The Linguistic Genius of Babies
Read chapter 9 (Language) before beginning this assignment. Watch the following video of Dr. Patricia Kuhl called “The Linguistic Genius of Babies” and then write an essay (450-500 words) that addresses the four questions below.
After watching the video, please address the following:
Dr. Kuhl calls babies younger than 12 months, “Citizens of the World.” Explain what she means by this statement. What does she mean by the term “culture-bound listener?” According to her research, at what age do infants start to become culture-bound listeners?
U.S. babies from English- speaking parents, who were exposed to Mandarin via audio recordings or television, were not able to discriminate speech sounds native to Mandarin speakers. However, U.S. babies from English-speaking parents who were exposed to Mandarin through face-to-face interactions with a live person were able to discriminate speech sounds native to Mandarin speakers; just like Taiwanese babies. Explain why you think this live face-to-face interaction between those babies and the person speaking Mandarin lead to a successful outcome (as compared with babies in the audio only or TV conditions)?
Imagine that you had 5-6 month old infant and you wanted them to become bilingual. In light of Dr. Kuhl’s research, describe how you would work with your infant.
Which of the Language Development theories does Dr. Kuhl’s research best support and why?
