Weekly account of class:
This week class started off with the usual warm up games followed by the breathing exercises. This time, we took it up a notch and instead of the 8-4-8, we did the 5-2-10 breathing exercise. At the start it was quite a struggle for me as I was not used to exhaling for so long but on the third try, I felt that I could exhale the entire duration slightly better (struggling a little less!). Hopefully in the weeks to come, I will be able to carry out the breathing exercises a little better.
On top of the usual breathing exercises, Claire added elements that were a little more challenging such as breathing in push up positions (which definitely required an extra intake of breath). Personally, as compared to doing normal push ups, bridges during my softball trainings, I felt that I could control my breathing better and this aided in me being able to sustain the position for a longer time (without feeling too tired). Given that this session was going to be focused on phonation, phonetic alphabets, Claire also had us practice our vowels pronunciation whilst doing the breathing exercises (a, e, i, o, u).
We then proceeded to doing more breathing/mouthing exercises while standing up. First we got into pairs and positioned ourselves facing each other, palms to palms. While breathing and mouthing the vowels, we were to channeled our breathing and energy and pushed against one another, forcing the breath out till the very bit. For this exercise, my partner, Cass, managed to exhale longer than when she was lying on the ground. Personally, I managed to exhale the longest when we were pulling apart from each other while back facing. In this case, I feel like there were more breath coming out and it was much easier to channel them forward as well. It made me realised that different individuals can better control their breath in different positions, which I thought was very interesting.
This session was very focused on the phonetic alphabets and articulations. Claire had all of us reading a tongue twister. While observing each of my course mates attempt the tongue twister, I managed to jot down a few pointers/Claire's comments that can aid in my journey to improving my articulation:
- Do not rush. Having a good rhythm while reading (anything) will naturally result in everything coming out cleanly and smoothly. Consistency is key! Everything can be solve by taking time to articulate.
- Ending 'd's should always be emphasized i.e. toad, toed, ground
- Those with accents will tend to stretch their 'i', producing elongated sound (and this should be avoided)
For my own performance, the main thing that I should take note and keep in mind was the 'd' sound in words like toad. In my case, I am unable to produce the clear 'd' sound when the vowel is much more in front as compared to words like ground. In the case of 'toad', my 'd' sound will tend to come out as a 't' at the end. Claire said that it was all about the mentality and habit and some changes will take some time given that I am very used at pronouncing it this way. Shall aim to pay more attention to such words and hopefully work on them.
Takeaway from this session/Research findings:
Through this session, I came to understand that being in different positions expands our lungs differently and each of us have a certain position which we would be able to inhale and exhale a lot better. I went to further read up some of the other ways which we could help in building stronger and healthier lungs.
In terms of pronunciation/articulation, I managed to find some practices that I can inculcate which hopefully can help me in improving my pronunciation when I speak.
1. Paying attention to my tongue when speaking, some examples include:
- “L” sound: tongue should touch the back of your front teeth and the top of your mouth, just behind your teeth.
- “R” sound, tongue should not touch the top of your mouth. Pull your tongue back to the middle of your mouth, near where it naturally rests if you weren’t saying anything. As you say the sound, your lips should be a little rounded.
- “TH” sound. Put tongue between your top and bottom teeth. Your tongue should stick out a little between your teeth, and as you push air out of your mouth, let some air escape between your tongue and teeth—that’s what makes the sound.
2. Breaking words down into sounds (by syllables). This can help in the articulation by reading each part slowly, and pausing after each syllable.
3. Adding stress to sounds and words. This will allow me to pay more attention to each word instead of rushing through them, leading to slurring of words in between.
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Through this session, I came to understand that being in different positions expands our lungs differently and each of us have a certain position which we would be able to inhale and exhale a lot better. I went to further read up some of the other ways which we could help in building stronger and healthier lungs.
There are more poses which can be found on http://www.yogajournal.com/category/poses/anatomy/lungs/ and these different positions can help stimulate the lungs and at the same time, help strengthen certain parts of the body (shoulders, lower back) and I feel this can also help in our body postures.
In terms of pronunciation/articulation, I managed to find some practices that I can inculcate which hopefully can help me in improving my pronunciation when I speak.
1. Paying attention to my tongue when speaking, some examples include:
- “L” sound: tongue should touch the back of your front teeth and the top of your mouth, just behind your teeth.
- “R” sound, tongue should not touch the top of your mouth. Pull your tongue back to the middle of your mouth, near where it naturally rests if you weren’t saying anything. As you say the sound, your lips should be a little rounded.
- “TH” sound. Put tongue between your top and bottom teeth. Your tongue should stick out a little between your teeth, and as you push air out of your mouth, let some air escape between your tongue and teeth—that’s what makes the sound.
2. Breaking words down into sounds (by syllables). This can help in the articulation by reading each part slowly, and pausing after each syllable.
3. Adding stress to sounds and words. This will allow me to pay more attention to each word instead of rushing through them, leading to slurring of words in between.
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For this week research, I also went to read up on what modulation is and how it plays a part in voice production. Modulation is a change in stress, pitch, loudness, or tone of the voice and an inflection of the voice and this is what gives the voice mood meaning and sounds attractive. Some of the few components of voice modulation included:
Voice Modulation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2017, from http://speakingenglishlanguage.blogspot.sg/p/voice-modulation.htmlPace or Speech speed (Pace): It must always be at a speed that the listener can understand. Put the pace at that speed where the listener can understand you properly.
Pitch or Depth of voice: Keep it at a level that is comfortable for you and don’t strain your vocal cords.
Pause: Pauses should be given at required intervals like where there is punctuation. It is given to let the listener absorb your information. It is given for emphasis and dramatic effect.
Power: In order to create power in your voice you should not speak from your mouth but from inside from the abdomen, make it commanding by generating intensity in your voice.
Volume: Try and match your listener’s speech volume, unless they are shouting. Try dropping your volume so that they have to drop their volume to hear you. Maintain your volume according to the listener decrease or increase (do not shout to increase it be loud)
Emphasis: Put emphasis by putting some pressure or focus on the key words or syllables in order to provide contrast to your words bring out their desired meaning.
Inflection: Inflection means ups and downs of words. In combination inflection links meaning and feeling with your words.Thought it would be quite useful to keep these few key points in mind, especially when we are preparing for our upcoming group presentation. Given that these key words are short and to the point, remembering it should not be a problem, but executing it will be a challenge!
Yoga Poses for Lungs & Breathing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2017, from http://www.yogajournal.com/category/poses/anatomy/lungs/
How to Greatly Improve Your English Pronunciation in 8 Steps. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2017, from http://www.fluentu.com/english/blog/how-to-improve-english-pronunciation/
