It is vitally important as a teacher to care for your voice so that it will last you well for your entire teaching career. Unsound vocal hygiene, or vocal habits, can lead to temporary and / or permanent voice problems.

Vocal Strain can occur if a teacher is required to talk over background noise, which may be remarkably common and even inevitable considering the typical nature of children and groups of children gathered together at one time!

Trying to talk loudly, yell over such noise or indeed attempts to make a voice carry over a large distance can result in stress, tension and anxiety in the short term. This is due to the excessive throat and abdominal muscle forces exerted in the process and the constriction of certain muscles in the larynx or ‘voice-box’ in the throat.

Vocal Strain may be prevented by

o Where possible, make sure you are close to students when speaking
o Use an audio routine such as a bell or piece of music or visual stimulus such as a gesture, or change of lighting etc. to signal changes in the classroom activity
o Only speaking to students when they are quiet and waiting for this moment before commencing
o Planning your typical day to ensure periods of vocal rest are evenly apportioned across the day o Regular sips of room temperature water to provide hydration and a moist atmosphere to the internal landscape of the throat and larynx
o Speak only in a vocal range (ie voice pitch and type of voice quality) that is comfortable for you
o Slow down your speech rate and overemphasize your speech sounds and words so that you are more easily understood without the need for loudness or repetition.