NEWS
Read our latest news and updates.
Articles
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2/5/2017
Baby vest measures talk between parent and child
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1/21/2017
Tech Can Make Your Conversations with Kids Way More Effective
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05/7/2016
West metro program helps parents build babies’ and toddlers’ vocabularies
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Freakonomics Radio Podcast
11/19/2015
Does “Early Education” Come Way Too Late?
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11/19/2015
Techie Tools Teach Parents to Talk to Toddlers
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04/21/2015
Key to Vocabulary Gap Is Quality of Conversation, Not Dearth of Words
The New Yorker
1/12/2015
The Talking Cure
Margaret Talbot takes a deep dive into the Providence Talks program and its use of LENA technology to measure talk.
Al Jazeera
10/14/2014
Providence Talks Graduation
An Al Jazeera piece highlights the Providence Talks program and shows families on graduation day.
Affect Magazine
10/14/2014
Cubbies Are Full at World’s First CrowdFunded, Nonprofit Preschool
This Affect Magazine article introduces a new language-focused Chicago preschool called VOCEL, which stands for Viewing Our Children as Emerging Leaders. LENA is used as an assessment tool at VOCEL to quantify classroom interactions and track each child’s progress.
Latino USA
09/26/2014
Bridging the Word Gap
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.
New America EdCentral
07/21/2014
Using Digital Recording Devices to Encourage Talk with Children
An article in New America Ed Central featured LENA’s technology and commentary from LENA’s co-founder and chairman, Terry Paul.
PBS Newshour
07/11/2014
Coaching parents on toddler talk to address low-income word gap
This PBS Newshour piece examines strategies being used to increase conversation in the homes of families who are part of the Providence Talks program, as well as the program’s use of the LENA System.
Euronews
04/18/2014
Get them early, the key to educational success
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.
Contemporary Pediatrics
04/01/2014
Voice as biomarker: Using vocalizations to screen for autism
A Contemporary Pediatrics article highlights the work of D. Kimbrough Oller, PhD and other researchers who are using child vocalizations as a measure to screen for autism spectrum disorder. LENA’s recorder has has been used as a key data collection tool for that research. The article also makes mention of LENA’s broader early childhood intervention and research applications.
The New York Times
03/26/2014
Trying to Close a Knowledge Gap, Word by Word
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 Research Foundation’s Digital Language Processor (DLP) technology can benefit these initiatives.
NPR
03/17/2014
Efforts To Close the Achievement Gap In Kids Start At Home
National Public Radio ran a story on the efforts to close the word and achievement gap in Providence, Rhode Island using LENA with home visitation.
The Economist
02/22/2014
In the beginning was the word
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.
Office of Mayor Angel Taveras
02/03/2014
City of Providence Launches “Providence Talks”
Providence, Rhode Island won Grand Prize in the 2012-2013 Bloomberg Philanthropies’ “Mayors Challenge” competition with a proposal to use the LENA System for recording and reporting children’s language environment as part of a pioneering initiative to improve language development in children ages 0-3. The “Providence Talks” program, which took first place in the competition against 20 finalists selected from 305 applicants, rolls out this spring with a pilot of 75 families, and is expected to grow to 2,000 families by 2015. The LENA Research Foundation donated its full participation in Providence Talks, including all equipment, software and staff time.
The New York Times
08/24/2013
Public Policies, Made to Fit People
Richard H. Thaler, an economist from the University of Chicago, notes that research findings in social and behavioral science can be used to improve public policy. One example is the word gap between poor and affluent families. He discusses the programs of Dr. Dana Suskind and Providence Talks, both aimed at minimizing the word gap, including their use of LENA as a tool to provide feedback to parents.
Slate
06/25/2013
How to Raise Verbal Children
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.
The Early Ed Watch Blog
06/29/2009
UCLA Study: Give Young Children a Chance to Converse
Words are good. Conversation is better.
Browse the latest articles, press releases and videos about our work and the field of early language development.
Press Releases
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St. Vrain Valley Schools Launches New Initiative to Close the Talk Gap
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Escambia County Expands LENA Grow Initiative in Pensacola Childcare Centers
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Early Childhood Talk Program Adds School-readiness Texting for Parents
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Escambia County Adopts LENA Technology to Close the Word
Gap in Pensacola Childcare Centers -
Texas Children’s Hospital Becomes First Healthcare Organization to Launch LENA Start
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Minneapolis Announced as Site for LENA Start™ Parent-Driven Early Language Intervention