Teachers and Teaching: Speech Production Accommodations Due to Changes in the Acoustic Environment

Abstract

School teachers have an elevated risk of voice problems due to the vocal demands in the workplace. This manuscript presents the results of three studies investigating teachers’ voice use at work. In the first study, 57 teachers were observed for 2 weeks (waking hours) to compare how they used their voice in the school environment and in non-school environments. In a second study, 45 participants performed a short vocal task in two different rooms: a variable acoustic room and an anechoic chamber. Subjects were taken back and forth between the two rooms. Each time they entered the variable acoustics room, the reverberation time and/or the background noise condition had been modified. In this latter study, subjects responded to questions about their vocal comfort and their perception of changes in the acoustic environment. In a third study, 20 untrained vocalists performed a simple vocal task in the following conditions: with and without background babble and with and without transparent plexiglass shields to increase the first reflection. Relationships were examined between [1] the results for the room acoustic parameters; [2] the subjects’ perception of the room; and [3] the recorded speech acoustic. Several differences between male and female subjects were found; some of those differences held for each room condition (at school vs. not at school, reverberation level, noise level, and early reflection).

The Effect of Classroom Capacity on Vocal Fatigue as Quantified by the Vocal Fatigue Index

“…Female teachers in factor 3 reported decreased ability to recover with rest in very large capacity classrooms compared to small, medium, and large capacity classrooms (7 out of a possible 12 for this factor). These results generally indicate a significant effect of the capacity (number of students) of classrooms on teachers reported amounts of vocal fatigue, which corresponds with previous work that room acoustics may affect teachers’ vocal health [23, 24].…”

Gender Differences in the Reporting of Vocal Fatigue in Teachers as Quantified by the Vocal Fatigue Index

“…For example, in a study of teachers’ voice use over several weeks of observation 19 , female teachers vocalized 10% more than males at work and 7% more outside of work. Further analysis of the same teachers showed that female teachers were more likely than their male counterparts to adjust their voice use due to situational need 30 . Higher vocal load would indicate more extensive vocal damage and, thus, more physical discomfort.…”

Voice burden in teachers and non‐teachers in a UK population: A questionnaire‐based survey

“…Various researchers have quoted various factors that can be associated with teacher's voice in a classroom. Some of these are working posture, teaching core subjects, classroom noise, voice ergonomic factors, presence or absence of sound amplification, teachers with voice problems, classroom capacity, gender, stress, speech style, room acoustics, vocal fatigue, acoustic environment, vocalisation time, reverberation and combined effect of noise and acoustics . These factors may act independently or may be linked to each other.…”

“…Table 7 summarises the evidence of risk factors for voice problems in teachers. 21 presence or absence of sound amplification, 22 teachers with voice problems, 23 classroom capacity, 24 gender, 25 stress, 26 speech style, room acoustics, vocal fatigue, 27 acoustic environment, 28 vocalisation time, 29 reverberation 30 and combined effect of noise and acoustics. 31 These factors may act independently or may be linked to each other.…”