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Ask for help > Teacher īs voice
Teacher īs voice
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izulia
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Teacher īs voice
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Hello dear teachers,
Have you ever thought about your voice as one of the vital tools in your teacher īs career?
I know experienced teachers can vary the depth, the strength and the tone of their voices during their lessons that helps in different situations and makes a difference to a lesson.
I would really like to learn more about this. (Do you know any useful sites, books?)
Have you ever felt like your vocal cords were tired after a day of teaching? Do you know any exercises to make your vocal cords healthier?
I had to take a sick leave today because...I lost my voice... :( That made me think more about the importance of the teacher īs voice that I normally I take for granted.
I would really appreciate any ideas, advice, information on how to keep your voice strong.
Thank you
Zulia (voiceless at the moment...)
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22 Apr 2010
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XTrisha
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There is a good book by Alan Maley called "The Language Teacher īs Voice"
The book covers īDeveloping the voice �, īVoicework in class �, īVoice for personal growth � and īCare and maintenance of the voice �.
Hope that helps |
22 Apr 2010
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mjotab
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I use a voice amplifier that I bought on the internet (Amazon), but you may find it somewhere in your city. It changed my life. I speak in low voice now which makes me feel calmer when I am with my students and don īt get voiceless any more.You tie it to your waist and wear a small mike.
Good luck!
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22 Apr 2010
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plemos
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If you enjoy singing, join a choir. It can be both fun, relaxing an d help you mastering your voice. |
22 Apr 2010
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zailda
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Hi!
I guess that if you have to force your voice or increase the tone it īs because there īs some noise (maybe students are not quiet at all). When teaching, if I have to increase my tone that īs the reason. When I feel I īm forcing my voice I simply stop talking and stare them. They stop talking or making any noise, so I continue.
I modulate the tone to draw students � attention but I never increase the tone, especially if I have more 2 or 3 classes that day.
Another tip is to take a plastic bottle of water (or a squeeze, like the people take to health clubs) and whenever I feel my throat dry I sip some water.
Since I started doing it I haven īt had any problems. In the past I had problems with my throat, got voiceless for days, and also had serious kidney problems (not drinking enough water during the day). Now I īm OK.
Have a nice day!
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22 Apr 2010
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dolcedulcinea
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during a course about using voice for teaching, a doctor gave us some suggestions to preserve voice: amplify it with simple amplifiers (that you can also connect with the cd player, for example), drink a lot as zailda said and use a bell to have students � attention. I use the bell and it works really good. easy, cheap, perfect!
take care,
laura
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22 Apr 2010
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izulia
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Thank you very much for your ideas!
I normally teach small groups of children, I only have seven students in my class at the moment, so I don īt really need to raise my voice much to be heard. They are lovely kids but have sooo little English and reeeally lack confidence, so I have to do lots of talking, singing, etc. with them. Well, I guess my voice got a bit tired after all that and a bit of cold that I had. Anyway, It īs been great to hear your advice, guys, I appreciate it a lot!:))) |
22 Apr 2010
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marcella8161
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Hi!
I īve heard of breathing exercises, like those for singing. The strenght shouldn īt come from the throat directly, but from the belly, or some part over there. I tried and it works very well, only I forget doing it... but it works. |
22 Apr 2010
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agostine_
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That īs a great topic, Zulia. We know we can īt speak and change the speed or tone of our voice fast and continuously, we must drink a lot of water and take voice exercises. But even when we try hard to do the most appropriate exercises, someday during the year (or years) we īll be voiceless. Mainly if you have lots of classes like me - I teach in the morning, afternoon and evenings. The theory is much easier, isn īt it? How is it possible not change your voice when you īre telling a story to children? Has the wolf the same voice as the pig? How can a language teacher speak in a low sound if students must listen the sound clear? Well, but it īs reallyimportant to treat your voice with a doctor in some meetings, in a Speech and Language Therapy, for example.
Take care of your voice, dear!
It īs our life and job!
Hugs,
Agostine |
22 Apr 2010
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L. habach
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you are all of you right. I have another idea. What about uploading video demo lessons to help beginning teachers? |
23 Apr 2010
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