Monday, August 27, 2012

INTRODUCTION TO SPEECH: Voice and Speech Motor


Language
Language can loosely be defined as the syntactically organized system of signals, such as voice sounds, intonation or pitch, gestures or written symbols that communicate thoughts or feelings.
Human language can be described as a system of symbols (lexemes with rules) by with the symbols are manipulated. This entails the use of patterns of sounds or gesture for symbols which enables communication possible with others around them.
Spoken language requires sufficient knowledge of production to be an effective communicator.
The primary tool in oral communication – the voice.

The Voice
Voice – production of sounds by exciting the vocal vibrators and manipulating its output
Speech – combination of sounds to create symbols that would represent meanings to both speaker and listener.

Elements of voice – reflection of mood:
Quality, pitch, force or intensity and rate.

Voice Quality
Five common qualities of voice:
1.       Normal – used when the speaker speaks naturally showing little or no emotion.
2.       Breathy – whispered, known as “aspirated”
3.       Full – used during formal and dignified occasion, also known as “orotund” (round mouth)
4.       Chesty – deep, hollow voice s if coming from a deep and empty cave.
5.       Thin – high-itched, also known as “falsetto” (It. for small voice)
Exercise:
1.       That’s okay. I don’t mind.
2.        Come closer, I just want to say “I love you.”
3.       Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the winner of this competition.
4.       “Abraham, Abraham…offer  your son to my altar!”
5.       I really think that is exciting! Hihihi…

Voice Levels
Pitch is another element of voice that shows emotion. Varying the pitch means going up and down the scale. An angry or excited person may use high pitch to express their emotion, while a sad or a person in formal gathering may use low pitch. However, ordinary speaking situation requires medium pitch. 

Exercise:
one- PIKITSY, two- PIKITSY, three- PIKITSY,
four- PIKITSY, five- PIKITSY, six- PITKITSY,
seven- PIKITSY, eight- PIKITSY,
nine- PIKITSY, ten- PIKITSY
Oh MY! OH my! Oh MY! OH my! Oh MY! OH my!

Voice Intensity
Loudness or intensity refers to the effect of a sound on the ear – its loudness or softness. The force with which you speak varies in degree and form. Degree refers to the amount of force applied so in whispering, only a low degree of force is used; whereas shouting, a high degree of force is applied.
Exercise:
mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm
                zzz, zzz, zzz, zzz, zzz, zzz, zzz
                titiTI, tiTIti, Tititi, titiTI, tiTIti, Tititi, titiTI
                titiTI, tiTIti, Tititi, titiTI, tiTIti, Tititi, titiTI
               
                don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t stop!
                oh, oh, ahhh! oh, oh

staggered counting:
One, one-two, one-two-three…
                                A: Shhh…Listen.
                                B: No, you listen to me!
                                C: I will not listen to you!
                                D: You will listen to me!
                                E: Just shut up and listen!
Rate of Speech
Speaking is characterized by variations of speed.  Slow speech projects such personality characteristics as calmness, acceptance of others and formality. However, if the rate is too slow, it may project an image of dullness, listlessness, apathy, laziness , and sometimes lack of intelligence. Rapid speech projects animation, enthusiasm, excitement, and informality. This may also mean nervousness, tension, and anxiety.
Exercise:
       My mind is my own, my mind is my own
       Money mole, money mole, money, money
       Faster, faster, fasteeer !
       Hit it hard! Hit it hard! Hit it hard!
       I..I really don’t know.
       It was dark…and the wind is cold…then I heard a voice – crying, sobbing…but no one was there… 

The Speech Mechanism
Lungs – storage and source of air, responsible for exciting the vocal mechanism
Diaphragm – creates pressure to enlarge the thoracic cavity for air suction and expulsion
Esophagus – passage to the stomach
Larynx – also known as the voice box, location of the labia or cords, stops the passage of food bolus
Pharynx – connects the larynx to the oral cavity
Soft Palate – connects the route from the nasal cavity to the pharynx.
Epiglottis – also known as the false vocal cords, prevents the food from reaching the larynx and isolates the esophagus.
Oral Cavity – houses the hard and soft palates, the tongue, teeth, cheeks and lips; controls the acoustic of the sound production.
Tongue – In speech production, manipulates the phonetic production
Lips – controls the size and shape of the mouth opening

