After thirty weeks of pregnancy, brain mechanisms related to hearing are fully developed. Unborn babies from that point on are able to hear what their mothers say and absorb elements of the language. They are able to use what they're heard during the final ten weeks of pregnancy and at birth to differentiate languages.
Patricia Kuhl, co-author and co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, said: "The mother has first dibs on influencing the child's brain. The vowel sounds in her speech are the loudest units and the fetus locks onto them."
Previous research found that within a month of birth newborns are able to learn and differentiate sounds of language, however this finding is the first of its kind to indicate that learning begins before birth while the baby is still developing.
Infants initially hear sounds of language, and only later on listen to meanings. This study appears to show that very early on, even before the baby is born, the fetus may be doing more than just listening to language sounds.
Young children are the fastest learners as they can easily absorb new information, the researchers note that understanding how they do this could help find ways of improving learning at later years. Kuhl concluded: "We want to know what magic they put to work in early childhood that adults cannot. We can't waste that early curiosity."
Patricia Kuhl, co-author and co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, said: "The mother has first dibs on influencing the child's brain. The vowel sounds in her speech are the loudest units and the fetus locks onto them."
Previous research found that within a month of birth newborns are able to learn and differentiate sounds of language, however this finding is the first of its kind to indicate that learning begins before birth while the baby is still developing.
Infants initially hear sounds of language, and only later on listen to meanings. This study appears to show that very early on, even before the baby is born, the fetus may be doing more than just listening to language sounds.
Young children are the fastest learners as they can easily absorb new information, the researchers note that understanding how they do this could help find ways of improving learning at later years. Kuhl concluded: "We want to know what magic they put to work in early childhood that adults cannot. We can't waste that early curiosity."
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