More Information on the
Course and Certification for Instructors

The Listening Centre has designed the LiFT Course/Certification to enable professionals to offer Listening Fitness with the LiFT within the boundaries of their professional practice.

LiFT stands for Listening Fitness Trainer, an electronic audio-equipment used for sound stimulation and voice training. The LiFT is unique and differs from other types of auditory stimulation devices in that it is portable, rechargeable, it has a Microprocessor, a Smart Gate, adjustable filters, balance and microphone settings. The LiFT is only made available for purchase to specialists who have at least 5 years of professional experience in their field, who receive a Listening Fitness Instructor’s Course and work under supervision to obtain their Certification. These Instructors agree to use the LiFT and to apply the Listening Fitness Programs within the boundaries of their field of expertise (special education, music therapy or voice teaching for example) and with the population with whom they are trained to work (children with developmental delays, with learning disabilities, singers, or the elderly, for example).

Several types of Listening Fitness Programs are available to end-users. Remedial Listening Fitness Programs are designed for children and adults who can benefit from better learning, language, communication and motor skills. This program also improves auditory processing, attention span, balance and coordination, reading, speech and social skills. It is ideal for children and adults with learning and attention difficulties, developmental delays, poor coordination and motor skills, hesitant speech, poor reading, spelling and vocabulary.

 

LiFT Instructors whose specialty is special education, occupational therapy or speech therapy usually provide these programs.

Listening Fitness for Skill Enhancement and Well-Being Programs are designed for adults who feel "down", tired, irritable, overwhelmed or unable to adapt to new situations; for singers, actors or musicians who wish to improve their voice quality, voice projection, articulation and "musical ear; for students wishing to learn or brush up on another language. The LiFT program provides energy, relaxation and flow. It is a skill enhancement tool for adults who want to continue to grow, explore or learn a new skill like art, dance or sport. It jump-starts the creative process making learning easier.

LiFT Instructors who provide these types of programs come from specialties such as: Counseling and Psychotherapy, Music or Art Therapy, Naturopathy or Homeopathy, Voice, Music or Drama Teaching or Second Language Teaching.

Listening Fitness is not suitable for people whose problem is primarily neurological, degenerative or psychiatric. The program is also not designed for children with autism or PDD although a special course to address this group may be developed at a later date for professionals who have extensive experience in working with this population.

While all programs have some elements in common, each program is adapted to individual needs. The way to individualizing programs is to have the proper assessment tools. Listening Fitness provides the Personal History Questionnaire, the Listening Fitness Questionnaire and the Context Checklist to assist with assessments. These questionnaires are designed to evaluate how good a candidate the person is for the LiFT Program as well as to guide the LiFT Instructor in preparing Sound Programs. We also request that Instructor use any other assessment tools that they already use in their professional practice.

The program length depends on several factors including, how developed listening skills are at the outset of the program, the individual's age and lifestyle, and the program goals. However, as a rule, the minimum length of a LiFT Program is fifty hours while the average program is sixty hours. A program should take eight to ten weeks at a rate of one hour a day, six days a week or alternatively, two hours a day with a few weeks interruption mid-way through.

Listening Fitness includes two phases: the Receptive and Expressive phases. Improved receptive listening ability prepares the ground for a richer voice but it is only through the exercise and ongoing use of this richer voice, that improved listening will be maintained. In summary, long term Listening Fitness necessitates work on the ear-voice connection that is done through different exercises using the microphone.

And, as with any fitness program, the Listening Fitness Program is followed by exercises to help maintain improvements. The Instructor is responsible for making the trainee aware of the need for Follow-up exercises, right from the beginning. In addition to exercises, Follow-up also includes check-up appointments or telephone consultations as well as a more formal means of tracking change such as Follow-up Questionnaires. The Follow-up part of the program lasts about one year.

Please note that while the Listening Fitness with the LiFT shares some similarities with the Tomatis Method and the work done at The Listening Centre, it differs substantially in assessment procedures, audio-equipment and focus and should not be regarded as the equivalent of either. Professionals are certified as Listening Fitness Instructors and become members of the growing LiFT Network.

The Certification to become an Instructor of Listening Fitness starts with the LiFT Instructors Course, which is given intensively (three and a half days - 27 hours) and consists of a study of the educational and technical manuals to be used for the administration of LiFT Programs as well as a ear-voice workshop. Paul Madaule's 30 years in the field of listening training  using the Tomatis Method and teaching staff's teaching experience and solid applied understanding of listening training make the LiFT Instructor's Course an invaluable learning experience .

Professionals attending the Course learn to use the tools to assess listening fitness, to create listening profiles, to develop sound programs, to operate the LiFT and to include it in their practice. A "take-home test" must be completed in the month following the course and feedback is given individually to each Instructor.

After completion of the course and purchase of equipment, The LiFT Network office provides ongoing support through supervision, because a 27-hour Course is not considered sufficient to fully absorb everything -the educational and technical parts. In the 18 months following the Course, the Instructor receives supervision and support from a Supervision Consultant, for the review of the Instructor’s first seven trainees’ programs. Typically, supervision consists of about 20 phone consultations or 15-30 hours of coaching. A LiFT Instructor then becomes fully certified.

In order to ensure a high level of professionalism there are certain qualifications that we would like those training with us to meet. To be able to attend, you must meet the following criteria:

• Hold a university degree, college diploma and/or professional diploma in the field related to human development for remedial and/or well-being applications (these include but are not limited to the fields of education, conseling, psychology, audiology; speech, occupational, music or art therapy; homeopathic or naturopathic medicine, etc.);
  OR
  hold a university degree, college diploma and/or equivalent combination of educationand experience in te performing arts or your chosen field of skill development or enhancement (these include but are not limited to the practice of Voice, Music, Acting, or Language teaching/instruction.
• Have a minimum of 5 years of practice in the field of education or those related to human development and wellbeing.
• Agree to use the LiFT (Listening Fitness Trainer) equipment within the limits of own professional practice and expertise and according to the guidelines set out during the course and certification process including adhering to the exclusion criteria as specified in the course (excluding those candidates with some forms of hyperactivity, autism and pervasive development disorder (PDD), auditory problems like hearing loss, neurological problems and/or psychiatric disorders).
• Intend to purchase equipment after the Course (LiFT Kit).

If you wish to enroll for a Course, fill out the Registration form and send it to us with your resume.

The dates for the upcoming Courses are: March 27-30, 2008; June 5-8, 2008; November 6-9, 2008. The courses will be held at The Listening Centre in Toronto. The LiFT Course and Certification costs $2,500.00 CAD includes taxes (US prices based on current exchange rate). This price includes three lunches and 3 1/2 days of intensive teaching, all the "know-how" Manuals (educational and technical), forms and documents to be used in the LiFT Practice, 15-30 hours of individual supervision in the 18 months following the Course, the book When Listening Comes Alive by Paul Madaule and the audiotapes Earobics Series #1 and #2. Do not send your payment with your application. We will be in touch with you after review of your application.

The LiFT Kit equipment is purchased separately. You can consult the price list. Accommodation and travel are not included. If you plan to stay in Toronto, you can consult our list of accommodations we recommend.

Please contact the LiFT Network office at (416) 588-4136 or info@listeningfitness.com.
For questions regarding the LiFT Equipment, contact Listening Technologies at listen@ica.net or at (416) 531-8400