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This talk discussed how babies under 8 months from different culture can detect any sound in any languages from around the world, while adult cannot do so. When the babies are trying to master the sound used in their native language, they enter a critical period for sound development. She conducted a study on some a group of babies in America learning Ra sound and La sound compare to a group of babies in Japan. 6-8 monthers babies in both culture recognized these sounds with the same frequency. However, by the age of 10-12 months, the babies in Seattle were much better at detecting the Ra and La sound that did were the Japanese babies.
The finding showed that the babies take statistics on how frequently they hear sounds in their native and non-native languages. Because the sound Ra and La occur more frequently in the English language rather than in Japanese, the American babies recognized these sounds better. She believed that the result in this study indicated a shift in brain development, during which babies from each culture are preparing for their own languages and becoming language bound listeners.
The amazing part of this research is that the babies cannot learn from television, and it is necessary for babies to have lots of face to face interaction to learn how to talk. This is primarily because a baby’s interaction with others engages the social brain, a critical element for helping children learn to communicate in their native and non native language. In other words, learning language is not simply a technical skill that can be learned by listening to a recording or watching a show on a screen. Instead it is a special gift that is handed down from generation to generation.