POSTED: 5:59 p.m. PDT July 14, 2003

Micki Flowers
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Health Reporter

What's the best way for babies to learn language? Local researchers have made a surprising discovery every parent should hear.

Researchers at the University of Washington's Center for Mind, Brain and Learning are intrigued with the how and when babies learn language.

In a new study, they found evidence that American babies as young as nine months could learn a second language. But how it's taught makes a big difference.

MORE ON THIS STORY Center for Mind, Brain and Learning

Little Mackenzie Talbott seems mesmerized by a videotape of a woman speaking Mandarin Chinese. But is it likely she and other babies can learn language this way? University of Washington researchers found an answer that surprised even them.

"We thought they would learn. They might even learn better because the DVDs so emphasize the face and the voice," said Dr. Patricia Kuhl. "But did it seep in? Was it affecting the brain? And the answer there was 'no.'"

But a live person teaching language makes a difference. In a study of 9-month-old American infants, researchers found babies who listened to Mandarin for just a few hours from a real person picked up certain sounds of the language.

Dr. Kuhl, a neuroscientist leading the research, said social interaction is the key that unlocks learning.

"Without social cognition, the ability to read other people and to interact with them in a way that promotes both their and our own communication, kids don't function very well," Dr. Kuhl said.

Researchers say it's just one more clue to help us understand how the infant brain functions and how to open the window of learning.

Dr. Kuhl says social interaction could have implications for how we learn into adulthood.

In other research, Dr. Kuhl's team discovered mothers who spoke more clearly tended to have babies who were better at distinguishing speech sounds.