The Baby Language Lab at the University of Manitoba

The Baby Language Lab at the University of Manitoba Located at the University of Manitoba, directed by Dr. Melanie Soderstrom. Most of our research involves perceptual studies of infants. We hope to see you soon!

This lab, started in Fall 2008, is dedicated to understanding how infants and toddlers two years old and under learn to speak their first language. With the older age groups, we are especially interested in what infants know about the properties of their language, such as which sounds belong together. With the younger ages, we look at what skills infants bring to the task of listening to the langu

age, such as sensitivities to the melodic properties of language, and how these skills influence their ability to learn their first language. In these studies, we play sounds and video for infants. By measuring their interest in what they are seeing and hearing, we can learn about what they understand and perceive about the world around them. We also collect recordings of language that infants hear in different environments and analyze different characteristics of those language environments. We are always looking for volunteers (babies and their parents or guardians) to come into our lab and participate in our studies. A typical visit takes less than 30 minutes, and you will receive a small gift from us for participating, as well as parking or bus fare reimbursement, and an enjoyable experience in our lab. We are currently recruiting infants between the ages of 4 and 12 months of age to participate in our studies. In addition, we are especially interested in recruiting:
- Infants exposed to German or French regularly for a study on vowel discrimination abilities
- Preterm infants (infants born at fewer than 37 weeks) to participate in a study on the effects of gestational age on infant speech perception capabilities
- Adolescent mothers and their infants for a study on the language environments of children born to young moms

Please give us a call or send us a message!

Congratulations to the graduating Honours students and Research Assistants from the Baby Language Lab (seen here with Dr...
05/26/2026

Congratulations to the graduating Honours students and Research Assistants from the Baby Language Lab (seen here with Dr. Melanie Soderstrom at the Honours reception). 🎉

Screens are everywhere - but what do they really mean for your child’s language and communication development? The Heari...
05/15/2026

Screens are everywhere - but what do they really mean for your child’s language and communication development? The Hearing Experience and Language Learning Outcomes Lab (HELLO Lab) at the University of Connecticut have an episode out that examines the impact of screen time on infant language development.

To watch the full video, a link can be found in our bio, (first link of our "links of interest" page).

PhD student Sana Fekrazad was awarded the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS-D) from the Social Scien...
05/08/2026

PhD student Sana Fekrazad was awarded the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS-D) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). This scholarship will support Sana's research on the impact of caregiver-infant communication on infants' preferences for familiar versus new objects. Congratulations, Sana! 👏

Come find us and the Young Minds Research Lab () at Science Rendezvous in the University College Great Hall on May 9th f...
05/05/2026

Come find us and the Young Minds Research Lab () at Science Rendezvous in the University College Great Hall on May 9th from 11am-3pm. 🧠

Science Rendezvous is Manitoba's largest science festival, open to everyone, free to attend, no sign-ups necessary, with more than 60 interactive science booths! 🔬

We wanted to acknowledge and congratulate our two Undergraduate Honours Students, who have successfully completed their ...
04/22/2026

We wanted to acknowledge and congratulate our two Undergraduate Honours Students, who have successfully completed their final Honours Thesis presentations! 🎉👏

Recent research shows that when caregivers engage in back-and-forth interactions (like responding to babbles, making eye...
04/21/2026

Recent research shows that when caregivers engage in back-and-forth interactions (like responding to babbles, making eye contact, and taking turns), babies show increased brain activity linked to attention, and this predicts stronger language development later on.

If you are interested in reading the full article, a link can be found in our bio, (first link of our "Links of Interest" page).

Congratulations to undergraduate student, Marlea Sabo, on receiving her acceptance to the University of Manitoba's Maste...
03/09/2026

Congratulations to undergraduate student, Marlea Sabo, on receiving her acceptance to the University of Manitoba's Masters of Arts program in Applied Behavioural Analysis! Marlea is finishing up her honours thesis work on the effect of maternal stress on maternal and infant communication, and will be starting this new endeavor in the fall. Congrats Marlea!

The Hearing Experience and Language Learning Outcomes Lab (HELLO Lab) at the University of Connecticut have a second epi...
03/05/2026

The Hearing Experience and Language Learning Outcomes Lab (HELLO Lab) at the University of Connecticut have a second episode out that explores childhood multilingualism. Whether you are a monolingual or multilingual family, this episode offers concise, research-based insights about how you can support language development at home.

To watch the full video, click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq-Pmhou_KU

Congratulations to Baby Language Lab's Dr. Sara Montazeri, who successfully completed her Final Doctoral Dissertation Or...
02/23/2026

Congratulations to Baby Language Lab's Dr. Sara Montazeri, who successfully completed her Final Doctoral Dissertation Oral Defense.

Sara's dissertation is titled "Linguistic Environment of Persian-Learning Infants in Iran: Quantity and Prosodic Characteristics of Caregiver Speech."

Sara is pictured here with the lab director and advisor, Melanie Soderstrom, as well as a few other members of the lab. Congratulations again!

Jean Berko Gleason's Wug Test was a pioneering innovation in the study of child language development, and the influence ...
01/20/2026

Jean Berko Gleason's Wug Test was a pioneering innovation in the study of child language development, and the influence of her work cannot be overstated. Recently she gave the keynote address for the 50th anniversary celebration of the prestigious Boston University Conference on Language Development.

You can view her keynote address at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC3v6mQgCBw

Address

190 Dysart Road
Winnipeg, MB
R3T2N2

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5am
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5am

Telephone

+12044748798

Website

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