HICPR: Why haptic pronunciation teaching should be seen as more "memorable!"

Monday, June 27, 2022

Why haptic pronunciation teaching should be seen as more "memorable!"

(Eye) moving study by Johansson, Nystrom, Dewhurst and Johansson of Lund University, entitled,
"Eye-movement replay supports episodic remembering." The idea that our eyes may move in the same or similar pattern or path in recalling an event that they experienced earlier when the even occurred has been recognized for several decades, used in various therapeutic applications and has been reported in several earlier blog posts over the last decade.

This research study provides new, strong empirical confirmation of that underlying process. Subjects' eye tracking was recorded as they were shown various configurations of objects and asked to search out specific features. When later asked to recall details from that earlier phase, the eyes in effect closely "retraced" the paths used initially. The implications are striking, even for haptic pronunciation work (KINETIK), which, itself, was inspired by the work of Bradshaw and colleagues in developing Observed Experiential Observation (OEI) therapy.

In the KINETIK English Fluency and Pronunciation System, sounds and words or phrases to be remembered are introduced and later recalled, associated with dynamic gestural patterns, accompanied by touch across that are performed in various locations in the visual field of the learner--either by the instructor, the learner or by both, simultaneously. (See examples of what are termed: movement, tone and touch techniques, from an earlier, version 4.5, of haptic pronunciation teaching.) After about 15 years of work, developing and teaching with the KINETIK Method, clearly the "eyes have it!" There are many well-established techniques and methods in various fields that involve synchronization of movement and speech and prompted recall, such as the Total Physical Response Method of language teaching. This research provides further justification for such embodied approaches.

Speaking of, KINETIK v6.0 will be available for classroom use beginning this fall. More details will be available shortly, but if you would like to check out the general format of the courses, go here!

And, of course, Keep in Touch!

Published:15 June 2022https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0964

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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, June 27, 2022

Why haptic pronunciation teaching should be seen as more "memorable!"

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