Watching the Shallaway choir this semester, I noticed they use the IPA system. This seems to work really well for them, and I can see the benefits of teaching phonetic vowels. Not only do they help with vocal vowel production, they can help ESL students with English and can be transferred to singing in many other languages such as French or Latin. Some argue that it adds an unnecessary layer of difficulty for young students, but I believe in "setting the bar high" and giving students the opportunity to rise to that challenge. The IPA alphabet can be taught to any age group if explanations and pace are tailored to their learning level. Learning IPA vowels can reduce the need to explain how a vowel feels in the mouth, eliminating tedious explanations in the future and proactively eliminating vowel issues. Davids IPA discussion helps me to formulate the language and knowledge necessary to teach IPA vowels to my future students.