Following the results of the Dicyt competitive grants program (Directorate of Scientific and Technological Research), the Faculty of Humanities (FAHU) will incorporate new lines of inquiry in areas such as health, theater, and power networks. Among this diverse range of approaches, one linguistic research project to be launched is led by Dr. Patricio Pino Castillo, a faculty member in the Department of Linguistics and Literature. His project, titled “Cognition and Oral Expression in English as a Foreign Language,” falls within the field of psycholinguistics to explore a dimension of language that, in the researcher’s view, requires more in-depth study: oral production.
Through cognitive monitoring analysis, the research not only seeks to identify how speech repairs occur but also integrates a decolonial perspective that challenges the ideal of the “native speaker” and values the student’s identity within their own learning process.
“I specialize in psycholinguistics, which is an area of linguistics that deals with the cognitive processes involved in both speech production and comprehension. Within that field, I’ve focused somewhat on the interaction between comprehension and expression,” explains Dr. Pino. His research aims to unravel how speakers regulate and become aware of their own speech in real time, identifying the cognitive mechanisms that allow them to organize ideas and correct errors on the fly.
The study focuses particularly on the phenomenon of “speech monitoring,” a process through which a person reviews aspects ranging from pronunciation to the coherence of the message. “It’s about seeing how I review what I say, how I correct myself when I realize I’ve made a mistake. Something that teachers do a lot between classes,” explains the scholar, who also links this research to his teaching work in English Pedagogy and the Master’s in Linguistics at Usach.
A key component of Dr. Pino’s proposal is his critical perspective on the speaker’s identity. In collaboration with Dr. Daniela Terrero, the researcher seeks to challenge the traditional norms that impose the “native speaker” as the only model to follow, integrating a decolonial perspective into English language teaching (ELT).
"The goal is to deconstruct the idea that one should strive to (speak like) a native speaker, which is what was instilled in my generation, at least. One has to be a native speaker; that notion must be deconstructed," emphasizes Dr. Pino. This approach has not only theoretical but also pedagogical implications, as it validates students’ local identities in their learning process.
Like other Dicyt-supported research at the faculty, Dr. Pino’s project is expected to have a direct impact on the training of graduate students. Currently, the scholar is already developing articles in collaboration with master’s students, such as Manuel Améstica, addressing topics like pronunciation in contexts of educational vulnerability. “I have a paper we’re finishing up, which was an initial study we presented in France. And we also have an article with a student on pronunciation in a vulnerable school context," he comments, emphasizing that the DICYT grant will allow these findings to be expanded.
This set of awarded projects demonstrates that FAHU not only produces social science excellence but does so with an academic sensibility that connects theory with lived reality. By administering these funds, the Usach Directorate of Scientific and Technological Research enables researchers like Dr. Pino to continue contributing to the prestige and public impact that characterize the University of Santiago, consolidating a space where the humanities are both conceptualized and applied to understand a world in constant transformation.