By:Ingrid
Veira
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Defining
a Role
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As
teachers we all know that our voice is a teacher’s most valuable
asset. The one thing teachers do most often is talk (rightly or
wrongly). They talk for long periods each day, for many years.
They rely on their voices to a great extent, and with it they
transmit not only information, but also mood, atmosphere and
emotions. Moreover, how we speak and what our voice sounds like
have a crucial impact on classes. Harmer, J. (2007) recommends
three issues we should think about when considering the use of the
voice in the management of teaching: audibility, variety and
conservation.
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Audibility
The teacher’s voice needs to be effective in a variety of circumstances. Teachers need to be audible. Students at the back of the class must be able to hear them as well as those at the front. Switching from one-to-one and small groups to whole-class and games situations, teachers have to have adaptability as one of their abilities. Audibility, however, cannot be divorced from voice quality. |
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Teachers
need a voice which projects well and appropriately in all these
circumstances and which is also pleasant to listen to.
Teachers do not have to shout to be heard or to make themselves understood. Good voice projection is more important than volume (though the two are, of course, connected). Speaking too softly or unpleasantly loudly are both irritating and unhelpful for students.
Expressive
voices, used in an imaginative way, draw students in and make them
want to pay attention and listen. If such a voice has quality and
liveliness, they will be motivated to attend, participate and
learn.
Is the teacher’s voice creating ‘good’ or ‘bad’ behaviour? Just as teachers have to use their voices over long periods of time, so students are required to listen to, or at least hear, teachers’ voices during class, the school week or semester. A teacher’s voice under strain can lead to permanent damage requiring medical treatment. Meanwhile, the discomfort the teacher is experiencing is transmitted to students. They also feel uncomfortable and they lose confidence in the teacher and become disturbed. Unintentionally, disruptive behaviour may be the outcome. Teachers should avoid ‘raising their voice’ in the sense of shouting or using a higher pitch, since this itself, may have an even more disturbing effect on the group. As a result, learning and positive activity is no longer possible. Besides, shouting over the noise of the class is a sure way to get a sore throat. |
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When
a voice is being badly used and abused in the classroom, this has
negative effects on the students. A voice that is uncontrolled can
often lead to misbehaviour. Students respond inappropriately when
they feel that the teacher’s voice is patronising, too loud,
monotone or weak. Bad behaviour can result from the lack of
knowledge teachers have about the effect of their voice on their
students.
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Variety
Harmer, J. (2007) mentions that it is important for teachers to vary the quality of their voices and the volume they speak at, according to the type of lesson and the type of activity. The keyword is ‘variety’. Our voices can be varied along a number of parameters: volume (how loud or softly we speak), pace (how quickly or slowly we speak, and how we use pausing), pitch (how high or low in our voice range we go), modulation (how we adjust the tone of our voice to convey a mood). If your voice is too high pitched, it can sometimes sound desperate, apologetic, and it seems as if you are asking students for permission when you are giving directions. The key to making the voice more interesting is to practice varying the above mentioned parameters. Remember that a tired voice can rarely be an interesting voice. Conservation The most common problem associated with the untrained voice is a lack of knowledge of good breathing habits. Breathing properly means being relaxed (in the shoulders, for example, and not slumped backwards or forwards), and using the lower abdomen to help expand the rib cage, thus filling the lungs with air. If breath is consistently only taken into the upper region of the lung, then the foundation support needed to expel the air will be insufficient. This leads to constrictions in the throat that will inhibit the voice. This is a very frequent problem in teachers’ voices. As Rodenberg, P. (1997) describes, ‘your support power suddenly meets blocks and constrictions in the throat and mouth. It is in these areas that we hold and distort our potential power and freedom. That stream of supported air finds itself fully or partially trapped as it tries to place itself in the face.’
Tension
in the chest and neck creates insufficient support from the breath
and can cause the raising of the larynx in the vocal tract. A
further lack of understanding of pitch or resonant quality can
cause habitual speaking on a note above each individual’s
optimum pitch. Consequently, some voices can be thin or
monotonous, others sharp and shrill; all quite inadequate for the
work your voice has to do.
Good
voice production is not enough in itself. Once good flexibility
has been achieved, you move into the area of voice delivery, to
explore how to make the voice sound more expressive. Insufficient
experience in speaking to large groups can lead to a rapid
delivery of speaking too fast, which contributes to a lack of
clarity in expressing ideas and putting over information.
Instructions, explanations and story reading may well be dull and
monotonous, lacking in vitality and imagination. This is not
always caused by a lack of imagination on our part; it may result
from the absence of physical techniques to make the voice work in
the required manner.
