Petra Schorat-Waly

The activity and participation of students in teaching and learning situations can be described, among others, under the diversity aspect "impairments in speech comprehension" (Corleis 2012). Problematic in this context is the so-called "Quiet Noise". Quiet noise is an unwanted sound that "leads to annoyance, disruptive effect, impairment of performance, special accident hazards or damage to health" (Maue et al. 2003, p. 17 quoted from Corleis 2012). The causes of quiet noise or background noise in teaching events are manifold. They range from rustling paper, to whispering, to fellow students being late. Even if all students feel disturbed by quiet noise, there are groups of students for whom it represents a barrier to learning and makes participation or the possibility of participation impossible or very difficult.

Quiet noise is not only a hindering factor in the case of existing health problems, such as peripheral or central hearing impairment, but also in the case of communication by means of a second or foreign language or communication by means of linguistic variety. One speaks of a linguistic variety when a language has different forms of expression. This includes not only the various dialects in Germany, but also the distinction between High German and slang. Under a linguistic variety one understands also, if Englishmen, Australians and US-Americans as native language English speak however, evenly different varieties. These students are particularly dependent on silence, not only to understand what is being said acoustically but also to grasp contextual relationships (ibid.). The various forms and degrees of hearing loss as well as tinnitus or ringing in the ears belong to peripheral hearing impairments. Central hearing impairments include not only hyperacusis or noise hypersensitivity[1] and auditory processing and/ or perceptual disorders[2] but also partial performance impairments such as developmental reading/spelling impairment[3] or attention deficit (hyperactivity) syndrome[4].

The number of students affected by hearing impairments is higher than generally assumed. In 2011 (Schulze et al. 2013), a study was conducted at the Universities of Oldenburg, Groningen, and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences to investigate how many students suffer from hearing loss, ringing in the ears or tinnitus, and/or noise hypersensitivity. The study found that more than 25% of the students at all three universities were affected by an impairment in hearing. Most students (about16%) suffered from noise hypersensitivity. Pure hearing loss affected about 4% of the students. The question of the resilience of the data collected cannot be answered unequivocally. On the one hand, biases cannot be excluded due to the rather low response rates (13% in total), but on the other hand, the results are similar to the findings of other statistical analyses (Pilgrimm et al. 2000; Shield 2006; Streppel et al. 2006 cited in Schulze et al. 2013, p. 96). The authors of the study explain deviations from other known surveys, such as the Social Survey of the German Student Union, with the different survey methods in the questionnaires.

Various studies show that speech intelligibility of second language learners (non-native speakers) decreases significantly in the presence of ambient noise (Gath & Keith 1978; Buus et al. 1986; Takata & Nabalek 1990; Hojan et al. 1997; Mayo et al. 1997 cited in Lazarus et al. 2007, p. 220 f.). According to a study by Gath and Keith (1978  cited in Lazarus et al. 1997, p. 219 f.), the speech intelligibility loss of foreign students is 20-40%. In addition, non-native speakers have considerable difficulty processing contextual information content under noise because key words relevant to them cannot be identified (Florentine 1985 cited in Lazarus et al. (1997, p. 220 f.). 8% of all respondents in the 2014/15 study entry survey stated that their native language was not German. In the overall view, it becomes clear that students with an impairment in language comprehension are dependent on silence in order to understand what is being said.

What should be taken into account when designing courses?
The classic teaching and learning situation has changed with the Bologna Reform and the accompanying demand for a change "from teaching to learning". Instead of classical lectures, teaching methods such as research-based, problem-based or project-oriented learning in groups or teams are taking center stage. In these teaching methods, however, different conditions and forms of communication prevail than in classical lectures (Corleis 2012). Often, the active participation of students and/or work in small or murmur groups is required. In these types of events, the likelihood of quiet noise potentially increases, and with it the risk for students with impairments in speech comprehension: they cannot participate fully in the event. When students work autonomously in small groups, opportunities for them to work in quiet areas (e.g., group study rooms) should be available.

