Talking and Narrating
Our babies can start hearing our voices and outside sounds in the third trimester of pregnancy and it is in this time that it's best to introduce their first language/s. However, we might not know what to say! Well, you're in luck. Our babies are already listening to everything mom is saying at all times anyway, which is already a great plus into their language acquisition. Speaking's happening all the time and it comes naturally when communicating with others. She might be speaking to her husband/partner, or any family member, friends, colleagues, neighbors; she can be speaking on the phone or even speaking to herself. Our babies are picking up all parts of speech when mom is talking, and with this, detecting and increasing the recognition of sounds, patterns, melody, rhythm, pitch, etc. of the language spoken by her. Moms play the most important part of this acquisition because it is them that their babies can hear best, given that both share the same environment. They can also hear other people's voices, but it's not as clear as it is with mom. Nonetheless, what we can all do - and mainly mom - to continue to support their language learning is precisely that: keep speaking!
In addition, you can speak directly to your baby besides speaking to others. You can speak to your baby about anything and everything: the weather, your house, your job, the book you're reading, how you're feeling, the things you'll be doing in your day, and so much more. We can also add many details to everything we're talking about and turn it more into a narrating form. For instance, describing the weather in detail and how that affects you and your day; the books you're reading, all the characters, setting, plot, etc.; describing in detail what you're doing at the moment. Anything that we think about can be described out loud with our words and it's best if we make this into our new reality with the sole purpose of helping your child take it all in. Because they ARE listening and learning at all times.
My BabyLingua loves moms and families speaking to their babies in mom’s belly! We will suggest all sorts of topics you can speak about, and guide you in using varied tones of voice, pitch, rhythms, and more in order to maximize your babies' cognitive development and their language acquisition.
"Prenatal sensitivity to the rhythmic properties of language may provide children with one of the very first building blocks in acquiring language." ~ Dr. Natalia Minai
"The mother has first dibs on influencing the child's brain." ~ Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington.
