TOEFL Experts Reading Practice 40
It should come as no surprise to any teacher or parent that noise in a classroom environment is distracting and may impact a student’s ability to learn. But what types of noise are most distracting? At what volume level does background noise begin to impact learning? How severe is the problem? Recent research can shed light on these important questions, and some of the results are surprising.
Perhaps the most consistent finding of the new research is the degree to which even low levels of noise can have a substantial impact on student performance. Noise levels are gauged in terms of a decibel scale—every increase of 10 decibels corresponds to a doubling of perceived loudness. Adult conversation at a distance of
3 feet is roughly in the range of 55 to 65 decibels. Ninety decibels is roughly the loudness achieved by a train whistle at a distance of 500 feet (about 152 meters) or a lawn mower at a distance of 25 feet (8 meters). Both of these are certainly jarring enough to catch most people’s attention. In fact, 90 decibels is the level at which hearing loss can begin, if people are exposed to it on a sustained basis. Children are even more sensitive to loud sounds than adults. As a result, United States federal regulations mandate that all ambient classroom sounds above 90 decibels must be dampened; federal grants are made available for school districts to improve acoustics and soundproofing when these levels are exceeded.
New research, however, indicates that learning issues begin at a much lower noise level. Even barely detectable noise, such as whispering behind a student, noise from a neighboring classroom, or the turning on and off of electric equipment such as a heater, can be problematic. These noises, while barely perceptible—at levels as low as 30 or 35 decibels—cause the cortisol level in many students to increase. Cortisol is a hormone released in response to low blood sugar levels, waking up, and most importantly, stress. The increase of this “stress hormone” produces difficulties with focus, can lead to physical exhaustion, and can impair the ability of a person to convert new information into long-term memory. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Urban Health demonstrated that, after controlling for various other socioeconomic1 factors, among eight- and nine-year-old students a
10-decibel increase in background noise resulted in a predicted drop in test scores in both French and mathematics of about 5.5 percent. Many other studies conducted since 1980 have had similar findings: noisier classroom environments lead to decreases in reading aptitude, cognitive thinking skills, language acquisition, and even physical coordination.
Another interesting finding is that different types and levels of noise can have varying effects on different groups of children. In a study conducted at the University of Southampton, England, differing levels of “white noise,” which sounds roughly like running water or hissing, were introduced into multiple classrooms. The study found that students with a higher ability to focus were most affected by the white noise at any volume, while students with attention difficulties actually performed better with low to moderate levels of white noise. Researchers speculate that this is true because the noise forced the students with attention difficulties to exert more effort to overcome the background noise, thereby temporarily improving their level of focus.
Finally, increased noise can place undue burden on teachers. In order for a teacher to keep the attention of his or her students, they must speak about 15 to 20 decibels more loudly than any competing noise. In addition, for every doubling of distance, the perceived loudness drops by about 6 decibels. Thus, a student sitting 24 feet (about 8 meters) from a teacher will perceive reduced volume of about 12 decibels relative to a student sitting 6 feet (2 meters) away. In a typical classroom, the teacher must speak as much as 30 decibels more loudly than any background noise. If that background noise is high, teachers are forced to practically shout to be heard by students in the back of the classroom. Such a loud level of speaking for hours per day can lead to significant physical strain, high blood pressure, and, eventually, vocal-cord scarring.
socioeconomic1: related to both social and economic factors in some combination, such as social status, income level, occupation, etc.
It should come as no surprise to any teacher or parent that noise in a classroom environment is distracting and may impact a student’s ability to learn. But what types of noise are most distracting? At what volume level does background noise begin to impact learning? How severe is the problem? Recent research can shed light on these important questions, and some of the results are surprising.
Perhaps the most consistent finding of the new research is the degree to which even low levels of noise can have a substantial impact on student performance. Noise levels are gauged in terms of a decibel scale—every increase of 10 decibels corresponds to a doubling of perceived loudness. Adult conversation at a distance of
3 feet is roughly in the range of 55 to 65 decibels. Ninety decibels is roughly the loudness achieved by a train whistle at a distance of 500 feet (about 152 meters) or a lawn mower at a distance of 25 feet (8 meters). Both of these are certainly jarring enough to catch most people’s attention. In fact, 90 decibels is the level at which hearing loss can begin, if people are exposed to it on a sustained basis. Children are even more sensitive to loud sounds than adults. As a result, United States federal regulations mandate that all ambient classroom sounds above 90 decibels must be dampened; federal grants are made available for school districts to improve acoustics and soundproofing when these levels are exceeded.
New research, however, indicates that learning issues begin at a much lower noise level. Even barely detectable noise, such as whispering behind a student, noise from a neighboring classroom, or the turning on and off of electric equipment such as a heater, can be problematic. These noises, while barely perceptible—at levels as low as 30 or 35 decibels—cause the cortisol level in many students to increase. Cortisol is a hormone released in response to low blood sugar levels, waking up, and most importantly, stress. The increase of this “stress hormone” produces difficulties with focus, can lead to physical exhaustion, and can impair the ability of a person to convert new information into long-term memory. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Urban Health demonstrated that, after controlling for various other socioeconomic1 factors, among eight- and nine-year-old students a
10-decibel increase in background noise resulted in a predicted drop in test scores in both French and mathematics of about 5.5 percent. Many other studies conducted since 1980 have had similar findings: noisier classroom environments lead to decreases in reading aptitude, cognitive thinking skills, language acquisition, and even physical coordination.
Another interesting finding is that different types and levels of noise can have varying effects on different groups of children. In a study conducted at the University of Southampton, England, differing levels of “white noise,” which sounds roughly like running water or hissing, were introduced into multiple classrooms. The study found that students with a higher ability to focus were most affected by the white noise at any volume, while students with attention difficulties actually performed better with low to moderate levels of white noise. Researchers speculate that this is true because the noise forced the students with attention difficulties to exert more effort to overcome the background noise, thereby temporarily improving their level of focus.
Finally, increased noise can place undue burden on teachers. In order for a teacher to keep the attention of his or her students, they must speak about 15 to 20 decibels more loudly than any competing noise. In addition, for every doubling of distance, the perceived loudness drops by about 6 decibels. Thus, a student sitting 24 feet (about 8 meters) from a teacher will perceive reduced volume of about 12 decibels relative to a student sitting 6 feet (2 meters) away. In a typical classroom, the teacher must speak as much as 30 decibels more loudly than any background noise. If that background noise is high, teachers are forced to practically shout to be heard by students in the back of the classroom. Such a loud level of speaking for hours per day can lead to significant physical strain, high blood pressure, and, eventually, vocal-cord scarring.
socioeconomic1: related to both social and economic factors in some combination, such as social status, income level, occupation, etc.
10-decibel increase in background noise resulted in a predicted drop in test scores in both French and mathematics of about 5.5 percent. Many other studies conducted since 1980 have had similar findings: noisier classroom environments lead to decreases in reading aptitude, cognitive thinking skills, language acquisition, and even physical coordination.
- That classroom noise is undesirable may seem to be uncontroversial, but recent research has illuminated aspects of the issue that may be surprising.