Blame it on your mother...

So, here goes, deep breath, I'm going to post on the subject of child language acquisition. I was kinda hoping no-one would notice that I never write about this, but last week I was rumbled. In my defence, I just don't do pets and babies, and having scarred one set of students for life with my teaching of the subject, I've avoided the subject ever since. And besides, it goes like this doesn't it? Baby gets born, copes with the trauma remarkably well, and then ingeniously learns to speak a language or three. A little bit, then a bit more, and before you know it, s/he's doing an A Level in it. Okay, so you get to laugh at children, but it's not very exciting really, is it?...

So, having uttered those dreadful heresies, here's this week's news, from that fine bastion of balanced unbiased journalism, The Daily Mail, of research that claims to show that language development will be maximised where there is a close intuitive connection between mother and child. But as I know so little about the subject, you guys are all going to have to help me out here by posting your comments on these findings. After all, they say the best way of learning something is to teach it - and if you can teach me this, you'll surely be on for an A grade!

Mother does know best!