Dr Robert Winston: How children produce and acquire language

• Words are the most important thing a child can learn.
• When babies first learn language, they use a different part of the brain to what adults use for learning a new language.
• The larynx is higher up in babies. The advantage of this is that they can’t choke, however the disadvantage is that they produce less language. Having said this, the larynx drops by three centimetres by the time they’re a year old.
• It can potentially take thirty different muscles to coordinate a sound, e.g. mummy. This is when a child is fifteen months old.
• The larynx adapts to how much language we can produce.
• Toddlers can learn up to ten new words a day and this is due to social interaction (Vygotsky.)
• Children can get grammar right almost immediately, with the exception being irregular grammar.
• Children have an instinctive map for grammar.
• Children can apply logical rules for plurals, but have to be taught the exceptions.
• When a child reaches eighteen months, they can use tantrums to get their own way. This is because they are developing self-awareness. Use of pronouns start to kick in here too.
• There are constant alterations in the developing brain.