Classification of Parts of Speech Mechanism
Motor – respiratory muscles, responsible for air control
Vibrator – vocal bands or cords to produce sound waves
Resonators – modulate sound waves that give resonance
Articulators – give definite shapes and character of sounds as air passes

Remedial Reading Programs


Choral Reading – The teacher and student/small group/ class read a story together and aloud.

Cued Reading – A teacher utilizes introductory discussion about a story before reading.

Echo Reading – A teacher reads a text, one sentence at a time as the students follows along. The student then attempts to imitate or echo the teacher.

Group Dynamic Reading – In a small group, the teacher and students take turns in reading the text. At first, the children follow what the teacher reads with their fingers. After this, the student read while the teacher listens.

Guided Reading – A student read with the assistance of an instructor as it is needed. When an unfamiliar word appears, the instructor either tells the student the word or assists the student in decoding the word. During the story, the teacher stops at certain points and question the student in order to determine/guide comprehension.

Lap Reading – A student sits on the parent’s or teacher’s lap and listens to high interest stories. The goal of this technique is to build a student’s interest in reading, while creating a good oral reading model. This nurturing environment can be replicated in a story corner or anywhere that the child feels comfortable.

Repeated Reading – A student chooses a challenging text and listens to the instructor as she reads it. The student then reads the text by him/herself. This process continues until the student can fluently read the text. This method can be woven into many different literacy approaches and adapted to different circumstances.

Shared Reading – The teacher reads a text while the student observes and follows along silently. This method helps build reading fluency and comprehension.
Silent Reading – Student read silently for a specified period of time. This method builds confidence in reading skills, but should only be used when students are ready.

Taped-Assisted Reading – A student reads along with a tape-recorded passage. Students continue at their own pace while building decoding skills, sight word vocabulary and fluency. It is important to use taped readings that are short in duration (3-4 minutes at the most) and read in phrases to ensure that students are not lost or confused.

Theatrical Reading – In a small group, students take turns reading a story while an assigned student acts out what is being read. This builds interest in reading and may break up the monotony in the lesson.

Whisper Reading – While a student reads a text aloud, the teacher whispers assistance in the student’s ear as needed. 

Kinds of Reading and Related Programs



Kinds of Reading

Overview:
Several types of reading may occur in a language classroom. One way in which these may be categorized , as suggested by Brown (1989) can be outlined as follows:

A.      Oral
i.                     Independent Reading
ii.                   Public Reading
iii.                  Guided Reading
iv.                 Shared Reading
B.      Silent Reading
i.                     Intensive Reading
a.       Linguistic
b.      Content
C.      Extensive Reading
i.                     Skimming
ii.                   Scanning
iii.                  Global

The first distinction that can be made is whether the reading is oral or silent. Within the category of silent reading, one encounters intensive and extensive reading.  Intensive reading is used to teach or practice specific reading strategies or skills. The text is treated as an end in itself.  Extensive reading on the other hand,  involves reading of large quantities of material, directly and fluently.  It is treated as a means to an end. It may include reading simply for pleasure or reading technical, scientific or professional material. This later type of text, more academic, may involve two specific types of reading, scanning for key details or skimming for the  essential meaning.   A relatively quick and efficient read, either on its own or after scanning or skimming, will give a global or general meaning.

On the other hand, oral reading can be subdivided into approaches or technique of implementation. Independent reading is reader-dependent in terms of comprehension, public reading is about disseminating information, guided reading is an approach for level learning and shared reading is intended for common understanding, entertainment and learning.
I.                    Oral Reading
In general, oral reading is the act of reading aloud intended to develop and test the reading competencies, to make information common to general understanding, and to guide learners in their quest for knowledge. This can be categorized according to its intention and purposes.

