Do you think babies can’t understand when you talk to them? Think twice! Research has shown that babies are able to discriminate between two languages, when they are born , if they are talked to in both languages in the womb.
Babies’ brains are very receptive to learning, so anything they see, hear, feel, smell or taste will help develop their brain and will make them ready for learning!
If you speak one language, or two or three, don’t be afraid (or embarrased) to talk to your child when they are still inside their mommy’s belly!
Here are 5 things (only 5, but you could do more!) you could do to help with language (or languages) acquisition:
1) Talk, talk, talk, and then… talk so me more… Talk to your child directly, tell them stories, or talk about your day at work!
2) Read- Reading is essential for language and literacy acquisition (more on these benefits on another post!)
3) Walk- Yes! walk around the house, the park, the stores, etc. Tell them about their environment. Name everything you see!!
4) Sing-ahh can’t say enough about how great it is to sing to babies!!!
5) Play- Playing is a child’s work!! That’s how they learn best!!
Do you have more ideas to stimulate your child’s language? Share with us!
Language, Music & More... 
Comments on: "Language acquisition starts in the womb" (10)
Very informative post! I have a friend who speaks to here son in English, Spanish, and Portugese – and he’s very bright for a little dude. I just hope this doesn’t mean my child will be calling me bad things when he pops out!! 😛
hi Fernando
No worries, your baby will learn vocabulary mostly from you! So, just make sure you use a great variety of appropriate words in from of him or her!! 😉
thanks for your comment!
We tell our families EVERYDAY at work to use both languages (usually english and spanish) with their children! Since i’m with infants and toddlers now is the time before they can’t absorb like this anymore!!! Great suggestions! 🙂
Thanks for your comment!
Yes! Please keep telling them. Sometimes people are afraid to use both languages because they think it will do some harm and the child won’t learn either language. It is up to us, speech therapists, teachers and all those who work with children, to tell them not only the benefits of being bilingual but to give them some ideas of what to do! Do you have any more ideas you have given to some parents that you want to share with us?
What do you say to those who are hesitant to speak to their babies/children in multiple languages because of fear of delayed language acquisition?
Well, you can tell them about the benefits of being bilingual (stay tuned, that will be one of my future posts!). For example, you can tell them how in the future being bilingual can help them get a better job or how important it is to be able to communicate with people from other cultures. If you are bilingual 😉 you can tell them how it has improved your job performance or even your views of other cultures. There’s nothing better than speaking from experience!!
Great article! My son is adopted, but as soon as we met I talked to him constantly–people would look at me funny because I spoke to him in an adult manner. He is a very intellegent little boy(9 yrs) now with an advance vocabulary.
I am sure I will do the same with my own! It is so important to start the education (in all areas) very early on! Thanks for your comment!
Take a look at the chapter on language development in the book “NurtureShock” by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. Really interesting research not just about talking to your kids, but about how to do it and what to talk about. Hint: talking to your kids about what THEY see and are interested in has a huge impact. The rest, not so much.
Awesome! Thanks Gabriele, i’ll check it out! It makes sense to talk to them about what it’s interesting to them and things that they see, rather than just what we want to talk about!