Schools

Color Vowel for Learning • Blue Canoe for Practice

Discover what's been missing in classrooms.

"Why didn't someone tell me this earlier?," students ask. "Why didn't I know about this before?," comment teachers. Color Vowel® fills the gap.

A Teacher’s reflection

“I use the Color Vowel Approach in all my classes because it really helps my students with their vocabulary. I recommended that my students use Blue Canoe for further support, and they were all very impressed. The beauty of Blue Canoe is that it instantly starts helping learners to improve their pronunciation.”

– Kelly Mendonça, ESL Instructor
Montgomery College, MD

A student’s praise

“Teacher, the Blue Canoe app you told us about is amazing!

I can’t believe how many easy words I found that I wasn’t pronouncing correctly– it is mind-boggling!”

Kazuko Yasutake
ESL Student, Montgomery College (MD)

Color Vowel for ALL staff • Blue Canoe for Students

Color Vowel® FAST (Faculty and Assistant Support & Training) is an on-demand training program that prepares your entire faculty — ESOL instructors as well as content teachers, specialists, and paraprofessionals– to boost and maintain student engagement and academic language mastery in face-to-face and online settings.

Color Vowel® FAST gets instructional teams up and running with effective strategies and tools that support all learners from General Education to ESOL and SPED;
Teachers gain basic mastery of Color Vowel language support strategies through six highly engaging 30-minute webinar training modules;
Each participant receives a digital copy of The Color Vowel Approach and membership in My Color Vowel Community;
An administrator or lead teacher receives support through a bi-weekly “Blue Canoe for Schools” live webinar;
Your school receives volume discounts on Blue Canoe subscriptions for students and a 10% discount on volume orders of Color Vowel materials.

Color Vowel® FAST with Blue Canoe® for Schools is a winning combination!
Request a quote by completing the form below.

Color Vowel for ESL Teachers • Blue Canoe for Students

With the consistent use of Color Vowel strategies across the curriculum, schools can create an environment in which learner enthusiasm bursts with word curiosity, sound awareness, and academic English language confidence. Color Vowel TOTAL (Total Online Training & Assistance for Language teachers) is our comprehensive training and support package for ESOL/ESL teams.

Color Vowel TOTAL delivers Level 1 Certification via Color Vowel Basics Online, a 12-hour course of live-interactive webinars through which ESL teachers gain knowledge, awareness, and skills required to integrate the Color Vowel® Approach into daily instruction;
Teachers complete a technique practicum by posting videos, and they receive personalized feedback from a Color Vowel Coach;
Teachers access Blue Canoe and learn specific strategies for supporting students’ effective, sustained use the app;
All participants receive a digital copy of The Color Vowel Approach instructor’s manual and membership in My Color Vowel Community, our online educators’ support group, as well as password-based access to the Color Vowel Digital Library.

TOTAL schools also receive:

Three 1-hour implementation coaching sessions for your school team;
Volume discounts on Blue Canoe subscriptions for students;
A digital kit of Color Vowel Images licensed for school-wide educational use;
Access to our live, bi-weekly support webinar, “Blue Canoe for Schools;”
A 10% discount on volume orders of Color Vowel materials.

Color Vowel® TOTAL with Blue Canoe® for Schools is a comprehensive program for teachers and learners.
Request a quote by completing the form below.

Request Color Vowel® training and receive a quote within 24 hours.

ELTS is the exclusive provider for Color Vowel® Chart and Color Vowel® Approach training. We provide online and on-site professional development for ESL/EFL faculty at schools, universities, and non-profit organizations around the world.

Voetmann

“The Color Vowel Approach has transformed my classroom by giving students a fun, engaging, easy to remember way to improve their pronunciation, both in the classroom and their everyday life. I use Blue Canoe every day. I can’t imagine teaching without it!”

Ruth Voetmann, Intensive ESL Instructor and Department Chair
Edmonds College, WA

Our professional development clients include:

American University TESOL Program (DC)
Arlington Education & Employment Center (VA)
Berlitz (Brazil and Japan)
Carlos Rosario International Charter School (DC)
Christina School District (DE)
Department of Education, Costa Rica (Costa Rica)
District of Columbia Public Schools (DC)
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School (DC)
El Instituto Culturál Peruano Norteamericano, Huancayo (Peru)
Fairfax County Public Schools Adult and Continuing Education (VA)
Hardin County Schools (KY)
Intercambio Uniting Communities (CO)
Kaplan International (DC)
LADO International Institute (DC)
La Mariposa Montessori School (NM)

Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe (NM)
Mason Crest Elementary School (VA)
Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy (MD)
Montgomery College ESL Program (MD)
Pueblo City Schools (CO)
Santa Fe Community College (NM)
Tokyo International University of America (OR)
The University of Akron (OH)
University of Delaware English Language Institute (DE)
U.S. Dept. of State, Office of English Language Programs
U.S. Embassy, Manama (Bahrain)
Washington Area TESOL Association (DC)
Washington English Center (DC)
We Education (NY)
Worcester County Public Schools (MD)

Our Color Vowel app is here! Blue Canoe combines AI and speech recognition with Color Vowel-infused feedback to provide users with real-time feedback on their spoken English.
Request your free trial.

