Petra Schorat-Waly

The activity and participation of students in education and learning situations can be described under the diversity aspect of "impairments in language comprehension" (Corleis 2012). So-called "quiet noise" is problematic in this context. Quiet noise is unwanted noise that "leads to annoyance, disturbance, impairment of performance, special accident hazards or damage to health" (Maue et al. 2003, p. 17 quoted from Corleis 2012). The causes of quiet noise or background noise in courses are manifold. They range from rustling paper to whispering to fellow students being late. Even if all students feel disturbed by quiet noise, there are groups of students for whom it represents a barrier to learning and makes participation impossible or very difficult.

Quiet noise is not only an impeding factor in the case of existing health problems, such as peripheral or central hearing impairment, but also in the case of communication using a second or foreign language or communication using linguistic variety. We speak of a linguistic variety when a language has different forms of expression. This includes not only the various dialects in Germany, but also the distinction between High German and slang. A linguistic variety is also understood to be when English, Australians and Americans speak English as their native language, but with different varieties. These students are particularly dependent on silence, not only to understand what is being said acoustically but also to understand the context (ibid.). The various forms and degrees of hearing loss as well as tinnitus or ringing in the ears are considered peripheral hearing impairments. Central hearing impairments include not only hyperacusis or noise hypersensitivity[1] and auditory processing and/or perception disorders[2 ], but also partial performance deficits such as developmental reading/spelling difficulties[3 ] or attention deficit (hyperactivity) syndrome[4].

The number of students affected by hearing impairments is higher than generally assumed. In 2011 (Schulze et al. 2013), a study was carried out at the universities of Oldenburg, Groningen and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences to investigate how many students suffer from hearing loss, ringing in the ears or tinnitus and/or noise hypersensitivity. The study revealed that more than 25% of students at all three universities were affected by hearing impairment. Most students (approx. 16%) suffered from noise hypersensitivity. Around 4% of students were affected by pure hearing loss. The question of the reliability of the data collected cannot be answered unequivocally. On the one hand, distortions cannot be ruled out due to the relatively low response rate (13% in total), but on the other hand, the results are similar to the findings of other statistical analyses (Pilgrimm et al. 2000; Shield 2006; Streppel et al. 2006 cited in Schulze et al. 2013, p. 96). The authors of the study explain deviations from other known surveys such as the Social Survey of the German Student Union with the different survey methods used in the questionnaires.

Various studies have shown that the speech intelligibility of second language learners (non-native speakers) decreases considerably in the presence of ambient noise (Gath & Keith 1978; Buus et al. 1986; Takata & Nabalek 1990; Hojan et al. 1997; Mayo et al. 1997 cited in Lazarus et al. 2007, p. 220 f.). According to a study by Gath and Keith (1978  cited in Lazarus et al. 1997, p. 219 f.), the language comprehension loss of foreign students is 20-40%. In addition, non-native speakers have considerable difficulty processing contextual information in background noise, as they are unable to recognize relevant key words (Florentine 1985 cited by Lazarus et al. (1997, p. 220 f.). 8% of all respondents in the 2014/15 survey of first-year students stated that their native language was not German. Overall, it is clear that students with an impairment in language comprehension are dependent on silence in order to understand what is being said.

What should be taken into account when designing courses?
The traditional teaching and learning situation has changed with the Bologna reform and the associated change "from teaching to learning". Instead of traditional lectures, teaching methods such as research-based, problem-based or project-oriented learning in groups or teams are taking center stage. However, these teaching methods are based on different conditions and forms of communication than traditional lectures (Corleis 2012). Students are often required to actively participate and/or work in small or mumble groups. In these types of events, the likelihood of low-level noise potentially increases and with it the risk for students with speech comprehension impairments: they cannot participate fully in the event. If students work autonomously in small groups, they should be provided with opportunities to work in quiet areas (e.g. group study rooms).

