Countdown to the new KINTEK Method Roll out (May 25, 2021)


The Acton Haptic Community will “go live” May 25th! It promises to be a great place to KEEP IN TOUCH and learn/share how to use gesture and touch to improve content teaching and pronunciation! 
Each day until the 25th, I'll be posting something like a brief FAQ on actonhaptic@locals.com (and HERE!) to help introduce the project and where we are headed! Note: The basic feed on Locals will always be free. For now to be able to post or reply, you do need to be a supporter. (If you REALLY want to comment now or reply, feel free to pay the minimal $2 Locals fee anytime before that!)  Details on different support levels will be announced on May 20th! 

Roll Out! - The Course (of course!) 

 The Roll Out Video will be "out" later today. You can engage with it here and on other social media, of course! I'll be on Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) for my follow up for the  most  part. The bottom line of the previous post, and the "bottom line" of the KINETIK Method is the Certificate course (of course!) Just to give you an idea of what the content of this content-based teaching certificate course is about, here is a sketch of the curriculum: Module One (Basic Rhythm, Basic Fluency, and some basic consonants; Module Two (Single vowels, double vowels and some basic consonants; Module three (Basic intonation, Advanced intonation, Basic integration, and linking); Module Four (Advanced rhythm and fluency, Secondary and unstressed vowels, Advanced/spontaneous integration) The course ends with brief review and certification test modules. Each module takes three weeks or so. (See the previous post for more details.) Classes begin whenever 3-5 students sign up who can meet together weekly for an hour on Zoom! Bring along 2 or 3 friends from work and you are ready to roll!

Count Down Day 22 -  Your KINETIK TBD List!

 The KINETIK Method Roll Out video will be out tomorrow! (Tomorrow's blog post will include all details on the video.) Here's your Haptic TBD list:

1. Watch and share the Introductory Video with your network!

2. Go to actonhaptic.com and get on our mailing list. (We'll automatically send you invitations for the weekly Hapticanars.) While you are there, check out all the information there on KINETIK and the Acton Haptic Community.

3. Join us every Tuesday at 5 p.m., beginning June 8th, for Dr Bill's Weekly Haptic Technique Hapticanars (30 minute workshop and 20 minute Q&A) on Webinarjam.com. 

4. Sign up for the Acton Haptic Community at actonhaptic@locals.com. Signing up is free but if you become a supporter for $5 monthly or more, in addition to being able to be involved in the conversation there you get:

  • Downloads of Hapticanars
  • Downloads of 5-minute student training videos for each lesson
  • Downloads of special features, including interviews with experienced "Hapticians"
5. Sign up for the 3-month, KINETIK Method Teacher Certification Course. (For details, go to the website, www. actonhaptic.com.) 
6. Keep in touch!


Count Down Day 21 - Take the KINETIK Method Pronunciation Teaching Certificate Course!

In addition to the free weekly technique hapticanar (on Webinarjam) and connecting with the Acton Haptic Community, the best way to get the full tool kit is to sign up for the certificate course, which begins anytime there are 3 or 4 students who want to do it. (See earlier post on the "KINETIK-shop Quartet.) Key features:

  • Four modules, three lessons each (takes 3 to 4 months to complete)
  • Each lesson takes about a week (and usually about 2~3 hours, total)
  • The pieces of a lesson: (a) Do the Hapticanar, (b) Do the 10-minute training video, the one your students would do, (c) Find someplace within a text or story in one of your lessons where the technique from the Hapticanar would "work," that is improve clarity, memory or expressiveness, and then (d) meet on Zoom later that week with 3 or 4 other students and a haptician (like Bill) to review your plan. 
  • The cost is variable, from about $300 up to to $1600 USD depending on how many students are in the class. (Special arrangements available for schools and larger groups.) 
More about that on the 25th! 

Count Down Day 20 - The Story, telling . . . 

One great feature of the KINETIK method is that the materials are absolutely free . . . in fact, there aren't any, because you provide them, text from your course teaching materials that are what we call "context-rich." By that we mean that pronunciation techniques are used to produce greater clarity (sort of like traditional pronunciation work) or greater emphasis, expressiveness or nuance WITHIN course materials that are good stories, in some sense, vived, memorable narratives of some kind. (Might even be a tightly organized set of theme-based vocabulary . . . but usually not.) In other words, KINETIC method is situated or target in dialogues, a readings, a sets of instructions, scripts from listening tasks, even students' draft compositions . . . where the "story" is . . . telling.

