The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is requesting volunteers between the ages of 18 and 35 who can be classified as an English-only speaker or an English-Spanish bilingual speaker for a research study. The study is meant to help better understand the the listening abilities of bilingual individuals in quiet and noisy environments.
The results of this research should give the profession of Audiology more information on how a second language affects hearing and auditory processing in noise. Participants will be asked to complete a “pre-questionnaire” requesting their gender, age group, race and whether they identify as a person of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.
Following completion of the questionnaire, participants’ hearing will be tested in various listening conditions (i.e., hearing tones, repeating words in quiet and in noise, and repeating sentences in noise). English-only participants will complete the tests in English, while the Spanish-English bilingual participants will complete the tests in both English and Spanish. Participants will then be asked to complete a post-questionnaire asking for feedback on their ability to listen in these conditions.
Participation is expected to last about one hour. The testing will take place in Hubbard Hall (Room 106) and the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech, Language, Hearing Clinic on Oliver and 29th street.
For more information or to participate in the study, contact Maira Bañuelos Galicia at 316-249-4889 or mxbanuelosgalicia@shockers.wichita.edu, or Dr. Cynthia Richburg at 316-978-6682 or cynthia.richburg@wichita.edu.