| 1. |
- Hurtig, Anders, et al.
(författare)
-
Student's second-language grade may depend on classroom listening position
- 2016
-
Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11:6
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this experiment was to explore whether listening positions (close or distant location from the sound source) in the classroom, and classroom reverberation, influence students’ score on a test for second-language (L2) listening comprehension (i.e., comprehension of English in Swedish speaking participants). The listening comprehension test administered was part of a standardized national test of English used in the Swedish school system. A total of 125 high school pupils, 15 years old, participated. Listening position was manipulated within subjects, classroom reverberation between subjects. The results showed that L2 listening comprehension decreased as distance from the sound source increased. The effect of reverberation was qualified by the participants’ baseline L2 proficiency. A shorter reverberation was beneficial to participants with high L2 proficiency, while the opposite pattern was found among the participants with low L2 proficiency. The results indicate that listening comprehension scores—and hence students’ grade in English—may depend on students’ classroom listening position.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Enmarker, Ingela, et al.
(författare)
-
Structural equation models of memory performance across noise conditions and age groups
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. - : Wiley. - 0036-5564 .- 1467-9450. ; 47:6, s. 449-460
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Competing models of declarative memory were tested with structural equation models to analyze whether a second-order latent variable structure for episodic and semantic memory was invariant across age groups and across noise exposure conditions. Data were taken from three previous experimental noise studies that were performed with the same design, procedure, and dependent measures, and with participants from four age groups (13-14, 18-20, 35-45, and 55-65 years). Two noise conditions, road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech, were compared to a quiet control group. The structural models put to the test were taken from Nyberg et al. (2003), which employed several memory tests that were the same as ours and studied age-groups that partly overlapped with our groups. In addition we also varied noise exposure conditions. Our analyses replicated and supported the second-order semantic-episodic memory models in Nyberg et al. (2003). The latent variable structures were invariant across age groups, with the exception of our youngest group, which by itself showed a less clear latent structure. The obtained structures were also invariant across noise exposure conditions. We also noted that our text memory items, which did not have a counterpart in the study by Nyberg et al. (2003), tend to form a separate latent variable loading on episodic memory.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- MacCutcheon, Douglas, et al.
(författare)
-
Second language vocabulary level is related to benefits for second language listening comprehension under lower reverberation time conditions
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cognitive Psychology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2044-5911 .- 2044-592X. ; 31:2, s. 175-185
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The acoustic qualities of a room can have a deleterious effect on the quality of speech signals. The acoustic measurement of reverberation time (RT) has shown to impact second language (L2) speech comprehension positively when lower due to release from spectral and temporal masking effects as well as top-down processing factors. This auralization experiment investigated the benefits of better L2 vocabulary and executive function (updating) skills during L2 listening comprehension tests under shorter versus longer RT conditions (0.3 and 0.9 s). 57 bilingual university students undertook L2 vocabulary, number updating and L2 listening comprehension tests. After splitting groups into high/low vocabulary and updating groups, a mixed ANOVA was conducted. The high number updating group showed no significant differences or interactions in L2 listening comprehension than the lower number updating group across RT conditions. The high vocabulary group had 22% better L2 listening comprehension than the low vocabulary group in long RT, and 9% better in short RT. A significant benefit in L2 listening comprehension due to release from reverberation was only evident in the high vocabulary group. Results indicate that the benefit of good room acoustics for listening comprehension is greatest for those with better language (vocabulary) ability.
|
|
| 7. |
- Hurtig, Anders, et al.
(författare)
-
Children's recall of words spoken in their first and second language : Effects of Signal-to-Noise Ratio and Reverberation Time
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 6:JAN
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Speech perception runs smoothly and automatically when there is silence in the background, but when the speech signal is degraded by background noise or by reverberation, effortful cognitive processing is needed to compensate for the signal distortion. Previous research has typically investigated the effects of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reverberation time in isolation, whilst few have looked at their interaction. In this study, we probed how reverberation time and SNR influence recall of words presented in participants' first- (L1) and second-language (L2). A total of 72 children (10 years old) participated in this study. The to-be-recalled wordlists were played back with two different reverberation times (0.3 and 1.2 s) crossed with two different SNRs (+3 dBA and +12 dBA). Children recalled fewer words when the spoken words were presented in L2 in comparison with recall of spoken words presented in L1. Words that were presented with a high SNR (+12 dBA) improved recall compared to a low SNR (+3 dBA). Reverberation time interacted with SNR to the effect that at +12 dB the shorter reverberation time improved recall, but at +3 dB it impaired recall. The effects of the physical sound variables (SNR and reverberation time) did not interact with language. © 2016 Hurtig, Keus van de Poll, Pekkola, Hygge, Ljung and Sörqvist.