Teachers cannot change the room acoustics. Nevertheless, it can help to sensitize students to quiet noise and ask them to keep background noise to a minimum (Corleis et al. 2012, p. 111). In large rooms with a large number of students, the use of a microphone is recommended. This can also be useful in smaller rooms. In addition to an appropriate volume, it makes sense to show subtitles for film material. Rooms should be well lit so that hearing-impaired students can lip-read if necessary. For this reason, educators should always turn to the students when speaking and not write on the board while speaking. If questions are asked in plenary, it makes sense for the teacher to repeat them before answering them. If students are to actively participate in the event or discuss, a seating arrangement in a square or U-shape is recommended, as far as the space allows. This "kills two birds with one stone": On the one hand, students are not spatially "left out" and may withdraw from the discussion. On the other hand, seating arrangements with plenty of visual contact have a beneficial effect on speech comprehension. For regular group work during a course, it is advisable to book an additional room so that students have an alternative in a quiet room. Students who are dependent on reading the lips of lecturers and fellow students cannot take notes at the same time. They are particularly dependent on receiving a handout in advance. However, many other students also benefit from this. After all, active listening and understanding is very strenuous for students with impaired language comprehension. However, this is not due to the students' ability to concentrate, which is in no way reduced compared to other students. Sufficient breaks allow students to recover, especially during longer courses. A positive side effect is the reduction in the number of breaks for drinking and going to the toilet, which otherwise result in quiet noise. Most of the above tips are taken from the "Information for educators on teaching students with hearing impairments" from the University of Oldenburg (Clearingstelle "Hören" der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg 2011). You can also find further information there.

(Abridged version)

Literature
Burre, A. (2006): Diagnosis and therapy of auditory processing and perception disorders in practice. In: Forum Logopädie (1/2016), pp. 32-39.

Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (2011): Actions of the hearing-sensitive University of Oldenburg. Oldenburg. Available online at uol.de/hoersensible-uni/aktionen, last checked on 09.06.2020.

Clearing center "Hearing" of the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (2011): Information for educators on teaching students with hearing impairments. Oldenburg. Available online at uol.de/fileadmin/user_upload/hoersensible/download/Infomaterial/Informationen_fuer_Lehrende.pdff, last checked on 09.06.2020.

Corleis, B. (2012): Activity and participation of students under the diversity aspect of "impairments in language comprehension" in teaching/learning situations at universities. Presentation at the 41st Annual Conference of the German Association for University Didactics. Mainz. Available online at www.blogs.uni-mainz.de/zq/files/2018/04/Doc-Corleis.pdf, last checked on 17.06.2020.

Corleis, B.; Klee, A.; Schulze, G. C. (2012): Ways out of the quiet noise - The hearing-sensitive University of Oldenburg. In: Hörpäd (3/2012), pp. 111-114. Available online at www.uni-oldenburg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/hoersensible/download/Presse/HP32012.pdf, last checked on 08.05.2016.

Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (2015a): Study program survey. Internal documents. Ludwigshafen on the Rhine.

Lazarus, H.; Sust, C. A.; Steckel, R.; Kulka, M.; Kurtz, P. (2007): Acoustic foundations of linguistic communication. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer-Verlag.

Leopold, W. (2009): New Brain Findings on Dyslexic Children. Available online at www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2009/11/dyslexia.html, last checked on 12.05.2016.

Rosenkötter, H. (2003): Auditory perception disorders. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta.

Schulze, G.; Rogge, J.; Jacobs, G.; Knot-Dickscheit, J.; Thoutenhoofd, E.; van den Bogaerde, B. (2013): Baseline study on the assessment of students' hearing ability at the Universities of Oldenburg, Groningen and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. Empirical special education. 1/2013. Available online at www.psychologie-aktuell.com/fileadmin/download/esp/1-2013_20130430/ESP-1-2013_85-99.pdf, last checked on 08.05.2016.
 

Citation
Schorat-Waly, Petra (2017): Dimension: Impairment in language comprehension. In: Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra: Toolbox for good education in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, No. 6. www. hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere

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[1 ] Hyperacusis or hypersensitivity to sound is associated with various diseases, including tinnitus, auditory processing and perception disorder and attention deficit disorder. However, it also occurs in families without other clinical pictures. Children with hyperacusis are hypersensitive to noise and loud sounds (Rosenkötter 2003, p.126 ff.)

[2 ] Burre (2006, p. 33) writes that children with an auditory processing and perception disorder may have impaired perception of interfering and useful sounds, i.e. they have difficulty selecting essential information from an interfering sound.

[3 ] In her article "New Brain Findings on Dyslexic Children", Leopold (2009) points out that "children with developmental dyslexia...have difficulties separating relevant auditory information from competing noise".

[4 ] According to Rosenkötter (2003, p. 167 ff.), children with an attention deficit disorder often also suffer from hypersensitivity to noise. In addition, as with Auditory Processing and Perception Disorder, the ability to filter out background noise is often impaired.

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