Teachers may not be able to change room acoustics. Nevertheless, it can help to make students aware of Quiet Noise and ask them to keep background noise to a minimum (Corleis et al. 2012, p. 111). In large rooms with a high number of students, the use of a microphone is recommended. This can also be useful in smaller rooms. In addition to an appropriate volume, it is useful to fade in subtitles for film material. Rooms should be well lit so that hearing-impaired students can lip-read when necessary. Therefore, instructors should always turn to face the students when speaking and not write on the board at the same time as speaking. When questions are asked in plenary, it is useful as a teacher to repeat them first before answering them. If students are to participate actively in the lecture or discussion, a seating arrangement in a square or U-shape is recommended, as far as the room allows. This kills two birds with one stone: On the one hand, students are not spatially "left out" and possibly withdraw from the discussion. On the other hand, seating arrangements with a lot of visual contact have a beneficial effect on speech comprehension. For regular group work during an event, it is advisable to book an additional room so that students have an alternative option in a quiet event room. Students who are dependent on reading the lips of teachers and fellow students cannot take notes at the same time. They are particularly dependent on receiving a handout in advance. However, many other students also benefit from this. Finally, active listening and comprehension is very demanding for students with speech comprehension impairments. However, this does not result from the students' ability to concentrate, which is in no way diminished compared to other students. Sufficient breaks allow students to recover, especially during longer lectures. A positive side effect is the reduction of otherwise self-imposed drinking and toilet breaks, which create quiet noise. Most of the above tips come from the "Information for Teachers on Teaching Hearing Impaired Students" of the University of Oldenburg (Clearinghouse "Hearing" of the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg 2011). You can also find more information there.

(Abbreviated presentation)

Literature
Burre, A. (2006): Diagnosis and therapy of auditory processing and perception disorders in practice. In: Forum Logopädie (1/2016), pp. 32-39.

Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg (2011): Actions of the hearing-sensitive University of Oldenburg. Oldenburg. Available online at uol.de/hoersensible-uni/aktionen, last checked 09.06.2020.

Clearinghouse "Hearing" of the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg (2011): Information for instructors on teaching hearing-impaired students. Oldenburg. Available online at uol.de/fileadmin/user_upload/hoersensible/download/Infomaterial/Informationen_fuer_Lehrende.pdff, last checked 09.06.2020.

Corleis, B. (2012): Student activity and participation under the diversity aspect of "impairments in language comprehension" in teaching/learning situations at universities. Paper presented at the 41st Annual Conference of the German Association for Higher Education Didactics. Mainz. Available online at www.blogs.uni-mainz.de/zq/files/2018/04/Doc-Corleis.pdf, last checked 06/17/2020.

Corleis, B.; Klee, A.; Schulze, G. C. (2012): Ways out of the quiet noise - The hearing sensitive university of Oldenburg. In: Hörpäd (3/2012), pp. 111-114. Available online at www.uni-oldenburg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/hoersensible/download/Presse/HP32012.pdf, last checked 08.05.2016.

Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences (2015a): Study program survey. Internal document. Ludwigshafen am Rhein.

Lazarus, H.; Sust, C. A.; Steckel, R.; Kulka, M.; Kurtz, P. (2007): Acoustic foundations of linguistic communication. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer-Verlag.

Leopold, W. (2009): New Brain Findings on Dyslexic Children. Available online at www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2009/11/dyslexia.html, last checked 12/05/2016.

Rosenkötter, H. (2003): Auditory perception disorders. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta.

Schulze, G.; Rogge, J.; Jacobs, G.; Knot-Dickscheit, J.; Thoutenhoofd, E.; van den Bogaerde, B. (2013): Baseline study on the assessment of students' hearing ability at the Universities of Oldenburg, Groningen and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. Empirical Special Education. 1/2013. Available online at www.psychologie-aktuell.com/fileadmin/download/esp/1-2013_20130430/ESP-1-2013_85-99.pdf, last checked 08.05.2016.
 

Citation
Schorat-Waly, Petra (2017): Dimension: impairment in language comprehension. In: Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra: Toolbox for good teaching in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, No. 6. www.hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere

Used according to Creative Commons under attribution (please use given citation) and for non-commercial purposes.

[1] Hyperacusis or noise hypersensitivity is associated with various medical conditions, including tinnitus, auditory processing and perception disorder, or attention deficit disorder. However, it also occurs in families without other medical conditions. Children with hyperacusis are hypersensitive to noise and loud sounds (Rosenkötter 2003, p.126 ff.).

[Burre (2006, p. 33) writes that children with auditory processing and perception disorders may have disturbed perception of interfering and useful sounds, i.e. they have difficulties in selecting essential information from an interfering sound.

[3] Leopold (2009) points out in her article "New Brain Findings on Dyslexic Children" that "children with developmental dyslexia...have difficulties separating relevant auditory information from competing noise."

[4] According to Rosenkötter (2003, p. 167 ff.), children with attention deficit disorder often also suffer from noise hypersensitivity. In addition, as in Auditory Processing and Perception Disorder, the noise-noise filtering ability is often disturbed.

back to the overview 'learning-relevant diversity