HICPR: Do-it-(almost by and with)-yourself: English SELF-TALK Pronunciation Improvement (ESPI)

Monday, February 6, 2023

Do-it-(almost by and with)-yourself: English SELF-TALK Pronunciation Improvement (ESPI)

How's your pronunciation and diction when you talk (out loud) to yourself? Probably not great, right? Well, how about using that venue/menu to help improve a learner's general English pronunciation? We are testing a new KINETIK course, English SELF-TALK Pronunciation Improvement (ESPI), that has in the past shown real promise in (also) improving the pronunciation of talk with other people as well! Wow . . . what a concept, eh!

ESPI is basically, an application of the Lessac system as presented in Lessac's 1997 book, The use and training of the human voice: A bio-dynamic approach to vocal life

Note: In that (1997) edition there is a brilliant, multi-step roadmap for the individual who wants to or must work on their own. Today's Lessac practitioners may or may not still work with that (slightly solipsistic) framework. Although the 1997 version is focused on giving native speakers of English, not nonnatives, a "healthy vocal life," derived from Lessac's career in voice training, it is easily adaptable by an experienced English language instructor. I have been using it, in some form, for about 40 years, in fact.

Research on how learners learn has always pointed to at least the prominence of learners practicing "out loud," depending on modality preferences. Why not work with that more systematically? Good idea.

The course is designed especially for a specific niche. Those who:

Can benefit from lots of practice speaking (but not necessarily conversing with somebody else)
Have reasonably good aural comprehension for the demands of their personal context
Lack confidence to use what they know, what they can say if they have the time and occasion.
Have issues with rhythm, stress and intonation
Have a few, high functional load consonants (which they can effectively deal with by being referred to free sources on the web for personal practice, such as Accent Tutor.)

Notice in the blogpost title is the word, almost . .. The basic course includes just a set of videos and book. There is an option available for the student or a class of students to get periodic feedback (from me or one of my grad students) on their progress. That feedback could also be provided by their instructor, assuming that the instructor has done the course along with the students.

It will be available to the public by next month, at the TESOL Convention in Portland in March. See you there!

Lessac, A. (1997). The use and training of the human voice: A bio-dynamic approach to vocal life (3rd ed).. New York: Drama Book Specialists.

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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 6, 2023

Do-it-(almost by and with)-yourself: English SELF-TALK Pronunciation Improvement (ESPI)

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