RESEARCH
Breakthroughs that make a measurable difference.
Trusted by 400+ research institutions worldwide. Widely validated in multiple languages. Powering 200+ peer-reviewed publications. Offering unparalleled insights into the everyday language environments of young children.
That's LENA technology.
Reliable, detailed language environment data with convenient access and security.
Download the latest report from LENA’s research team: Inside Early Talk.
Data analyses from the over 10,000 children annually impacted by LENA’s programs have put us in the position to answer important questions about language environments in early childhood education. For instance, we’ve uncovered wide disparities between the language environments child experience at child care versus in the home.
and 
.
What can 24,299 daylong LENA recordings tell us about teacher-child interaction in early childhood education?
2023
2022
- Predictors of preschool language environments and their relations to children's vocabulary
- Assessing child communication engagement and statistical speech patterns for American English via speech recognition in naturalistic active learning spaces
- Individual differences in the development of gendered speech in preschool children: Evidence from a longitudinal study
2021
2020
- Prekindergarten classroom language environments and children's vocabulary skills
- Exploring early childhood language environments: A comparison of language use, exposure, and interactions in the home and childcare settings
2018
- Infants' experience with 'near and clear' educator talk: Individual variation and its relationship to indicators of quality
- Influences of number of adults and adult-child ratios on the quantity of adult language input across childcare settings
2017
2015
2022
- Habla conmigo, daddy! Fathers' language input in North American bilingual Latinx families
- Qualitative and quantitative aspects of child-directed parental talk and the relation to 2-year-old's developing vocabulary
2021
- The education word gap emerges by 18 months: findings from an Australian prospective study
- Speaking of state of mind: Maternal mental health predicts children's home language environment and expressive language
- Shifting parental beliefs about child development to foster parental investments and improve school readiness outcomes
- Variations in the home language environment and early language development in rural China
- How chatty are daddies? An exploratory study of infants' language environments
- Conversation initiation of mothers, fathers, and toddlers in their natural home environment
2020
- Associations among the home language environment and neural activity during infancy
- Couple relationship quality and the infant home language environment: Gender-specific findings
2019
2017
- The impact of book reading in the early years on parent-child language interaction
- Mapping the early language environment using all-day recordings and automated analysis
- Caregiver talk to young Spanish-English bilinguals: Comparing direct observation and parent-report measures of dual-language exposure
- How much do parents think they talk to their child?
- Maternal math talk in the home and math skills in preschool children
2011
2022
2021
- Vocal turn-taking in families with children with and without hearing loss
- Home auditory environments of children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing
2020
2019
2018
2015
- Automated vocal analysis of children with hearing loss and their typical and atypical peers
- The importance of language in the home for school age children with permanent hearing loss
2013
2012
2022
2021
2019
2018
- A concise protocol for the validation of Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) conversational turn counts in Vietnamese
- Correlation and agreement between Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) and manual transcription for Dutch natural language recordings
2017
2015
- Evaluating LENA System performance for Chinese: A pilot study in Shanghai
-
Reliability of the Language ENvironment Analysis system (LENA) in European French
2013
2023
2021
2009
2022
2021
2020
- Strong beginnings for babies: Families' language stimulation of infants from low-income backgrounds
- Socioeconomic disparities in language input are associated with children's language-related brain structure and reading skills
- Natural language input: Maternal education, socioeconomic deprivation, and language outcomes in typically developing children
2016
2023
2022
- Toddler negative emotion expression and parent-toddler verbal conversation: Evidence from daylong recordings
- Perspectives on the origin of language: Infants vocalize most during independent vocal play but produce their most speech-like vocalizations during turn taking
- Associations between caregiver stress and language outcomes in infants with autistic and non-autistic siblings: An exploratory study
- Language input in late infancy scaffolds emergent literacy skills and predicts reading related white matter development
2021
- The longitudinal relationship between conversational turn-taking and vocabulary growth in early language development
- Language and socioemotional development in early childhood: The role of conversational turns
- Dimensions of the language environment in infancy and symptoms of psychopathology in toddlerhood
2020
2018
- Language experience in the second year of life and language outcomes in late childhood
- Beyond the 30- million-word gap: Children's conversational exposure is associated with language-related brain function
- Language exposure relates to structural neural connectivity in childhood
2017
2014
2012
2023
2022
- Improving language support for infants and toddlers: results of FIND coaching in childcare
- Translating principles of precision medicine into speech-language pathology: Clinical trial of a proactive speech and language intervention for infants with classic galactosemia
2021
2020
- Investigation of the effectiveness of a community-based parent education program to engage families in increasing language interactions with their children
- Parent education to improve early language development: A preliminary evaluation of LENA Start
- Parent coaching increases conversational turns and advances infant language development
2019
- Small talk: A community research collaboration to increase parental provision of language to children
- Assessment of a parent-child interaction intervention for language development in children
2018
2017
2016
- Project ASPIRE: Spoken language intervention curriculum for parents of low-socioeconomic status and their deaf and hard-of-hearing children
- A parent-directed language intervention for children of low socioeconomic status: A randomized controlled pilot study
2015
2020
2019
- How effective is LENA in detecting speech vocalizations and language produced by children and adolescents with ASD in different contexts?
