A peek into language acquisition: Under the scientific microscope
At first glance, it can seem that one of the biggest challenges for learning language is figuring out what each word means. For example, learning that ‘dog’ means any furry animal that barks. We often overlook the challenge of first figuring out that when someone…
Imagine you are flipping through TV channels and stop on one in a language you do not know. It can be very hard to pick out words or figure out the meaning. However, what you might notice is a distinct melody. You may notice that…
The back and forth between speakers is one of the foundations of language. When one person speaks, soon after another person responds. It would be uncommon if a friend responded 5 minutes after you said something to them. It would also be surprising if that…
Children can use all their senses to help them learn language. Touch for example is a sense that children rely on from their very first days, while their other senses like sight and hearing are still developing. Touch can help children learn words. Some of…
When we meet a baby, we may make more exaggerated gestures than we may when talking to an adult. Can these modifications, be they small or big, actually make language learning easier? One way that our movements and gestures can help a baby learn language…
We adjust our speech from moment to moment, depending on the situation. Imagine introducing yourself at an interview versus presenting yourself to friends-of-friends at a party. The way we speak to babies, also, varies a lot from place to place, and even on the baby…
The way caregivers talk to babies can be quite peculiar. They may change the sounds of language, exaggerating intonations or raising the pitch of their voice (like after breathing in helium from a balloon). Or they may change the words they use, like saying ‘kitty’…
Conversations are one of the cornerstones of communication. We have conversations all the time, from very brief ones when we ask a store clerk about a product to hour long phone calls with our best friends. A full-fledged conversation with a young child, however, can…
Think of the hours on end you can spend looking up your favourite sports team’s stats, making each and every recipe from your go-to cookbook, or debating with your friends about top gardening techniques. You can likely remember tiny details about things most people know…
Social interactions involve two (or more) people. Yet, when one of those people is a preverbal infant, an interaction can feel like a monologue. It can feel like the caregiver is just talking, or signing, to themself. So how can a caregiver foster language learning…