|
|
| 8. |
- Keidser, Gitte, et al.
(författare)
-
On the relationship between functional hearing and depression
- 2015
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 54:10, s. 653-664
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To establish the effect of self-rated and measured functional hearing on depression, taking age and gender into account. Additionally, the study investigates if hearing-aid usage mitigates the effect, and if other physical health problems and social engagement confound it.DESIGN: Cross-sectional data from the UK Biobank resource, including subjective and behavioural measures of functional hearing and multifactorial measures of depressive episodes and symptoms, were accessed and analysed using multi-regression analyses.STUDY SAMPLE: Over 100 000 community-dwelling, 39-70 year-old volunteers.RESULTS: Irrespective of measurement method, poor functional hearing was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with higher levels of depressive episodes (≤ 0.16 factor scores) and depressive symptoms (≤ 0.30 factor scores) when controlling for age and gender. Associations were stronger for subjective reports, for depressive symptoms, and the younger participants. Females generally reported higher levels of depression. Hearing-aid usage did not show a mitigating effect on the associations. Other physical health problems particularly partially confounded the effects.CONCLUSION: Data support an association between functional hearing and depression that is stronger in the younger participants (40-49 years old) and for milder depression. The association was not alleviated by hearing-aid usage, but was partially confounded by other physical health problems.
|
|
| 9. |
- Keidser, Gitte, et al.
(författare)
-
The Effect of Functional Hearing and Hearing Aid Usage on Verbal Reasoning in a Large Community-Dwelling Population
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Ear and Hearing. - : LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. - 0196-0202 .- 1538-4667. ; 37:1, s. e26-e36
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Verbal reasoning performance is an indicator of the ability to think constructively in everyday life and relies on both crystallized and fluid intelligence. This study aimed to determine the effect of functional hearing on verbal reasoning when controlling for age, gender, and education. In addition, the study investigated whether hearing aid usage mitigated the effect and examined different routes from hearing to verbal reasoning.Design: Cross-sectional data on 40- to 70-year-old community-dwelling participants from the UK Biobank resource were accessed. Data consisted of behavioral and subjective measures of functional hearing, assessments of numerical and linguistic verbal reasoning, measures of executive function, and demographic and lifestyle information. Data on 119,093 participants who had completed hearing and verbal reasoning tests were submitted to multiple regression analyses, and data on 61,688 of these participants, who had completed additional cognitive tests and provided relevant lifestyle information, were submitted to structural equation modeling.Results: Poorer performance on the behavioral measure of functional hearing was significantly associated with poorer verbal reasoning in both the numerical and linguistic domains (p < 0.001). There was no association between the subjective measure of functional hearing and verbal reasoning. Functional hearing significantly interacted with education (p < 0.002), showing a trend for functional hearing to have a greater impact on verbal reasoning among those with a higher level of formal education. Among those with poor hearing, hearing aid usage had a significant positive, but not necessarily causal, effect on both numerical and linguistic verbal reasoning (p < 0.005). The estimated effect of hearing aid usage was less than the effect of poor functional hearing. Structural equation modeling analyses confirmed that controlling for education reduced the effect of functional hearing on verbal reasoning and showed that controlling for executive function eliminated the effect. However, when computer usage was controlled for, the eliminating effect of executive function was weakened.Conclusions: Poor functional hearing was associated with poor verbal reasoning in a 40- to 70-year-old community-dwelling population after controlling for age, gender, and education. The effect of functional hearing on verbal reasoning was significantly reduced among hearing aid users and completely overcome by good executive function skills, which may be enhanced by playing computer games.
|
|
| 10. |
|
|
