Zoey's Language Acquisition

As language teachers, Judy and I are both fascinated by Zoey's growing vocabulary. In addition to all the words Zoey can clearly say, she also imitates our words more often than ever before, and she's begun to babble in phrases and sentences. While it's fun to hear all of her words and share, "Guess what Zoey can say now," I think it is even more fun to observe the associations she makes with the world of words around her.

Here are a few examples that come to mind. This could be a growing list, so stay tuned...

* We put in a space heater in our basement for the winter. Zoey discovered the buttons on the front, and as a big fan of pushing buttons, Zoey turned it on and off. We cautioned, "Be careful Zoey, that can get hot." Upon hearing our warning, Zoey bent close to the heater and blew on it, just like she would for food that is hot.

* When singing a refrain in Lauryn Hill's "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" ('Ohh-oh, pree-ty, ba-by"), Zoey points to herself and says the word "Baby."

* When looking at books, Zoey likes to point at each character to have us name what they are. Later, we'll tell her to "point to the bear" or "can you find the doggie?" When we ask her to point to the "Daddy" or "Mommy" in a picture, she turns around and puts her hand on our chest.

* While reading a counting book, Zoey will tap each page and say "Doo, doo, doo" as if she's counting too. This is more mimicking behavior than an acquisition fumble, but it is cute and leads me to another mistake. The number 10 is represented by "Ten Different Buttons." When Zoey hear's the word "button" she immediately pulls at her shirt, trying to find her own belly button.

I know there's more, but that's all I have for now.

Cheers!