HICPR: 50 ways to say "Haptic Pronunciation Teaching is BEST!"

Monday, February 21, 2022

50 ways to say "Haptic Pronunciation Teaching is BEST!"

About 30 years ago, at the KOTESOL annual conference, I did a plenary talk, something of a demonstration of the power of using gesture, prosody and expressiveness, entitled: 50 ways to say, good morning! (A take off either on a scene from Cyrano de Bergerac or song by Simon and Garfinkel.) Have continued to use that technique/trick ever since. It came off quite successfully, in fact, with an audience of over 100, where each person had to not only come up with a unique way to say "Good Morning!" but include a gesture to accompany it. One we had done "the 100," I then went back and pointed out something of the range of emotional, prosodic and gestural overlays that were evident. (Try it sometime!)

CAVEAT EMPTOR: The following is very much fun and decidedly PRO-KINETIK!!! (But, also, pretty much accurate!)

Now, instead of using the same words with varied overlays, here are 50 REASONs why Haptic Pronunciation Teaching in the new KINETIK method, including the "Embodied Oral Reading/Recast System" (EORRS) is, in my humble opinion, simply the best.

KINETIK

is "full-body" based and fun
is based in embodiment theory
develops "mindful" body awareness
is based, in part on American Sign Language
is based, in part, on Observed Experiential Observation
uses gesture synchronized speech
uses gesture-managed, spontaneous speaking
is based in the neuroscience of touch
is rhythm-based, done first before anything else!
includes just the essentials of pronunciation
is almost as good online as in person (if not better)
is easy to learn to teach with (one technique at a time)
is inexpensive to learn to teach with ($500 minimum for complete system)
is inexpensive for students (It requires little, if any special materials, just access to online training videos)
uses "regular" course content for teaching pronunciation
can be applied in any skill area class
is great for in class correction and feedback
is excellent, with straightforward homework system
is great for modeling sentences, phrases, idioms
strongly enhances memory for vocabulary
strongly enhances expressiveness
requires very little or no background in linguistics or phonetics to use it effectively
requires very little or no background in language teaching to use it effectively
uses (near revolutionary) "Embodied Oral Reading and Recast System"
consistently enhances student confidence in speaking
can be applied to a learner's L1 sound system
engages better breathing and posture
helps develop better abs!
facilitates feasible peer correction and feedback
is a complete scaffolded, method
has highly personalized weekly face to face session (or on Zoom)
facilitates development of rapport in the classroom
is based on quality dialogic instruction (instructor-student, and student-student)
has an amazing technique for [th]
has an amazing technique for [r/l]
has an amazing technique for linking
has an amazing technique for word-final voiced obstruents
has an amazing techniques for discourse orientation (prosody between speakers)
facilitates enhanced visual presence on screen/zoom
creates a relaxed classroom milieu
is applicable for learners of all ages
is applicable for learners of all proficiency levels
is applicable for classes of all sizes
is applicable for use in literacy training
is based on over 50 years of pronunciation teaching experience
is based on about 35 years of kinaesthetic pronunciation teaching
is based on over 15 years of effective haptic pronunciation teaching
is adaptable for special needs instruction
is applicable for accent reduction
makes some kinds of drill "great" again

For more information, goto: www.actonhaptic.com/kinetik/ or email me directly: wracton@gmail.com

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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.)

Monday, February 21, 2022

50 ways to say "Haptic Pronunciation Teaching is BEST!"

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