This is the second part of the presentation given to local Hong Kong English teachers on15 September, 2012 for the English Speaking Union, Hong Kong

1. All You Wanted to Know About
Choral Speaking
But Wasn’t Sure Who to
Ask Part 2

2. A few hours ago ….
What are four important questions you have to
answer before you start training students?

3. 1. What was the poet’s intention?
Silly or serious?

4. 2. Are there any shifts in mood?
Words to indicate a shift ….
 But
 Suddenly
 All of a sudden

5. 3. Which lines carry on in meaning?
Make students aware of lines that carry on with
…

6. 4. What EXACTLY happens at the
beginning and at the end?
The beginning is generally a narrative voice.
The ending generally slows right down to a
stop.

7. Also, a few hours ago …..
What three elements can (and must) be
varied?
Pitch
Pace
Volume

8. PITCH
Back rows high
Front rows low

9. from anyone lived in a pretty how town
by E. E. Cummings
Children guessed (but only a few
And down they forgot as up they grew
Autumn winter spring summer)
That no one loved him more by more.

10. PITCH con’t
Certain words should be brought up in pitch.

11. from A Case of Murder
A dog would have been a different thing
Plump as a cushion with tucked-in paws
Better have left him with a fair-sized rat!
So he took Daddy’s stick and hit the cat.

12. PITCH con’t
Then quick as a sudden crack in glass
Shot for the door that wasn’t quite shut
His eyes squeezed beads of salty prayer

13. PACE
In some places students can gallop ahead.

14. from A Case of Murder
Then quick as a sudden crack in glass FAST!
FAST!
It hissed, black flash, to a hiding place FAST!
In the dust and dark beneath the couch,
And he followed that grin on his new-made
face, SLOW THIS ONE DOWN A NOTCH

15. PACE
In some cases, students should pause for a
touch of suspense.

16. PACE con’t
… and though it died
It’s grown in that cupboard and its hot low purr
Grows slowly louder year by year:

17. VOLUME
Sometimes saying words quietly has a deep
impact.

18. VOLUME con’t
The black fur squealed and he felt his skin
Prickle with sparks of dry delight.

19. Look at The Bookshop.
IN THE FIRST STANZA, where could you …
 increase the pitch?
 pause? //
 decrease the volume? V

20. Look at The Bookshop
IN THE SECOND STANZA, where could you …
 add a sound?
WHAT sound?

21. Look at The Bookshop.
IN THE LAST STANZA, where can students:
 increase the pitch?
 pause?
 increase the volume?

22. GROUPING
TEACHER
front
1 2 3 4
back
RIGHT LEFT

23. from anyone lived in a pretty how town
by E. E. Cummings
Children guessed (but only a few
And down they forgot as up they grew
Autumn winter spring summer)
E
That no one loved him more by more. (sniffling)
1
2
3
4

24. And NOW FOR THE REALLY
BIG SHOW ….

25. When does the performance begin?
… when the students start walking up to the
stage!

26. Robotic movements are a no-no!
The movement should start just BEFORE the
students begin speaking, and should end
AFTER the students have spoken.
Students should slowly bring their bodies back
to the original position.

27. Moving Forward
Look at The Slithery Slitch.
The slithery Slitch, the slimy Slitch,
Where could
the richest of the monster rich students
move forward?
lives within a silver ditch
in fancy Monstertown.

28. from The Bookshop
We’ve big ones, small ones, funny, sad
Tales to make you cry …
Where could
but students
move forward?
DON’T TOUCH THE BOOKS!
DON’T TOUCH THE BOOKS!
We’ve poems, stories, sagas
To make you catch your breath …

