He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His dissertation research, supported by National Science Foundation and Language Learning dissertation grants, employed eye-tracking to investigate how learners allocate their attention under different instructional interventions. Bernard's broader research agenda examines how individual difference variables (e.g., motivation, attention, second language use, and working memory) relate to the learning and processing of second language grammar and furthermore, understand how those variables interact with learner external factors such as type of instructional intervention and learning context. Bernard also serves as the First-Year Spanish Language Program Director and the Language Training Coordinator for Graduate Students. Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago