PHONETICS , VOICE & DICTION TRAINING
VOICE AND DICTION TRAINING
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with a deeper meaning.” —Maya Angelou
VOICE TRAINING
A beautiful speaking voice enhances your ability to communicate with and influence others. Other people make unconscious decisions about whether to trust and believe you based on the sound of your voice and how you pronounce the sounds of English.
A strong voice commands attention, increasing your presence. A rich, resonant voice tone compels others to respond positively. Good diction (proper pronunciation of the sounds of English) allows others to understand you clearly.
Like our fingerprints and faces, our voices identify us. Do you feel like you're stuck with the voice you're born with? Don't let your voice get in the way of making a good impression.
Voice Training provides you with the skills to develop a flexible voice that can respond to every speaking situation - conversations, meetings, presentations, telephone calls, and more.
DICTION TRAINING
What did you say? Will you repeat that please? Did you say...? Would you please speak a little louder? I didn't understand what you just said. Could you speak up, please?
These questions all refer to one thing - Poor Diction when speaking. One of the biggest frustrations in communication is the inability to understand what a person is saying. This can even lead to a heated argument, family disputes and lovers quarrels.
Many of us fall into the "I can't understand you", or poor diction category. But all it takes is a change of habit to learn how to clean up your diction and sound more professional.
Speaking English with 100% expertise can be a challenge. Here’s why English Language Schools and Testing Facilities focus solely on four language skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking but, unfortunately, do not include proper pronunciation.
Therefore, the Voice and Diction Training, at SSEC, is designed to enable students to improve the speaking voice through practical exercises and drills, as well as through a better understanding of how vocal sounds are produced and delivered. With guidance in pronunciation and articulation, the student will develop a more effective speaking voice. The student will be introduced to the study of phonetics and given an individual voice analysis with recordings and guided practice. It is an excellent preparation for other courses in Speech.
Course Description:
This course concentrates on the methods of creating proper articulation, vocal tone, pitch, pace, and resonance; the practical application of breathing, relaxation, tongue and lip placement; and how these elements pertain to voice and diction, The final goal of this course is to instill in the student an awareness of the patterns and styles of speech that are acceptable and, in some instances, demanded upon the acting stage and in the real world.
Course Goals:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of physical vocal production as it relates to breath support, tone and pronunciation in effective & sustained speech
2. Implement practical relaxation, breathing techniques and vocal exercises that benefit a strong oral performance
3. Analyze written material for rehearsal and performance in regard to tone, pronunciation, pace and syllabic stress
4. Perform dramatic material using proper projection, clear diction and articulation, appropriate emotion, tone and pace
5. Evaluate personal spoken oral performance based on reflection of emotion, diction, tone, pace, volume and articulation.
Course Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the Course, students are effectively able to:
1. Use their tongues and lips for precise articulation
2. Speak smoothly without hesitation or choppiness
3. Breathe properly for power and control
4. Project their voices so that they can easily be heard
5. Speak at an appropriate speed
6. Use emphasis and pauses effectively
7. Eliminate unpleasant qualities - monotone, nasal, high pitch
8. Speak with a pleasant vocal quality that is free of tension
PHONETICS
TEACHING ENGLISH PHONETICS
Phonetics is the study and classification of speech sounds. It is interrelated to other methods of sound analysis such as phonology and phonics. Phonology includes the analysis of sound system as it relates to grammatical forms. In Phonics, diacritic marks indicate long and short vowels and the pronunciation of other sounds, similar to the markings used in Dictionaries.
With the current emphasis on literacy, the sounds/spelling/pronunciation relationship of phonetics to speaking, reading and writing is very significant and thus it is all the more important for ESL trainers to pay great attention to it as they will be teaching to students from various regions or countries with different articulation, pronunciation and accent differentiation.
Basic elements of the characteristic of the sounds and symbols are unique, but once that foundation has been acquired, the application of such knowledge provides many opportunities in a wide variety of settings including education, speech language, industry, medicine, linguistics, psychology and more. Thus for a Phonetics Trainer/Teacher everyone is a prospective student and thus the study of the program has global implications on the whole.
Phonetic-science includes the study of speech sounds and the perception of these by the listeners. It does not concentrate on the meaning of sounds in words but rather on the features of the sounds and their influence on one another. Phonetic-science has many different disciplines that focus on the different aspects of the production and reception of human speech. Phonology is concerned with the patterning of sounds in a language and is thus comparable to areas of linguistics such as syntax and morphology which deals with structural elements of language at various levels.
The knowledge of Phonetics helps the teacher to understand not just how but why words are pronounced in a particular manner and how the sounds differ. Incorporating phonics instruction in the ESL classroom provides focussed training on the sounds of the English language. When the ESL students learn the meaning of the word along with the sound of the word simultaneously it works better. ESL students’ confidence increases when they are empowered with skills that help them successfully read and pronounce and spell English independently. The effect of teaching phonetics to ESL students is not only effective but powerful also. Our course, at SSEC, therefore, is designed to make you an effective ESL and Phonetics trainer and teacher.
Course Content
1) What is Phonology and Phonetics
2) Segmental and Supra segmental Phonology
3) Organs of speech
6) Phonetic Transcription
7) Stress and Intonation
8) Weak and Strong forms
10)How to Overcome the pronunciation barrier
11)Manner of articulation
12)Diphthongs or vowel glides