From data to discovery: Technology propels speech-language research and theory-building in developmental science
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Research on speech and language development has a long history, but in the past decade, it has been transformed by advances in recording technologies, analysis and classification tools, and AI-based language models. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify recently developed (semi-)automatic tools for studying speech-language development and learners' environments in infants and children under the age of 5 years. The Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system has been the most widely used tool, with more and more alternative free- and/or open-source tools emerging more recently. Most studies were conducted in naturalistic settings, mostly recording longer time periods (daylong recordings). In the context of vulnerable and clinical populations, most research so far has focused on children with hearing loss or autism. Our review revealed notable gaps in the literature regarding cultural, linguistic, geographic, clinical, and social diversity. Additionally, we identified limitations in current technology-particularly on the software side-that restrict researchers from fully leveraging real-world audio data. Achieving global applicability and accessibility in daylong recordings will require a comprehensive approach that combines technological innovation, methodological rigour, and ethical responsibility. Enhancing inclusivity in participant samples, simplifying tool access, addressing data privacy, and broadening clinical applications can pave the way for a more complete and equitable understanding of early speech and language development. Automatic tools that offer greater efficiency and lower cost have the potential to make science in this research area more geographically and culturally diverse, leading to more representative theories about language development.
Authors: Zuzanna Laudańska, Anna Caunt, Alejandrina Cristia, Anne Warlaumont, Katerina Patsis, Przemysław Tomalski, Petra Warreyn, Drew H. Abney, Jeremy I. Borjon, Manu Airaksinen, Emily JH Jones, Sven Bölte, Magdalena Dall, Daniel Holzinger, Luise Poustka, Herbert Roeyers, Sam Wass, Dajie Zhang, Peter B. Marschik
Institutions: Heidelberg University, University Hospital Heidelberg, Institute of Psychology, Deutsches Zentrum für Psychische Gesundheit, Polish Academy of Sciences, University of Plymouth, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, École Normale Supérieure - PSL, Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, University of California, Los Angeles, Ghent University, University of Georgia, University of Houston, University of Helsinki, King's College London, Birkbeck, University of London, Curtin University, Region Stockholm, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm Health Care Services, Johannes Kepler University of Linz, University of East London, Medical University of Graz, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,860
Funders: National Science Foundation, James S. McDonnell Foundation, European Commission, European Cooperation in Science and Technology, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Volkswagen Foundation, Narodowe Centrum Nauki, National Institutes of Health, European Research Council, Horizon 2020, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, H2020 European Research Council
Awards: RIDIR: Collaborative Research: Enabling Access to and Analysis of Shared Daylong Child and Family Audio Data, G1865950272, G434337789, G4369387650, G4940635513, G622269222, SFB 1528: Kognition der Interaktion, RIDIR: Collaborative Research: Enabling Access to and Analysis of Shared Daylong Child and Family Audio Data, CompCog: Infant Vocalization as Foraging for Caregiver Responses, Experience Effects on early language acquisition, How infant-directed speech organizes the attentional state of infants
OpenAlex ID: W4410089392