Notlongagomanypeoplebelievedthatbabiesonlywantedfoodandtobekeptwarmanddry.Somepeoplethoughtbabieswerenotabletolearnthingsuntiltheywerefiveorsixmonthsold.ButdoctorsintheUnitedStatesnowsaybabiesbeginlearningontheirfirstdayoflife.
Ababylearnstogetthebestcarepossiblebysmilingtopleasehermotherorothercaregiver.Thisishowbabieslearntoconnectandcommunicatewithotherpeople.
Theresearcherssaythisabilitytolearnexistsinababyevenbeforebirth.Theysaynewbornbabiescanrecognizeandunderstandsoundstheyheardwhiletheywerestilldevelopinginsidetheirmothers.
Expertssaythefirstthreeyearsofachild’slifearethemostintensiveperiodoflanguageandspeechdevelopment.Thisisthetimewhenthebrainisdeveloping.Languageandcommunicationskillsarebelievedtodevelopbestinanenvironmentthatisrichwithsoundsandsights.Expertssaybabiesshouldrepeatedlyhearthespeechandlanguageofotherpeople.
America’sNationalInstitutesofHealthsaysevidencesuggeststhereareimportantperiodsofspeechandlanguagedevelopmentinchildren.Theabilitytolearnalanguagewillbemoredifficultiftheseperiodspasswithoutearlycontactwithalanguage.
Thefirstsignsofcommunicationhappenduringthefirstfewdaysoflifewhenababylearnsthatcryingwillbringfoodandattention.Researchshowsthatmostchildrenrecognizethegeneralsoundsoftheirnativelanguagebysixmonthsofage.Bythattimeababyusuallybeginstomakesounds.Thesesoundsbecomeakindofnonsensespeechovertime.
小题1:Whendoestheauthorthinkbabiesbegintolearn?(nomorethan9words2marks)
小题2:Whydobabiessmiletopleasehermotherorothercaregiver?(nomorethan9words2marks)
小题3:Accordingtoexpertshowcanbabies’languageandcommunicationskillsdevelop?(nomorethan8words3marks)
小题4:Whatdoestheauthormainlytellus?(nomorethan8words3marks)