It’s natural for parents to start speaking to their little baby from the day they are born. If you speak to your child while feeding, bathing and dressing your baby you are laying the foundation for language learning. So be sure to speak both languages from the beginning.
Your baby learns language in one way only, and that is by listening as others talk and talk to them. The more you can talk to your child, repeating the same words, phrases and structures over and over, the sooner your child will learn to talk.
By the time your baby is about nine months old they should be able to understand simple words and commands. Your baby may perhaps also be able to say a few words already .
Even though your baby is still just learning, it doesn‘t mean they’re not listening and learning the meaning of your words. Very young babies can understand much more words then they can actually say. An average one-year-old can understand about 55 words, but might only speak one or two.
Reading and telling stories is a great way to encourage language learning. For the best results, try reading the same stories over and over again. And don’t forget that Irish myths and legends are some of the world’s greatest stories!
When your child is a bit older, you can start teaching him/her nursery rhymes. Research has shown that knowledge of nursery rhymes among three-year-olds helps to develop pre-reading skills.
