Recent advances in brain imaging technology are able to reveal the brain in action. Scientists are using this new technology to see what happens in the brains of 11-14 month children as they acquire their language skills. How do babies transform simple sounds into words? Patricia Kuhl, director of I-LABS at the University of Washington set out on this mission.
As expected, the auditory centers of the brain were activated. But Kuhl’s team also found that the part of brain responsible for planning speech was also activated. In this early period, babies appear to be visualizing the actions required to successfully communicate. This means there is a valuable opportunity for you to build your child’s brain and literacy skills. Here’s a few tips to help you get started:
Be aware when your baby is paying attention. When infants are alert, they’re most open to learning. Be conscious of when they’ve had enough stimulation and need a break.
Talk early, talk often. Starting children as early as possible will build better language skills overall.
Use a sing-song voice. The musicality and tempo of this format helps children better detect and recall information among the myriad other sounds. Use everyday language rather than “baby talk” (goo-goo-ga-ga).
Gesture. When you want a baby to focus on something, point directly to it and look at it. When the baby turns their attention on the same subject, you have what’s called “joint attention.” This helps children direct their attention and thereby better process language cues.
Identify what you’re looking at. Children are more likely to remember a word if it’s placed after their name: “Look Olivia, there’s a boat on the water.”
Elaborate their communication. When a baby merely grunts, babbles or stares, say more when you respond: “You said, ‘ba-ba,’ do you want your bottle?”
Use familiar words repeatedly. Children are more likely to remember words they hear more often. Play word games and use rhymes.
Use sophisticated language and go beyond the moment. Catherine Snow of Harvard University found that children who had parents and teachers who used more sophisticated language when they were young became better at speaking later on. These parents and teachers also asked questions which recalled the past or prompted thinking about the future, for example “What do you think is going to happen next?”
Use nouns, verbs and adjectives. Children learn nouns first, but you can get verbs and adjectives into the mix. If a child says “car,” you can say “The red car is a Volkswagen and it’s going down the street.”
Talk about their interests. Children are more likely to learn the names of things they find more interesting, but as they gain experience they will take an interest in other opinions too.
Take turns talking. Children with greater conversational turns with adults have a better verbal skills than peers with fewer turns.
SOURCES: Galinsky, E. (2018). Helping Young Children Learn Language: Insights from Research. YC Young Children, 73(3), 16–17.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26788975