Video Text Alternative: Lifelong Learning Language

To view the original video, please go to http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/early-learning/topicinfo/Pages/promote.aspx

Video/Graphics	Audio
TITLE SLIDE: Developing Lifelong Learners: Language Skills Animation of a woman with a young child walking toward an apple tree. Logo of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Logo of the NIH/Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development	Instrumental music plays in the background.
Camera view of Ruben P. Alvarez. Banner text: Ruben P. Alvarez, Ed.D. Child Development and Behavior Branch	Ruben Alvarez: If you’re a parent, and you want your children to be lifelong learners, helping them develop language skills is extremely important.
GRAPHICS SLIDE: Animation of a mother and her son walking through a park with apple trees and a lake in the background. The scene zooms out to show the father and his daughter flying a kite.	Dr. Alvarez: This can start with creating a language-rich environment at home, one where children have daily opportunities to hear and take part in conversations.
GRAPHICS SLIDE CONTINUED: The scene zooms in to show the mother and the little boy walk over to an apple tree. The mother points to the tree as a speech bubble appears above her with the text “These apples are red.” The little boy points to an apple in the tree as a speech bubble appears above him with the text “Red!”	Dr. Alvarez: You can make eye contact with your child, comment on something he or she is interested in, and pause for a response. This way, children learn the building blocks of a conversation.
GRAPHICS SLIDE CONTINUED: The scene shifts to the father with the little girl flying a kite. A speech bubble appears above the girl with the text “How do you say wind in Spanish, papa?” A speech bubble appears above the father with the text “Viento, hija. Viento means wind.”	Dr. Alvarez: If you are a parent who speaks a native language other than English, speaking to your children in this language can be beneficial.
GRAPHICS SLIDE CONTINUED: The mother and father sit at a picnic table with their son and daughter sitting between them. On the table are three bowls of salad, a sliced loaf of bread, a small bowl of dressing and a pie. A speech bubble appears above the little girl with the text “¡Él quiere postre!” The little boy puts his hands in the pie. His father looks shocked. A speech bubble appears above the mother with the text “You’re right. He does want dessert.”	Dr. Alvarez: Children who speak their parents’ native language tend to experience healthier family relationships and a stronger self-identity.
GRAPHICS SLIDE: Video fades to text: Logo of the NIH/Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development For more information, visit www.nichd.nih.gov	Instrumental music plays in the background.
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