International collaborators

Naledi Kgolo
PhD (Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics)
Lecturer: Department of English, University of Botswana

Naledi’s research interests include experimental linguistics, language processing, comprehension and acquisition. More specifically, her work focuses on mental processes that occur during language processing. She does research on English and Setswana, the official and national languages of Botswana.

Naledi sits on the Editorial Board of Marang Journal of Language and Literature, is a Board Member of the African Psycholinguistics Association (APsA), a Language Champion for the Oxford University Press – Setswana Living Dictionary, and is an Alternative Member of the University of Botswana’s Social and Behavioural Institutional Review Board (research ethics committee). Naledi has published several peer-reviewed journal articles.

Martin Mössmer
PhD Candidate: Linguistics, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)

Martin conducted his Masters research on Xri, a critically endangered Khoekhoe language spoken in the Northern Cape. His research interests include the mutual influences between dominant languages and the Khoekhoe varieties and ‘Khoisan’ languages spoken in South Africa, language maintenance in these communities, varieties of ‘non-standard’ Afrikaans, folklore and stories among Khoekhoe speakers and rememberers, and the phonology, syntax and morphology of contact languages. As a part of the SA-CDI team 2018–2023, Martin worked on the adaptation of the CDIs for South Africa’s eleven official languages, and to the ongoing research.

Sefela Yalala
PhD Candidiate: Communication Sciences & Disorders, Northwestern University

Sefela’s Masters studies focused on researching early language acquisition, especially within the contexts of Setswana-speaking children, her home language. Her interests are in infant and toddler language, the role of the social environment in language development, and early intervention. She has worked on adapting a language assessment tool (the CDI) into Setswana, and also consults on Sesotho and isiXhosa research. Sefela is continuing her research with a PhD looking at caregiver and child interactions and language intervention methods.

Aaron Kaat
PhD (Psychology) Associate Professor: Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University

Dr. Kaat received his Ph.D. in Psychology – Intellectual and Developmental Disorders and a secondary graduate concentration in quantitative psychology from the Ohio State University. After that, he joined the research faculty at FSM to develop and validate self- and parent-report measures and direct assessments.

Dr. Kaat is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University. He is a measurement expert, with scientific interests in genetic conditions associated with neurodevelopment (GCAND), other rare diagnoses, and intellectual or developmental disability more broadly. Dr. Kaat has a strong background in psychometrics and study design. His research program relates to measure development, adaptation, and validation in special populations using psychometrics and latent variable models. He is particularly interested in multiple-group item response theory (IRT), where the special populations may have a different distributional form than in the reference—i.e., general—population. At Northwestern, Dr. Kaat has emphasized psychometrics related to the instruments within the HealthMeasures suite (i.e. the NIH Toolbox, PROMIS, PROMIS Pediatric, Neuro-QoL, and ASCQ-Me).