You are here: Home > Developmental Timeline > Language learning begins
About this Post
- Age range: 1 to 6 months
- Developmental pillar:
- Physical and Brain Development
- Social and Emotional Development
- Learning and Cognitive Development
- Communication and Language Development
- Physical and Brain Development: How children develop
- Social and Emotional Development: How children feel and connect
- Learning and Cognitive Development: How children think and learn
- Communication and Language Development: How children communicate
It's never too early to enjoy a "conversation" with your baby! Neuro-imaging studies show us that long before a baby begins to speak, language learning is taking place in the brain. The neural pathways that are part of the ability to produce language and understand language are activated in an infant's brain when you speak to the child. Behavioral studies have demonstrated that infants learn language both by listening and by watching their caregivers speak. Learn more about speech in the "Language" section of the timeline.
References
- Dehaene-Lambertz, Hertz-Pannier, Dubois & Dehaene. (2008). How does early brain organization promote language acquisition in humans? European Review, 16(4), 399-411.
- Kuhl, P. K., & Meltzoff, A. N. (1982). The bimodal development of speech in infancy. Science, 218, 1138