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Be Quiet! Effects of Competing Speakers and Individual Characteristics on Listening Comprehension for Primary School Students

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  • Chiara Visentin

    (Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
    Institute for Renewable Energy, Eurac Research, A. Volta Straße/Via A. Volta 13/A, 39100 Bolzano-Bozen, Italy)

  • Matteo Pellegatti

    (Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
    Institute for Renewable Energy, Eurac Research, A. Volta Straße/Via A. Volta 13/A, 39100 Bolzano-Bozen, Italy)

  • Maria Garraffa

    (School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK)

  • Alberto Di Domenico

    (Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy)

  • Nicola Prodi

    (Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44122 Ferrara, Italy)

Abstract

Students learn in noisy classrooms, where the main sources of noise are their own voices. In this sound environment, students are not equally at risk from background noise interference during lessons, due to the moderation effect of the individual characteristics on the listening conditions. This study investigates the effect of the number of competing speakers on listening comprehension and whether this is modulated by selective attention skills, working memory, and noise sensitivity. Seventy-one primary school students aged 10 to 13 years completed a sentence comprehension task in three listening conditions: quiet, two competing speakers, and four competing speakers. Outcome measures were accuracy, listening effort (response times and self-reported), motivation, and confidence in completing the task. Individual characteristics were assessed in quiet. Results showed that the number of competing speakers has no direct effects on the task, whilst the individual characteristics were found to moderate the effect of the listening conditions. Selective attention moderated the effects on accuracy and response times, working memory on motivation, and noise sensitivity on both perceived effort and confidence. Students with low cognitive abilities and high noise sensitivity were found to be particularly at risk in the condition with two competing speakers.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara Visentin & Matteo Pellegatti & Maria Garraffa & Alberto Di Domenico & Nicola Prodi, 2023. "Be Quiet! Effects of Competing Speakers and Individual Characteristics on Listening Comprehension for Primary School Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:6:p:4822-:d:1092003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Maud Dohmen & Ella Braat-Eggen & Astrid Kemperman & Maarten Hornikx, 2022. "The Effects of Noise on Cognitive Performance and Helplessness in Childhood: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.
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    3. Antonio Laurìa & Simone Secchi & Luigi Vessella, 2020. "Acoustic Comfort as a Salutogenic Resource in Learning Environments—A Proposal for the Design of a System to Improve the Acoustic Quality of Classrooms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Jessica Massonnié & Philippe Frasseto & Terry Ng-Knight & Katie Gilligan-Lee & Natasha Kirkham & Denis Mareschal, 2022. "Children’s Effortful Control Skills, but Not Their Prosocial Skills, Relate to Their Reactions to Classroom Noise," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-20, July.
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