Community Talk

I look like a crazy mum because I’m try to speak with my baby in English.”Honey, let’s wash your …” I speak English not because of her improvement but because of mine. Sometimes I feel nervous because I don’t know is it good or bad. I read that babies can recognize the native language when they are in a tummy. Will she understand me? Is she afraid of my speaking?

There is a good piece of news for me. Recently I read an article about babies from bilingual families. The study from the University of Washington shows that babies from bilingual households have more activities in the region of the brain which are responsible for executive functions like problem-solving and decision-making even before the start to speak. The researchers tested 16 babies from English-spoken an English-and-Spanish spoken households. They gave them to listen to specific sounds from English and Spanish languages. At that time scientists monitored the babies’ brain. The babies from bilingual families stay “open” to the sounds for a longer time. They are better able to switch the focus from one task to another. So I hope the early practice makes perfect!

There is the article: The Sooner You Expose A Baby To A Second Language, The Smarter They’ll Be