Scientists have begun to study more deeply why and how babies learn languages so quickly. Recent research shows that the foundations of language skills are established long before children begin to speak.
It can be difficult to understand what a newborn baby wants. They cannot speak, walk, or express their thoughts. However, an invisible process has already begun — the brain is intensively learning language.
Research proves that babies are ready to learn language from the moment they are born. As adults grow older, they often struggle to learn new languages, but babies can absorb almost any language, even artificial or invented ones, with remarkable ease.
For many years, scientists struggled to explain this phenomenon: how can a brain that cannot yet speak learn complex grammatical rules and a wide range of sounds? Thanks to modern technologies, we are now closer to answering this question.
The Learning Process
Most babies begin producing sounds such as “goo-goo” and “ma-ma” around six months of age, and by the age of three, many can speak in full sentences.
Patricia Kuhl, a professor at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, says:
“The infant brain is a new frontier. We are discovering what we can learn by observing the youngest members of our culture.”
New research methods show that babies’ brains are highly flexible. Rebecca Gomez, an experimental psychologist at the University of Arizona, explains:
“Infants’ brains are truly adaptable. They may not say much, but they learn a great deal.”
According to Kuhl’s research, babies first learn to distinguish simple sounds such as “ga,” “ba,” and “da,” and then gradually move on to understanding real words.
Because babies cannot tell scientists what they hear, researchers use alternative methods. For example, a sound like “eeee” is played from one side and “aaah” from the other. If the baby turns toward the new sound, it indicates that they can distinguish between the two.
Studies show that up to about six months of age, babies can recognize all the sounds used in the world’s languages. For this reason, scientists call them “citizens of the world.”
Selecting Sounds
There are approximately 6,000 speech sounds in the world, but no single language uses them all.
For example:
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Swedish distinguishes 16 vowel sounds
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English uses 8
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Japanese uses 5
Adults generally distinguish only the sounds that exist in their native language. For instance, in Japanese, the sounds “R” and “L” are perceived as similar. As a result, a native Japanese speaker may have difficulty distinguishing between “right” and “light.”
According to Kuhl, after about six months, a baby’s brain begins to focus on the sounds it hears most frequently. Gradually, children adapt to the dominant language in their environment.
At the same time, around 18 months of age, children begin to recognize patterns in their native language. For example, in English, they start to understand that words ending in “-ing” or “-ed” are usually verbs.
The Brain and Language
Scientists are particularly interested in the brains of people who speak more than one language fluently, since learning a language at a native-like level becomes much more difficult after the age of seven.
In one study, Chinese speakers interacted with nine-month-old American babies in Mandarin for four weeks. By the end of the study, the American babies responded to Mandarin sounds similarly to native Chinese infants. English-speaking teenagers and adults did not show the same level of response.
To study infant brains, Kuhl uses a soft device called an “electrode cap,” which measures electrical activity in the brain.
The results show that:
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Between 6 and 12 months, the brain’s response to speech changes dramatically
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Connections form between areas responsible for recognizing speech and producing speech
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In children raised bilingually, separate neural pathways develop for each language
However, after age seven, the brain strengthens existing connections, making it more difficult to form new language pathways. This is why early language learning is more effective.
What Can We Learn from the Infant Brain?
Research shows that the stronger a seven-month-old baby’s response to their native language sounds, the more words they are likely to know by the age of three.
Such measurements may help identify speech difficulties at an early stage in the future.
These findings may also help:
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Children with language learning difficulties
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Teenagers and adults who want to learn a new language
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Scientists developing artificial intelligence systems capable of communicating like humans
Television Is Not Enough
Studies show that live human interaction is far more effective than audio or video materials.
In Kuhl’s experiments, babies who heard a foreign language through television did not demonstrate learning. However, when they heard the same language spoken by a live person, their brains responded actively.
“Babies watched TV and seemed fascinated, but learning did not occur. There was no measurable brain activity,” Kuhl explains.
Conclusion
The infant brain is remarkably flexible and open to learning.
Language learning:
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Is more natural and easier at an early age
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Requires live social interaction
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Shapes the structure of the brain
Perhaps the most important lesson is this:
The best time to learn a language is during the first years of life.