Webinars (9)

teacher and preschooler at table counting objects

Setbacks and Solutions: Helping early educators navigate language and social-emotional delays

Recorded: Sep 14, 2023

It’s more important than ever to equip early childhood educators to address children’s unique needs and help get their language and social-emotional development on track. There’s strong new evidence to suggest that LENA Grow, a language-focused professional development program for early educators, is effective at doing just that.

Watch now!

children in preschool room wearing LENA devices

“Because of the data”: LENA Grow at Pasco County Schools

Recorded: Jun 22, 2023

The Director of Early Childhood Programs and an instructional coach from Pasco County Schools, Fla., describe the why and the how of their LENA journey, touching on topics such as family engagement, CLASS scores, funding, and teacher job satisfaction.

Watch now!

Evaluating LENA Grow’s impact on early childhood education classrooms 

Recorded: Jan 25, 2023

Two independent program evaluations of LENA Grow show links between the professional development program and positive outcomes for early childhood educators and the children in their care.

Watch now!

ReadPlayTalk: How one school district in Texas is prioritizing birth-to-five

Recorded: Dec 1, 2022

Mesquite Independent School District, serving around 40,000 students in the suburbs of Dallas, has developed a successful early literacy initiative powered by city-wide dedication to a unified vision: School readiness and early literacy are vital for long-term success, and they start at birth.

Watch now!

mom working with baby

Do COVID babies “talk” less? Research findings and potential implications

Recorded: Mar 31, 2022

Babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic are vocalizing less and experiencing less interactive talk with adults than their pre-pandemic peers, suggesting they may be at greater risk of experiencing language delays. 

Watch now!

The link between language and socioemotional development

Recorded: Jul 12, 2021

Many previous studies have drawn connections between the quantity of back-and-forth interactions in early childhood and later linguistic and cognitive skills. Importantly, newly published research conducted in Chile has taken a novel direction, determining that infants’ language environments predict their socioemotional skills one year later.

Watch now!

Building Classroom Quality Through Language

Recorded: Jun 2, 2019

How can organizations support teachers in building classroom quality through interactive language? See where we stand and learn about the challenges and opportunities associated with increasing interactions.

Watch now!

Blog Posts (18)

New research sheds light on the importance of conversational turns

By

New research by a team at Harvard and MIT used LENA technology and brain imaging to measure the relationship between children’s language experience and their brain activity. The study found that conversational turns predicted variance in verbal scores, while the sheer number of adult words did not.

Articles (72)

Science logo

Kids with chattier parents are more talkative, may have bigger vocabulary

Cathleen O'GradyDec 20, 2023

New research from Harvard developmental psychologist Elika Bergelson offers a broader global perspective on language development than ever before seen. It emphasizes the importance of fostering interactive and communicative environments for children, and also probes the long-assumed connection between early talk and socioeconomic status.

Discover Magazine Logo

Do COVID Babies Talk Less

Sara NovakApr 25, 2022

A decline in socializing during COVID could mean less verbalizing for babies born during the pandemic.

Parenting: It takes a village

Walter IsaacsonAug 10, 2021

In this podcast episode, host Walter Isaacson and guests discuss parenting, how it's evolved from a group activity to something more singular, and how experts and technology are filling in the gaps for new parents.

Talk pedometers may boost your baby’s brain development

Katherine HafnerOct 14, 2019

A growing body of research about early childhood education and cognitive development suggests that chatting with children, particularly from birth to age 3, is crucial. That thinking is at the heart of the program that Virginia Beach is now expanding with a nearly $450,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Talk pedometers may boost your baby’s brain development

Katherine HafnerOct 13, 2019

A growing body of research about early childhood education and cognitive development suggests that chatting with children, particularly from birth to age 3, is crucial. That thinking is at the heart of the program that Virginia Beach is now expanding with a nearly $450,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Talk pedometers may boost your baby’s brain development

Associated PressOct 13, 2019

A growing body of research about early childhood education and cognitive development suggests that chatting with children, particularly from birth to age 3, is crucial. That thinking is at the heart of the program that Virginia Beach is now expanding with a nearly $450,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Measuring the tides of talk

Katrina d’ApiceJun 3, 2019

Using LENA technology, researchers have discovered new insights into children’s home language environments.

Study aims to prevent children’s speech and language disorders before they start

Kelly KrauseMay 14, 2019

Speech and language researchers at Arizona State University's College of Health Solutions, together with collaborators at Washington State University, have received a National Institutes of Health grant of almost $1 million to use LENA technology in a study that will try to prevent speech and language problems before they happen.

Speak to Me, Baby

Armin BrottMay 14, 2019

Advice columnist Mr. Dad shares tips to help your child develop verbal skills.

Baby talk linked to later adolescent IQ

Kim DoleattoJan 4, 2019

The findings of a recent long-term study by LENA researchers confirms two-way interaction between adults and infants correlates with increased IQ, verbal comprehension, vocabulary and other language skills 10 years later.

Talking with babies helps them bridge word gap

Lauran NeergaardFeb 17, 2017

As talk is found to be increasingly important to the development of childhood linguistic and cognitive development, more communities are using programs like LENA to improve communication behaviors in families.

The Vocabulary Gap

Sarah D. SparksApr 21, 2015

Key to Vocabulary Gap Is Quality of Conversation, Not Dearth of Words.

The Talking Cure

Margaret TalbotJan 12, 2015

Margaret Talbot takes a deep dive into the Providence Talks program and its use of LENA technology to measure talk.

Bridging the Word Gap

Antonia CereijidoSep 26, 2014

A radio piece on Latino USA highlights LENA technology, its use in the Thirty Million Words initiative, and the importance of speaking to young children in your native language.

Get them early, the key to educational success

EuronewsApr 18, 2014

A Euronews Learning World article and video examine various approaches to increasing early childhood learning around the world. LENA's language analysis technology is featured in the second segment as an important tool in Dr. Dana Suskind's 30 Million Words project.

Trying to Close a Knowledge Gap, Word by Word

Motoko RichMar 26, 2014

A New York Times article and video on new programs that focus on the home environment of very young children and how the use of LENA's Digital Language Processor (DLP) technology can benefit these initiatives.

In the Beginning was the Word

Feb 22, 2014

The Economist reported on the growing scientific evidence on the importance of parent talk and its implications for policy. LENA is noted as a tool to help close the gap.

How to Raise Verbal Children

Mike VuoloJun 25, 2013

Lexicon Valley, a Slate podcast about language hosted by Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo, discussed the importance of talking to your kids. Betty Hart and Todd Risley's research, "Providence Talks,"" and LENA were all part of the discussion.