Susan Rvachew, McGill University

Research

emergent literacy oral language development digital media gender differences literacy learning second language learning social interactions

Latest papers

Oral language abilities in French-speaking children from highly multicultural and low socio-economic status environments.
Clinical linguistics & phonetics · 2026 · senior author
Considerations for identifying subtypes of speech sound disorder.
International journal of language & communication disorders · 2024 · first author
Application of the Challenge Point Framework During Treatment of Speech Sound Disorders.
Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR · 2021 · senior author

All 22 publications

Latest funding

Gender Differences in Literacy Learning with Digital Applications
SSHRC · 2021 · Principal investigator
$51,367
Gender Differences in Literacy Learning with Digital Applications
SSHRC · 2021 · Principal investigator
$64,651
Ensuring Full Literacy in a Multicultural and Digital World
SSHRC · 2020 · Co-investigator
$1,065,000

All 13 grants and awards

22 publications.

01

Oral language abilities in French-speaking children from highly multicultural and low socio-economic status environments.

Royle P, Marquis A, Rvachew S

Clinical linguistics & phonetics2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1080/02699206.2026.2615069 PMID: 41593861

02

Considerations for identifying subtypes of speech sound disorder.

Rvachew S, Matthews T

International journal of language & communication disorders2024First author

DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.13108 PMID: 39230254

03

Application of the Challenge Point Framework During Treatment of Speech Sound Disorders.

Matthews T, Barbeau-Morrison A, Rvachew S

Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR2021Senior author

DOI: 10.1044/2021_jslhr-20-00437 PMID: 34525308

04

Vocal imitation between mothers and infants.

Athari P, Dey R, Rvachew S

Infant behavior & development2021Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101531 PMID: 33582572

05

Can technology help close the gender gap in literacy achievement? Evidence from boys and girls sharing eBooks.

Rvachew S, Thompson D, Dey R

International journal of speech-language pathology2020First author

DOI: 10.1080/17549507.2019.1692905 PMID: 31771365

06

An N-of-1 Randomized Controlled Trial of Interventions for Children With Inconsistent Speech Sound Errors.

Rvachew S, Matthews T

Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR2019First author

DOI: 10.1044/2019_jslhr-s-18-0288 PMID: 31479383

07

Speech therapy in adolescents with Down syndrome: In pursuit of communication as a fundamental human right.

Rvachew S, Folden M

International journal of speech-language pathology2018First author

DOI: 10.1080/17549507.2018.1392605 PMID: 29124959

08

Underlying manifestations of developmental phonological disorders in French-speaking pre-schoolers.

Brosseau-Lapré F, Rvachew S

Journal of child language2017Senior author

DOI: 10.1017/s0305000916000556 PMID: 27852336

09

Demonstrating treatment efficacy using the single subject randomization design: A tutorial and demonstration.

Rvachew S, Matthews T

Journal of communication disorders2017First author

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2017.04.003 PMID: 28460270

10

Cross-linguistic comparison of speech errors produced by English- and French-speaking preschool-age children with developmental phonological disorders.

Brosseau-Lapré F, Rvachew S

International journal of speech-language pathology2014Senior author

DOI: 10.3109/17549507.2013.794863 PMID: 23829437

Gender Differences in Literacy Learning with Digital Applications

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Rvachew, Susan S.

Keywords: emergent literacy; oral language development; digital media; gender differences

$51,367

Gender Differences in Literacy Learning with Digital Applications

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Rvachew, Susan S.

Keywords: emergent literacy; oral language development; digital media; gender differences

$64,651

Ensuring Full Literacy in a Multicultural and Digital World

Co-investigatorSSHRC2020Partnership Grants

Keywords: literacy; reading; language learning; culture; technology; new media; behaviour; neuroimaging; computational modeling; Indigenous; immigrant; Canada's official languages

$1,065,000

Ensuring Full Literacy in a Multicultural and Digital World

Co-investigatorSSHRC2019Partnership Grants

Keywords: literacy; reading; language learning; culture; technology; new media; behaviour; neuroimaging; computational modeling; Indigenous; immigrant; Canada's official languages

$713,000

Learning Mechanisms in Early Vocal Development

Principal investigatorNSERC2018Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Rvachew, Susan

$198,000

Emergent literacy with digital technologies

Principal investigatorSSHRC2016Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Rvachew, Susan S.

Keywords: literacy; emergent literacy; oral language development; learning; digital media; second language learning; social interactions

$196,556

Integrated multi-measure speech research station

Co-investigatorNSERC2013Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Principal investigators: Polka, Linda

$52,242

Impact of Speech Input on Speech Production Learning

Principal investigatorNSERC2012Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Rvachew, Susan

$135,000

Impact of Digital Tablets on Shared Reading Interactions and Outcomes

Principal investigatorSSHRC2011

Principal investigators: Rvachew, Susan S.

Keywords: Literacy; digital literacy; digital media; learning; social interactions; cross-linguistic research; cross-cultural research

$200,000

Sensorimotor processes in speech learning

Co-investigatorCIHR2009Team Grant: Vision, Hearing and Communication Disorders - LOI

Principal investigators: Gracco, Vincent

Keywords: Neuroimaging; Neurophysiological Mechanisms; Speech Disorders; Speech Motor Learning

$5,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Educational Psychology
Language Acquisition
Psychology

Co-authors at McGill University, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Phaedra Royle

Language Acquisition

2 shared papers, latest 2026

Linda Polka

Psychology

1 shared papers, latest 2006

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2021

Subject: Prospective PhD student: emergent literacy Dear Professor Rvachew, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Oral language abilities in French-speaking children from highly multicultural and low socio-economic status environments." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Gender Differences in Literacy Learning with Digital Applications" (2021), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]