Profile

Biography

I joined the department in February 2004, after holding a lecturing post in English Language and Applied Linguistics at the University of Portsmouth, and a research post at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.I graduated from the University of Belgrade (English language and literature) and completed my MPhil and PhD at the Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge.

I am a member of the Centre for Language Learning Research, and am also collaborating with colleagues in the Psycholinguistics Research Group at the department of Psychology. We are currently investigating how grammar is processed in a second language using the eye-tracking technology.

Research

Overview

As a linguist, I believe that questions related to language education and teaching can only be answered in the light of what we know about how languages are learnt, how they are accessed in production and comprehension, and how language (and other types of) knowledge are represented in the mind. My primary research interests are in second language acquisition, pragmatics and discourse comprehension, and general linguistic theory. Some of the specific topics I have looked at, or am interested in at the moment, include:

• grammar processing in a second language
• the role of input, attention, instruction and metalinguistic knowledge in second language acquisition and learning
• the acquisition of definiteness
• form-meaning connections in second language learning
• factors shaping developmental patterns in second language acquisition
• near-nativeness and sources of optionality in near-native grammars
• the effect of bi-modal input (text and sound) on the development of second language listening comprehension
• the structure of the nominal phrase definiteness, both as a category of meaning, and as a grammatical category
• computing the definiteness status of discourse referents in languages with and without articles
• Relevance Theory

Research group(s)

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Supervision

I am happy to supervise well qualified students in any of the above areas, but would also welcome linguistically informed proposals on other aspects of language comprehension and language learning

Publications

Selected publications

Trenkic, D., Mirkovic, J., & Altmann. G. (in press) Real-time grammar processing by native and non-native speakers: Constructions unique to the second language. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.

Charles, T. & Trenkic, D. (in press). The effect of bi-modal input presentation on second language listening: The focus on speech segmentation. In Y. Gambier, A. Caimi & C. Mariotti (Eds.) Subtitles and Language Learning. Peter Lang.

Trenkic, D., & Pongpairoj, N. (2013) Referent salience affects second language article use. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 16(1), 152-166.

Trenkic, D. (2009) Book review ‘Grammar acquisition and processing instructions: Secondary and cumulative effects. System, 37, 746-748.

Trenkic, D. (2009). Accounting for patterns of article omissions and substitutions in second language production. In R. Hawkins & M.P.G. Mayo (Eds.) Second language acquisition of articles: Empirical findings and theoretical implications (pp 115-143). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Download: pre-publication (PDF , 286kb)‌

Trenkic, D. (2008). The representation of English articles in second language grammars: determiners or adjectives? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 11(1), 1-18

Trenkic, D. (2007) Variability in L2 article production: beyond the representational deficit vs. processing constraints debate. Second Language Research, 23(3) 289-327.

Trenkic, D. (2004) Definiteness in Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian and some implications for the general structure of the nominal phrase. Lingua 114, 1401-1427.

Trenkic, D. (2002) Form-meaning connections in the acquisition of English articles. In S. Foster-Cohen, T. Ruthenberg and M. L. Poschen (eds.), EUROSLA Yearbook, pp.115-133. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Trenkic, D. (2002) Nominal definiteness in English - Hawkins' (1991) account and some modifications. Views and Voices: Inquiries into the English Language and Linguistics, Volume 1, pp. 53-71, Rijeka: University of Rijeka Press.

(2002) Establishing the definiteness status of referents in dialogue (in languages with and without articles). Working Papers in English and Applied Linguistics 7, pp. 107-131, Cambridge: Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge.

Trenkic, D. (2001) Izveštaj o projektu 'Fokusiranje na formu - slucaj clanova' (A report on the project 'Focus on form - the case of articles'). Traganja 4, Aleksinac: Gimnazija 'Drakce Milovanovic', pp. 36-40

Trenkic, D. (1998) "Degrees of Definiteness and Specificity in Discourse". In S. Lambropoulou (ed.) Proceedings from the 12th International Symposium of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, Vol. I., pp 295-308, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University.