HICPR: The future of pronunciation teaching: Extinction

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

The future of pronunciation teaching: Extinction

Have just begun working with the new AI bot "perplexity." Asked it about embodiment in language learning. Although its primary source isn't particularly impressive--to put it mildly, its statement of the problem is surprisingly current/relevant.

"Embodiment presents a significant challenge in learning a foreign language because it highlights the complex interplay between cognitive, sensory, and contextual factors. The theory of embodied cognition suggests that language learning is deeply tied to physical and sensory experiences. For instance, understanding words often involves simulating real-world experiences associated with those words, such as imagining the act of cooking when hearing the term "cooking". . . Furthermore, studies show that second languages learned in formal settings tend to exhibit reduced embodiment compared to native languages. . . "

And, according to the recent book, The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World, by Christine Rosen, it can only get worse! (Also, check out her recent appearance on Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson. ) Rosen does a remarkable job of exploring the impact of technology upon our connection to reality and how that is radically changing how we are able to relate to and draw from our "experiences." The first line of the promo introduces the theme well: "A reflective, original invitation to recover and cultivate the human experiences that have atrophied in our virtual world."

The impact on language teaching, and pronunciation teaching specifically, is only beginning to be understood. In the following series of blog posts I'm going to use Rosen's book as a point of departure. I begin with the guess (or maybe fantasy) that at least the haptic pronunciation teaching model can actually be a powerful and dynamic part of the way back. How ironic (or sweet!) that pronunciation work may make a significant comeback as being a key purveyor of embodiment in the classroom and elsewhere.

Keep in touch!

Sources

(from "perplexity" AI) The Embodiment of Language and Conceptual Knowledge https://www.mindbrained.org/2020/03/the-embodiment-of-language-and-conceptual-knowledge/

Rosen C. (2024). The extinction of experience: being human in a disembodied world. New York: Norton & Company,

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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.)

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

The future of pronunciation teaching: Extinction

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