Sound-field Amplification: Enhancing the Classroom Listening Environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children

Robyn Massie; Deborah Theodoros; Bradley McPherson; Joseph Smaldino

doi:10.1017/S1326011100600868

Authors

Robyn Massie National Acoustic Laboratories, Australian Hearing
Deborah Theodoros Division of Speech Pathology, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland
Bradley McPherson Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Prince Philip Dental Hospital
Joseph Smaldino Department of Communicative Disorders, Northern Illinois University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1326011100600868

Abstract

Sound-field amplification is an educational tool that allows control of the acoustic environment in a classroom. Teachers wear small microphones that transmit sound to a receiver system attached to loudspeakers around the classroom. The goal of sound-field amplification is to amplify the teacher’s voice by a few decibels, and to provide uniform amplification throughout the classroom without making speech too loud for normal hearing children. This report discusses the major findings of a study which investigated the effects of sound-field amplification intervention on the communication naturally occurring in the classrooms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The audiological findings of the sample population of children are presented, as well as details of the classroom acoustic environment. Sixty-seven percent of the children began the field trials with a slight hearing loss. The results confirmed the extremely noisy and reverberant conditions in which teachers and children are operating on a daily basis. The findings indicated that sound-field amplification intervention encouraged the children to interact with teachers and peers in a proactive way. Teachers identified voice-related factors to be a major personal benefit of the systems.

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