The Birmingham School of Elocution
Teaching the Art and Science of Speech since 1993
Principal: Dr Robin Wooldridge MA BSc FRSA FVCM LVCM(TD) LVCMEd
Member International Society of Phonetic Sciences
Member Societas Linguistica Europaea
Member International Society for the Linguistics of English
Elocution has come of age! Gone are the images of stuffy Victorian drawing rooms! My method of teaching elocution is the science of speech training. Based upon my own postgraduate research into speech and lin guistics, I have established a quick and easy way to give anybody confidence in speaking and communication. All sessions are now on SKYPE or ZOOM.
Today’s world is highly competitive and it is vital that professionals and those who seek to further their careers, gain the vital skills in communication. Accent Reduction - the Birmingham School of Elocution teaches adults a fast and effective way to reduce or soften their accents. My approach to elocution will transform your speaking voice and increase your confidence.
The Birmingham School of Elocution also offers children’s classes. Children from 7 to 16 years of age are taught to develop a confident and clear speaking style – and to gain LAMDA or New Era Academy communication certificates - recognised by universities! Adults have the opportunity to gain the Associate Diploma in Interview and Presentation Technique of Victoria College of Music and Arts Est 1890. For further information see the AVCM Diploma Course.
The Birmingham School of Elocution provides one-to-one speech training sessions to adult clients. Children’s classes are available on weekends and evenings.
Elocution, Speech and Voice
Elocution - just the word is sufficient to conjure up images of Victorian or Edwardian gentlemen getting their pupils to recite long poems and ridiculing them for their mispronunciation of vowels and consonants.
Perhaps the most well know elocution teachers of the early 1900s were Samuel and Alice Hasluck. This married couple ran the highly successful Polytechnic School of Elocution situated on Regent Street, London. Gentlemen and gentlewomen of the day would enrol for instruction in elocution, which involved students learning to 'roll their r sounds' and to project dramatic verses to the back of the theatre.
Elocution still suffers from these old images and many people who would benefit - both personally and professionally - from speech and voice lessons are deterred by these old ideas.
There's been a great deal of research into linguistics, phonetics and phonology since the days of the Haslucks. The Birmingham School of Elocution employs the approach developed by Robin Wooldridge, based upon his postgraduate research into linguistics. This is a new approach to the teaching of speech and voice and is unique to the School. The simple approach can be learnt and applied by anyone in a relatively short period of time.
Modern speech and voice lessons offered by the School give a practical way to learn how to acquire a pleasant 'neutral' accent - without having to learn long, complicated poems or difficult extracts of Shakespeare.