Noise Levels in Hong Kong Primary Schools: Implications for classroom listening

Abstract

Many researchers have stressed that the acoustic environment is crucial to the speech perception, academic performance, attention, and participation of students in classrooms. Classrooms in highly urbanised locations are especially vulnerable to noise, a major influence on the acoustic environment. The purpose of this investigation was to determine noise levels in one such urban environment, Hong Kong. The ambient noise level, and its relationship to the speech intensity levels of both teachers and students was surveyed in 47 primary school classrooms. Moreover, the presence of acoustical treatments for noise reduction and the use of classroom amplification systems were documented for each classroom. The survey found that the mean occupied noise level was 60.74 dB (A); the mean unamplified and amplified speech‐to‐noise ratios of teachers were 13.53 dB and 18.45 dB, respectively; while the mean unamplified speech‐to‐noise ratio for students was 4.13 dB. Most of the classrooms exhibited insufficient acoustical treatments to provide significant noise reduction. The listening environment in many Hong Kong primary schools was not favourable for optimal classroom learning. Recommendations for improving the acoustical environment in classrooms in highly urbanised locations such as Hong Kong are discussed.

Keywords:

• Classroom acoustics
• Listening environment
• Noise
• Primary schools
• Speech level

Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks are extended to Ms Christine Ng for her generous assistance in the school recruitment process, and to the reviewers and editorial team for their feedback on this article.