When is it best to
learn languages?
it is easier to learn a foreign language before the
beginning of adolescence (around age 11) as the
parts of the brain responsible for language
acquisition have matured by then
What is synaptic pruning?
a child’s brain needs to use language or he will lose language
synaptic pruning begins after two years old and lasts until around ten years old at which point 50%
of synapses present at age two are gone
A baby can hear rhythm
of speech called prosody
A baby is born with the
ability to learn any language
A baby can block out external
noise to focus on speech
A baby can isolate words
in a stream of speech
A baby can identify
syllables and sounds
A baby babbles to practice
using her vocal cords
just after turning one a
baby will say her first word
A baby knows 20+ words
A baby knows on average 50 words
A baby speaks 500 words and knows over 1,000 words
A baby’s brain is 90%
of adult size
A child with no exposure to a foreign language can be placed into immersion and attain fluency
Learning several languages gives children cognitive flexibility, academic success, a global mindset, and social and emotional benefits
The start of the concrete operational developmental stage
Language can still be introduced at home with significant fluency attained
A child’s brain is just about 100% of adult size
Attitudes about groups of people are formed by age 10
The beginning of adolescence
