The Benefits of Multiple Language Exposure in Babies
Spanish? French? Chinese? There is mounting evidence that children benefit from growing up in multilingual households. Whatever foreign language(s) you pick for your baby, here’s what science says about learning a second (or third) language from infancy.
Here's What You Need To Know:
- Language synapses that are not being used will start to prune away as early as 9 months. Which is why the earlier you introduce a second language, the better!
- Learning two languages at once does not hinder the bilingual babies’ ability to master either language.
- Bilingual children have been found to have an equal or greater vocabulary than their monolingual peers.
- Early exposure to multiple languages improves the brain’s executive functioning skills, such as problem solving and attention shifting.
Bilingual Baby
In the womb, your babe is already listening to your voice. In fact, it is one of the most important sounds they hear prior to birth. By the time they are born, your baby can differentiate between the language of the mother (that’s you) and different languages (might be you too). In fact, language differentiation is one thing your baby can do better than you. At birth, a baby can tell the difference between all 800 sounds that make up the languages of the world. Below are just a few benefits of growing up in a bilingual environment.
