Effect of face mask and noise on word recognition by children and adults
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36505/ExLing-2021/12/0055/000528Keywords:
face masks, noise, word recognition, children, adultsAbstract
Previous studies have shown that noise has a detrimental effect on speech intelligibility and language comprehension, more so for children than adults. Furthermore, the mandatory use of face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic presents an additional communication and learning barrier. The current study investigates the effect of face mask on low frequency word recognition in quiet and noise by adults and, more importantly, by young children who just completed the first grade of primary school. Preliminary results indicate that word identification is significantly compromised when produced with a surgical face mask, with more pronounced negative effects for children listening in noise. Implications on new word recognition and learning by first graders in noisy classrooms with compulsory mask usage are considered.
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Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
