School Masters Academy

Speaking effectively is defined as speaking in such a way that your message is clearly heard and, if possible, acted upon. There are two main elements to speaking effectively: what you say, and how you say it. School Masters has always put into consideration the spoken English of their pupils/students and has thus introduced a program called Diction for Primary School and Elocution for Secondary School.

What is Diction?
For better understanding lets try not to be too complex about the definition of Diction. Diction can be defined as style of speaking or writing, determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer. A beautiful speaking voice enhances your ability to communicate with and influence others. Diction classes insure that the spoken English of our pupil is delivered correctly. There are many children speaking English for instance, with an excellent ability to read and write the language, but their errors in diction make them very hard to understand, and worse, allow them to sound ignorant. The confidence of our pupils cannot be over emphasised too due to their fluency in spoken English. It is not difficult to notice this when they are among their pairs.

What is Elocution?
The word elocution comes from the Late Latin word ‘elocutio’ which means ‘a speaking out’ or ‘manner of expression’. The word first appeared in English during the mid-15th century.

-the skill of clear and expressive speech, especially of distinct pronunciation and articulation.

-the skill of speaking clearly and with an accent that is considered correct.

The International Phonetic Alphabet(IPA) has developed a standard for the sounds in English language which are the 44 Speech Sounds where all Received Pronunciation (RP) sounds are found.

Note: Received Pronunciation(RP) or better still the BBC English is the system of spoken English acceptable world wide.