Logo de l'OEP
Logo de l'OEP

Cultural industries

The amazing baby brain says ‘pas de lème’ with bilingualism

The Conversation, 29 July 2019

People often say that babies are like little sponges — with their ability to soak up language quickly and easily.

Yet much of the early research on language acquisition has focused on young infants learning only one language. This research was guided by an implicit assumption that learning one language is the usual and optimal way to learn to talk.

This idea was so strong that many questioned whether exposing babies to more than one language might be more than babies — as so-called “language sponges” — could absorb. Some even raised concerns that multi-language exposure might confuse babies and hinder their speech and language development.

Read more... >>>>>>