Care For Your Voice!
How to protect and make the
most of your voice in Language
Teaching!
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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….
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VOICE WORK!
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Common Vocal Challenges in
LanguageTeaching
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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
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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!
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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?!
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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?
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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
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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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