The Language ENvironment Analysis system (LENA): A validation study with Italian-learning children

• Published in: Journal of child language pp. 1 - 21
• Main Authors: Bastianello, Tamara, Lorenzini, Irene, Nazzi, Thierry, Majorano, Marinella
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Cambridge University Press (CUP) 21.06.2023
• Subjects: Cognitive science; Linguistics; Italian; Language environment analysis; child vocalisation count; adult word count; conversational turns count; Adult Word Count; Conversational Turns Count; child vocalisations; conversational turns; validity; Language ENvironment Analysis; Child Vocalisation Count Lena system; adult words
• ISSN: 0305-0009; 1469-7602
• DOI: 10.1017/S0305000923000326

This study is a validation of the LENA system for the Italian language. In Study 1, to test LENA's accuracy, seventy-two 10-minute samples extracted from daylong LENA recordings were manually transcribed for 12 children longitudinally observed at 1;0 and 2;0. We found strong correlations between LENA and human estimates in the number of Adult Word Count (AWC) and Child Vocalisations Count (CVC) and a weak correlation between LENA and human estimates in Conversational Turns Count (CTC). In Study 2, to test the concurrent validity, direct and indirect language measures were considered on a sample of 54 recordings (19 children). Correlational analyses showed that LENA's CVC and CTC were significantly related to the children's vocal production, a parent report measure of prelexical vocalizations and the vocal reactivity scores. These results confirm that the automatic analyses performed by the LENA device are reliable and powerful for studying language development in Italian-speaking infants.