Episode 1 - Real Talk About Baby Talk with Dr. Aslin

Episode Summary 
In this episode, we speak to Dr. Richard Aslin, a Senior Research Scientist at Haskins Laboratories. Dr. Aslin discusses the incredible abilities of the infant brain for language and early learning and shares ways that brain imaging has broadened our understanding of the brain. He cites examples of how infants learn language, which influences later learning. Dr. Aslin finally provides implications for closer integration between research and practice in order to optimize the learning environment for all students. 

 “The readiness that infants have when they're in the home has to be expressed once they're in the school environment… For children who are having difficulty learning, I think we have to figure out ways, both from basic research and how it's applied in the classroom, that are going to optimize their learning outcomes.”

Top READ Bookmarks
Host Danielle Scorrano's top highlighted takeaways from this episode.

  1. Infancy is a critical time period for language development and learning, and early experience matters… a lot!  

  2. Infants already have sophisticated capabilities to discriminate sounds that are relevant to their native language and unlearn sounds that are not relevant. “These early speech perception skills seem to be correlated with the ability to learn the words of the language over the next couple of years of life.” 

  3. Parents of infants should be mindful of the language they present to their child. Even during early infancy, children are attending to sounds and information in their environment. 

 

Resources: 
Dr. Aslin's Baby Lab

Video Interview with Dr. Aslin

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READ Podcast is produced by The Windward School and The Windward Institute. READ is hosted by Danielle Scorrano.

About READ: READ, the Research Education ADvocacy Podcast connects you with prominent researchers, thought leaders, and educators who share their work, insights, and expertise about current research and best practices in fields of education and child development.
Note: All information and insights shared demonstrate the expertise and views of our guests.