The impact of sound-field amplification in mainstream cross-cultural classrooms: Part 2 Teacher and child opinions

This article presents teachers' and children's views of the effectiveness of sound-field amplification intervention. The rating scale, Teacher Opinions re Performance in Classrooms (TOPIC) provided information on teacher perceptions regarding changes in student performance in unamplified 'OFF' and amplified 'ON' listening conditions. The teachers observed improvement in attention, communication strategies and classroom behaviour when the amplification systems were operating. The answers from questionnaires indicated a high level of satisfaction from both teachers and students following use of the systems. Less vocal strain was identified by the teachers to be a major benefit. The children reported that they could hear better, clearer or louder.