flloydpk
New member
- Joined
- May 14, 2012
- Member Type
- Other
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- Australia
- Current Location
- Australia
I just read Richard Flynn (aka TDol)'s blog posting "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" with great interest, because as a voice coach who helps actors and public speakers to care for their vocal health, and to use their voices more effectively and with greater power and clarity, I have been wondering whether TESOL and English (or any language) teachers incorporate voice training into their programs. Clearly Richard has now experienced what happens when something goes drastically wrong with the voice - as against the language - so he appreciates the contribution that the voice makes to speech.
I am curious to know if teachers generally encourage students to address their own voices as something to be acknowledged and cherished, as against taking the vocal sound for granted as nothing more than a conduit for the language they are learning? Do you think about the way you use your own voice, and how this is culturally and socially informed? Teaching a new language involves a cultural shift, and often that shift is experienced as an uncomfortable physical feeling that is challenging to negotiate because it actually involves subtle but profounds changes in the physiology of producing vocal sound.
I'd be very interested to hear of teachers' and students' experience of adapting their vocal sound to accommodate a new language.
I am curious to know if teachers generally encourage students to address their own voices as something to be acknowledged and cherished, as against taking the vocal sound for granted as nothing more than a conduit for the language they are learning? Do you think about the way you use your own voice, and how this is culturally and socially informed? Teaching a new language involves a cultural shift, and often that shift is experienced as an uncomfortable physical feeling that is challenging to negotiate because it actually involves subtle but profounds changes in the physiology of producing vocal sound.
I'd be very interested to hear of teachers' and students' experience of adapting their vocal sound to accommodate a new language.