Babies remember their birth language.

Dr Jiyoun Choi of Hanyang University in Seoul led this research into how talking to a baby in any language during the first year of life can imprint on them the individual nuances of different languages. Dr. Choi advises all new parents to ''Try to talk to your babies as much as possible because they are absorbing and digesting what you are saying.''

The process of acquiring language starts extremely early, even while the child is still in the womb. Babies have learned their mother's voice by the time they are born.

If you have any friends or family members who speak a language taught at school then invite them over to talk to your baby so that when they are at high school, learning French or German, they will have a natural advantage.

One young lady I met in pregnancy had a toddler with her and she told me that she only spoke English to him even though she was from France. I advised her to speak both languages to him as this was the time that children picked up the flow of language and it would not in the long term confuse him. I do not know if she ever took this advice but turns out I am now backed up by science! Yay.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38653906