Scientists think that children have a “toolkit” that helps them make a guess about a new word’s meaning. That toolkit has strategies like shape bias and mutual exclusivity. Shape bias means that children are more likely to extend the meaning of a word to new objects that have similar shapes than they are to objects that […]
Browsing Tag: language learning
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Can babies learn more than one language from birth? Yes, no problem!
Multilingualism in childhood: Developing the ability to communicate proficiently in more than one language Multilingual children regularly hear more than one language and develop multiple systems of communication to engage with and learn about the world around them. These kids take a little bit longer than monolingual children to become proficient since they are building […]
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What’s the difference between sign languages and verbal languages? Their modality!
Both sign language and verbal (also referred to as spoken) language are full forms of language (full stop!). They just use different forms of physical expression, known as modalities. Verbal language involves the oral-auditory modality, which is based on the sounds that humans can produce with their vocal tracts and understand with their hearing. Sign […]
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Why is it more difficult for adults to learn new languages than it is for kids?
Children seem to be able to pick up languages naturally from a very young age, so why is it different for adults to learn a new language? Researchers think that infancy is a critical period for language development. A critical period is a specific time span during development where children are especially sensitive to their […]