Notlongagomanypeoplebelievedthatbabiesonlywantedfoodandtobekeptwarmanddry.Somepeoplethoughtbabieswerenotabletolearnthingsuntiltheywerefiveorsixmonthsold.ButdoctorsintheUnitedStatesnowsaybabiesbeginlearningontheirfirstdayoflife.
Ababylearnstogetthebestcarepossiblebysmilingtopleasehermotherorothercaregiver.Thisishowbabieslearntoconnectandcommunicatewithotherpeople.
Theresearcherssaythisabilitytolearnexistsinababyevenbeforebirth.Theysaynewbornbabiescanrecognizeandunderstandsoundstheyheardwhiletheywerestilldevelopinginsidetheirmothers.
Expertssaythefirstthreeyearsofachild’slifearethemostintensiveperiodoflanguageandspeechdevelopment.Thisisthetimewhenthebrainisdeveloping.Languageandcommunicationskillsarebelievedtodevelopbestinanenvironmentthatisrichwithsoundsandsights.Expertssaybabiesshouldrepeatedlyhearthespeechandlanguageofotherpeople.
America’sNationalInstitutesofHealthsaysevidencesuggeststhereareimportantperiodsofspeechandlanguagedevelopmentinchildren.Theabilitytolearnalanguagewillbemoredifficultiftheseperiodspasswithoutearlycontactwithalanguage.
Thefirstsignsofcommunicationhappenduringthefirstfewdaysoflifewhenababylearnsthatcryingwillbringfoodandattention.Researchshowsthatmostchildrenrecognizethegeneralsoundsoftheirnativelanguagebysixmonthsofage.Bythattimeababyusuallybeginstomakesounds.Thesesoundsbecomeakindofnonsensespeechovertime.
1.Whendoestheauthorthinkbabiesbegintolearn?(nomorethan9words2marks)
2.Whydobabiessmiletopleasehermotherorothercaregiver?(nomorethan9words2marks)
3.Accordingtoexpertshowcanbabies’languageandcommunicationskillsdevelop?(nomorethan8words3marks)
4.Whatdoestheauthormainlytellus?(nomorethan8words3marks)