Two Is Better Than One

Did you know that learning two languages builds brain power? Experts share everyday ways to introduce mother tongue to your baby.

- Wyn-Lyn Tan

NO BABY TALK

Never mind that he’s not even uttering his first words yet – your infant’s first year is crucial to building a strong foundation in language.

Babies process language structure and meaning long before they begin to speak, says Huang Ying, the principal of Chengzhu Mandarin education. So, go ahead and respond to his coos and babbles with your regular speech.

“Although young infants can’t grasp the precise meaning of words, the speech and language parts of their brains are stimulated when we speak to them. The more language they hear, the more those parts of the brain will grow and develop.”

By the time he can put words together, he would have already learnt the peculiarities of the languages you’ve spoken to him.

“Children who are exposed to two languages from birth learn to speak both fluently. From six months, however, if babies have not heard particular sounds from individual languages, they will experience difficulty distinguishing them later,” she adds.

Research also indicates that as your baby grows, his adaptability to sounds and languages decreases. Beyond six or seven years old, it gets increasingly difficult for him to form strong language connections.

“So, it is much harder for a child to learn language in primary school than it is in infancy and in preschool,” she explains.

SING, READ AND PLAY