Alissa Melinger
Professor of psycholinguistics at the University of Dundee, researching word choice and processing in bilingual speakers and providing expert explanations on forgetting words in a second language.
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Jan 26, 2026 • 8min
Beating Speaking Anxiety: 2. I’m scared of forgetting my words
Alissa Melinger, a psycholinguistics professor studying bilingual word processing, explains why words vanish when speaking a new language. She discusses conscious thinking making speech harder. She covers processing overload, weak translations, and language competition. Practical fixes like describing the word or buying time are also explored.
