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firstSounds is particularly beneficial for infants 0-6 months old, but it can make a difference for babies through their entire first year—and beyond.
No. Although the language sounds are accompanied by native instruments, the primary purpose of firstSounds is to introduce your baby to the sounds and rhythms of different spoken languages. That said, the app does include a bonus section of music-only tracks that many families like to use as lullabies.
Yes! firstSounds is excited to offer this option to families.
They are. And the accompanying music includes traditional folk melodies, also played on native instruments.
We encourage you to expose your little one to all of them, but you don't have to! You can decide what language sounds you'd like your baby to hear.
The app includes about 15 minutes for each language.
Your baby can listen to them in any order.
Research shows consistent exposure to multiple languages has the most benefit. We recommend 15 minutes, at least 3-4 times a week. With our app, it's easy to fit that time into your daily routine. Listen anywhere, anytime—even on the go.
Every language has unique sounds. As your baby hears the sounds of your native language all around them, their brain develops neural pathways—"tonal memories"—that support their ability to learn and pronounce those sounds over time.
If your little one hears only one language, those are the only sounds their brain "knows." That means when they're older it may be more difficult for them to learn and pronounce sounds unique to other languages.
This is why, for example, native Japanese speakers may have trouble pronouncing R and L sounds. Since that sound doesn't exist in the Japanese language, infants don't develop those specific neural pathways.
For a fascinating summary of language acquisition research, watch neuroscientist Patricia Kuhl’s TEDxRainier talk: The Linguistic Genius of Babies .
firstSounds doesn't teach your baby different languages. Instead, it exposes them to sounds from multiple languages, which can make it easier for them to become multilingual later on.
That's a great question. Research shows children in immersive bilingual homes may be slower to start speaking initially, but that's only because they're so busy listening to and processing all the different sounds! The "delay" is short-term. In fact, bilingual kids tend to do better in math and reading than those who speak only one language.
It's important to note that firstSounds is an enrichment experience, not an immersive experience. Having your little one listen to firstSounds will not hamper their native language acquisition.
Eight: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese , Russian, and Hebrew.
Native speakers in each language say common, simple phrases (e.g., "Good morning" and "How are you?"). They also pronounce the letters of that language's alphabet, recite numbers, say the days of the week, and identify parts of the body (e.g., "I have a mouth." "I have a nose."). The app includes a translation guide for each language.
Of course! firstSounds launched as "Sound Beginnings" in 1993. Our first audio recordings were offered on cassette tapes, then on CDs, then as MP3 files, and now through our app. Since our start, we've introduced millions of babies to languages and music from around the world.