Developing language

Research has identified an essential link between music and language acquisition, pointing out that music and songs amplify the features of speech for babies’ before they understand meaning.

Babies learn both by being spoken and sung to directly and by ‘overhearing’ language and music. The characteristics of 'motherease' (the sing-song way adults often talk to babies) and infant directed song are shared across cultures. It is thought they serve as aids for language learning by capturing and engaging attention, communicating affective information and by enhancing the important patterns in language.

“Put another way, infants use the musical aspects of language as a scaffolding for the later development of semantic and syntactic aspects of language. Infants are not just listening for affective cues nor are they focused exclusively on meaning: they are listening for how their language is composed.” Brandt et al, Music and early language acquisition, 2012

Singing and talking to your baby at home, playing music and being in social environments will help your baby’s speech and language development.

Building Blocks for Language classes run weekly in Lewes and offer lots of music, singing, storytelling, movement, gentle games and sign language for babies and toddlers. Here are some of the ways this sort of class supports early communication:

💫Babies love being surrounded by music
💫Language rich environments really support verbal development
💫Sign language is a fantastic tool for early communication
💫Being with other babies is wonderfully social
💫Props, toys and visual supports help understanding
💫Developmental movement opportunities help our babies build awareness of their bodies and skills for later movements

For further reading on this I recommend looking at the the Baby Rhythm project research