The effects of coaching and repeated trials on maximum phonational frequency range in Cantonese children

Abstract

Maximum phonational frequency range (MPFR) is the frequency range from the lowest to the highest pitch that an individual can produce. This study investigated the effects of coaching and repeated trials on MPFR in Cantonese children. Thirty girls aged between 6 and 11 years were randomly assigned into two groups: coaching group and non-coaching group. All children produced their minimum and maximum phonational frequencies for 10 times each. Children in the coaching group were provided by the researcher with verbal encouragements and hand-sweeping (visual cue). Children in the non-coaching group were simply asked to repeat the tasks for 10 times. The results revealed that coaching could facilitate the elicitation of MPFR upon fewer trials. The results also showed that the MPFR elicited using 10 trials was significantly greater than that elicited in fewer trials. These findings suggested that coaching and repeated trials should be employed in clinical and research settings to ensure elicitation of MPFR more efficiently and accurately.