Teaching babies to talk by singing

I found a great video on Youtube which is a perfect illustration of how to teach babies to talk using singing.

Points to note before you watch the video:

Why would singing help the baby to learn to talk?

• The baby's gaze is focussed on the mother's face ( attention)
• There is no background noise ( no distractions )
• The mother sings a slow song ( a simple tune and the words are well-spaced out)
• The baby is enjoying listening to the song ( she smiles and gurgles)
• The mother sings the words very clearly ( good pronunciation )
• The mother stops singing and leaves a silence, prompting baby to respond. ( taking turns)
• The baby tries to copy the mother's singing ( mimicking what she sees and hears)
• The baby experiments making a wide range of mouth and throat muscles (practicing)
  

This little exchange between mother and baby shows important steps in teaching babies to talk.

The baby's talking skills are being developed by learning that:

1. hearing a song is exciting, fun and stimulating
   
2. communicating is about "taking turns"
3. she can move various muscles in her mouth
4. she can make l..o..n..g sounds by controlling her breath
5. she can make a wide range of sounds
6. her mother wants her to respond
7. her mother adds some "extra talk" ( she says "words" and "song" and "can you SING it?" )

The mother understand that one way of teaching a baby to talk is to sing to her. But more than that...
She understands the need to stop and create a silence - a space in the "conversation" when baby can respond.
This mother understand the techniques for teaching babies to talk.

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Learn more about teaching babies to talk.

5 myths about baby talk | BabyCenter

5 myths about baby talk "Parents hear a lot of advice about their babies’ language development. Which tips are bogus? Here’s what research suggests about several popular beliefs about babies and the development of speech.

Myth #1: It doesn’t matter if you don’t talk to your baby–at least not when he’s very young.

Reality: Experiments demonstrate that newborn babies recognize their mothers’ voices. More than that, they already recognize the distinctive sounds of their mothers’ native language. And they prefer to a certain type of speech, which brings me to myth number #2…

Myth #2: “Baby talk,” that high-pitched, sing-song intonation that many people use when addressing babies, is bad.

Reality: This style of speaking is called “infant-directed speech” and it features many characteristics that seemed designed to help babies learn language. Not to be confused with speaking nonsense words (“coochie-coo!”) or trying to imitate a baby’s speech (“baby want wawa!”), infant-directed speech is about communicating more clearly. When people switch to “baby talk mode,” they speak more slowly, exaggerate their pronunciation,.

Learn more about how to teach baby to talk