Using Your Voice Effectively in the Classroom

As a teacher, you are required to use your voice more than any other professional! Your voice is the most important tool that you have at your disposal to inspire students and help them learn effectively. Using your voice powerfully and effectively is the key to becoming an outstanding teacher. Developing a strong vocal presence in the classroom influences everything else that you do, helping to build your confidence and positive interactions with students. If you neglect your voice as a teacher, you are more likely to end up stressed, have a shorter teaching career and suffer from vocal health issues.

This book explores how you can learn to use your voice effectively in the classroom, linking together basic theory about vocal production and teacher identity with numerous practical tips, tricks and exercises which you can apply to your own teaching. Covering all aspects of the voice and its employment both inside the classroom and its importance to daily life outside, the book tackles topics such as:

• the philosophy of the voice, how it develops and its role in creating your own identity
• the mechanical and mental skills required to develop a teaching voice
• acquiring confidence and an exploration of body language to underpin your vocal production
• the relationship between the student’s voice and the teacher’s voice
• the importance of practice for a teacher
• the practicality of caring for one’s voice.

Using Your Voice Effectively in the Classroom offers a much-needed exploration and thorough examination of the voice in the classroom and will be an indispensable guide for trainee teachers, as well as valuable reading for all practising teachers.

William Evans is Senior Lecturer in Education at the Faculty of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.

Jonathan Savage is Reader in Education at the Faculty of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. He is also Managing Director of UCan Play.