I am a Graduate Research Assistant for the ReadOxford research group.
I have always loved books and reading. I spent hours as a child reading books then copying them out into my notebook (looking back I think I wanted to feel like an author!). Some of my fondest memories are of my parents reading bedtime stories with me. They would use different voices for the characters and I would picture the different characters so vividly. I have been lucky to experience this, and this joy of reading has stayed with me. I have spent many an evening unable to put a book down thinking that the next page will actually be the last one. .. Psychology and looking at behaviour to infer what is happening in our brain has always fascinated me. I went on to study Psychology at Cardiff University and was instantly drawn to the field of developmental psychology. My love of reading combined with my interest in developmental psychology seemed the perfect fit for this role. Uncovering the reasons behind why some children struggle to progress from novice to expert readers will hopefully help more children to discover the joy of reading that I so fondly remember.
My favourite word
My favourite childhood book
My favourite word is ‘giggle’. I love how the word sounds like it is giggling. I’m a bit of a giggler myself too. It fits into the category of ‘onomatopoeia’: words that phonetically imitate the sound they describe. I like a lot of these words such as, bubble, chatter and splash. For me, these are fun words, words that come alive when you read them.
My favourite childhood book has to be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I loved the whole Harry Potter series and remember being so excited when some of the later books were released, I’d turn the pages so carefully as if they were made of glass! I remember feeling like I was part of Dumbledore’s army, willing them to succeed and to stay secret. I would half close my eyes as I was reading, not quite daring to read what happened next. This book taught me about loyalty and that anything is possible with your friends by your side.