In this webinar, we’ll outline the mismatch between science and practice around multilingualism. How do we push aside myths about barriers and deficits to arrive at a place where one child’s multilingualism is considered an asset for all?
LENA - Building brains through early talk
Webinars (6)
Kindergarten readiness and conversational turns: Study results point to a boost from LENA Start
A study out of South Carolina has found a correlation between increased conversational turns and higher scores on the state’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment.
The link between language and socioemotional development
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.
Inside Early Talk: Our point of greatest leverage for improving children’s futures
We find ourselves in the unprecedented position to understand the early language environments of very young children and answer questions we’ve been hearing from the early childhood education field for years.
The Power of Conversational Turns
Three studies published in 2018 show the relationship between conversational turns and brain development. Join us for a discussion with the lead researchers, Drs. Jill Gilkerson and Rachel Romeo, moderated by Shannon Rudisill of the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative.
Beyond the 30 Million Word Gap: A Conversation with Dr. Rachel Romeo
Join LENA’s president and chief operating officer, Dr. Steve Hannon, as he hosts a conversation with Dr. Rachel Romeo, lead author on a study from Harvard and MIT that sheds light on the underlying neural mechanism that makes conversational turns so critical for brain development.
Blog Posts (12)
A parent perspective on LENA’s new longitudinal study
Parent Traci Martin shares strategies for unpacking new research with parents, teachers, and caregivers.
Harnessing the power of toddler talk for long-term child outcomes
Megan Carolan, Director of Policy Research at the Institute for Child Success, shares how families, schools, and communities can all play a role in driving child language development.
New research says how much you talk with babies is linked to their IQ in adolescence
10-year longitudinal study published in Pediatrics correlates interactive talk in early childhood with later cognitive outcomes.
First paper published linking conversational turns with brain structure
The first research showing a relationship between conversational turns and brain structure has ben published in JNeurosci. The paper investigates how back and forth interaction between children and their adult caregivers relate to white matter connectivity in the brain.
Research Roundup: How social influences shape a child’s development
Read new research that sheds light on how children’s peers, caregivers, and social environments may affect their development.
Research Roundup: Long-term impacts of early childhood education
Read about new studies examining the long-term impacts of early childhood education on individuals and society as a whole.
New research sheds light on the importance of conversational turns
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.
Research Roundup: The Latest Findings on Reading
We all know we should read with kids. But why? See the latest research on how reading affects child development.
Research Roundup: Brain Waves, Intelligence, and Voter Attitudes
Did you know your brain waves sync with your baby’s? Read the study and see other exciting new findings in this month’s research roundup.
Research Roundup: Babies are real conversational partners
Want to stay up-to-date on happenings in the realm of early childhood education? Our new blog series is designed to keep you in the loop on the latest early childhood education news, research, and updates. Check it out!
Q&A with economist Flávio Cunha
An economics professor explains his research on human capital formation, with a particular focus on understanding the forces that explain the large differences in the quality and quantity of investments that children receive from their parents and family.
Q & A with Dr. Dana Suskind
Dr. Dana Suskind shares about the origins of her book, how she uses LENA technology, and why we all need to “spread the words.”
Articles (37)
Baby talk: how early childhood centres can help multilingual children
A study out of Australia analyzing teacher-child language interactions in early eduction settings could shed light on why children from non-English speaking backgrounds often start school with weaker language skills than their English-speaking peers.
In Babies’ Brains, White Matter Is Crucial—and Conversational Turns Make It Grow
A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience uses MRI and LENA technology to show that conversational turns as early as six months of age uniquely predict brain development at two years of age.
Pandemic has made babies and toddlers miss talking and reading milestones
Multiple studies show that infants are talking less because parents haven't been able to engage them in language developing conversations due to COVID.
Covid-Era Babies Are ‘Talking’ Less, Signaling Future Reading Challenges
We know the pandemic has had a serious negative impact on the academic achievement of school-age children. But recent evidence shows we also need to worry about Covid-era babies and toddlers.
Do COVID Babies Talk Less
A decline in socializing during COVID could mean less verbalizing for babies born during the pandemic.
New Research: Babies Born During COVID Talk Less with Caregivers, Slower to Develop Critical Language Skills
Infants born during the pandemic produced significantly fewer vocalizations and had less verbal back-and-forth with their caretakers compared to those born before COVID.
Babies Are Saying Less Since the Pandemic: Why That’s Concerning
Amid the stress and disruption of the pandemic, parents and caregivers have had less time and energy to engage their babies and toddlers in conversation—and the lack of talk already shows in their language skills.
Can science help poor kids earn more?
In a provocative video, Economist Films explores the role conversational turns may play in what they call "breaking the class ceiling."
Parenting: It takes a village
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.
