By THERESA GARNER
Pupils are straining their ears, and teachers their voices.
Preliminary research into noise levels shows many classrooms fail to reach minimum standards for children with normal hearing. The result is their ability to comprehend speech is dramatically reduced.
In the study, by the Oticon Foundation, a charitable trust for hearing projects, 35 per cent of teachers say they are straining their voices at the level at which they need to speak. Some end up with vocal nodules.
Seventy one per cent of teachers say the noise inside their classrooms is a problem, and 86 per cent of teachers report problems with noise generated outside the classroom.
This is believed to be because, while European and American schools have heating and air-conditioning, New Zealand teachers throw open their windows in summer.
Audiologist Oriole Wilson said modern teaching practices also contributed to an increase in noise.
Primary teachers spend more than 50 per cent of their time walking round the classroom, and two-thirds of teachers have replaced the traditional lecture style with group work and working on the mat.
"It is therefore vital that classrooms be built to a standard that enables them to be comfortable places using today's teaching methods."
For the 8 per cent to 9 per cent of children who were hearing impaired, the situation was worse.
"I think when all the results of the study become available, we will be shocked that none of our rooms will come up to specifications for the hearing impaired."
Classrooms fail to make noise grade
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