The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> MEDICINE >> NEWS
Brief exposure to Mandarin can help American infants learn Chinese

DENVER - Researchers have found a way to reverse what appears to be a universal decline in foreign language speech perception that begins toward the end of the first year of life.

University of Washington neuroscientist Patricia Kuhl reported today that 9-month-old American infants who were exposed to Mandarin Chinese for less than five hours in a laboratory setting were able to distinguish phonetic elements of that language. It is the first experimental demonstration of phonetic learning from natural exposure to language under controlled laboratory conditions, she said.

In a companion study headed by Kuhl, another group of American infants was exposed to the same Mandarin material using a professionally produced DVD or audiotape but showed no ability to distinguish phonetic units of that language.

"The findings indicate that infants can extract phonetic information from first-time foreign-language exposure in a relatively short period of time at 9 months of age, but only if the language is produced by a human, suggesting that social interaction is an important component of language learning," said Kuhl.

She presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science as part of a symposium on "Learning to Communicate What Children Can't Afford to Miss."

Kuhl, who is co-director of the UW's Center for Mind, Brain & Learning and a professor of speech and hearing sciences, has shown in earlier work that children are born "citizens of the world" with the ability to distinguish among the sounds used in all languages. But sometime in the second six months of life infants begin to concentrate on learning the sounds of their native language and lose their ability to distinguish the sounds important to foreign languages. This same inability is why many adults have difficulty learning a foreign language and tend only to discriminate the sounds of their native language. In the two studies, infants were
'"/>

Contact: Joel Schwarz
joels@u.washington.edu
206-543-2580
University of Washington
17-Feb-2003


Page: 1 2 3 4

Related medicine news :

1. Institute of Medicine advisory: Jan. 12 Briefing on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
2. LA BioMed Medical/Research Briefs December 2004
3. National Academies Advisory: April 1 Public Briefing on Safety of Dietary Supplements
4. Brief mail- and computer-generated interventions work best for problem drinking among young people
5. Academy launches eBriefings Web site to help scientists
6. Brief telephonic questionnaire detects early signs of dementia
7. Brief exercise improves mental performance in people with chronic lung disease
8. APA Annual Meeting Media Briefings Schedule
9. Schedule Of APA Media Briefings
10. Experts To Discuss Findings From New Lewin Group Study In Conference Call Briefing
11. Multi-center study shows direct link between residential radon exposure and lung cancer

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Brief exposure Mandarin can help American infants learn Chinese

