Reflection on the online course "Communication Skills for Teachers - Voice Production and Vocal Health"

When I was singing in a choir, I had been introduced to the importance of having a good posture and useful warm-up techniques like hissing, yawning, diaphragmatic breathing etc. I had always associated vocal training and exercises for people who sing but never for speaking until now. Now that I have realised that it is also necessary for teaching in the classroom, I will keep that in mind and will remember to do a quick warm-up before and after class when I teach in the near future. Other than that, another new thing that I have learnt in this e-learning module is twanging. I never knew that the technique we find in coffee shops could actually be adopted by singers, let alone use in the classroom setting! While I could see the benefit of using it to project our voice, I find it particularly hard to do and unless I could do it unconsciously, I believe that training is needed for me to be able to use it properly and effectively.

Besides that, I did not know that throat-clearing is that harmful. I have always thought that it helps remove the mucus buildup obstructing my throat and clearing it would help me get my voice back. I remember during my ESE, I was once down with a flu and my voice was badly affected. I did not lose my voice completely but had to use a lot of effort to speak, even to my colleagues. Unfortunately on that day, I had to do relief for two classes and I did not have the time to request to be excused. From the moment I stepped into the classroom, I already had trouble greeting the students! After going through this e-learning module and when I looked back, I probably did the most horrible thing to my larynx and had most certainly not done a good job in managing the class. Throughout the period in the classroom, I had to clear my throat multiple times to get my voice out, from giving students the instructions for their assigned work, to asking them to return to their seats. Moreover, I could feel that most of the students did not bother to pay much attention, given that they could sense that the teacher was incapable of raising her voice. Now that I know that throat-clearing is actually detrimental to my vocal folds and frequent throat-clearing could actually lead to complications, I will be more aware of that and if the need arises, I will seek assistance from my colleagues instead of putting on a brave face. Having alternative arrangements would benefit both the students and myself.