Digit Speech Reception Threshold Testing in Tswana/English Speakers

Katijah Khoza,Duduetsang Moroka,Lebogang Ramma,Munyane Mophosho

doi:10.4102/sajcd.v55i1.766

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish whether digit stimuli offer a more accurate measure for Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) testing when assessing first-language Tswana (or Setswana), second-language English speakers, as compared to an English wordlist (CID W-1) and a Tswana wordlist. Forty Tswana first language speaking participants (17 males and 23 females) aged between 18 and 25 years, participated in this study. All participants were undergraduate students at a tertiary institution in Johannesburg, Gauteng. This study utilized a quantitative single group correlation design which allowed for a comparison between three SRTscores (CID-SRT,T-SRT,and D-SRT). Participants underwent basic audiological assessment procedures comprising of otoscopy, tympanometry, conventional pure tone audiometry and SRT testing. SRT measures were established using monitored live voice testing. Basic audiometric data were descriptively analyzed to ensure that hearing function was within normal limits, and PTA-SRT averages and means were calculated. Furthermore, analysis of the SRT-PTA correlation data was conducted through the use of the nonparametric Spearman's correlation coefficient and linear regression. Results from this study were statistically significant (p < .05) and indicated that digit-pairs were not the most effective stimuli for establishing SRT, compared to the CIDW-1 and Tswana wordlists. On the contrary, findings of the current study revealed that PTA-SRT comparison was best in Tswana (r = 0.62), followed very closely by CIDW-1 (r = 0.61), and lastly digit-pairs (r = 0.60). The results however, confirm the efficacy of using digit pairs as alternative stimuli when more appropriate speech stimuli for the establishment of SRT are unavailable, as the correlation between SRT for digit pairs and PTA was also a strong one (r = 0.60). Linear regression analyses indicated that all three lists were acceptable speech stimuli for the population under investigation with the standard error of estimate being significantly smaller than the 5dB-step used to collect the data (1.62 for Tswana, 3.56 for CID W-1, and 3.80 for digit-pairs).

Highlights

Thepurposeofthisstudywastoestablishwhetherdigitstim uliofferam oreaccuratem easureforSpeechReceptionThreshold (SRT) testing w h en assessing first-languageTsw ana, second-language English speakers, as com pared to an English wordlist (CID W -1) and aTswana wordlist
One o f the solutions employed by audiologists work ing with non-native English speakers, a practice that has been strongly criticized, is the modification o f standardized word lists which use fewer words deemed most familiar to that population (Meyer & B ilger, 1997)
Managing linguistic diversity in audiological assessment practice is made more formidable when one considers the mismatch between clients who speak a Black African firstlanguage (BA FL ), and audiologists, the majority o f whom do not speak an indigenous African language

Summary

The participants were required to be first language

Tswana speakers with English as the second language. McLaughlin (1984)'defines English second language acquisition as that which' occurs after the age o f 3, distinguishing it from simultaneous bilingual acquisition, and this was the definition adopted for this study. Mally pre-tested on eight Tswana speaking support staff at indicating that the two variables do not vary together at all, the research site for familiarity with regard to their relative while one (1) implies a perfect correlation. A sound proof booth was used for the audiometric evalrecommended (Health Professions Council o f South A f uation o f participants so that measurements o f auditory rica, 2002) due to its recognized flaws such as the fact that thresholds were not affected by background noise This test physical attributes o f speech vary significantly from person environment was kept constant across all participants. The S R T encouraged to guess when they were not sure what the word results, established for each o f the three wordlists, were was as the intensity level decreased These instructions were correlated with P T A for each participant. D IG IT SPEECH R EC EPTIO NTHRESHOLD TE S TIN G IN TSWANA /E N G L IS H SPEAKERS

Results and Discussion

C ID -SR T

Conclusions and Implications