits

Graduate Linguistics

SPAN 597 Usage-based Approaches to Second Language Acquisition
Usage-based approaches view linguistic knowledge as emerging from input experience and general cognitive mechanisms. This course explores second language learning and generalization, with a particular emphasis on the notion of constructions. By examining data from experimental methods and corpus linguistics, we will explore the question of how the distributional patterns of linguistic input affect the learnability of a second language. In problem sets, students will be introduced to essential skills for the computational analysis of text corpora (tagging; automatized extraction of n-grams, collocations, collostructions, etc.). Students will also complete an original project, analyzing the learnability of L2 constructions based on the quantitative analysis of linguistic data.

3 Credits

Graduate Linguistics

SPAN 597 Trends and Topics in Second Language Acquisition
The course provides an overview of topics and theories in second language acquisition (SLA), with a focus on the linguistic and cognitive aspects of learning a language during adulthood. The course will explore in depth the specificities of adult language learning (as opposed to L1 acquisition) through topics that include age effects, input processing, salience and attention, implicit/explicit learning, error prediction and feedback, social interaction, desirable difficulties, and individual-based differences. While most readings will be provided, students will be responsible for exploring a linguistic topic of their interest and for contributing additional papers. Students will be encouraged to build on previous and/or current interests and to pursue them within approaches to second language acquisition.

Grant Funding

My research is currently supported by a Language Learning Early Career Researcher Grant (2025-2027) on a project titled "Investigating the time-course of L2 vocabulary learning from reading, in the eyes and in the mind: Co-registration of eye-tracking and EEG." I have also received support from the US National Science Foundation on a project titled "Processing of L2-specific multi-word units and the impact on representation and generalization: an ERP study" (with Giuli Dussias, 2019-2020)