Noise and learning

Abstract

This study has as aim to clarify related issues on speech perception in a noisy classroom. As is known, a classroom is surrounded by noises generated either inside (sport classes, playtime, etc.) or outside (traffic, airplanes, etc.) the school. What we still have doubts about is how these noises interfere with the learning process of children. Nowadays, after the beginning of the industrial era, all places are surrounded by noise, doesn’t matter if the school is in a big or a small city. Many researchers have studied the influence of noise on the student’s auditory perception of speech, on teacher’s voice production and on the learning process. Their publications show that noise may be a hazardous aspect that may cause or contribute to a learning disorder. We believe that if we, as an educational team, were aware of the negative effects of noise on the learning process as a whole and if we work on the implementation of programs to enhance the student’s speech reception and intelligibility, we may help to make learning easier and less wearisome for all.