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Katarina Mentzelopoulos is an ESRC-funded Ph.D. student at the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research interests include language learning motivation, exceptional language learning, multilingualism and learner identity.

She recently co-authored two books with the late Zoltán Dörnyei:

Stories from Exceptional Language Learners Who Have Achieved Nativelike Proficiency (50% discount code STORIES50 until 30/11)
Lessons from Exceptional Language Learners Who Have Achieved Nativelike Proficiency (50% discount code LESSONS50 until 31/10)

The books tell the stories of people who achieved native-like proficiency against all odds.

In this episode, Katarina discusses:

what exceptionalism in language learning means
the critical period hypothesis
polyglots vs mastering a language
how they selected participants for the books & their stories
why native-like isn’t necessarily the standard and what is instead
markedness versus proficiency
why forming a bond with the language is integral
working with Zoltán Dörnyei and his legacy

Read more about this episode on the LYE blog.

More on Katarina Mentzelopoulos:

Follow her on Twitter

Book 1: Stories

Book 2: Lessons

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