Voice maintenance activities The following exercises are not only for teachers, but can be implemented in the classroom as part of pronunciation or speaking lessons. Your students will benefit from these and at the same time have fun. Be prepared for some noise!
Alan
Maley recommends some voice maintenance exercises. The quickest
activity of all is to YAWN. When you yawn, the muscles controlling
the aperture at the back of your throat are stretched to the
utmost.
Another
very quick way to get ready for using your voice, is to flop over
loosely from the waist and to come up again slowly on a long
breath. When you are standing straight again, your body will be in
alignment. Then raise your shoulders as high as possible, and let
them drop. Do this two or three times. Then roll your head three
times to the right and three times to the left. Take three or four
deep breaths, pulling the air right down inside you, and releasing
slowly.
Breathing, incorporating some tone and pitch exercises Charlyn Wessels recommends some of the following breathing exercises and vocal warm-ups.
Place
your fingers on your ribs with the thumbs behind, pointing towards
the spine, three or four inches above the waist just in front of
the armpits. Breathe silently and feel the movement of your chest.
Breathe laterally, i.e. outwards and not up. Do this for five
minutes.
Next
relax your jaws by breathing in through your nose, and , silently,
release the breath through your mouth. Inhale for three counts,
hold it for three, and exhale for three. Do this for a further
five minutes.
From
the above exercise, go into the following tone exercise:
Vocal warm-ups Each of the following vocal warm-ups should be repeated five times, with increasing speed and volume. Choose a different one every day.
Hum
for at least 15 minutes before teaching (for example on your way
to work). This will warm up your vocal chords and maintain your
voice. Now, you are ready!
Conclusion. Vocal flexibility is the result of experience, lots of practice, and attention to many small, but important, factors that many people are not aware of or do not care about. Posture is one. Breathing is another. Breathing and posture are related. If we have good posture, our breathing is easier. If our breathing is more under control, then so are our voices. |
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Teachers
are blessed with one of the most rewarding jobs on the planet. It
takes an effective teacher to reach every child in their care and
inspire them to learn. Teachers are always evolving and figuring out
new methods of delivering their curriculum in compelling and
memorable fashions. One simple method of corralling your audience and
helping them to gain a thirst for knowledge is to utilize your voice
as a teaching tool.
Students
may lose focus or tune out a teacher if the manner in which the
material is being presented is boring. With this in mind, teachers
need to use their voice in order to wrest the attention of their
students away from distractions.
Teachers
can effectively use their voice as a teaching tool through the
following strategies;engaging
typically poor listeners,
creating a safe environment through a voice that is warm and caring,
generating enthusiasm amongst the students through changes in pace,
cadence, tone, pitch, and reading their audience correctly and then
selling them your ideas.
With
an active rather than a passive voice, teachers can engage poor
listeners by consistently calling on them or speaking directly to
them. A great utilization of voice is simply walking around the room
instead of occupying a single space. The more you roam around the
room as a teacher, the more command you have over your audience.
Their eyes tend to follow you, as do their ears. Whilst in motion,
the teacher’s voice carries differently, thus reaching every
student in a different manner.
Another
teacher tip for using their voice as an effective teaching tool is to
create a safe and inviting atmosphere by changing their voice to
invoke alternative reactions to the learning process. Teachers should
use a loud voice when stressing or emphasizing something of
importance (such as a hint to a test question), a warm voice when
conveying sympathy or compassion, a cold voice when showing disdain,
and a soft voice when harnessing their attentive interest.
When
a teacher speaks with passionate enthusiasm, students are more likely
to respond in a positive fashion. A teacher that displays curriculum
with an enthusiastic approach has a much better chance of selling the
material and having the students buy into the educational philosophy.
This is a very effective use of voice as a teaching tool since it may
lure more attention to the lesson, thus enabling students to have a
much better chance at success.
Whether
or not the teacher is addressing young children or high school
students, another effective voice tool is to change your voice. While
reading a play, novel, or picture book, a teacher can switch their
voice for that of a different character in order to pique curiosity.
Teachers can change between male and female, young and old, and so
forth in an attempt to appeal to their students. The fluctuations in
tone, cadence and pitch that are utilized are also seen as effective
teaching tools.
Students
that tune out the teacher due to a monotonous voice miss out on the
curriculum, hindering their chances at academic success. Teachers
need to do whatever necessary in order to engage their audience and
maintain their attention in order for their students to absorb the
course curriculum. This is how teachers can use their voice as a most
effective teaching tool.
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