What Teachers Say

“Blue Canoe and its Color Vowel methodology is brilliant and incredibly effective with my students. I’ve been teaching English to Japanese students for more than a decade, and had never imagined a pronunciation approach could be this good.”

William Keith, Managing Director of Keith Industries, Tokyo, Japan

“We saw that teachers love using the Color Vowel Chart, so Intercambio now includes it in all curriculum we produce. For many English learners here, the CVC has led to life-changing breakthroughs around pronunciation! ”

Lee Shainis, Founder • Intercambio Uniting Communities • Boulder (CO)

“The Color Vowel System is such a fundamentally innovative and effective methodology that we built our company, Blue Canoe Learning, on it. Now anyone with a smart phone can play the Blue Canoe app and leverage the Color Vowel System to improve their English pronunciation. We are making such a wonderful impact on people’s lives, and ELTS and Color Vowel are an integral part of why we are successful!”

Sarah Daniels, CEO of Blue Canoe

“I find the way the elements of your training sessions weave themselves together genuinely elegant. It isn't just a "bag of tricks to deal with different problems" … there’s a sense of integrality and completeness in what you have developed overall.”

Brock Brady, U.S. Peace Corps Specialist (Washington DC)

“I can't thank you enough for an amazing experience at Color Vowel Basics. The Color Vowel Approach provides the strategy and structure I was looking for on behalf of my students. The work you have done is truly remarkable. It's true that simplicity lies at the far side of complexity.”

Amy Reavey, Literacy Volunteer (NJ)

“I love using the Color Vowel Chart because it works! Student feedback on the system is so positive. I have students who tell me how helpful it has been not only for pronunciation, but also for spelling, specifically for students for whom the Roman alphabet is new. English spelling and pronunciation is challenging, and I am so thankful to have this resource!”

Vanessa S. ESL Teacher, WA

“I don’t think I’ve ever been with a more skillful presenter [in Karen Taylor]. It was like watching a high-wire artist, but with NO misgivings: you know she’s totally secure up there. We were in the palm of her hand!”

Laurel Pollard, Author of "Zero Prep" and "Wow!"

“Interesting, fun, and I met people I look forward to keeping in touch with. So many 'Ah ha!' moments. Loved it.”

TESOL PCI Participant, Toronto (2015)

“The Color Vowel Chart allows my actor, broadcaster and executive clients to instantly see the color of the sound they are mispronouncing or mixing. The visual cuing speeds up the recognition time of the sounds! I think the Color Vowel Chart is the most brilliant thing I have ever seen. It has really changed the way we work at the Speech and Accent Academy!”

Lisa Jeffery, Director, The Speech and Accent Academy (FL)

“Who doesn’t love card games? My middle school students find Color it out! extremely engaging and I find it a powerful tool to introduce and review complicated sounds and spellings in English. In fact, I used Color it out! to introduce my students to the Color Vowel Chart before ever "teaching" them about it. I found it a very natural point of entry for the Chart. Since then, we have been exploring additional ways to use the Color it out! cards, such as Dominoes and Go Fish. A fantastic, fun, and very powerful resource!”

Michael Connors, E.L. Haynes Middle School, Washington DC

“The Color Vowel Chart brings attention to the differences among the English vowels--differences that students may not be able to hear. I also like how the Chart has allowed me to incorporate pronunciation into other aspects of my classes. While students are working together on any task, if I hear a major pronunciation problem I can say, "change your vowel from OLIVE to MUSTARD" and the student is able to self correct.”

Jody Gabler, ESL Teacher (NY)

“Color Vowel Basics was phenomenal. I learned an innovative but easy way to teach students about the many different sounds that vowels can make. The Color Vowel Chart is easy to learn and uses the different modalities of learning to reach every type of learner.”

K-12 ESL Teacher, Pueblo City Schools (CO)

“Wonderful session. Stellar presenters. Great activities. Best session I've been to. They were on fi-yur!”

TESOL PCI Participant, Toronto (2015)

Our Upcoming Events

Level 2 • Rhythm & Chants

August 4-11, 2020 • Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10-11:30 am

Learn More Register

Karen Taylor

Chants are like super-vitamins for English language learners!

In three 90-minute sessions participants will:

Learn how chants support brain-based language learning;
View authentic footage of learners engaging with chants;
Practice pre-teaching, leading and closing a chant with clear gestures;
Master three Color Vowel chants and their variations;
Learn when and where chants are most effective in a lesson.

