Care For Your Voice!
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Transcript Care For Your Voice!
Care For Your Voice!
How to protect and make the
most of your voice in Language
Teaching!
1
TALK, Chatter, gossip,
Everyone
All things to all people
All day long, every
day
Whether you feel like
it or not!!
Amounting to a lot
of….
2
VOICE WORK!
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Common Vocal Challenges in
LanguageTeaching
Variety of interactions
Problem spaces
Challenging situations
Learners’ needs
The need to keep on top
of everything
Very little voice training
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FUNDAMENTAL RESOURCE
Healthy
Over worked
Flexible
Neglected
Protected
Abused
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Poor reception by student!
Lack of clarity
Weak carrying power
Restricted vocal
variety
Reduced tonal quality
6
PERSONAL STRESS!!!!!!!!!! Leading to..
FATIGUE
EXHAUSTION
COLLAPSE
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How stress affects the voice
Difficulty swallowing
Aching neck
Backache & muscle
tension
Fatigue
Frequent urination &
diarrhoea
Immune system reduced
Indigestion
Clarity problems
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PROFESSIONAL STRESS!!!!!!!!!!
Leading to..
Over preparation and
over work
Lack of effectiveness
Confidence problems
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Left unchecked this can lead to..
Vocal strain
Vocal problems
Voice Loss
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The Vocal Tract
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What do vocal folds look like?
BREATHING
SPEAKING
Vocal Cords are Open
Vocal cords close and
vibrate
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Vocal Folds Opening and Closing
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Many Times!
Men
110
Cycles/Second
(Hz)
Women
180-220
Cycles/Second
Children
300
Cycles/Second
LOWER
PITCH
MEDIUM
PITCH
HIGH PITCH
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Vocal Cord Nodules
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DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH!
Keep the vocal folds
moist!
Sip of water for ever 15 –
20 mins speaking!!
Rest whenever
possible!!!
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For clear speech we need……..
Power +
Vibration +
Resonance
and
ARTICULATION!
17
Understanding
Clarity
Intent
Focus
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Posture - make an entrance!
Are you in control?
Are you relaxed?
Ready for action?
What are my bad
habits?!
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POSTURE POINTS
Open
Balanced
Free unrestricted
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Vocal Restriction?
Slumped
Restricted
Depressed
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Prepare the body for speech
Stretching
Moving
Opening the chest
Relaxing the
shoulders,head and
neck
Jaws!
Face
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BE PREPARED!
Warm up!
Tune in!!
Calm down!!
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BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Unrestricted clothing
Drop the heavy clutter
Free the body – free the
voice!
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- A warmed voice means warm tones!
Yawn with an ah to open the
throat
Breathe out to a ‘sh;
Hum up and down a scale
Me ma mo may me
Many men, many men etc
All I want is a proper cup of
coffee made in a proper
copper coffee pot .
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Are my breaths big enough?!
Freeing the voice
Big Sound/volume
Balancing our thinking
Breath for speech
Breath for Life!
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Easy Breathing
Sit with back to chair elbows on knees, chin on
hands – breathe in
Breath and out on fff, vvvv, zzzzz
Stand in star position, breathe out on an s, as
you do bend over to touch floor(allow knees to
bend) pause until you feel the need to breathe.
Say the months of the year (in English or Welsh)
on one even breath!
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Work those consonants
Where do you perceive the consonants are
formed?
Which articulators are connecting?
Both lips?
Top teeth and bottom lip?
Tongue and teeth?
Tongue to gum ridge?
Tongue to hard palate?
Back of tongue to soft palate???
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Consonants
Clocks ticking, ticking clocks, tick tock,
Five from four fives leaves fifteen
Charlie chose hunky chicken chips
‘K’ kkkkk, ‘g’ggggg ‘p’ppppp bbbbb
‘t’tttt ‘d’dddd
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Place and use your vowels
Where are they formed?
Long or short?
Carrying power?
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Vowels
as/oo/ay/or/ah make the vowels last as
long as you can
Ah – chest resonance
W – mouth resonance
Eat up Arthur I urge you!
The five parked cars are mine
Ahoy there, Ahoy
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Be clear! Be Heard! Be Effective!
Consonants for:
•Clarity
•Audibility
•Impact (clout!)
Vowels
•Warmth
•Mood
•Meaning
What do need to say?
How do I want to say it??
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Establish your vocal territory
Fix the state of mind
Establish control
Find breath, tone, focus
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How do you sound?!
Wobbly
Tight
Nasal
High pitched
Monotonous
Robotic
Uncomfortable?
Change your tune
Match your ‘music’ to the
message
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And your tone?
This is an interesting topic?
You’re going to enjoy this
I’m so lucky to be doing this
It’s so lovely to see you all
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Muscularity
Energy in words
Vitality of voice
Power rather than
projection!
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Vocal Variety – Increase your Personal
Presence
Pitch
Pace
Pause
Pronunciation
Power
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Relax, Breathe and articulate the
following
“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted, hand at the
grindstone, Scrooge! A Squeezing,
wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching,
covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as
flint, from which no spark had ever struck
out generous fire; secret and selfcontained as an oyster.”
From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
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What must I do to make it easier?
Breath support
Warm ups
Effort away from throat!!
Anchoring when having to
speak loudly
Avoid shouting/clearing the
throat
Not competing with
background noise
Devising other methods of
calling attention
Sips of water
Relaxed body – safeguarding
posture
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Each Day
Keep a check on
Posture
Breathing
Relaxation
Articulation
Reduce lecturer talking
time
Increase volume through
resonance
Use face and gesture,
non verbal
communication!
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Problems and Warning Signs
Breaks in the voice
Changes in pitch or volume
Changes in vocal quality
Changes in the body
Increased effort
Recurring loss of voice
Sensation of ‘lump in the throat’
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DANGER!
Talking or singing at a high or artificially
reduced volume levels
Talking or singing with cramped neck
position, distorted laryngeal position, a
clenched jaw, inadequate or excessive mouth
opening
Throat clearing or coughing
Shouting, screaming or yelling
Talking or singing with insufficient air
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AVOID!
Keeping larynx too high in the neck or using too
high or low a pitch level.
Talking or singing for too long
Trying to be heard over the top of other
speakers or background noise.
Making noises, imitating animal sounds, TV
characters.(small children)
Tryng to over-compensate for a vocal problem,
thereby altering muscle position and tone.
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Home Help
Reduce voice use
Increase hydration,
reduce alcohol, cigarettes
Voice and body rest
Keep larynx and vocal
tract moist – steam the
back of the throat
Gargle with salty water
Always warm the voice
before use
Avoid medicated throat
pastilles that kill pain
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Seeking medical help
Go to GP
Referral to ENT
ENT takes case history
and visualises larynx with
endoscope or laryngeal
mirror
If nothing sinister, refer to
SLT for further
assessment & advice
Individual or group
therapy as necessary
Voice clinic
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