Final answer:
The sensitive period for learning a native language starts from birth and extends through early childhood, peaking between nine months and three years. This time frame is crucial for language acquisition, as children are biologically equipped to absorb and produce language, with a propensity to learn diminishing as they age.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sensitive period for learning to speak our native language typically begins from birth and continues through early childhood. During this time, children have a heightened ability to absorb the sounds and structures of language, with a rapid process of language learning starting as early as nine months and extending to around three years of age. This period is characterized by the development of cognitive abilities specialized for language acquisition, which are biologically optimized to recognize and produce language. As babies grow older, they lose some of this innate potential for language acquisition. Particularly important is the first year of life, where infants can discriminate between the phonemes of all human languages, but by around one year old, they focus on those sounds present in the language environment they are exposed to.
For children to develop their language skills effectively, passive exposure to language is crucial. This includes hearing language spoken or signed around them without formal instruction. This early exposure triggers further neurological development, which supports not only communication but also intricate reasoning and thought. Parental and social interactions, such as motherese, play a role in enriching a child's language environment, helping to harness their biological predisposition to acquire language during this critical period.