(Date:11/25/2009)...ov.25/PRNewswire-USNewswire/--TheAmericanAssociati...Actof2009,"S.2128,whichisdesignedtosubstantiallyim...icare.ThebillwasintroducedbySen.GeorgeLeMieux(R-Fl...theAmericanAssociationforHomecareoutlinedinits13-p...edtoCongressinFebruary.Thoseprovisionsincludecalli...
(Date:11/25/2009)...problems that can occur in children with autism an...nt plan that includes medication combined with a s...to Yale University researchers and their colleague...e Journal of the American Academy of Child and Ad...he National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Rese...
(Date:11/25/2009)... Initiative expands to include cost-effective, s...s, and healthcare professionals in developing worl...B) November 25, 2009 -- Elluminate, Inc. , the le...olutions that support 21st century teaching, lear... Fire and Ice initiative was awarded iNACOL,s fi...
(Date:11/25/2009)....,Nov.25/PRNewswire/--TwomoreH1N1vaccineclinicshav...heMacombCountyHealthDepartmentannouncedtoday.Theya...illCountyParkinSterlingHeights. ,, TheDec.3clin...9a.m.to3p.m.Thethimerosol-freeversionoftheinjectab...ast.Bothinjectableandnasalsprayimmunizationwillbeo...
(Date:11/25/2009)...esLittleProgresstoImproveOverallOutcomesforLungCan...e/-- Today,LungCancerAlliance-California(LCA-CA)i...eportCardisanassessmentofprogressbeingmadeagainstt...apterofLungCancerAlliance(LCA),theonlynationalorga...ocacyforpeoplelivingwithoratriskforlungcancer. ,...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:American Association for Homecare Endorses New U.S. Senate Bill, the 'Prevent Health Care Fraud Act of 2009' 2Health News:Parent training key to improved treatment of behavior problems in children with autism 2Health News:Elluminate's Fire and Ice Project Recognized as First-Ever iNACOL Award Winner for Outstanding and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice 2Health News:Elluminate's Fire and Ice Project Recognized as First-Ever iNACOL Award Winner for Outstanding and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice 3Health News:Elluminate's Fire and Ice Project Recognized as First-Ever iNACOL Award Winner for Outstanding and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice 4Health News:Elluminate's Fire and Ice Project Recognized as First-Ever iNACOL Award Winner for Outstanding and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice 5Health News:Macomb County Health Department Schedules Two More H1N1 Flu Vaccine Clinics Dec. 3 and 5 2Health News:Lung Cancer Alliance-California Releases 2nd Annual State-Specific Report Card On Lung Cancer 2
(Date:11/25/2009)...FA,Switzerland,Nov.25/PRNewswire/-- FromNovember16...ngsolutions,presentedthesecondeditionoftheHearingC...theolderpopulation.Theconferencebroughttogetherlea...dmorethan250clinicianswhoworkeverydaywitholderpeop...sanddiscussthelatestresearchandtrendsinhearingcare...
(Date:11/25/2009)...,Calif.,Nov.25/PRNewswire/--AMPACFineChemicalsLLC(...q: APFC )announcedtodaythatitreceivedtheEnvironmen...StatewideEnvironmentalSummit,sponsoredbytheCalifor...IndustrialEnvironmentalAssociation(IEA)andtheChemi....Thisisthemostprestigiousawardavailablefromallthre...
(Date:11/25/2009)...if.,Nov.25/PRNewswire-FirstCall/--Abaxis,Inc.(Nasd...nt-of-carebloodanalysissystems,announcedtodaythatC...presentatthe21stAnnualPiperJaffrayHealthCareConfer...erencewillbeheldattheNewYorkPalaceHotelinNewYorkCi...acturesandmarketsportablebloodanalysissystemsforus...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Phonak Successfully Hosts Hearing Care for Adults 2009 Conference 2Phonak Successfully Hosts Hearing Care for Adults 2009 Conference 3AMPAC Fine Chemicals Receives Prestigious Award at California's Annual Statewide Environmental Summit 2Fertility Can Be Preserved in Ovarian Cancer Patients 54043 1Fertility Can Be Preserved in Ovarian Cancer Patients 54043 2Dogs and 2 Year Olds on Same Mental Plane 54041 1Dogs and 2 Year Olds on Same Mental Plane 54041 2Dogs and 2 Year Olds on Same Mental Plane 54041 3Rx for Africa Inc and Zirus Inc Create Joint Venture ZiRx Therapeutics Ltd 54039 1Rx for Africa Inc and Zirus Inc Create Joint Venture ZiRx Therapeutics Ltd 54039 2Rx for Africa Inc and Zirus Inc Create Joint Venture ZiRx Therapeutics Ltd 54039 3
Other News:
...niversity of Michigan scientists will receive $4.4...elop an innovative approach to cancer.treatment---...nt and cancerous.changes inside living cells and t...mors..."Our goal is to create a multi-functional t...
...nn.--Yale scientists have discovered that the grow...nce, can be re-stimulated in mature.neurons with a...cause Notch signaling also may be involved in the ...r's, the results published in the October 22 issue...
...ch. - A surprising percentage of doctors are not f...treat patients better because they don't have.enou...enough confidence in their.ability to do everythin...dy. ..When it comes to guidelines for preventive h...
...ot only are smokers more.likely to develop periodo...ease.than nonsmokers are, they are also more susce...published in the current issue of the Journal of.P...urgical periodontal.treatment, which typically con...
health news:Nanomolecular 'smart bombs' seek and destroy cancer cells 2health news:Yale study shows way to re-stimulate brain cell growth: Results could boost understanding of Alzheimer's, other brain disorders 2health news:Why don't doctors follow directions? Lack of information, confidence, time & readiness to change, says new study 2health news:Why don't doctors follow directions? Lack of information, confidence, time & readiness to change, says new study 3health news:Why don't doctors follow directions? Lack of information, confidence, time & readiness to change, says new study 4
...Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC neurosur... of Health-funded clinical trial examining the eff... brain swelling in children who have suffered trau...rector of the Pediatric Neurotrauma Center at Chil...
...paper and Acting Director of Nutrition and Lifesty...as support for a small association between birth w...ease, the relationship is not as strong as earlier...ight may have on heart disease are dwarfed by othe...
... paramedics mobilizing a team of cardiologists and...a person who is having a heart attack, simply by p...ECG) over a wireless network. That's exactly what'...it's dramatically improving the quality of care, a...
Children appear to approach adult levels of performance on many basic cognitive and motor skills by age 11 or 12, according to a new study coordinated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).... Th
health news:SCAI highlights study using wireless technology to speed care of heart attack patients 2health news:NIH study tracks brain development in some 500 children across US 2health news:NIH study tracks brain development in some 500 children across US 3health news:NIH study tracks brain development in some 500 children across US 4