Babies learn a lot in their first year. But their behaviour doesn’t always tell the full story If a baby doesn’t show a clear response at a particular age, it does not necessarily mean they have stopped learning or missed an important step.

Babies learn a lot in their first year, but not in a straight line. Our new study shows that babies can learn patterns in speech as early as 4 months old. But across development, how they show that learning changes.
theconversation.com/babies-learn...

#infantresearch #languagedevelopment

Yesterday at Science in the Swamp was incredible! 🧠✨ Kids solved puzzles, tested out brain activities, and even put on an EEG cap. Thanks to everyone who joined in and made it such a fun end to #NationalScienceWeek 💡
#ScienceInTheSwamp #STEM

Had a blast at Science in the Scrub today! 🧠✨ Kids learned what the brain can do, tried fun brain-training activities, and even wore an EEG cap for photos.
Next Sunday: Science in the Swamp, Centennial Park, 11am–3pm. See you there!
@westernsydneyu.bsky.social @marcsinstitute.bsky.social

🎙️ New interview on RobWords!

We talk about how babies learn language. Rob explores why “mama” is universal, why babies say “nana,” and more. I share insights from my research too.

🎥 Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fros...

#Language #Babies #Linguistics #InfantResearch

PAM-AP: scholar.google.com/citations?vi...

Shaping linguistic input in parent‐infant interactions: The influence of the Infant's temperament Parent-infant interactions highlight the role of parental input, considering both the quality, infant-directed speech, and quantity of interactions, adult words and communicative turns, in these inte....

- @antgoetz.bsky.social, @eylemaltuntas.bsky.social et al. (2025): how often adults engage in back-and-forth convos w/ babies depends on baby's own temperament – even at a young age, they can change the way adults talk to them #EarlyYears #DevPsySky #infancypapers doi.org/10.1111/infa...

Phonological Feature Abstraction Before 6 Months: Amodal Recognition of Place of Articulation Across Multiple Consonants The classical view is that perceptual attunement to the native language, which emerges by 6–10 months, developmentally precedes phonological feature abstraction abilities. That assumption is challeng...

Here is the link to the study if you'd like to have a read: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

It’s exciting to rethink what we thought we knew about early language development! Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I love discussing this with those who work closely with babies.

You're absolutely right. Babies are amazing and often underestimated! The key detail is that scientists have long believed these skills emerge only after infants specialise in their first language's sounds. Our study suggests the opposite—they may have these abilities before that specialisation.

Eylem Altunutas - Babies taking in information faster than anticipated (05/02/25) - Ron Wilson for Breakfast Eylum Altunutas is from The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development at Western Sydney University

I had a great time this morning chatting with Ron Wilson on 2SM Radio's Breakfast program about how babies decode language and how they take in information faster than we ever imagined! 👶🧠 🔊 Listen to the full interview here: omny.fm/shows/ronwil...
#BabyScience #LanguageDevelopment #InfantLanguage

Tune in tomorrow morning at 7:45 AM AEDT to hear me discuss how babies decode languages on 2SM's breakfast program with Ron Wilson! 🎙️👶

📅 Date: Wednesday, 5th
⏰ Time: 7:45 AM AEDT
📻 Station: 2SM

Don’t miss it—set your alarms! ⏰🔊

#LanguageLearning #BabyScience #2SMRadio

Over 20,000 reads in just one week! Couldn't be happier! 🎉

Weekend Evenings - ABC listen Weekend Evenings across Australia with music and great chats.

I was on ABC Radio Sydney last night sharing insights from our latest research! 🎧 Missed it? No worries! Full program here: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
⏳ Skip to my interview at 👉 1:35:00 👈 so you don’t have to listen to the whole program! #InfantResearch #ABCRadio #Language

🎙️ Tune in! I’ll be on ABC Radio Sydney tonight at 8 PM (AEST), chatting about how babies acquire language 🍼🗣️ and sharing insights from our latest research. Hope you can listen in! 📻✨

#LanguageDevelopment #BabyBrains #EarlyLearning #ScienceCommunication #ABCRadio #Sydney

📢 Exciting news! I was invited on ABC Radio to discuss my article on babies & language in The Conversation! 🎙️

Had a great chat with Sirine Demachkie—catch the segment on Feb 2 at 8 PM! 📻

#LanguageDevelopment #BabiesAndLanguage #ABCRadio #TheConversation

💡 Latest research shows that babies are already learning how sounds are physically produced BEFORE tuning in to their native language.

This discovery challenges previous beliefs and opens up new possibilities for early intervention.

🔗https://tinyurl.com/msx2vw7a

@eylemaltuntas.bsky.social

Babies as young as 4 months can tell how the sounds of different languages are made – new research The findings shake up previous ideas about language learning – and give us an earlier window to help children who might be at risk of speech or language delays.

II wrote for The Conversation about our latest publication!

Babies as young as 4 months can tell how the sounds of different languages are made – new research theconversation.com/babies-as-yo...

#Research #LanguageLearning #DevelopmentalScience #Babies #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #Parenting