Providing an Optimal Acoustic Environment for Young Children in Classrooms

It seems a simple and obvious proposition: good hearing and listening conditions are essential for developing good speech, language, and learning skills. Yet, even today, our educators and school planners overlook the importance of effective noise reducing acoustic design in schools. Room acoustics have a significant impact on speech communication. Listening conditions vary in classrooms and often may not be good for children or special listeners (hearing impaired, speech impaired, learning disabled, or nonnative listeners). For these listeners the speech signal will need to be even louder for good understanding.