A.      Independent Reading - Students read silently by themselves and at their own pace (Taylor, 1993).  The selections must be at students' reading level in order for them to comprehend what they're reading.

B.      Reading Aloud to Students - Teachers use the interactive read-aloud procedure to share selections that are appropriate for students' interest level but too difficult for them to read by themselves (Barrentine, 1996).

C.      Guided Reading - Teachers scaffold students' reading to teach reading strategies (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996, 2001).  Guided reading is conducted with small groups of students who read at the same level.

D.      Shared Reading - Students follow along as the teacher reads a selection aloud (Fisher & Medvic, 2000).  Primary-grade teachers often use big books-enlarged versions of the selection-for shared reading (Holdaway, 1979).

II.                  Silent Reading

Silent reading is reading without pronouncing words out loud. It is reading to oneself where thoughts are absorbed immediately from the test. In motion, silent readers simply interpret the material through a series of eye sweeps where the meanings of the words are most important.

A.      Intensive Reading - Brown (1989) explains that intensive reading "calls attention to grammatical forms, discourse markers, and other surface structure details for the purpose of understanding literal meaning, implications, rhetorical relationships, and the like." He draws an analogy to intensive reading as a "zoom lens" strategy . On the other hand, Long and Richards (1987) say it is a "detailed in-class" analysis, led by the teacher, of vocabulary and grammar points, in a short passage."

Characteristics
·         usually classroom based
·         reader is intensely involved in looking  inside the text
·         students focus on linguistic or semantic details of a reading
·         students focus on surface structure details such as grammar and discourse markers
·         students identify key vocabulary
·         students may draw pictures to aid them (such as in problem solving)
·         texts are read carefully and thoroughly, again and again
·         aim is to build more language knowledge rather than simply practice the skill of reading
·         seen more commonly than extensive reading in classrooms

When it is used
·         when the objective of reading is to achieve full understanding of:
-          logical argument
-          rhetorical pattern of text
-          emotional, symbolic or social attitudes and purposes of the author
-          linguistic means to an end
·         for study of content material that are difficult


B.      Extensive Reading - Brown (1989) explains that extensive reading is carried out "to achieve a general understanding of a text."Long and Richards (1971, p.216) identify extensive reading as "occurring when students read large amounts of high interest material, usually out of class, concentrating on meaning, "reading for gist" and skipping unknown words." Harold Palmer (1917) in Britain and Michael West (1926) in India were the first to pioneer the theory of extensive reading as an approach to foreign language teaching and to reading, in particular. Palmer chose the term "extensive reading" to distinguish it from "intensive reading".

Characteristics
·         Students read as much as possible.
·         A variety of materials on a range of topics is available.
·         Students select what they want to read .
·         The purposes of reading are usually related to pleasure, information and general understanding.
·         Reading is its own reward.
·         Reading materials are well within the linguistic competence of the students in terms of vocabulary and grammar.
·         Reading is individual and silent.
·         Reading speed is usually faster than slower.
·         Teachers orient students to the goals of the program.
·         The teacher is a role model of a reader for the students.

When it is used
·         An Extensive Reading program may be combined with writing or combined with speaking practice in a meaningful way (such as when students discuss with each other the books they have been reading.
·         Broughton (1978) suggested that  "It is by pursuing the activity of extensive reading that the volume of practice necessary to achieve rapid and efficient reading can be achieved."
·         Krashen (1993a) suggested that the benefits of free voluntary reading included "enhanced language acquisition and literacy development, more ideas and information, greater success in life, loss of verbal memory, and more fun."

1.       Scanning
Scanning is a quick reading, focusing on locating specific information. Scanning involves quick eye movements, not necessarily linear in fashion, in which the eyes wander until the reader finds the piece of information needed. Scanning is used when a specific piece of information is required, such as a name, date, symbol,  formula, or phrase, is required. The reader knows what the item looks like and so, knows when he has located  what he was searching for. It is assumed then, that very little information is processed into long-term memory  or even for immediate understanding because the objective is simply matching.

