Chapter+3

__Chapter 3: Voice Development for Oral Interpretation__ Relaxation is key when performing in front of an audience, in front of peers, or in front of our students. To relax oneself, there are various exercises that can be used. You can use exercises to relax your muscles and body, such as stretching upwards, neck and shoulder rotations, raising up on the balls of your feet. You can perform breathing exercises also to relax. It helps relax the diaphragm and these exercises will help you to control your voice and muscles by them being relaxed and ready for your performance. Volume and projection are key in a classroom. You do not want to whisper to students, but instead be able to have a loud enough volume and project your voice to your students so they can hear you and focus their attention on hearing you and not on straining to hear (they will not be listening then). Pitch is important in the classroom as well because teachers use many variations in their pitch. There is the stern teacher voice, the "I'm proud of you" voice, the "you are in trouble now" voice, and many more. Using inflections to the words and pitch can give various meanings to the words the instructor (or student) is saying. Teachers also have to be aware of their rate. Students need time to think about and process what the teacher is saying, so speaking at a very rapid rate will only confuse students who are still trying to interpret what you said three sentences ago. Teachers need to use correct pronunciation (correctness of sound) and articulation (shape of the words) in order to be understood by students and to be a good example. When teaching younger children, we now tell them to get "their mouths ready for the word" this is teaching them articulation. Due to the growing number of immigrant children in our classrooms, dialect will be heard, perhaps on a daily basis, for our students. When performing, we should try to stay true to the dialect of the text as well as we can without it being distracting. I will use this when I am reading to my students so they can distinguish between different characters and to show that not everyone is the same and that is perfectly okay. __Activities:__ [|How a Teacher can relax] ([]) 1) Students list ways in which they relax on their own. They then speak with a partner about ways he/she relaxes, then in groups, then as a class until one large list is made on how to relax. These can be done the night before or right before the performance to help students relax. These will help students realize they are not alone in being stressed out and will help them come up with a plan for relaxing before a performance. 2) Begin the class speaking as quickly as possible, not taking appropriate pauses where punctuation would be, and continue this for as long as possible. This can be used right after you say something like, "Now pay close attention, this will be on your test tomorrow." Students will hear your rapid rate and lack of pauses and may stop you. Then explain that rate and pauses are critical when speaking in every day life and when presenting. Have students read tongue twisters as fast as they can three times to see how often they mess up. Then have students read the same tongue twister at a much slower rate. Have them tell a partner which was easier and why. __Videos:__ media type="youtube" key="gtOZIygafn8" height="315" width="560" [] Good example of good rate and pause media type="youtube" key="IEwLZb7m9lU" height="315" width="420" []