Faculty bio | Lab webpage | (541) 346-9134
Melissa Baese-Berk is an academic expert in bilingualism, speech perception, second language acquisition and non-native speech. She studies speech perception and production, with special attention to nonnative speakers and listeners. She looks closely at variation in speech production and how that variation influences listeners in perception. She has also worked extensively on how various aspects of perception and productions systems interact. Listening to speech in adverse conditions, for example, is often a challenge. Baese-Berk also serves as director of the UO's Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Certificate Program and as an undergraduate advisor. Before joining the UO, she served as a postdoctoral researcher at both the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language in Spain and at Michigan State University.
Recent Media:
Lizzo was accused of using an ableist slur. Here are other terms we should stop saying too. (USA Today, June 14, 2022)
It's time to stop saying words like 'Schitzo' and phrases like 'I'm so OCD.' Here's why. (USA Today, March 19, 2021)
New study uses mice to unlock the secrets of language learning (Around the O, Oct. 16, 2020)
3 internet language trends from 2019, explained (The Conversation, Dec. 23, 2019)
Did we mishear Neil Armstrong’s famous first words on the Moon? (The Conversation, July 16, 2019)
Want to understand accented speakers better? Practice, practice, practice (The Conversation, April 3, 2019)
Language experts on Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony – and how words impact if women are believed (Mic, Sept. 28, 2018)
What's the best way to learn new sounds in a foreign language? (Inside Science, July 27, 2018)
UO professor researches how speech works (And doesn't) (Jefferson Public Radio, Oct. 6, 2017)
Foreign accents may depend as much on your eyes as your ears (Uptown Radio, May 12, 2017)
Learn a new lingo while doing something else (Scientific American, Jan. 1, 2017)
How to learn a new language while making dinner, running errands, or paying bills (Business Insider, Dec. 28, 2016)
What a difference an 'a' makes (Around the O, Sept. 7, 2016)
How to teach old ears new tricks (Scientific American, July 1, 2014)
Good news: You can learn a new language without even thinking about it (Reader’s Digest)
Proposal: Armstrong flubbed his big moon speech because of Ohio (The Atlantic, June 3, 2013)