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Nov 17, 2014
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Lily Wang, a professor at the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, is one of four keynote speakers this week in Melbourne, Australia, at the Internoise 2014, the 43rd International Congress on Noise Control Engineering.
Wang will be presenting on the topic of "The Impact of Building Acoustics on Speech Comprehension and Student Achievement." The focus will be on two of her recent studies that link classroom acoustic conditions to student learning outcomes and speech comprehension.
In the first study, acoustic measurements were taken in two public school districts and were correlated to elementary school student achievement scores. Results indicate that higher background noise levels, greater than 40 decibels, may lead to unacceptable scholastic performance in language and reading tests.
The second study on how acoustic conditions impact English speech comprehension, shows that higher reverberation times and background noise levels reduce speech comprehension for all listeners but are more detrimental to English-as-second-language (ESL) listeners.
Wang, who is also the associate dean for graduate programs and faculty development, is vice president of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and was the 2005 recipient of the ASA R. Bruce Lindsay Award, the top honor given by the society to a person under the age of 35. Her primary research interests are in room acoustics and noise control; recent work has focused on correlating building acoustic conditions to human perception and performance, particularly in office, classroom, and home environments.
Wang will be presenting on the topic of "The Impact of Building Acoustics on Speech Comprehension and Student Achievement." The focus will be on two of her recent studies that link classroom acoustic conditions to student learning outcomes and speech comprehension.
In the first study, acoustic measurements were taken in two public school districts and were correlated to elementary school student achievement scores. Results indicate that higher background noise levels, greater than 40 decibels, may lead to unacceptable scholastic performance in language and reading tests.
The second study on how acoustic conditions impact English speech comprehension, shows that higher reverberation times and background noise levels reduce speech comprehension for all listeners but are more detrimental to English-as-second-language (ESL) listeners.
Wang, who is also the associate dean for graduate programs and faculty development, is vice president of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and was the 2005 recipient of the ASA R. Bruce Lindsay Award, the top honor given by the society to a person under the age of 35. Her primary research interests are in room acoustics and noise control; recent work has focused on correlating building acoustic conditions to human perception and performance, particularly in office, classroom, and home environments.
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