How Speech Perception Contributes to Early Language Acquisition: Research Findings from Baby Labs
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This paper highlights the essential role that an infant’s speech perception has in the process of acquiring a language by bringing together relevant psycholinguistic research from infant’s language and behavior development laboratories (also known as Baby Labs). Findings from the Baby Labs show that human fetuses can respond to patterns of speech rhythm and intonation, and that during the first year of life, infants develop abilities to perceive and discriminate various aspects of speech sounds. It is believed that before uttering their first words (at about 1-year-old) infants already recognize and discriminate speech sounds in their own language.
Current data from Thai infants have been limited, but importantly, they should provide additional data that current developmental theories may lack. For this reason, in 2015, MARCS-CILS NokHook BabyLab was founded at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University (Tha Prachan) through academic collaborations between international research institutes. Accordingly, this paper discusses our research agenda, current projects, and a pilot study focusing on the development of Thai phonological contrasts between 4 to 12 months of age.
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จุฑามณี อ่อนสุวรรณ, นวศรี ชนมหาตระกูล, จุฑาทิพ ดวงมาลย์, ณัฐชยา อติชาติธานินทร์, พร ไตรรัตน์วรกุล, และวีระศักดิ์ ชลไชยะ. (2563). แง่คิดและแนวทางในการส่งเสริมพัฒนาการทางภาษาของทารกและเด็กเล็กจากข้อมูลการศึกษาวิจัย, วารสารศิลปศาสตร์, 20(1), 184-202.
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