TEDxRainier
In this presentation (filmed in October 2010), Patricia Kuhl shares astonishing findings about how babies learn one language over another — by listening to the humans around them and “taking statistics” on the sounds they need to know. Clever lab experiments (and brain scans) show how 6-month-old babies use sophisticated reasoning to understand their world.
February 10, 2011
This article explores the significance of babies’ babble, and how these first sounds and utterances lead to more advanced communication, including both receptive and productive language. It appears that babies’ around the world babble in similar ways, and researchers are becoming increasingly interested in interpreting these sounds and the impact they have on both cognitive and social development.
October 11, 2010
A recent study confirms that increased televison time in a household leads to decreased verbal interaction between parent and child. Since interaction is one of the most important ways to stimulate a baby’s brain growth, less interaction can only lead to less productive brain growth. The study also explored the impact of television on young children’s verbal development.
June 1, 2009
UNC FPG Child Development Institute
How a mother cares for her baby may determine her child’s future vocabulary and language abilities, regardless of a family’s economic status. Research shows that from a very young age, children are influenced by the way their mother’s verbally interact with them.
May 12, 2008
Danielle Z. Kassow, Ph.D.
Print is omnipresent in literate societies. Young children begin taking notice of and interacting with print in their environment and are able to identify or “read” the familiar print around them beginning at an early age. Questions pertaining to whether or not children are actually reading when they “read” environmental print were the focus of this research summary.
October 15, 2006
Patricia A. Cutspec, Ph.D.
This research summary focuses on the practice of oral storytelling, which has been shown to enhance emergent literacy and language development in young children.
A thorough review of the literature reveals the need for parents and other adult caregivers to gain awareness of multifaceted approaches to emergent literacy.
Specifically, it is important to grasp that a love for literacy develops through experiences with adult caregivers. In fact, oral storytelling appears to be just as important to emergent literacy as reading to children.
July 15, 2006
Danielle Z. Kassow, Ph.D
The home literacy environment has an important role in young children’s emerging literacy and social-emotional development. An emphasis has been placed on storybook reading at home. However, it has been unclear how often (quantity) storybook reading should occur or how parents should interact (quality) with a young child while reading together. Results reveal the role that both characteristics (quantity and quality) play in young children’s (emerging) literacy development and the parent-child relationship.
June 12, 2006