Shuzhen Wang
Ph.D. in Linguistics · University of Ottawa

Shuzhen Wang

Psycholinguistics, sentence processing, bilingualism, and child language processing.

I recently completed my Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Dr. Laura Sabourin. My research combines behavioral methods, including self-paced reading and eye-tracking, with neuroimaging techniques such as ERP to investigate real-time sentence processing in monolingual and bilingual populations. I am currently extending this work to child language processing, examining how young children use linguistic cues to predict upcoming language during comprehension.

Research Interests
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Sentence processing
  • Bilingualism
  • Child language processing
  • Neurolinguistics
  • Predictive processing

About Me

Education

  1. 2018 — 2025
    Ph.D. in Linguistics
    University of Ottawa, Canada
    • Supervisor: Dr. Laura Sabourin
    • Dissertation: L1 and L2 Processing of Filler-Gap Dependencies in Mandarin Chinese Speakers: Evidence from Self-Paced Reading Times and Event-Related Potentials
    Dissertation record
  2. 2016 — 2017
    M.Ed. in TESOL
    Boston University, United States
    • School of Education Merit Scholarships Recipient
  3. 2012 — 2016
    B.A. in English (Bilingualism: English & French)
    Xi'an Jiaotong University, China
    • Honors thesis: Syntactic Processing in Chinese EFL Learners' English Production: Evidence from Cross-Linguistic Structural Priming
    • Awarded Best Undergraduate Thesis (Top 1%)

Research Experience

  1. 2025

    Research Associate

    ERPLing Laboratory, University of Ottawa

    Supervisor: Dr. Laura Sabourin

  2. 2018 — 2019

    Research Assistant

    ERPLing Laboratory, University of Ottawa

    Supervisor: Dr. Laura Sabourin

  3. 2015 — 2016

    Research Assistant

    Psycholinguistics Laboratory, Xi'an Jiaotong University

    Supervisor: Dr. Min Wang

Teaching

Nine semesters as Teaching Assistant at the University of Ottawa, covering courses in introductory linguistics, psycholinguistics, phonology, language and mind, academic writing, and ESL. Additionally trained undergraduate research volunteers in electroencephalography (EEG) data collection and analysis at the ERPLing Lab (2023–2024).

  • Introduction to Linguistics (LIN 1315)
  • Psycholinguistics (LIN 3350)
  • Language and Mind (LIN 1303)
  • Introduction to Phonology (LIN 2320)
  • Workshop in Essay Writing (ENG 1100)
  • English as a Second Language (ESL 105/110/120)

Personal Interests

Outside of research, I enjoy spending time with my family and "conversing" with my newborn baby. I also love swimming, hiking trails, and cooking.

Publications & Conferences

Peer-Reviewed Publication

  1. 01
    In pressSabourin, L., Burkholder, M., Stowe, L. A., & Wang, S. (In press). Neurobiology of language learning. In B. Spolsky, F. Hult, & D. Gorter (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Linguistics (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

Refereed Conference Proceedings

  1. 01
    Morid, M., Griffiths, E., Wang, S., & Zamuner, T. S. (2020). The representation of concrete versus abstract words: An eye-tracking study. Proceedings of the Canadian Linguistic Association 2020. Canadian Linguistic Association.View

Doctoral Dissertation

  1. 01
    Wang, Shuzhen. (2025). L1 and L2 Processing of Filler-Gap Dependencies in Mandarin Chinese Speakers: Evidence from Self-Paced Reading Times and Event-Related Potentials (Doctoral dissertation). University of Ottawa.View

Manuscripts in Preparation

  1. 01
    Wang, S., & Sabourin, L. L1 and L2 Processing of Wh-Dependencies: Active and Sequential Gap-Filling in Self-Paced Reading.
  2. 02
    Wang, S., & Sabourin, L. Qualitatively Similar Filler-Gap Processing in L1 and L2: Evidence from ERPs.
  3. 03
    Wang, S., & Sabourin, L. Active Gap-Filling in the Processing of Overt Topic Structures in Mandarin Chinese.

Oral Presentations

  1. 01
    Wang, S. & Sabourin, L. (2025). Active Gap-Filling in the Processing of Overt Topic Structures in Mandarin Chinese. Canadian Linguistics Association (CLA) 2025, Montreal, Canada.
  2. 02
    Wang, S. (2023). Processing of Filler-Gap Dependencies in Native and Second Language Speakers: Evidence from a Self-Paced Reading Task. PsychoShorts 2023, Ottawa, Canada.

Poster Presentations

  1. 01
    Wang, S. & Sabourin, L. (2025). Neural Signatures of Filler-Gap Dependency Processing in L1 and L2 English Speakers. Society for the Neurobiology of Language (SNL), Washington, DC.
  2. 02
    Sabourin, L., Knezevic, M., Manning, G., Wang, S., & Xing, Y. (2024). The Bilingual Language Processor: A Separate or Shared System. Society for the Neurobiology of Language (SNL), Brisbane, Australia.
  3. 03
    Wang, S. & Sabourin, L. (2024). Where Does the Filler Go? Investigating Filler-Gap Dependencies in Native and Second Language Speakers with a Self-Paced Reading Task. Canadian Linguistics Association (CLA) 2024, Ottawa, Canada.
  4. 04
    Morid, M., Griffiths, E., Wang, S., & Zamuner, T. S. (2020). The Representation of Concrete versus Abstract Words: An Eye-Tracking Study. Canadian Linguistics Association (CLA) 2020.

Curriculum Vitae

Contact

Email
swang357@uottawa.ca
Location
Toronto, Canada