I loved using baby signs (simplified sign language) with Luke.  From when he was born, and knowing full well that I wouldn’t see a return sign for many many months, I did signs as I read even the simplest books with him.  Bird, fish, lion, cat, sheep, dog.  I felt that it was engaging for both of us, and the authors of Baby Signs (the book that I used as a reference), Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn, laid out convincing anecdotal and research-based rationales explaining why signs were worthwhile for creating life-long readers (clearly, a passion of mine).

But I never really understood how they worked.  Because they did work.  Luke didn’t ever use all 50 or so signs that I eventually had in my repertoire, but he certainly understood most of them, and he loved using and watching them as we read.  I’m convinced that he paid more attention to the letters and words on the page because of baby signs, and they helped him understand the abstract, symbolic nature of language.  I know that signs were part of the reason why Luke could recognize his letters by 16 months, read words by 18 months, and read sentences by 24 months.

I recently finished a book called Nurture Shock  by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.  The book references new brain research that debunks many firmly-held parenting beliefs, including beliefs about language acquisition.  Many parents have heard that talking to babies is invaluable for a language acquisition head start.  But what the research shows is that simply inundating babies with words is only part of the story.  There are actually a few different things that, when used together, can make language acquisition even easier for babies.

1) Speak in “parentese”: Yup.  That funny voice you use when you exaggerate the pitch of your voice and elongate parts of words.  It helps babies  begin hearing how words are made of distinct sounds and makes the sounds easier to imitate.

2) Use “motionese”: Using a distinct motion for a word helps baby link the object you’re naming and the word you’re saying.

3) Response time: According to Bronson and Merryman, even more important than the sheer number of words spoken to a baby is the response time between a baby looking at an object or making a sound of interest in something and the parent’s reaction or labeling of the object.  Five seconds is about the window before a baby’s attention lags.

So, although Bronson and Merryman don’t specifically link these three ideas to baby signs, the ideas sure do go a long way toward explaining just why baby signs are so effective.  When you read using baby signs, you repeat the words used with signs in “parentese,” you perform a motion with your hand that helps baby focus on the word, and because you’re always on the lookout for any kind of baby sign from baby as you read, your response time to baby’s unspoken questions is short.  And voila!  You’ve just kick started language acquisition.  Cool, right?