El language learning It has become very important. Not only in the personal sphere, opening up numerous new possibilities, but also in the professional sphere, helping us to obtain new ones. employment opportunitiesAnd that's something to be grateful for. Just by knowing one more language, we convey that we've made an effort to acquire it and that, therefore, we can apply that to the workplace.
But beware, you have to take into account that there is no age to start learning. Even the Babies They can do it. In fact, these children can read the lips of their parents in order to learn languages. Really interesting, since it helps them to reinforce the language and to grow before the others.
How babies learn languages ​​from the first months
We owe it to the University of Barcelona and Northeastern University in Boston, institutions where they have discovered that lip reading in the bilingual babies it occurs for a longer time than in monolinguals. A more than interesting learning method.
When babies start to babble, what they are doing is directing attention to the mouth of the person which they are focusing on, learning, so to speak, through gestures. And so, little by little, learning takes place.
studies on neurodevelopment Early childhood studies show that language learning begins even before birth, when the baby perceives the mother's voice in the womb. From the first days after birth, the brain is extremely plastic and capable of processing sounds from any language. This plasticity means that, in the first years of life, the baby can handle up to several languages ​​simultaneously without it causing any overload.
Between 0 and 3 months, the following predominate: observation And the first sounds: the baby reacts to familiar voices, distinguishes intonations, and begins to emit small coos that are the basis of future communication. Around 4 months, the familiar sounds appear. babbling with simple syllables like "ba", "ma" or "da", and is already able to recognize his name and very frequent words in his environment.
Between 7 and 12 months, the following become consolidated: first words and simple commands ("come," "give me," "no"), accompanied by many gestures (pointing, stretching out the arms). From 12 to 24 months there is a veritable explosion of vocabularyThe child begins to combine words, understands more complex phrases, and by age 2, can understand several hundred terms even if he only pronounces a portion of them.
Bilingual and multilingual babies: how many languages ​​can they learn
Current research suggests that babies can learn up to five languages At the same time, they are exposed to those languages ​​consistently and meaningfully. In fact, they find it easier to incorporate them at this stage than when they are older and have to study them formally.
In bilingual or multilingual contexts, such as homes where Spanish and English are spoken or extended families where several local languages ​​coexist, babies hear different sound systems daily. The brain responds by increasing its neural connectionsespecially in areas related to executive function (planning, attention, impulse control). This translates into greater mental flexibility and the ability to switch between languages ​​depending on the situation and the person they are interacting with.
In some cities around the world, such as certain African urban environments, it has been observed that babies can hear between two and six languages Children are exposed to different languages ​​every day, both through direct interaction with family and neighbors and indirectly through the media. This frequent exposure makes multilingualism commonplace and reinforces the idea that the child's brain is prepared to be, literally, a linguistic sponge.
Benefits of exposing babies to multiple languages
Science has identified multiple benefits to teach one or more languages ​​at an early age. Among the most prominent are:
- Improving cognitive skillsBabies exposed to two or more languages ​​develop better creativity, problem-solving skills, and multitasking abilities.
- Increased sensitivity to soundsBilingual babies distinguish different phonemes and nuances of pronunciation more accurately, which facilitates both auditory comprehension and later learning of other languages.
- Future academic advantageSeveral studies link early bilingualism with higher performance on school tests, better reading comprehension, and greater ease in acquiring new languages ​​in adolescence and adulthood.
- Cultural enrichmentBy mastering more than one language, the child gains access to new cultures, ways of thinking and ways of relating, which enhances their curiosity and tolerance.
Furthermore, research using advanced brain imaging techniques has shown that babies who hear two languages ​​exhibit a more intense activity in the prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices, key areas for executive function. Constantly switching between languages ​​acts as natural training for these mental capacities, influencing not only language development, but also... general cognitive development.
How to talk to babies so they learn languages
If you want your children to learn languages, even as babies, you only have to talk to them and talk to themYour attention will do what is necessary to acquire knowledge.
The key is that language is part of the daily lifeIt is recommended to talk to the baby a lot from birth, describing what is happening around them, naming objects, actions, and emotions. Accompany your words with gestures Clear facial expressions help the child associate sounds with meanings. When the child tries to communicate with babbling or incomplete words, it is very helpful to rephrase their attempts with correct sentences, thus providing them with a rich and understandable linguistic model.
In families that speak more than one language, it is advisable to establish a stable modelFor example, each parent should always use the same language when speaking to the baby to avoid unnecessary confusion. Consistency helps the child associate each language with specific people and contexts. Even so, hearing natural language mixes in adult conversations is also part of the baby's environment and isn't a problem if the primary language remains clear.
In addition to the direct language, the simple songs, the stories Illustrated materials, verbal games, and, at certain ages, some drawings or audiovisual resources in their original version can greatly reinforce learning. The important thing is that contact with the language is frequent, affectionate, varied, and adapted to the baby's developmental stage.
When adults understand that the child's brain is extraordinarily prepared for multilingualism and take advantage of those early years to speak, play, and sing in different languages, they are offering their children a powerful tool that will influence how they think, relate, and study throughout their lives.