Cristina Manteca Gacho is a doctoral student under the mentorship of Dr. Erik Jorgensen. She holds a Master’s degree in Hispanic Linguistics from University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and a Master of Arts in Spanish from Auburn University. Cristina earned her bachelor’s in Teaching and Special Education from Alcalá de Henares University and then received the Benjamin Franklin Scholarship that sponsored her graduate studies in the USA. While volunteering with T-OIGO, she identified a significant gap in the understanding of hearing and language acquisition, particularly among heritage language speakers. In response, she developed a targeted teaching approach to support individuals with hearing loss in perceiving and processing gender agreement cues in the auditory modality.
Later, through her work on a listening effort project, she recognized another critical area for exploration: how older adults with hearing aids navigate communication in noisy environments. She is currently developing a research project that employs PHL devices and smartphones to investigate the real-world listening demands experienced by this population in everyday contexts.
Service to Community
Member of Bilingualism Matters Chicago
T-OIGO is a non-profit association whose mission is to support families of deaf children with cochlear implants or hearing aids and help them fully integrate into society.
Notable Honors
2021, Benjamin Franklin Scholarship Recipient, Benjamin Franklin Scholarship
2020, Nominated to Valedictorian, Alcalá de Henares University (Madrid)