Personal profile
Overview
Dr Eirini Sanoudaki ‘s research examines language in monolingual and bilingual speakers, focusing on children with developmental conditions such as Down syndrome. She collaborates with the Down's syndrome Association and other external partners on projects studying language and cognitive skills in typical and atypical development. She has published extensively in this field.
She pioneered research on language development in neurodiverse Welsh-English bilingual children, and has attracted UKRI funding for projects in this field.
She is Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Director of Postgraduate Research and Director of Welsh Language Matters in the School of Arts, Culture and Language. She also leads the Linguistics and Bilingualism Pathway for the ESRC Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS).
Eirini is passionate about bilingualism, and about encouraging the learning and use of Welsh. In 2021, she won a national award for the use of Welsh in the workplace.
Eirini is also the head of the Bangor University Child Bilingualism Lab.
Grant Awards and Projects
2021-2025 ESRC Wales DTP doctoral grant (Principal supervisor)
Project: ‘Language Development in Welsh-English bilingual children with Down syndrome and autism’
Collaboration with Down's Syndrome Association
Postgraduate Researcher (PhD Bilingualism)
2018 ESRC/Wales DTP small grant: Collaboration (CoI and PhD Supervisor).
Public engagement project: ‘Bilingualism in children with Down syndrome: workshops for families’
Collaboration with Down's Syndrome Association
PI: Rebecca Ward
2017 ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Major Award: PhD Student Community Outreach Fellowship. (PI and Project Lead).
Project: ‘Childhood Bilingualism in Complementary Schools.’
Fellow: Athanasia Papastergiou
2016 Welsh Crucible grant. (CoI and Bangor Lead). Duration 9 months
Project: ‘Humour in Welsh-English Bilinguals’
PI Gil Greengross (Aberystwyth), CoI Manon Jones (School of Psychology, Bangor).
2016-2019 ESRC Wales DTP doctoral grant (Principal supervisor)
Second supervisor: Enlli Thomas.
Project: ‘Profiling language abilities in Welsh-English bilinguals with Down syndrome’
Postgraduate Researcher (PhD Bilingualism): Rebecca Ward
2009-2010 Postdoctoral research grant, Greek State Scholarship Foundation (IKY)
Project: ‘The acquisition of pronominal reference in Greek-speaking children with Down syndrome’.
Advisor: Spyridoula Varlokosta
Teaching and Supervision
PhD Supervision
Charlotte Cooper. Investigating the Language Learning Experiences of People with Multiple Neurodivergent Conditions. PhD ESRC studentship in Bilingualism. Start date October 2024.
Jazmine Beauchamp. Consonant Development in typically developing Welsh-English bilingual children. PhD ESRC studentship in Bilingualism. Start date October 2023.
Laura Maguire. Neurogenerative Models of Alzheimer's Disease in Bilinguals. MA+PhD ESRC studentship in Bilingualism. Start date October 2022.
Maryam Awawdeh. Reading skills of Arabic-English bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD). PhD ESRC studentship in Bilingualism. Start date October 2022.
Gareth Caulfield. Immersion Education and Bilingualism: Exploring Perceptions, Expectations and Effective Delivery. PhD ESRC studentship in Bilingualism. Start date October 2022.
Jago Williams. Bilingual development in children with a dual diagnosis of ASD and Down syndrome. MA+PhD ESRC studentship in Bilingualism. Start date September 2021.
Bethan Collins. Cognitive and Linguistic Skills in Emergent Bilingual Primary School Children in Wales. PhD ESRC studentship in Bilingualism. Start date September 2021.
Rebecca Day. Bilingualism in Rett syndrome. MA+PhD ESRC studentship in Bilingualism. Start date September 2019
Felicity Parry. Teachers' attitudes and experiences of the speech and language disorder identification process in bilingual pupils. PhD Bilingualism. Start date January 2020.
Athanasia Papastergiou. Language and Executive Functioning Skills in Greek-English Bilingual Children in the UK. ESRC funded PhD in Bilingualism. Completed 2021.