- Early language exposure supports later language skills in infants with and without autism
2018
2013
- Child and classroom characteristics associated with the adult language provided to preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder
- Stability and validity of an automated measure of vocal development from day-long samples in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder
2012
2011
- Vocal interaction dynamics of children with and without autism
- What automated vocal analysis reveals about the vocal production and language learning environment of young children with autism
2009
2021
2019
2017
2014
- VanDam, M., Oller, D. K., Ambrose, S. E., Gray, S., Richards, J. A., Xu, D., . . . Moeller, M. P. (2015). Automated vocal analysis of children with hearing loss and their typical and atypical peers. Ear and Hearing, 36(4), e146-e152. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000138
- Ambrose, S. E., VanDam, M., & Moeller, M. P. (2014). Linguistic input, electronic media, and communication outcomes of toddlers with hearing loss. Ear and Hearing, 35(2), 139-147. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3182a76768
- Aragon, M., & Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2012). Using Language ENvironment Analysis to improve outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Seminars in Speech and Language, 33(04), 340-353. doi:10.1055/s-0032-1326918
- Suskind, D. L., Leffel, K. R., Graf, E., Hernandez, M. W., Gunderson, E. A., Sapolich, S. G., . . . Levine, S. C. (2015). A parent-directed language intervention for children of low socioeconomic status: A randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Child Language. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1017/S0305000915000033
- Zhang, Y., Xu, X., Jiang, F., Gilkerson, J., Xu, D., Richards, J. A., . . . Topping, K. J. (2015). Effects of quantitative linguistic feedback to caregivers of young children: A pilot study in China. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 37(1), 16-24. doi: 10.1177/1525740115575771
- Suskind, D., Leffel, K. R., Hernandez, M. W., Sapolich, S. G., Suskind, E., Kirkham, E., & Meehan, P. (2013). An exploratory study of "quantitative linguistic feedback": Effect of LENA feedback on adult language production. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 34(2), 1-11. doi: 10.1177/1525740112473146
- Sosa, A. V. (2016). Association of the type of toy used during play with the quantity and quality of parent-infant communication. JAMA Pediatrics, 170(2), 132-137. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics2015.3753
- Christakis, D. A., Gilkerson, J., Richards, J. A., Zimmerman, F. J., Garrison, M. M., Xu, D., . . . Yapanel, U. (2009). Audible television and decreased adult words, infant vocalizations, and conversational turns: a population-based study. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 163(6), 554-558. doi: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.61
- Zimmerman, F. J., Gilkerson, J., Richards, J. A., Christakis, D. A., Xu, D., Gray, S., & Yapanel, U. (2009). Teaching by listening: The importance of adult-child conversations to language development. Pediatrics, 124(1), 342-349. doi:10.1542/peds.2008-2267
- Burgess, S., Audet, L., & Harjusola-Webb, S. (2013). Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the school and home language environments of preschool-aged children with ASD. Journal of Communication Disorders, 46(5-6), 428-439. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2013.09.003
- Irvin, D. W., Hume, K., Boyd, B. A., McBee, M. T., & Odom, S. L. (2013). Child and classroom characteristics associated with the adult language provided to preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7(8), 947-955. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2013.04.004
- Wiggin, M., Gabbard, S., Thompson, N., Goberis, D., & Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2012). The school to home link: Summer preschool and parents. Seminars in Speech and Language, 33(04), 290-296. doi:10.1055/s-0032-1326919
- Wood, C., Diehm, E. A., & Callender, M. F. (2016). An investigation of language environment analysis measures for Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers from migrant low-socioeconomic-status backgrounds. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 47(2), 123-134. doi: 10.1044/2015_LSHSS-14-0115
- Suskind, D. L., Leffel, K. R., Graf, E., Hernandez, M. W., Gunderson, E. A., Sapolich, S. G., . . . Levine, S. C. (2015). A parent-directed language intervention for children of low socioeconomic status: A randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Child Language. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1017/S0305000915000033
