COURSE closed! But we are opening another soon! Keep in touch!
I know what you are thinking . . .well, actually,"solipsistically" speaking, I probably don't, of course! But, anyway, this is a remarkable new course offering, one designed for learners in a somewhat unique but actually very common niche:
The 9-week online course, Acton Haptic English Fluency Training (HFT), is designed especially for non-native English-speaking adults who
- Do not have the opportunity for much, if any English, face-to-face conversation in their daily lives but
- Who want to keep improving, nonetheless,
- Who have an IELTS reading ability of about 4.0 or above, and
- Do not have a lot of cash to work with!
- HFT features Embodied Oral Reading to develop English fluency and confidence
· Embodied Oral Reading is done out loud, in private, using stories that are accompanied by special gestures which use concepts and vocabulary that students are already familiar with, essentially, what they can understand, but perhaps may not be able to talk about fluently.
· HFT provides the student with a set of skills which once learned they can continue improving with beyond the course. It is especially recommended, for example, for students who do not have access to conversational English currently, such as
o Undergraduate and graduate students in programs not taught primarily in English
o Parents whose spoken English is not strong and whose children are in public schools in North America
o New immigrants and family members who cannot currently access English instruction
o Students who are in religious studies where they will serve in a language other than English, but where being able to read Scripture in English in public is essential,
o Retired “senior” English L2 speakers who may be “home alone” in some sense much of the time but would value spending 3-4 hours weekly to develop the clarity of their spoken English.
· It is based on extensive research (and decades of teaching experience) in oral reading methodology and the well-known "Lectio Divina" tradition in meditation practice, using extensive oral reading as homework—not in a class.
· The key neuroscience-based innovation of HFT is the precise use of gestures and touch in the visual field. Synchronized with speech, these multimodality gestures create optimal conditions for attention, learning, retention and recall.
· Course work is done individually, with four or five, 30-minute homework assignments and a live 75-minute zoom feedback meeting weekly, usually on Friday evening. (which is also recorded for later access, if necessary.)
- The emphasis is on improving the English that learners understand well but do no speak with the same level of success.
- Learners finish the course being able to speak more rhythmically, more expressively, more precisely and with greater confidence.
- There are several possible story and text types that students can choose to use in their embodied oral readings (EORs):
- General academic English (for high school learners and older)
- General business English (for adults)
- General workplace English
- General seminary/Bible-based English (for students in Christian ministry or training)
- General informal conversation-based English (especially good for parents whose children's English is better than theirs!)
- General instructional language used in teaching (for non-native English speaking teachers)
- Personalized, story-based English (for those want to improve just for the love of English)
- Course includes:
- Introduction and 8, 1-week lessons which include
- Weekly 30-minute recorded lessons
- Weekly 60-minute follow up, live (or recorded) lesson
- Daily, 20-30 minute homework assignments
- Syllabus
- Week 1 - Introduction
- Week 2 - Rhythm 1
- Week 3 - Fluency 1
- Week 4 - Vowels 1
- Week 5 - Vowels 2
- Week 6 - Consonants (th, w/y, r/l and f/v)
- Week 7 - Intonation
- Week 8 - Rhythm 2 (Rhythm, linking and pausing)
- Week 9 - Fluency 2 (Expressiveness and confidence)
- Example Unit:
- Monday, view recorded lesson
- Tuesday, do homework
- Wednesday, do homework
- Thursday, do homework
- Friday, follow up lesson live on Zoom (usually, 18:00 PST)
- Saturday, do homework
- Sunday: TAKE THE DAY OFF!!!
- Homework format:
- Review one part of the video (5 minutes)
- Practice the haptic gesture featured in the weekly lesson (5 minutes)
- Practice the Embodied Oral Reading (EOR) in the course materials (10~15 minutes)
- Record your last practice (about 2 minutes)
- Review your recording (about 2 minutes)
- Find some words or phrases that are not in the lesson to practice the lesson's haptic gesture with! (5 minutes)
- (Optional) personalized Zoom meetings available for additional fee upon request
- Customized course versions tailored for organizations of almost any size.
- (Optional) Professional development credit available through Trinity Western University
- Next course: October 9th ~ December 9th.
- Cost: $350 USD, materials included.
- To enroll or for more info, contact Bill Acton at wracton@gmail.com
- Further details are available at: www.actonhaptic.com/hft
- Instructors with training in haptic pronunciation teaching are invited to apply to be a collaborating instructor in these HFT courses. (Or offer the course through their school!)
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