Now that 2023 is nearly over, we can reflect on the achievements and changes of our LingLab community. After Caitlin Halfacre and Kaiyue Xing took on lab management duties for 2022, the lab was in much better shape for 2023. Lauren Ackerman returned at the start of the year, and the three Lab co-Managers worked together to administrate a £25,000 RCIF grant won by Profs Karen Corrigan and Ghada Khattab to continue improving and refurbishing the Lab.

B.01

The B.01 Space has undergone a few exciting changes, but is now set to become a Living Room Lab with a child- and family-friendly main room, plus head-turn preference recording set-up in the B.01A booth. Although this space is still under development, it is usable and can be booked after discussion with the Lab Manager.

B.02

Our future Computer Cluster/Collaboration Suite is still not suitable for use, but we have made progress toward opening it. As soon as some of the remaining kit in it has been removed and the card reader on the door has been set-up for use, the room will be available for small groups and planning its new layout.

B.03

Although B.03 has not changed much, it will soon be accessible using the card reader rather than the keypad, as will all Basement LingLab facilities. This will improve access for researchers and protect the kit and space more efficiently.

2.12

The Eye-tracking Lab has now been moved up to 2.12 and is operational. While it still needs to be optimized for data collection, it is suitable for data collection on small-scale projects.

The summer Eye-tracking Workshop delivered by Jono Batten of SR Research was a huge success, which led to a two research projects using the eye-tracker, as well as several plans for future research. Please contact the Lab Manager if you are interested in training or developing a project using the eye-tracker.

Next steps

Along with physical spaces and facilities, we are looking forward to hosting another Open Day in early 2024. This event will allow the LingLab to introduce or update staff to the current state of the Lab and its resources, as well as solicit feedback and ideas for how to continue to build the LingLab community. Keep an eye out for updates!