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ELTeach Guide for Test Centers
HEINLE CENGAGE ELTeach Data Collection Test Center Administration Guide Download Complete ELTeach Guide For Test Centers as a MS Word document Table of Contents 1. Test Center Hardware and Software Requirements 2. Participant Administration Process 3. Audio Recording Best Practices and Tips 4. > Causes of Poor Audio Recording 5. Logging Into MyELT and Completing the Test Causes of Poor Audio Recording Back to Top 1. Static: This can have several causes, including placing the microphone too close to the mouth, setting the input volume too high, loose wires, or transmission problems. Avoid touching the microphone with your hands. Here are two examples of responses with heavy static that should be avoided: Q14: 000001-01-0000000001-JI149397 Q16: 000001-01-0000000001-JI149400 2. Breathing and bursts of air captured by the microphone: This is caused by improper microphone placement. The microphone should be close to the mouth, but not directly in front of it. Here are two examples of responses that have poor audio due to the fact that the microphone is placed directly in front of the mouth: Q20: 000001-01-0000000001-JI149720 Q26: 000001-01-0000000001-JI150510 -- notice the exhaled breaths between several of the sentences as well as the loud aspirations after "p" sounds 3. Clipping: This is when the audio input is louder than the level supported by the hardware. This can be caused because the microphone is too close to the speaker's mouth or because the input volume is set too high. Here are two example responses where part of the response is too loud: The word "job" in Q24: 000001-01-0000000001-JI150449 The word "where" in Q47: 000001-01-0000000001-JI149661 4. Background noise: This is caused when loud sounds are audible in the room where the participant is recording. It is important to make sure that there are no other sounds in the room besides the voices of the participants, and that the participants are as far from each other as possible (so that their voices are not picked up by other microphones). 5. Speak at a constant volume: Try to maintain the same speech level throughout your recording so as to avoid fluctuation in your voice. 6. Dry mouth: In order to ensure clear and proper pronunciation, it's important that one be hydrated. A dry mouth can cause minor distortions in one's speech. Make sure you drink water before you start the audio test. Recommended Microphones
Do not use the microphone built into a laptop or use a standalone microphone. The test must be completed with an integrated headset (microphone plus earphone) Back to Top 
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