The nature of teaching means frequently projecting your voice beyond normal conversational levels, which can cause strain for untrained voices. It’s not surprising that teachers are an at-risk group for voice problems. A study by Voice Care UK found that teachers are eight times more likely to suffer from voice-related illness than those in other professions, and in a study by Greenwich University, a staggering 50% of all ECTs suffered voice loss within their first year of teaching.
Against this backdrop, it’s easy to view voice problems as inevitable, but it shouldn’t be one of the unavoidable downsides of the job that teachers should simply accept. Voice issues can be prevented.
With an ever-increasing focus on schooling and attendance in the shadow of Covid-19, the idea of staff absence can be a concern, potentially with the potential cost implications of using supply teachers and concerns over wellbeing. There is also the challenge of retaining staff whose experience persistent issue with their voice health.
If classroom management issues are impacting on learning outcomes as well as staff wellbeing, we can help.
Maybe you’ve tried approaches and training that haven’t delivered the magic bullet that you were led to expect.
Or you’re wary of the cost implications and long-term benefits of solutions offered by external trainers that don’t have rigorous scientific support. It can be confusing.
The 5voices can help. Our trainers come from a teaching background with proven long-term results in voice health and positive learning outcomes. Our voice training is designed specifically to support teachers by training them how to use their tone of voice to avoid voice issues, stay healthy and enhance performance in the classroom.
Our 5voices training has helped thousands of teachers to understand proper voice care to prevent voice problems and missed teaching days, and use the variety in their voices to engage their students and improve learning outcomes. And we can help you to bring in these effective practices at your school too.
Our research-backed approach has helped thousands of teachers across hundreds of schools in the UK effectively harness the power of voice, enabling teachers to command control and authority in the classroom, be truly engaging in lessons and improve learning outcomes for their students.
Our OFSTED (2011) and Carter Review (2015) evaluations of The 5voices Programme show that the training of the voice has a positive impact on:
By bringing in The 5voices in your school, you can be confident that you are giving your teachers the support they need to care for their own voice health and maximise their teaching success with their students.
By learning the fundamentals of voice care, including daily voice warm-ups and the introduction of variety in their use of voice, your teachers are less likely to suffer from the vocal strain and voice problems that can lead to their absence from the classroom. Instead, you can look forward to keeping more of your teachers in the classroom and continuing in work – giving your students greater consistency of teaching and reducing the need for supply staff.
Furthermore, by learning how to effectively use the incredible variety in pace, pitch, power, melody, rhythm and clarity of vocal expression, students become automatically more engaged with their teaching, and classroom management improves as a result.
When your teachers are the most interesting person in each classroom, the tricky task of keeping students positively engaged becomes infinitely easier, and consequently, the likelihood of disruptive or damaging behaviour reduces.
However, from the very first session I was able to see how my teaching could benefit in both the short and long term. I had suffered from a sore throat, although I was not unwell and had not been raising my voice. After the first session it was apparent that I had been overstraining my voice, for no real reason. As soon as I used the techniques that were suggested I immediately saw a difference, in not only my throat but in the children’s behaviour and in my teacher’s presence in the classroom. Not only has this helped me to deliver lessons but also to address behaviour management within the classroom.
You will need to be able to use your voice at a professional skills level in order to communicate effectively in the classroom. Read and consider the following statements. Mark each statement yes or no according to your view of your voice.
