60 days to better pronunciation (and making a habit of it!)

 I'm reminded of the old saw: Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes . . . In the midst of this meta analysis-lite of what it takes to establish a habit in Australia (summarized by Neuroscience news), there was a little gem or two from the research that supports what I have been saying to students for decades: practice pronunciation in the morning! There is no real explanation as to why that should be the case, just the numbers, but it makes perfect sense for several reasons. 

The more interesting conclusion of the study is that the current "consensus" as to how long it takes to establish a habit, that is about 30 days, does not apply to a wide range of behaviors Australians need/want to change. Some, it turns out can take up a full year to lock in. The research suggests that the minimum time is closer to 60 days, depending on any number of parameters. In the sports/fitness business opinions range from 1 to 3 months. (The popular "book" on changing habits is probably Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by Clear, a great source on how to do it.)

What the researchers and Clear agree on, however, is that the process is not mysterious but generally grounded in regular, disciplined, systematic practice. In pronunciation work at least the engagement must also be fundamentally embodied, as well. . . . In other words, to be successful you need to not only stay with it for a couple of months, at least, but also need a scaffolded goal-focused plan to get there with. 

Next week, beginning on the 6th, is the English Accent and Pronunciation Improvement (EAPIC) course, pronounced: EPIC. It lasts 9 weeks, 63 days, just over mark for establishing a habit, according to the researchers. What it does is train the student's body (and pre-frontal cortex) in how to keep on improving, centered on what we call "Embodied oral reading:" (EOR), that is daily oral reading, in private, accompanied by a set of approximately 24 gestures from the course. The 8 training videos will be free on Youtube. They are enough for you if you are really disciplined and commit to practicing everyday, for about 20 minutes, on your own. If you need weekly feedback on your work, you can sign up for the course ($200 USD), too. The feedback sessions are always the following Wednesday on Zoom at 8 EST. 

If interested, connect w/me at: wracton@gmail.com

Original source:

Ben Singh, Andrew Murphy, Carol Maher, Ashleigh E. Smith. Time to Form a Habit: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Health Behaviour Habit Formation and Its Determinants. Healthcare, 2024; 12 (23): 2488 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12232488

Guilt by reason of "accentedness" (and what should be done about it!)

Interesting study out of the UK: “Stereotyped accent judgements in forensic contexts: listener perceptions of social traits and types of behaviour” by Alice Paver et al., summarized by Neuroscience.com, as: "Do accents influence guilt perceptions?"  (I might also add that accents influence getting work!) It raises so many issues that I'd recommend that you read the full article yourself. The summary is not sufficient but is certainly provocative!!! Here is the Neuroscience,com summary: 

"Researchers analyzed responses from 180 participants who rated voices from 10 UK accents on social traits and likelihood of certain behaviors, including crimes. . . ." Leaving aside some obvious potential shortcomings of the design--some of which are acknowledged by the reseachers, such as using male speakers only and a design that sets up the focus on the "bias" before hearing the samples--the conclusions are . . . striking, to say the least:

"Accents influence perceptions of guilt, with those judged as “lower status” being considered more likely to commit crimes."

Now assuming that the results hold up later with

• An acceptable definition of what constitutes and accent
• Replication involving the other gender(s) and 
• Possibly a different general elicitation format, and that 
• The working class dialects do come with features that could  undermine the credibility or "hiring potential"--an intuition strongly confirmed or established in research over the decades . . . 

What should our approach be in the classroom in working with students who come to us with "working class" dialects who are aiming at white collar careers, for example? 

First, one of the other possibly relevant findings was that nonnative accents of the dialects tended to be seen as more trustworthy than the native speakers in the samples. Although it was not reported specifically which nonnative accents carried that "advantage," that sounds like good news for those who'd rather not get into accent work in the first place. Maybe. The distinction between "accent" and "pronunciation" that I give students is something like:

•  If when speaking slowly, your listeners have trouble understanding you, you need pronunciation work. Basic rhythm, stress and intonation instruction is key at that level. 
• If when speaking quickly and maybe under some stress, your listeners have trouble understanding you, you need accent work. Requires attention to better, more accurate production of key/professional terms and dialect features. pacing and voice quality settings. (May even include breath, posture and self-moitoring training.)

So, if your students come to you in a position where they have "absorbed" the features of a less prestigious, disadvantageous dialect and they are preparing for job interviews, f you can't help them at the accent-level, you may need work . . . or you may be doing so already and not know it! If you do need to upgrade your accent work toolkit, join us for the next haptic course next month!

Keep in touch!

Bill

Credit:
Clker.com

Original Research: Open access.
“Stereotyped accent judgements in forensic contexts: listener perceptions of social traits and types of behaviour” by Alice Paver et al. Frontiers in Communication

English accent and pronunciation improvement course LITE (EAPIC!)

Course begins with recorded introduction on February 6th!

In about two months make good progress in improving your English accent or pronunciation and be trained in how to keep on improving after the course. This is an 8-week, shorter more compact version of the regular English Accent and Pronunciation Course. (See the description of the full 12-week course here.) 

• The recorded, 30-minute weekly training lessons are free, available on Thursdays on Youtube.
• The next week on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST there is a live  Zoom feedback session on that lesson for students who are enrolled in the course (for $200 USD.)
• The feedback sessions are recorded, so you can always access them later if you are enrolled. 
• At least be sure to watch the free Thursday training videos!!!

To really benefit from the course, you should do all the assigned homework for enrolled students, about 30 minutes per day. This is also a good course for an instructor who wants an introduction to haptic pronunciation teaching. 

The course officially begins Thursday February 6th, but you can join it anytime and still get caught up!  To enrol, just pay the $200 for the weekly Zoom feedback lessons and the homework assignments.

 All lessons are recorded and available later in day after the lesson. 

 For more information or to sign up, contact me, william.acton@twu.ca.

Keep in touch!

Bill

Bill Acton has been teaching accent and pronunciation improvement for about 50 years! This course, Version 7.0 of KINETIK system, contains many new techniques based on research in pronunciation teaching and neuroscience. Bill is now living in Chattanooga, Tennessee.