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Glossary

LENA Q & A

Q:

What is LENA?

A:

LENA stands for Language ENvironment Analysis. The LENA System is the world’s first automatic language collection and analysis tool for professionals and researchers. LENA is a revolutionary tool that: provides real data about a child’s language environment, including Adult Word Count, Conversational Turns, Child Vocalizations, and Developmental Growth with percentile comparisons.

Q:

Who is LENA for?

A:

The LENA Systems are a tool for professionals and researchers to seamlessly gather child speech and language environment data with automatic processing abilities. The LENA Pro and the LENA Research systems are specifically designed for speech language pathologists, pediatricians (LENA Pro), and researchers (LENA Research).

Q:

What does the LENA System do?

A:

The LENA Pro and the LENA Research systems allow you to easily collect and process language environment data for children ages 2 to 48 months old, using LENA Digital Language Processors (DLPs) and a new and more sophisticated version of the LENA software.
Both versions of the software contain a client management feature that allows collection and management of multiple recordings from multiple clients. The LENA software runs on a single PC and can process between 30 and 120 sixteen-hour audio files per month.

Q:

What materials will I need?

A:

In order to better serve you and ensure your satisfaction with the system, please complete the following questionnaire. Your answers will help us to understand your needs and enable us to make suggestions on what materials you may need. To reach one of our qualified research representatives, please call us at 303.545.9696.

Download the Purchasing Questionnaire here.

Q:

Why do I need the LENA Clothing?

A:

The pocket in the LENA Clothing is made from specific materials and provides secure placement of the LENA DLP. The special material allows the software to collect and analyze audio based on pitch and distance, and other acoustic properties. Placement is critical to the identification of Key Child or Other children.

Q:

Do you offer Digital Language Processor volume pricing?

A:	Yes! We offer volume pricing for customers who need 5 DLPs or more. The discount is as follows: 1 to 4 DLPs (no discount) 5 to 9 DLPs (5% off) 10 to 19 DLPs (8% off) 20+ DLPs (10% off )

Q:

Does LENA help with transcription?

A:	Absolutely! Using the LENA software in addition to Transcriber freeware, you can substantially reduce your transcription time.

Q:

What is the Maintenance Package?

A:	The Maintenance Package is the technical support and updates bundled into one convenient package. For pricing, please visit our Pricing Page.

Q:

Is the Maintenance Package required?

A:	The Maintenance Package is required for the first year to help you get acquainted with your new software. After your first year with LENA, the Maintenance Package is optional.

Q:

What is a DLP?

A:

Each system comes with one Digital Language Processor (DLP). The LENA DLP weighs 2 ounces and captures up to 16 hours of talk. The DLP incorporates a powerful microprocessor with advanced compression and audio components similar to hearing aids costing over $1000. To determine how many DLPs you will need for your research, please complete our

Purchasing Questionnaire

or call us at: 303.545.9696.

Q:

Do you have a money back guarantee?

A:	Yes. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with your LENA System, you may return it within 30 days from the original purchase date for a full refund.

Q:

Can I use the LENA System by purchasing only the DLP kit?

A:

No. The LENA System is a multi-faceted product. The LENA DLP kit includes all the accessories you will need to properly use the LENA System. You will receive one DLP kit with your purchase of either the LENA Pro software or the LENA Research software. Additional DLP kits and LENA Clothing items are sold separately.

Q:

When you export the audio file into a TRS or CHA file, what are the different software options for transcribing? And what is the cost?

A:

TRS is for Transcriber shareware software. (Donations are recommended but not required.) CHA is for CLAN freeware software. CLAN was developed as part of the CHILDES (CHILD Language Data Exchange System) project at Carnegie-Mellon University. To download a free copy of Transcriber software, go to: http://sourceforge.net/index.php and type “Transcriber” in the top “Search” box. To download a free copy of CLAN software, go to: http://childes.psy.cmu.edu/clan/ This export feature is offered only with the LENA Research version. It is not available with LENA Pro.

Q:

How does the DLP/LENA software process singing?

A:

Singing is detected as a human speaker (Adult Words) if it is a human’s voice singing, and not electronic music in the background. If two or more people are singing together then it will be detected as overlap. If the Key Child is singing then it will be counted as Child Vocalizations, if using LENA Pro or Research. The LENA software does not count actual words the children are speaking, because babies can vocalize before they are able to speak words. That is why LENA focuses on a child's overall vocalizations - the critical component of speech development.

Q:

Does the DLP pick up quieter voices and whispers?

A:

The DLP fits into a hidden pocket in the LENA Clothing, where it is in close proximity to the child’s mouth. This makes it possible for the DLP to detect child speech, even if it is a whisper. If an adult is speaking quietly to the child, their words may or may not be picked up by the software, depending on how close to the child they are.

Q:

The reported word count for 5-minute segments does not match my own count. Why is this?

A:

The LENA System is designed to be used for an entire 12-hour to 16-hour day; all reported reliability information is based on 12 hour samples. Although it is likely that LENA will either miss some words or add extra words in any 5-minute segment, the reason LENA is so reliable for day-long recordings is due to the fact that erroneous word deletions and insertions cancel each other out over longer periods of time. A more detailed explanation of this process can be found in the “Reliability Over Time” section of Infoture Technical Report ITR-05 (Available on the Research page). This section indicates that short recordings (e.g. less than 2 hours) can show word count error rates as high as 25%. However, after two hours, the balance of insertions and deletions reduce the error rate to less than 5%. Thus, to reliably test the accuracy of the Adult Word Count measurement of the LENA System, it is recommended that test recordings and transcriptions be at least two hours long.

Q:

When you export the audio into Transcriber or CLAN freeware/software, will that give you the exact words and symbols for utterances?

A:	The exported audio file will be segmented by speaker ID. For a list of available segment IDs, please view FAQ “What is Speaker ID?” This feature will reduce your transcription time by at least 32 percent.

Q:

What is Speaker ID? What speakers and sounds is the DLP/LENA software able to recognize and process?

A:

Speaker Identification marks who and what the DLP and software are able to recognize and process when recording in the child’s natural environment.

Speaker IDs:
Key Child Only
Key Child with Adult Female/Male
Key Child with Other Child
Key Child with Other Child and Adult Female/Male
Adult Female Only
Adult Female with Key Child
Adult Female with Other Child
Adult Female with Key Child and Other Child
Adult Male Only
Adult Male with Key Child
Adult Male with Other Child
Adult Male with Key Child and Other Child
Other Child Only
Other Child with Key Child
Other Child with Adult Female/Male
Other Child with Key Child and Adult Female/Male (Turns)
Other Child with Key Child and Adult Female/Male (No Turns)
Pause

This feature is exclusively offered with the LENA Research version.