Teaching ESL/EFL with Color Vowel® and Blue Canoe®

Tuesday, August 4, 2020 • 8-9 pm ET

Learn More Register for FREE

Join Karen Taylor, co-author of the Color Vowel Approach, for an overview of this innovative, brain-based method for teaching spoken English, pronunciation, vocabulary, and reading to English learners. Workshop discounts will be made available to you during this free webinar.

Teaching ESL/EFL with Color Vowel® and Blue Canoe®

Wednesday, August 5, 2020 • 11 am - 12 noon ET

Learn More Register for FREE

Join Karen Taylor, co-author of the Color Vowel Approach, for an overview of this innovative, brain-based method for teaching spoken English, pronunciation, vocabulary, and reading to English learners. Workshop discounts will be made available to you during this free webinar.

Fridays At Five

Every Friday at 5 pm ET (August 7 - December 11)

Learn More Register for FREE

Each Friday, we gather live to share tips and demonstrate tools for teaching English online effectively and engagingly. We explore a different topic each week, with each “Fourth Friday” featuring Dr. Robin Barr in “Ask A Linguist.” Whether you’re new to Color Vowel or well into your journey, this wonderfully supportive community event is for you!

Level 1 • Color Vowel® Basics Online

August 11-28, 2020 • Tuesdays & Fridays, 12-2 pm ET

Learn More Register

This 3-week intensive course immerses you in the use the Color Vowel® Approach and our pronunciation app, Blue Canoe. Through this course, you will master powerful, brain-based strategies for teaching learner pronunciation, vocabulary development, and oral fluency. Completing Color Vowel Basics Online fulfills all requirements for Level 1 certification.

Course Instructor: Laura McIndoo

Level 2: Creative Interventions

Aug 20-Sep 3: Thursdays 10-11:30 am ET

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In this intensive course for certified Level 1 Color Vowel Trained teachers, participants will view authentic classroom footage to identify and explore those critical moments when the learner is ‘stuck’ — stuck struggling with a word or phrase, and seemingly unable to make use of the instructor’s input.

Pronunciation for English Teachers

August 18-September 15, 2020 • Tuesdays 10-11:30 am ET

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In this 5-week course, participants will engage in a series of brain-based English pronunciation exercises that build awareness of the sounds and rhythms of English for the purpose of being more effective English teachers. Complementing the live 90-minute sessions, participants will complete video homework and receive pronunciation coaching and feedback from Color Vowel® trained instructors. This course is designed for English teachers who are themselves non-native speakers of English and who wish to improve their pronunciation confidence.

Instructor: Jennifer Campion

Level 1 • Refresh & Expand the Color Vowel® Basics

Aug 31-Sept 25, 2020 • Online and Self-paced

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Designed exclusively for teachers who took our Color Vowel® Basics face-to-face workshop between 2015-2019, this online course guides you through a series of refresher videos and short tasks that you complete at your own pace over the course of one month.

Weekly video practicum assignments provide you the opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of key Color Vowel instructional techniques and the the effective use of our Blue Canoe app.

A Color Vowel® Coach provides personalized feedback and guidance as you complete each requirement to complete your Level 1 certificate.

Level 1: Color Vowel Basics Online

Sep 9-Oct 14, 2020 • 9:30-11:30 am ET

Learn More Register

This 6-week course immerses you in the use the Color Vowel® Approach and our pronunciation app, Blue Canoe. Through this course, you will master powerful, brain-based strategies for teaching learner pronunciation, vocabulary development, and oral fluency. Completing Color Vowel Basics Online fulfills all requirements for Level 1 certification.

Course Instructor: Karen Taylor

Level 1: Color Vowel® Basics Online

Sep 10-Oct 15, 2020 • 7:30-9:30 pm ET

Learn More Register

This 6-week course immerses you in the use the Color Vowel® Approach and our pronunciation app, Blue Canoe. Through this course, you will master powerful, brain-based strategies for teaching learner pronunciation, vocabulary development, and oral fluency. Completing Color Vowel Basics Online fulfills all requirements for Level 1 certification.

Note: If you participated in a Color Vowel® Basics face-to-face workshop between 2015-2019, our new “Refresh and Expand” online course is for you! Upon successful completion of this self-paced asynchronous online course, you will receive your Level 1 certificate as a Color Vowel Trained Teacher, which comes with a digital image package and access to additional resources in our Color Vowel Digital Library.

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Level 2 • Rhythm & Chants

Teaching ESL/EFL with Color Vowel® and Blue Canoe®

Teaching ESL/EFL with Color Vowel® and Blue Canoe®

Fridays At Five

Level 1 • Color Vowel® Basics Online

Level 2: Creative Interventions

Pronunciation for English Teachers

Level 1 • Refresh & Expand the Color Vowel® Basics

Level 1: Color Vowel Basics Online

Level 1: Color Vowel® Basics Online

Summer Resolutions and My Color Vowel Life

What Color Do You Hear?

5 Vowel Letters vs. 15 Vowel Sounds: What’s a Teacher to do?

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