Rebecca Ward. Profiling language abilities in Welsh-English bilinguals with Down syndrome. ESRC funded PhD in Bilingualism. Completed 2020.
Maram Alamri. The acquisition of spatial relations by Arabic learners of English. Completed 2020.
Wesam Almehmadi. Pragmatic features in adolescents with Autism. Completed 2019.
Teaching
Eirini teaches advanced modules on language development and neurodevelopmental conditions, bilingualism, and research methods. She has also taught modules across many other areas of linguistics.
- QXL3316/4416 Language Disorders and Bilingualism
- QXL3317/4417 Child Language Acquisition
- QXL3303 Intro to Speech Language Therapy
- QXL4432 Linguistic Research Methods
- QXL4400 MA/MSc Dissertation
- QXL2235 Foundations of Multilingualism
- QXL2204 Morphosyntax
Contact Info
Education/Academic qualification
BA, Philology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
PhD, PhD Linguistics, University College London
Postgraduate, MA, MA Linguistics, University of Reading
Keywords
- P Philology. Linguistics
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 4 Quality Education
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Bilingualism in the preserved speech variant of Rett syndrome: a longitudinal case study
Day, R., Cooper, S. & Sanoudaki, E., 3 Jun 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Investigating the experiences of professionals working with bilingual children in Wales
Beauchamp, J., Sanoudaki, E. & Cooper, S., 12 Jun 2025, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract
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Speech and Language Therapy: the availability and adequacy of bilingual Welsh resources
Beauchamp, J., Sanoudaki, E., Cooper, S. & Ball, M., 25 Jun 2025, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Poster
File2 Downloads (Pure) -
Iaith a’r Celfyddydau: Fforio technegau creadigol er mwyn cymorth dysgu iaith newydd
Collins, B. & Sanoudaki, E., 2024, (Accepted/In press) Prifysgol Bangor University.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report › peer-review
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Language and the Arts: Exploring creative techniques to aid with learning a new language
Collins, B. & Sanoudaki, E., 2024, (Accepted/In press) Prifysgol Bangor University.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report › peer-review
Impacts
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ESRC IAA PhD Student Community Outreach Fellowship: Childhood Bilingualism in Complementary Schools
Sanoudaki, E. (Participant), Papastergiou, A. (Participant) & Panaretou, S. (Participant)
Impact
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Enjoyment and production of humour among bilingual speakers
Sanoudaki, E. (PI)
1/12/16 → 1/08/19
Project: Research
Activities
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Bilingual Development in Children with developmental conditions: Insights from Wales. Invited talk at the Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (CeLM) , The University of Reading
Sanoudaki, E. (Speaker)
Oct 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Strengthening Academic Links: Bangor University and CUPL Launch First Teaching Exchange!
Davitt, L. (Organiser) & Sanoudaki, E. (Lecturer)
30 Jun 2025 → 10 Jul 2025Activity: Other
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The Experiences of Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) Working with Bilingual/Multilingual Children with Developmental Language Disorder
Awawdeh, M. (Speaker), Papastergiou, A. (Speaker) & Sanoudaki, E. (Speaker)
Jun 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
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Bilingualism in children with special education needs. Keynote at the international symposium on special education at the University of Umea, Sweden
Sanoudaki, E. (Speaker)
Feb 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Cognitive and Literacy Skills in Emergent Bilingual Primary School Children in Wales
Collins, B. (Speaker), Papastergiou, A. (Speaker) & Sanoudaki, E. (Speaker)
2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
Prizes
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National Work Welsh 2021 Award: Learner who makes the Best Use of Welsh for Work purposes
Sanoudaki, E. (Recipient), 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Press/Media
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Interview on BBC (S4C) documentary Y Gymraeg: Hawl Pob Plentyn
1/06/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Child biingualism: Interview on Radio Cymru (Aled Hughes)
20/02/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Interview on Radio Cymru (Dros Ginio): Amlieithrwydd/Multilingualism
14/07/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research