Gaze Tracking Reveals the Ability of Children to Learn Bilingually
The best time to learn a foreign language is between birth and age seven. Researchers at the University of Washington used eye gaze tracking to analyze how babies respond to new sounds as they learn their initial vocabulary. The study found mastering your dominant language can hinder your ability to learn a secondary language. The brain tends to tune out sounds that are not part of the primary language. Yet babies that are raised in bilingual families can easily learn two languages in the same amount of time that it takes other babies to learn one. This ability to learn a new language deteriorates as the brain gets older. Researchers suggest that as an adult, listening to CDs or watching TV in another language is not enough to learn a new language. The best way is to be immersed in social situations where conversations can progressively build upon learned vocabulary and phrases.
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