- Weisleder, A., & Fernald, A. (2013). Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological Science, 24(11), 2143-2152. doi: 10.1177/0956797613488145
- Ambrose, S. E., VanDam, M., & Moeller, M. P. (2014). Linguistic input, electronic media, and communication outcomes of toddlers with hearing loss. Ear and Hearing, 35(2), 139-147. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3182a76768
- Caskey, M., Stephens, B., Tucker, R., & Vohr, B. (2014). Adult talk in the NICU with preterm infants and developmental outcomes. Pediatrics, 133(3), 1-7. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0104
- Caskey, M., Stephens, B., Tucker, R., & Vohr, B. (2014). Adult talk in the NICU with preterm infants and developmental outcomes. Pediatrics, 133(3), 1-7. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0104
- Caskey, M., & Vohr, B. (2013). Assessing language and language environment of high risk infants and children: A new approach. Acta Paediatrica, 102(03), 1-11. doi: 10.1111/apa.12195
- Caskey, M., Stephens, B., Tucker, R., & Vohr, B. (2011). Importance of parent talk on the development of preterm infant vocalizations. Pediatrics. Online publication. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-0609
- Dykstra, J., Sabatos-DeVito, M. G., Irvin, D. W., Boyd, B. A., Hume, K. A., & Odom, S. L. (2012). Using the Language Environment Analysis (LENA) system in preschool classrooms with children with autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 17(6), 582-594. doi: 10.1177/1362361312446206
- Oller, D. K., Niyogi, P., Gray, S., Richards, J. A., Gilkerson, J., Xu, D., . . . Warren, S. F. (2010). Automated vocal analysis of naturalistic recordings from children with autism, language delay, and typical development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(30), 13354-13359. doi:10.1073/pnas.1003882107
- Warren, S. F., Gilkerson, J., Richards, J. A., Oller, D. K., Xu, D., Yapanel, U., & Gray, S. (2010). What automated vocal analysis reveals about the vocal production and language learning environment of young children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(5), 555-569. doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0902-5
- Li, L., Vikani, A. R., Harris, G. C., & Lin, F. R. (2014). Feasibility study to quantify the auditory and social environment of older adults using a Digital Language Processor. Otology & Neurotology, 35(8), 1301-1305. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000000489
- Wang, Z., Pan, X., Miller, K. F., & Cortina, K. S. (2014). Automatic classification of activities in classroom discourse. Computers & Education, 78, 115-123. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2014.05.010
- Wang, Z., Miller, K., & Cortina, K. (2013). Using the LENA in teacher training: Promoting student involvement through automated feedback. Unterrichtswissenschaf, 41(4), 290-305.
- Levin-Asher, B., Segal, O. & Kishon-Rabin, L. (2022). The validity of LENA technology for assessing the linguistic environment and interactions of infants learning Hebrew and Arabic. Behavior Research Methods. Advance online publication. doi: 10.3758/s13428-022-01874-9
- Orena, A. J., Byers-Heinlein, K., & Polka, L. (2019). Reliability of the Language Environment Analysis recording system in analyzing [Canadian] French-English Bilingual Speech. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(7), 2491-2500. doi: 10.1044/2019_JSLHRL-18-0342
- Canault, M., Le Normand, M. T., Foudil, S., Loundon, N., & Thai-Van, H. (2015). Reliability of the Language ENvironment Analysis system (LENA™) in European French. Behavior Research Methods. Advance online publication. doi: 10.3758/s13428-015-0634-8
- Gilkerson, J., Zhang, Y., Xu, D., Richards, J. A., Xu, X., Jiang, F., . . . Topping, K. (2015). Evaluating LENA System performance for Chinese: A pilot study in Shanghai. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 58(2), 445-452. doi: 10.1044/2015_JSLHR-L-14-0014
- McDonald, M., Kwon, T., Kim, H., Lee, Y., Ko, E.-S. (2021) Evaluating the Language ENvironment Analysis System for Korean. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(3), 792-808. doi: 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00489
- Schwarz, I.-C., Botros, N., Lord, A., Marcusson, A., Tidelius, H., & Marklund, E. (2017). The LENA system applied to Swedish: Reliability of the Adult Word Count estimate. Proceedings Interspeech 2017, 2088-2092. doi:10.21437/Interspeech.2017-1287
- Weisleder, A., & Fernald, A. (2013). Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological Science, 24(11), 2143-2152. doi: 10.1177/0956797613488145
Looking for LENA Technical Reports?