Active Infant Learning with Dr. Martin Zettersten

Beyond Words Ep. 22 | Active Infant Learning: Curiosity and How Children Seek Words with Martin Zettersten, PhD

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In this episode of Beyond Words, host Garrett Oyama, MS, CCC-SLP, welcomes Martin Zettersten, PhD, to explore how infants actively learn language through curiosity, attention, and everyday experiences. Dr. Zettersten shares insights from his work as Principal Investigator of the Language and Infant Learning (LIL) Lab at the University of California, San Diego, highlighting how children seek out and process information as they begin to build their early vocabularies.

Together, they break down how attention and learning interact in early word learning, and what that means for how infants begin to connect words with meaning.

🎙️ Topics include:

• How infants and children learn language
• Large collaborative projects and shared datasets
• Improve confidence in infant development findings
• Developmental evidence to inform the caregiver
• Guidance and early language support

Resources:

Agency and Cognitive Development (Oxford Series in Cognitive Development) by Michael Tomasello