RESEARCH
Learn about breakthroughs that make a measurable difference.
Research Publications
To see examples of how researchers have used LENA technology to advance the areas of study below, click on a title to browse by subject area. Find out about new studies on language and brain development and read Q&As with expert researchers on the research section of the LENA blog.
For a complete listing of research studies that have used LENA, download the bibliographies of journal publications and LENA user research presentations.
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.
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- 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.
- 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
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