Welcome to your Color Vowel Journey.
Color Vowel® started its own journey over twenty years ago as this thing we called the Color Vowel Chart. Over time, it has evolved into a powerful collection of instructional strategies known today as the Color Vowel Approach.
We are proud to provide you with the Color Vowel® Journey, a comprehensive training program that promotes life-long learning and curiosity around the topics of effective teaching, phonological awareness, brain-based learning strategies, and the English language itself!
Where along the Journey are you?
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Are you new to teaching with Color Vowel?
Get started here!
Our Level 1 program provides you with a foundation for teaching English that has been missing from our field: a simple yet robust way to teach the rhythm and sounds of English. Combining the content of Color Vowel Basics with practical explorations of our mobile app, Blue Canoe, and a video-based technique practicum, our Level 1: Color Vowel Basics Online course satisfies all three requirements of the Level 1 certificate.
Our Level 2 program guides you through a deeper exploration of concepts introduced in Color Vowel Basics, and invites you to apply Color Vowel in settings relevant to your own teaching context. Level 2 involves completing three prescribed Core workshops, three Elective workshops, and a two-stage Practicum.
Complete these Core Workshops
Your Level 2 journey starts with three Core workshops, each one engaging a different part of the brain. Core workshops may be completed in any order.
View upcoming workshop dates and times.
Purchase our Level 2 Core Workshops Bundle and save!
Color Vowel Yoga is a collection of simple movements that parallel the movement of the jaw, lips, and tongue when producing the vowels sounds of English. These movements serve as physical anchors for producing sounds that the learner may not yet be able to perceive. In this Core Workshop, participants gain confidence in leading Vowel Yoga and will develop a clear understanding of when to use Vowel Yoga as an instructional intervention.
Spelling Exploration is a sound-based exploration of spelling patterns that ignite learners’ optimism and curiosity about words in their spoken and written forms. In this Core Workshop, participants will gain practical familiarity with each step of the process and explore pedagogical implications.
Rhythms & Chants is a workshop in which participants learn how chants support brain-based language learning; view authentic footage of learners engaging with chants; practice pre-viewing, leading and closing a chant with clear gestures; and master three Color Vowel chants and their variations.
Complete 3 Elective Workshops
Elective workshops vary in topic and theme. All workshops are practical and are designed around a performance-based outcomes. Elective Workshops include:
Coaching & Teaching Practicum
Apply what you learned in Color Vowel Basics while gaining teaching experience with guidance from a Color Vowel Master Trainer.
*Teaching Practicum candidates must currently be teaching (online or in person) in order to participate in the Teaching Practicum, and they must be prepared to acquire permission from their students and/or their institution to provide Color Vowel/ELTS with video recorded lessons that show teacher-student interaction.
Level 3 qualifies you to be a licensed trainer in the Color Vowel Approach and provides you with opportunities to deliver Level 2 Core and Elective workshops for ELTS. Level 3 involves successful completion of our Trainers’ Seminar of a two-part Apprenticeship.
The Color Vowel® Training Seminar includes the following topics:
To fully prepare the Color Vowel® Teacher Trainer, we have created a three-part apprenticeship consisting of:
You are provided with the support of a Master Trainer throughout the Level 3 Apprenticeship.
Color Vowel Basics© is an asynchronous, self-paced introduction to the Color Vowel® Approach. Complete four video-based modules and taking companion quizzes for each module at your own pace. Color Vowel Basics training fulfills one of three requirements for Level 1 certification. Learn more about Level 1 certification requirements here.
During this 4-week workshop with Karen Taylor and Shirley Thompson, participants will:
Color Vowel Complete combines asynchronous learning with live training to immerse you in the use the Color Vowel® Approach and our pronunciation app, Blue Canoe. During this 4-week course with Karen Taylor, you will learn how to use powerful, brain-based strategies to teach learner pronunciation, vocabulary development, and oral fluency. Color Vowel Complete fulfills ALL of the requirements for Level 1 certification.
Lynn Swanda has extensive experience teaching English to non-native speakers of all ages and levels for over 25 years. She has a Master of Education in ESL and has lived and worked overseas in Belgium, Germany, Thailand, and South Korea for the majority of her teaching career where she taught in both local and international schools, as well as managing ESL departments. Currently, she resides in Oklahoma City and teaches at Oklahoma City Community College. Lynn is a Color Vowel Certified Level 2 Teacher.
Learn how to preview, lead, and close chants with learners using existing chants and modified chants. Course participants will:
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