PurposeThe Listen to Learn for Life (L3) Assessment Framework is a framework that outlines how to systematically assess the links between the classroom environment, listening, learning and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to review the published literature to understand what is known about the characterisation of activity component of the L3 Assessment Framework and determine what is not known and needs to be investigated in future research.Design/methodology/approachLiterature reviews (Web searches for systematic, scoping or general reviews; scoping reviews following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews protocol; and extended Web searches) were conducted to characterise lecture, group work and independent work activities in terms of the perceptual setting, source degradation and transmission degradation.FindingsMost research that has been conducted is for classrooms in general and does not specify results specifically for lecture, group work and independent work, which is important for understanding how the learning environment changes with the different activities. What is known about the lecture, group work and independent work activities are discussed; however, it is noted that this often comes from only a few studies. Future research areas to contribute to this literature as well as fill current research gaps are proposed.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first review paper to synthesize previous research characterising the classroom environment for different activities using the L3 Assessment Framework. It provides an analysis of the limitations of existing literature and proposes future research to help fill in these gaps.