An article from The Economist describes how researchers have found a disparity in the size of the vocabularies of children that were spoken to often and children that were spoken to less often as infants and toddlers.
Differences in vocabulary size are noticeable even at 18 months, when toddlers can be tested by scientists who observe their gaze when they are spoken to. And as toddlers grow and begin to speak themselves, the differences are cumulative. A larger vocabulary can translate into a significant advantage in academic performance years later. Children’s brains even reflect the difference!
People build vocabulary from context. For a baby’s or toddler’s vocabulary to increase, the baby needs to hear you point out people, things and actions in the environment directly to him or her. Words spoken to other listeners in the baby’s presence and words spoken on television do not have the same impact. Your baby listens to you!
To find out more about the methods of the scientific studies and the policies that have resulted, click the link below to read the source article.
Source article: In the beginning was the word
