Association Between Bilingualism, Vocal Effort, and Background Noise With Voice Fundamental Frequency and LTAS Among Spanish-English Bilingual Teachers

Lady Catherine Cantor-Cutiva; Carlos Calvache Mora; María Paula Rincón-Pinilla; Eric J Hunter

doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.09.001

Association Between Bilingualism, Vocal Effort, and Background Noise With Voice Fundamental Frequency and LTAS Among Spanish-English Bilingual Teachers

J Voice. 2023 Oct 3:S0892-1997(23)00275-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.09.001. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Lady Catherine Cantor-Cutiva¹, Carlos Calvache Mora², María Paula Rincón-Pinilla³, Eric J Hunter⁴

Affiliations

¹ Communicative Sciences and Disorders Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; Communicative Sciences and Disorders Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Electronic address: lcantorcutiva@uiowa.edu.
² Corporación Universitaria Iberoamericana, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Bogotá, Colombia; Vocology Center, Bogotá, Colombia.
³ Vocology Center, Bogotá, Colombia.
⁴ Communicative Sciences and Disorders Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; Communicative Sciences and Disorders Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.

PMID: 37798218
PMCID: PMC10987393 (available on 2025-04-03)
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.09.001

Abstract

Background: As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the demand for bilingual teachers has grown exponentially. However, the unique combination of being a bilingual occupational voice user establishes challenges that warrant careful examination.

Objective: To investigate the association between bilingualism, vocal effort, and background noise with fundamental frequency and long-term spectrum average among Spanish-English bilingual teachers.

Methods: Exploratory cross-sectional correlational study with the participation of eight Spanish-English proficient bilingual teachers (native Spanish speakers) who were teaching online classes during the quarantines established to mitigate the propagation of COVID-19. Participants were asked to read two standardized texts (one in English and one in Spanish) under two background noise conditions (with and without background white noise).

Results: There was a significant interaction between language and vocal effort considering that the association of vocal effort with fo was different for Spanish and English. There was also a significant main effect of background noise on fo. There were significant differences in voice spectral characteristics between productions in Spanish and English and between productions with and without background noise. The alpha ratio was significantly higher in productions in English and with background noise compared with productions in Spanish without background noise. The mid to high spectral energy ratio (1-5 K/5-8 K) was significantly lower in productions in English and with higher perceived vocal effort compared with productions in Spanish and with lower scores on the Borg Scale.

Conclusion: Our findings introduce a need perspective by emphasizing the impact of speaking a second language on the work-relatedness of voice disorders among teachers. These findings stress the necessity to factor in language and environmental conditions for the comprehensive evaluation and management of work-related voice disorders.

Keywords: Background noise; Bilingualism; Occupational health; Teachers; Voice; Voice quality.

Grants and funding

R01 DC012315/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States