What is Choral Speaking?

Choral speaking is the art of using voices in unison (all) or part (small group) to produce a
piece of poetry or prose that highlights, through performance, the images and the mood that
the writer of the piece envisaged.
Choral speaking is not simply speech training, and delivery of a piece relies on careful
teaching and student cooperation. When approached enthusiastically and in a structured,
systematic way, choral speaking has an obvious educational value for students of English.
Not only does choral speaking provide essential learning of English vocabulary and
structures, it also allows students to learn English as a group where the pressures on
individuals to perfect English speaking are removed.
The group approach to learning a performance piece also alleviates the students' selfconsciousness, elevating a unity of purpose within the group. Choral speaking also
encourages a knowledge and appreciation of English literature within a poetry and prose
context.
TYPES OF CHORAL SPEAKING
1.

REFRAIN is one of the most common forms of choral speaking. One person reads
the narrative portion of the text while the rest of the class joins in the refrain.

2.

UNISON calls for the whole group to read the material together. Additional sound
effects might be incorporated

3.

ANTIPHON calls for the class to be divided into two or more groups, with each group
being responsible for a certain part of the selection.

4.

CUMULATIVE choral reading or speaking refers to a method where groups of voices

or individual voices are added to or subtracted from then choral reading, depending on
the message or the meaning communicated by the selection.

5.

SOLO LINES is a type of choral reading where individuals read specific lines in
appropriate places throughout the group activity.

6.

LINE AROUND or CHILD-A-LINE is more solo work where each line is taken by a
different person in the group.

Suggested activity/in-class tutorial:

i) Choral reading: After attending the choral speaking event, the students are guided and able
to follow the technique of reading it in the class.
ii) List down the new words from the lyrics and find the meaning of each word.