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Teacher's Manual

Core English

Total Physical Response

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Choral Speaking

Sound-Letters-Words!

CD-ROMs

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Entry/Exit Tests

Teacher Training Program

GEPT

Teacher's Guide

Module based (16 books, 48 topics)

Choral Speaking Techniques

Choral Speaking Pictorial Codes and Symbols

Main poem for each topic

Comprehensive lesson guide (9 lessons per topic)

Performance Considerations

Extension poem for each topic
Articulation Exercises

Teacher Reference (1 volume)

Systematic exercises for pronunciation including tongue twisters, word phrasing and pronunciation tips

Explanations of common pronunciation problems
Choral Speaking Techniques CD-ROM

FAQ - Interview with Choral Speaking teacher
Student Workbook

Topic based (48 books)

Full color

Writing script guide and stroke order

Choral Speaking Pictorial Codes and Symbols

Main poem

Written exercises

Extension poem
Supplementary Resources

Support materials including flashcards, picture cards, word cards, miscellaneous cards

Topic based

Full color

Choral speaking is the art of using voices in unison (all) or part (small group) to produce a piece of poetry or prose that highlights, through performance, the images and the mood that the writer of the piece envisaged.

Choral speaking is not simply speech training, and delivery of a piece relies on careful teaching and student cooperation. When approached enthusiastically and in a structured, systematic way, choral speaking has an obvious educational value for students of English. Not only does choral speaking provide essential learning of English vocabulary and structures, it also allows students to learn English as a group where the pressures on individuals to perfect English speaking are removed.

The group approach to learning a performance piece also alleviates the students' self-consciousness, elevating a unity of purpose within the group. Choral speaking also encourages a knowledge and appreciation of English literature within a poetry and prose context.

The program includes comprehensive Teacher's Guides with all lessons and teaching sequences for Modules 1-16 carefully presented. This represents forty-eight separate topics. The lessons are taught twice a week over a period of one month, culminating in a performance. Through CD-ROM technology, the teacher and students are able to access audio and visual recordings of each of the performance pieces. These recordings give the teacher and the student an indication of how the piece might sound.

The topics parallel the CEC core English program with one mandatory piece to be taught and performed. In addition, the program provides extension pieces for the teacher to use if and when required. These extension pieces incorporate additional vocabulary and structures and would be suitable for special performances or competition. They have been left free of the teaching sequence and coding to allow the individual teacher to interpret and perform them as they wish.

Each mandatory poem or piece of prose has been presented with the necessary coding for teaching and performance. That is, a poem may have particular words or phrases that require emphasis or attention to make the meaning obvious to the listener, and the codes make this very clear for the teacher.

The development of group cooperation in achieving an end result is an essential part of choral speaking and should be regularly highlighted with the students. The Choral English College English program includes choral speaking as a component of learning English because of its numerous benefits, including the:

(a) enjoyment of speaking poetry or prose
(b) structured practice in articulation, resulting in greater word and phrase clarity
(c) improvement in breathing when speaking English
(d) use of all speech organs to their full potential
(e) practice of the natural rhythms of English
(f) practice of functional vocabulary and structures relevant to the English program

    

The lesson plans in each Teacher's Guide contain:

an explanation of the choral speaking pictorial codes and symbols relevant to each module
vocabulary focus points and structures linking the poems to topics in the Choral English College Core English Program
additional vocabulary, which may be new and must be introduced for speaking and understanding the poem
references to warm-up exercises which are chosen from the Choral Speaking Techniques. Each lesson must begin with warm-up exercises, at least one of which must be chosen from sections 1 and 2. The number of warm-up exercises increases as the Choral Speaking Program progresses
the core poem marked with the choral speaking codes or symbols specific to that poem
teaching strategies with reference to the choral speaking techniques necessary for the performance of each poem
the text to be taught in a particular lesson shaded on the lesson plan
homework activities related to learning the specific choral speaking techniques for each poem
a list of materials and performance props needed
suggestions (see 'Performance Considerations') for the actual performance of the poem, such as the arrangement of the students, actions or performance props needed
extension poem(s) which may be chosen to extend students' speaking abilities if a poem has been learnt quickly and competently. These poems may be chosen either from the topic being taught or from another topic (but not from a higher level). Alternatively, an extension poem may be chosen for competition. These poems are left for the teacher to interpret using the choral speaking techniques

    

Students have a book for homework activities. Each Student Workbook contains:

(a) homework activities designed to consolidate the vocabulary and choral speaking techniques introduced in each lesson
(b) instructions to the students to practice each section of the poem, or the whole poem, using the specific choral speaking techniques particular to that poem. It is essential that the students practice the poem using the speaking techniques and say the poem out loud. Boxes at the bottom of each homework task show the choral speaking techniques that need to be practiced for that particular lesson
(c) a display box at the end of each homework session for parents to sign indicating that they have heard the student practicing the poem
(d) reference to the recording of each poem on the CD-ROM that students must listen to and watch regularly to enable them to practice the poems in preparation for classes and, ultimately, performance
(e) extension poem(s), which can be used to extend the students' speaking abilities

    

While there is no formal assessment in the Choral Speaking Program, the three performances for parents within each module provide an incentive to learning and an opportunity to demonstrate language proficiency.