Drama at the Wolfe Stage School

My focus is on developing the child’s natural capacity to speak clearly, fluently and confidently. This is achieved by speech exercises, drama games and the delivery of the 3 genres of vocal expression: poetry, prose and drama.

Do not make your child aware that you think there is “a problem” – speech is learnt over long periods of time.

It is a slow process – if your child thinks there is something wrong they will become quieter, feeling embarrassed and ashamed of their voice – this would be very destructive – speech and communication should be fun and productive this is what they will gain from attending drama class and simple speech faults will be corrected.

Think about how you feel when someone keeps asking you to repeat something – it makes you frustrated and often angry – so tread carefully when dealing with speech faults.

Remind your child that there is nothing wrong with their voice or how they speak but training the voice and tongue will make it easier for other people to understand them and in turn make life easier for them.

We learn to speak as infants because we want to express ourselves – Nobody is born speaking fluently it is a natural process but can be developed and perfected with professional training.

Think how hard it is for them, their mouths are not fully formed, their tongue is growing and teeth constantly appearing
Make speech exercises fun , speech as the most common form of expression should be enjoyed. Confidence grows through encouragement, praise and their own personal interest.

Breathing can also affect our speech – those who suffer from breathing ailments may find it harder to speak with a strong voice. Exercises to improve breathing are done regularly within the school programme.

Tension, nerves and fears can make talking an unpleasant experience, Through attending class and regular performances students learn to overcome these fears and begin to appreciate that confidence can sometimes be as simple as a trick – “fake it before you make it, the rest will come in time”

Perhaps forming certain sounds is (or was) painful for your child and they avoid forming the correct sound.

Many childhood speech faults will have disappeared by adulthood – nobody wants to be different in a bad or embarrassing way -Many Famous and well known people who suffered lisps or stammers in their youth are now confident speakers.

It is important to understand that accent is different to pronunciation. A child’s natural accent must not be changed but may be modified by correcting simple speech faults and mispronunciations. Clear speech is what is important.

Sometimes a speech fault can be due to the laziness of the speaker – a lazy tongue – like a lazy eye can be trained to become more responsive.

For Children, especially those with Downs Syndrome the tongue exercises are important and are the building blocks of good clear speech.

Tongue exercises are the essential part of any speech training – the tongue is a muscle and needs a regular work out to remain strong and flexible – These exercises are carried out in the first section of every class – Speak to your teacher today for a copy of the exercises.

If you would like more information on how to improve your child’s speech, make an appointment with Declan and he will be more than happy to discuss any issues you have.