Title:	Assistant Professor
	Office:	122 Coffey Hall, LSC
	Phone:	773.508.3040
	E-mail:	pgamez@luc.edu

 

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Personal Information

PhD, Developmental Psychology, University of Chicago

MA, Developmental Psychology, University of Chicago

BA, Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago

Research:

Research Website: http://gamezlab.weebly.com

Dr. Perla B. Gámez leads a program of research focused on language development, particularly in children from homes in which English is not the primary language (Language Minority Learners; English Language Learners; Dual Language Learners). She is interested in how children's linguistic environments and experiences, at different developmental time points, help promote their language learning and development. Her current research examines how variations in the features of home and school language impact children’s language and literacy skills during preschool through adolescence. Her research employs both naturalistic observation and experimental techniques (i.e., syntactic priming paradigm).

Selected Recent Publications:

Gámez, P. B., & Levine, S. C. (2013). Oral language skills of Spanish-speaking english language learners: The impact of high-quality native language exposure. Applied Psycholinguistics, 34(04), 673. 

Gámez, P. B., & Lesaux, N. K. (Jul-Aug 2012). The relation between exposure to sophisticated and complex language and early-adolescent English-only and language minority learners' vocabulary. Child Development, 83(4), 1316-1331.

Gámez, P. B., Shimpi, P. M., Waterfall, H. R., & Huttenlocher, J. (Mar 2009). Priming a perspective in spanish monolingual children: The use of syntactic alternatives. Journal of Child Language, 36(2), 269-290.

Shimpi, P. M., Gámez, P. B., Huttenlocher, J., & Vasilyeva, M. (Nov 2007). Syntactic priming in 3- and 4-year-old children: Evidence for abstract representations of transitive and dative forms. Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1334-1346.