When it is used
·         Scanning is used often with technical, scientific or professional materials to locate specific information.
·         Scanning is a valuable skill for second language learners to develop because often they do not require a detailed read of a text. There are many everyday uses for scanning, relevant to a purpose, such as reading a schedule.

2.       Skimming
Skimming is a quick reading to:
- to know the general meaning of a passage                                           
- to know how the passage is organized,  that is, the structure of the text                - to get an idea of the intention of the writer

Skimming is a more complex task than scanning because it requires the reader to organize and remember some of the information given by the author, not just to locate it. Skimming is a tool in which the author's sequence can be observed, unlike scanning in which some predetermined information is sought after.

When it is used
·         Skimming is used when reading some some general question in mind.
·         Skimming is used in making decisions on how to approach a text such as when determining  if a careful reading is deserving.
·         Skimming is used to build student confidence and an understanding that it is possible to gain meaning without reading every word in a text.
·         Skimming is used as part of the SQ3R method of reading, often for speed reading. This method  involves the student in surveying, questioning, reading, reviewing and reciting. Skimming is used for the initial survey and for review.
·         Skimming is a skill that a  student may want to develop if they are planning to continue with academic studies. It  is often used in reviewing for a test.









Types of Reading Program

I.                    Process Based: Basal Reading Program (Content-Based Instruction or CBI)
Basal reading program by Chall and Squire was propagated in the 1980’s from the American teaching approach that was introduced in the country. In the process, it is the integration of particular underlying principle that successful language learning occurs when student are presented with target language materials in a meaningful, contextualized form, with the primary focus on acquiring information and knowledge.

Content can refer to academic content or content in terms of cultural themes. This serves as the organizing principle: its structure, vocabulary, and functions  are selected by the teacher that are both necessary for the content ad that are compatible with it. This contextualizes language learning for students and focuses the learner’s attention primarily on meaning.

CBI focuses generally on the following:
A.      Vocabulary development that includes phonemics
B.      Fluency both in oral and silent
C.      Comprehension using context clues
D.      Intensive and Extensive Reading
E.       Comprehension Development
1.       Pre-Reading Plan
2.       Previewing
3.       Anticipation Guide
4.       Question-Answer Relationships
5.       Reciprocal Questioning

II.                  Process Based: Literature-Based Program
LBP is characterized by the use of authentic, engaging literature with limited systematic instruction, especially related to word reading.

The program includes:
1.       teacher- or commercially-developed materials
2.       student-initiated activities
3.       whole class instruction
4.       leveled books

The program features:
1.       guided reading
2.       shared reading
3.       interactive reading
4.       uninterrupted reading

III.                Approach-Based: Comprehensive Reading
Comprehensive reading aims to provide complete instruction in the core components of reading.

IV.                Approach-Based: Supplemental Reading
This program’s objective is provide additional instruction in one or more areas of reading.

V.                  Approach-Based: Intervention Reading
In case of outlying performers, this program is designed to provide additional instruction to students performing below expected level.

VI.                Intensive Reading: ‘Narrow’ Reading Program
This involves students reading selections by the same author or several texts about the same topic. When this occurs, content and grammatical structures repeat themselves and students get  many opportunities to understand the meanings of the text. The success of  "Narrow Reading" on improving reading comprehension is based on the premise that the more familiar the reader is with the text, either due to the subject matter or having read other works by the same author, the more comprehension is promoted.

Uses:
·         usually very short texts - not more than 500 words in length
·         chosen for level of difficulty and usually, by the teacher
·         chosen to provide the types of reading and skills that the teacher wants to cover in the course

VII.              Extensive Reading Course
On this program, students work with a class set of books, individual reading of material, of their own choice, with follow-up activities such as reading logs, reading journals, book reports or projects.

Uses:
·         Graded Readers
·         Texts on the same topic
·         Periodicals
·         Internet resources
·         Stories and articles chosen by the teacher