Thinking about pronunciation (with our hands)

Clip art: Clker

Linked above is the website of Antle of Simon Fraser University. The end of her URL says it all: "/Physicality/ThinkingWithHands." There is obviously much we can learn from researchers in the area of arts and technology. This new article, listed on the website is particularly interesting. "Antle, A.N. Exploring how children use their hands to think: An embodied interactional analysis, Behaviour and Information Technology, accepted." Not surprisingly, one of the most striking findings is the contrast between the type (and quality of) thought engaged when physically manipulating objects as opposed to that evident during similar mouse-based or visual protocols.

The effect of using the hands in HICP in pedagogical movement patterns across the visual field, especially on listening comprehension and problem solving related to interpreting the expressive dimension of English speech, is well worth exploring systematically. "Off handedly," I could relate any number of anecdotal observations in that regard, but for the time being . . . let's just keep it handy and think about it!