An umbrella review of the effect of the classroom environment on children's hearing, listening, comprehending, and communicating applying the L 3 assessment framework

Creating a classroom environment conducive to communication is vital for children's success. The aim of this paper was to conduct an umbrella review to synthesize what is known and not known about the effect of the classroom environment during different characterized activities on school children's hearing, listening, comprehending, and communicating using the Listen to Learn for Life Assessment Framework. The Joanna Briggs Institute protocol for umbrella reviews was followed. Twenty-two review papers met the criteria to be included in the umbrella review. Overall, poorer acoustic conditions, such as long reverberation times and high noise levels, resulted in poorer listening and comprehending during lecture and group work activities, with the effect greater for younger children. A dysphonic voice could also impede comprehension. Therefore, to improve students' listening and comprehension, noise should be controlled, acoustic treatment should be installed, sound-field amplification should be used, speaker-to-listener distance should be minimized, and open-plan classrooms should be avoided. Future research is needed on the impact of visual and spatial aspects of the classroom, as few review papers were found on these aspects. Additionally, future research is needed on how the classroom environment affects bidirectional communication between student and teacher as well as student and student.