Big Ideas for Early Childhood Innovation and Education Partnerships
About 100 federal, national, state, and local leaders – including LENA president and CEO, Steve Hannon — shared ideas for innovation in early childhood at a recent event hosted by the Office of Early Childhood Development.
What went missing when Vice President Biden talked about the ‘word gap,’ record players and poor children
The former vice president correctly referred to recent research about poor children hearing 4 million fewer words, on average, than those in wealthier families, said Jill Gilkerson, the lead author of a 2017 study that the Biden campaign says he was citing. But she adds that there’s way more to the story when it comes to increasing a child’s verbal ability and IQ through early language.
Early speech exposure could boost language skills for kids with autism
The more words autistic children hear as infants — and the more verbal interactions they have with their caregivers — the better their language skills at age 2, a new study suggests.
Randomized Trial of LENA Home in A Home Visiting Program
A new study will evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of adding the LENA Home program to the standard Every Child Succeeds (ECS) home visiting curriculum.
Measuring the tides of talk
Using LENA technology, researchers have discovered new insights into children’s home language environments.
Before I had kids, I vowed never to use baby talk. Here’s why I was wrong.
Research shows that using “Motherese” — a form of communication with a higher pitch, more variability in tones, and lots of repetition — helps babies learn language.
Speak to Me, Baby
Advice columnist Mr. Dad shares tips to help your child develop verbal skills.
Study aims to prevent children’s speech and language disorders before they start
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.
Want to Boost Your Baby’s Intelligence? Talk to Them – A Lot
New research finds parents who frequently talk to toddlers not only help improve their child’s vocabulary, but they also give nonverbal abilities like reasoning and numerical understanding a boost.
Baby talk linked to later adolescent IQ
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.
Parents learn, babies talk: How coaching moms and dads leads to better language skills among infants
A new study from the University of Washington shows that coaching parents on how to talk with their babies positively affects child development.
Early Language Exposure and Middle School Language and IQ: Implications for Primary Prevention
Two doctors reviewed the LENA Longitudinal Study and noted its contribution to the field and implications for pediatric policy and clinical practice.
Your toddler is learning 8 new words a day. Here’s the best way to make use of that language
Children’s frequency of conversation with adults predicts language skills and IQ a decade later, according to a new study from LENA researchers.
Talking To Your Baby Might Make Them Smarter, New Study Finds, Especially When They Can Respond
A team of researchers led by Jill Gilkerson, director of child language research at the LENA Foundation, looked at the effect talking to your baby might have on their later success.
Speaking with toddlers could boost IQ scores and language skills later in life
Having conversations with toddlers has been linked to higher IQ scores and better language skills by the time they reach school, a new study suggests.
Talking with your toddler could boost IQ scores and language skills later: Study
Early conversation with toddlers is linked to better language skills and higher IQ scores later in life, according to a new study.
Boulder non-profit LENA publishes research on importance of early talk with infants, toddlers
A 10-year study by LENA shows that the amount of talk with adults that babies experience in the first three years of life is related to their verbal abilities and IQ in adolescence.
Importance of language development in low-income, high-risk children
Study shows that conversational turns with teachers are positively related to language skills in children who are high-risk.
Back And Forth Conversation With Children Important For Children’s Brain Development
Using LENA technology, scientists at MIT discovered a relationship between conversational turns and children’s language development.
Infant nutrition and machine-based learning: Preliminary findings from Danone reveal colic promise
LENA partnered with Danone Nutricia Research to develop an expanded LENA capability to automatically detect and categorize crying and fussing in infants.
Here’s an intervention to keep our youngest learners from falling behind
Verbal engagement can influence child development more strongly than parental income or education, study shows
New Study Aims To Identify Autism Early With Telehealth
Researchers at Purdue University are including LENA technology in a “telehealth” kit for better understanding early risk factors for autism.
Talking with—Not Just to—Kids Powers How They Learn Language
Researchers at MIT use LENA technology to study brain activity and the importance of conversational turns to language development.
Back-and-forth exchanges boost children’s brain response to language
Researchers at MIT used LENA technology to find that the amount of conversational turns is more strongly related to positive language development than the number of adult words spoken to a child.
Talking with babies helps them bridge word gap
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.
Baby vest measures talk between parent and child
CBC Radio interviews Jill Gilkerson from LENA, explaining the importance of interactive talk between children and their caregivers.
New “Babies” Series on Netflix Features UC Merced Professor’s Research on Development
A professor who uses LENA technology to study the relationship between children’s motor development and language development is featured in Netflix’s new series, Babies.
‘Nothing short of remarkable’: Study finds parents’ chats with their toddlers pay off 10 years later
A 10-year study by LENA researchers confirms that the amount of talk with adults that babies experience in the first three years of life is related to their verbal abilities and IQ in adolescence.