HICPR: Better (looking) intonation with just the wave of a hand

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Better (looking) intonation with just the wave of a hand

Clip art: Clker

A new study, summarized by Science Daily, explores why the left side of the face seems more attractive than the right. One explanation offered is that the left side is more emotionally expressive than the right, since that the right hemisphere, which controls the left side of the face, is also more closely associated with emotion. Most thespian logos seem to concur. (Of course, the same does not hold in many cultures for the hands or respective sides of the body.) Earlier posts on the "aesthetics of the visual field," for instance this one or that one, have looked at what it may mean to position or anchor a word or intonation contour in various quadrants of the visual field. There are certainly well documented differences between left and right and upper and "downer." In various studies, the left~right dimension has been characterized with terms such as: cool~hot, soft~rough, stability~change, passive~active, holistic~particulate, analogue~digital, etc. Granted, those are very "rough" generalizations relating to the corresponding brain processing centers. Here is the relevance to HICP work. Intonation contours are performed by the left hand, beginning in the left visual field and then moving over to the right visual field to touch the right hand as the prominent syllable, word or discourse element is articulated (anchored). We have known for some time that the quality or fluidity and "grace" of the left hand in tracing out the intonation contour of a phrase or clause was a factor but this brings the issue into focus. The character of the pedagogical movement pattern with that hand does much to set up or mirror the emotional and affective mood of the utterance, before the key information is foregrounded. What is also intriguing is that for the observer, the left to right gesture is read in the right eye, which has been shown in many studies--for most people--to be the more emotionally reactive or intense. Express with the left; read and foreground with the right. Wave if you get it . . . (with your left hand, of course!)

2 comments:

Angelina Van DykeApril 21, 2012 at 5:47 PM
I'm waving with my left hand! However, aren't the intonation patterns ambidextrous? They start on the left, but then the right follows.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Bill ActonApril 21, 2012 at 6:15 PM
All the right hand does is just sit there and wait to be brushed, tapped, slid or jumped over. The right hand's role is to represent and assist in anchoring prominent information in basic work. Later it also situates pitch and volume.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

What is haptic pronunciation teaching?

Basically, it is using gesture, touch and movement to teach pronunciation of English (or any language). What makes this method unique is that it is based on controlled and systematic use of gesture in doing that. (Often the problem with gesture use in language learning is that it can be "crazy" or random or intimidating or inconsistent, or not well-developed and tied to clear outcomes.)

The earlier "Essential Haptic-integrated English Pronunciation (EHIEP) approach," now KINETIK, does a better job of enhancing presentation, modelling, feedback and correction. The method is simple and easy to follow. Once a 30-minute module is finished, teacher and students have a set of techniques to use in class anytime a pronunciation problem or opportunity comes up!

Haptic Preliminaries

I often begin workshops or papers with the comment that in about 40 years in the field I have had just one idea: that the systematic use of body movement is essential to effective and efficient pronunciation instruction. That has never been more relevant than today, with the general deemphasis on pronunciation and introduction of technology into the field. From both perspectives, the "haptic" perspective approach developed here offers great promise. I can at least promise you a "moving" experience!

What is the KINETIK Method?

KINETIK is the name of the new v6.0 haptic pronunciation teaching system. About six years earlier we were using the acronym, "Haptic Integrated Pronunciation for Other/Extended Circle English Speakers" (HIPOECES)--still there in the url of this blog!

Haptic-integrated clinical pronunciation is:

A different way to learn pronunciation, based in part on Arthur Lessac’s notion of “Training the body first.” It is also based on research in the use of movement and touch in learning and training. It:

Looks somewhat like a combination of aerobics, sign language and Taichi

Provides a basic foundation for continued, self-directed pronunciation learning and classroom instruction

Designed for use by relatively untrained teachers but appropriate for all teachers (and learners) of all levels

Focuses on pronunciation used in conversation (not all words in English)

Is a highly “brain-and-body-friendly” system that promotes efficient learning of integrated tasks in general

Designed to promote integrated classroom pronunciation instruction and enable integration of conscious pronunciation work into spontaneous speaking.

Introduction

This blog was formerly named: HIPoeces (pronounced 'hI-pƏ-cIs), basically an approach to teaching English pronunciation to speakers of "outer and expanding" circle Englishes (including that population commonly termed: non-native speakers) but also compatible with the use of local models other than simply Standard" American" or RP. Using Kachru's "Inner, expanding and outer circles" model to characterize the breadth of Englishes and speakers of those, HIPoeces (now HICP) systems focus on developing haptically-centered pedagogical models and methods which can be adapted for teaching the pronunciation of various Englishes as they are spoken and taught by "owners" of those varieties.

In theory, the underlying principles can be applied to teaching the sound system of any language. Most language instructors intuitively use a great deal of movement and tactile anchoring in the classroom. The essential question is how to use that resource systematically, especially so that those learners who are less "haptic" in nature are also "moved" by the method.

Simply put, the HICP model/method is based on the idea of speaking along with arm and hand movement, not all that different from that used in sign languages. Most movement patterns are taken from either typical classroom pronunciation instruction practice or from related fields, such as psychotherapy or sports.

Most blog posts link to research that relates to the general HICP model, that is studies dealing with the role of gesture, touch, movement, learning modalities, learning in output, use of the visual field in learning, and experiential learning.

DEFINITIONS:

"Haptic" techniques- procedures that involve both movement and touch (Obvious examples include clapping hands, tapping feet, or holding an object and shaking it to the rhythm of a poem.)

"HICP techniques" - procedures that are haptic and also explicitly coordinated with phonological structures and/or discourse prosody (For example, clapping hands on primary stressed syllables in multi-syllable words, or doing a dance step on key words in conversational turns.)

"Haptic integration"- The haptic dimension probably functions as much to anchor visual and auditory material as it does to assist the learner in getting the "felt sense" of the sound or sound process. Lack of integration into spontaneous speech being such a serious potential shortcoming of instruction, haptic engagement seems a promising bridge to more accurate fluency.

"Visual field" - in HICP extensive use is made of the visual field in front of the learner. (For example, a modified version of the IPA vowel chart is anchored haptically in the imagination of the learner, directly in front of the upper body, and used for several purposes throughout the program.)