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UrduIn a study published April 8 in Current Biology, University of Washington researchers found that when the adult talked and played socially with a 5-month-old baby, the baby’s brain activity particularly increased in regions responsible for attention — and the level of this type of activity predicted enhanced language development at later ages.
Tag: Language Development
Time watching videos may stunt toddler language development, but it depends on why they’re watching
A new study from SMU psychologist Sarah Kucker and colleagues reveals that passive video use among toddlers can negatively affect language development, but their caregiver’s motivations for exposing them to digital media could also lessen the impact.
To Boost a Preschooler’s Language Skills, Consider Reminiscing
Book sharing is a popular way parents engage young children in conversation. Not all parents are comfortable with book sharing and not all children like having books read to them. Research provides an alternative. To boost the quality of a preschooler’s language experience and skills, consider reminiscing with them. Findings show reminiscing is very good at eliciting high quality speech from parents, and in many ways, is just as good as book sharing (wordless picture books).
New study reveals similarities between chimpanzee and human language development
Scientists from the University of Portsmouth examining the evolutionary roots of language say they’ve discovered chimp vocal development is not far off from humans.
Babies talk more around man-made objects than natural ones
A new study, led by the University of Portsmouth, suggests young children are more vocal when interacting with toys and household items, highlighting their importance for developing language skills.
Improving Child Development by Monitoring Noisy Day Cares #ASA183
At the 183rd ASA Meeting, Kenton Hummel will describe how soundscape research in day cares can improve child and provider outcomes and experiences. He and his team collaborated with experts in engineering, sensing, early child care, and health to monitor three day care centers for 48-hour periods. High noise levels and long periods of loud fluctuating sound can negatively impact children and staff by increasing the effort it takes to communicate. In contrast, a low background noise level allows for meaningful speech, which is essential for language, brain, cognitive, and social/emotional development.
The Littlest Linguists: New Research on Language Development
How do children learn language, and how is language related to other cognitive and social skills? Psychological scientists have researched these questions for many decades. Here’s a look at some recent research (2020–2021) on language development published in the journal Psychological Science.
Five language outcome measures evaluated for intellectual disabilities studies
Expressive language sampling yielded five language-related outcome measures that may be useful for treatment studies in intellectual disabilities, especially fragile X syndrome. The measures were generally valid and reliable across the range of ages, IQs and autism symptom severity of participants. According to the study, led by UC Davis researchers and funded by NIH, the measures are also functional in supporting treatments that can improve language, providing far reaching benefits for individuals with intellectual disabilities.