29. Create the Atmosphere!
A PARTY
- Balloons (on sticks!)
- Ribbon round the shoulders
- Party hats

31. Costumes?
Black works!
Key characters would be in ‘regular’ clothes.

32. A boy in the old days could wear …
 Shorts
 Suspenders
 Whiteshirt with collar
 Long white socks

33. A boy today could wear …
A baseball cap (backwards!)
 A loose t-shirt
 Loose trousers

34. A classroom of boys could wear …
 Ties
 White shirts
 Black trousers

36. Witches and Cats!
A witch could wear …
A hat (that isn’t too tall)
 A cloak (graduation gown works)
 Horrid make-up

38. A cat costume could include ….
A leopard printed shirt
 Tight black trousers or tights
 Ears on a head band
 Simple make-up

40. A poem with a cat and a witch!
There Was an Old Woman
There was an old woman who rode on a
broom,
With a high gee ho, gee humble;
And she took her old cat behind for a groom,
With a bimble, bamble, bumble.

41. CAT
WITCH

42. SPAGHETTI! SPAGHETTI!

43. A MOUSTACHE WORKS!

46. FIND A CODE.
E – everybody
1,2,3,4 - one of the four groups
- pitch increases
- pitch decreases
BOLD - increase volume

47. FIND A CODE. con’t
Look at Cleaning the Floors by David McNeal

49. A Bad Hair Day is OK!
Ask the students (they’ll know what goop to
use!) to gel their hair for the performance.

51. Pay attention to alliteration.
If there is alliteration in the poem, students
should emphasize the words ever so slightly,
to show an awareness of alliteration.

52. from The Bookshop
Toys and television
Are both things of the past -

53. PAY ATTENTION TO THE TITLE.
The Awakening of the Bulldozers
Granny’s Rap
anyone lived in a pretty how town
The Song of the Jellicles

54. RHYTHM
Some poems have clear rhythm patterns.
Try not to be a ‘slave to the rhythm’.

55. RHYTHM con’t
From Tarentella by Hillaire Belloc
And the hip! hop! hap!
Of the clap
Of the hands to the swirl and the twirl
Of the girl gone chancing,
Glancing,
Dancing
Backing and advancing,
Snapping of the clapper to the spin
Out and in --

56. RHYTHM con’t
from The Slithery Slitch
Inside his slimy limousine
That slips about the slimy scene
He guzzles a glass of gasoline
And licks his slimy lips.

57. WATCH THE ENDING ‘t’ CONSONANT.
Local Chinese students will tend to hang on to
the final ‘t’ sounds.

58. from The Bookshop
Toys and television
are both things of the past –
reading is the thing today,
reading pleasures last …

59. LEAVE A TABLEAU AT THE END.
How?
 Some students crouched low
 Some students left standing
 Some students seated
 Arms out to the left
 Arms out to the right
 Heads on tilt
 Students shrugging

61. NO MATTER WHAT, SUSTAIN THE
ENDING!
It’s simple …..
1. When the last word is spoken, all
students stop moving.
2. One student counts to 3 (in his/her
head!).
3. The student then comes out and bows.
4. The student leads the procession off the
stage.

62. ENDINGS OF THREE POEMS
from A Case of Murder
‘And the huge black cat pads out of it.’
From The Bookshop
‘DON’T TOUCH THE BOOKS!’
From We’re Having a Monster Party!
That there’s ever monster been!

63. Find your shining star!
Find the student who doesn’t mind the attention
and put him/her …..
in the front row
in the middle

64. POSSIBLE PROBLEMS 
Students ask, “Why do we have to do
this?”
It’s FUN!!
They learn to pronounce English words.
They learn about poetry.
They learn to work together as a group.
They’ll never forget the experience.

65. POSSIBLE PROBLEMS 
You’re the only one truly interested in your
school!

66. POSSIBLE PROBLEM 
You, as a teacher, have no experience doing
this.

67. POSSIBLE PROBLEMS 
Students just don’t seem interested.

68. POSSIBLE PROBLEMS 
Students have never done this before, and so
are terribly nervous on the day of the
performance.

69. POSSIBLE PROBLEMS 
Just before the competition, the discipline
teacher scolds your students mercilessly.

70. REMEMBER …….

71. www.janeegee.blogspot.hk