Assessing Acoustic Conditions in Hybrid Classrooms for Chinese Speech Intelligibility at the Remote End

Blended Synchronous Learning helps teachers and students communicate without geographical restrictions. The effect of communication between the face-to-face end and the remote end was not only affected by the performance of the equipment but also by the acoustic conditions in the classroom. This pap...

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Main Authors: Qian Li, Nan Li, Yan Wang, Zheng Li, Mengyun Tian, Yihan Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Buildings
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/11/1909
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author Qian Li
Nan Li
Yan Wang
Zheng Li
Mengyun Tian
Yihan Zhang
author_facet Qian Li
Nan Li
Yan Wang
Zheng Li
Mengyun Tian
Yihan Zhang
author_sort Qian Li
collection DOAJ
description Blended Synchronous Learning helps teachers and students communicate without geographical restrictions. The effect of communication between the face-to-face end and the remote end was not only affected by the performance of the equipment but also by the acoustic conditions in the classroom. This paper measured the acoustic parameters in the hybrid classrooms and conducted subjective speech intelligibility tests. It was found that for the hybrid classroom with a decentralized sound reinforcement system, the background noise level was high because lots of equipment was needed for synchronous learning. The speech intelligibility scores of the remote end were lower than those at the face-to-face end. Acoustic parameters of reverberation time (RT) and excessive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) showed a negative correlation with speech intelligibility scores in the remote end. It was recommended that the sound pressure level (SPL) of the sound reinforcement system should not be too high and that appropriate sound absorption treatment be performed. The size of the hybrid classroom should be controlled to prevent the sound that arrived 50 ms after the direct sound from arriving. When SNR was 33 dB(A) for hybrid classrooms, which had a good performance in the face-to-face end with the speech intelligibility scores, T<sub>20</sub> should be within 0.8 s to achieve the target value of 83% for SI scores at the remote end.
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series Buildings
spelling doaj-art-b033591e04ea448c94dced44c3a5b26d2025-08-20T03:46:50ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-06-011511190910.3390/buildings15111909Assessing Acoustic Conditions in Hybrid Classrooms for Chinese Speech Intelligibility at the Remote EndQian Li0Nan Li1Yan Wang2Zheng Li3Mengyun Tian4Yihan Zhang5School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, School of Architecture, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaSchool of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066000, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066000, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066000, ChinaBlended Synchronous Learning helps teachers and students communicate without geographical restrictions. The effect of communication between the face-to-face end and the remote end was not only affected by the performance of the equipment but also by the acoustic conditions in the classroom. This paper measured the acoustic parameters in the hybrid classrooms and conducted subjective speech intelligibility tests. It was found that for the hybrid classroom with a decentralized sound reinforcement system, the background noise level was high because lots of equipment was needed for synchronous learning. The speech intelligibility scores of the remote end were lower than those at the face-to-face end. Acoustic parameters of reverberation time (RT) and excessive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) showed a negative correlation with speech intelligibility scores in the remote end. It was recommended that the sound pressure level (SPL) of the sound reinforcement system should not be too high and that appropriate sound absorption treatment be performed. The size of the hybrid classroom should be controlled to prevent the sound that arrived 50 ms after the direct sound from arriving. When SNR was 33 dB(A) for hybrid classrooms, which had a good performance in the face-to-face end with the speech intelligibility scores, T<sub>20</sub> should be within 0.8 s to achieve the target value of 83% for SI scores at the remote end.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/11/1909blended synchronous learninghybrid classroomspeech intelligibilityacoustic conditions
spellingShingle Qian Li
Nan Li
Yan Wang
Zheng Li
Mengyun Tian
Yihan Zhang
Assessing Acoustic Conditions in Hybrid Classrooms for Chinese Speech Intelligibility at the Remote End
Buildings
blended synchronous learning
hybrid classroom
speech intelligibility
acoustic conditions
title Assessing Acoustic Conditions in Hybrid Classrooms for Chinese Speech Intelligibility at the Remote End
title_full Assessing Acoustic Conditions in Hybrid Classrooms for Chinese Speech Intelligibility at the Remote End
title_fullStr Assessing Acoustic Conditions in Hybrid Classrooms for Chinese Speech Intelligibility at the Remote End
title_full_unstemmed Assessing Acoustic Conditions in Hybrid Classrooms for Chinese Speech Intelligibility at the Remote End
title_short Assessing Acoustic Conditions in Hybrid Classrooms for Chinese Speech Intelligibility at the Remote End
title_sort assessing acoustic conditions in hybrid classrooms for chinese speech intelligibility at the remote end
topic blended synchronous learning
hybrid classroom
speech intelligibility
acoustic conditions
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/11/1909
work_keys_str_mv AT qianli assessingacousticconditionsinhybridclassroomsforchinesespeechintelligibilityattheremoteend
AT nanli assessingacousticconditionsinhybridclassroomsforchinesespeechintelligibilityattheremoteend
AT yanwang assessingacousticconditionsinhybridclassroomsforchinesespeechintelligibilityattheremoteend
AT zhengli assessingacousticconditionsinhybridclassroomsforchinesespeechintelligibilityattheremoteend
AT mengyuntian assessingacousticconditionsinhybridclassroomsforchinesespeechintelligibilityattheremoteend
AT yihanzhang assessingacousticconditionsinhybridclassroomsforchinesespeechintelligibilityattheremoteend