-Roll Out Day 19: The KINETIK-shop Quartet (way of learning to do haptic!) 

In the KINETIK Teacher Training Certificate Course, (a) after you do a little reading, and (b) a little "full body" training just like what your students will do, (c) you get together with three other teacher trainees and a certified Haptician (like me) on Zoom and (d) go over your homework, a piece of text from your regular course-content materials that has been "choreographed" with haptic Movement, tone and touch techniques (MT3s). Each session concludes with the "Happytic Dance" embodying the technique from the lesson, the one you were introduced to in the weekly "Hapticanar" (haptic + webinar)!

Count Down Day Eighteen - The walkabout-talkabout . . . 

 . . .  for improving memory (for content and pronunciation). Check out this great summary from Neuroscience News on a study by Reser et al at Monash University, Ancient Australian Aboriginal Memory Tool Superior to ‘Memory Palace’ Learning. The bottom line parallel to pronunciation teaching:  content (or pronunciation focus) embedded in a good story in a good "place" is more memorable than just being the focus of a loosely connected class mini-lesson sitting in the third row . 

Count Down Day Seventeen - Haptic Pronunciation teaching "Pas de deux"

To  quote one of my favorite lines from one of my all time favorite country western songs, "I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance." One "dance" in haptic pronunciation teaching happens when instructor and students move in synchrony as they do a Movement, tone and touch technique (MT3) to model, correct or provide feedback on some bit(s) of language in class. One of the two dozen or so that I'll be introducing each week in the Hapticanars, in fact.  

Count Down Day Sixteen: Correction!

Probably the most "unique" (or really awesome) feature of Haptic Pronunciation Teaching is that in-class correction and feedback should be (almost) enjoyable and very much stress-free. Part of the reason for that is that basic "repair" or related practice or "reminders" are synchronized with gesture or some other part of the body. It is a bit like using sign language to signal change or a specific vowel, as is a common practice, except that the haptic signal connects to a set of gestures associated with sound or process. Communication in that paralinguistic channel between students and instructors, and students and students, does not seem to interfere much if at all with class activities or "thinking" or generate serious distraction or nervous, self-consciousness. 

Count Down Day Fifteen - To gesture or not to gesture (That's not the question!) 

 It is not easy to speak a language without gesturing, but you can, of course. Teaching a language without body movement also may be possible, but certainly not efficient at least at this point in development of virtual reality. In the KINETIK Method, instructors must learn to perform a set of Movement, tone and touch techniques (MT3s) that they use in modeling, feedback and correction. Students, on the other hand, depending on age and context, may or may not have to be trained or even informed about the MT3s. For young, elementary age learners, instructor MT3 are often enough; the kids pick them up naturally, their mirror neurons fully online!  For older learners, training in some MT3s may be effective, but even then only so that when the instructor uses one, the learners "get" what is being corrected or enhanced. At the "top" level, especially where fossilization has set in,  instructors and learners generally do the MT3s together whenever they are used. 

Count Down Day Fourteen -  Readiness for memorable and palpable pronunciation teaching!

A key dimension of haptic pronunciation teaching and the KINETIK Method is the ramp up or preparation for an in class intervention where something in text or about it needs improving. That can take two forms, either a body-based warm up at the beginning of class where most of the body is engaged in focusing attention and getting more blood circulating where it is needed, or a very localized "activation" of some discrete areas of the upper body. In "straight" haptic (or any type of) pronunciation training, a full-body warm up is usually essential. In KINETIK, however, the Movement, Tone and Touch Techniques (MT3s) serve both functions, engaging simultaneously both the whole body and very specific "parts: of the process, e.g, hands, arms, positions in the visual field, vocal resonance. Instant "palpability!" 

Count Down Day Thirteen: The left hand knows what the right hand is doing!

With almost every Movement, tone and touch technique (MT3) the hands touch on a stressed syllable of a word (also, often in the stressed word in a phrase or stressed word a sentence.) When that touch happens, connections are triggered all over the brain, in fact, much more so than previously thought as recent research has demonstrated by researchers at the Max Planck Institute. In KINETIK a vowel is linked to at least an MT3, a word, a course-content context, a body and the entire milieu of the moment. Touching, eh!

Count Down Day Twelve: How can I become a Haptician?

At least two ways: 

One: Show up for the free, weekly "Hapticanar" (with your body) and learn about the "Movement, tone and touch technique (MT3) of the week." For some of you, the naturally kinesthetic and dancers, just the 30-minute presentation and following Q&A will be enough for you to figure out how to train your students to use the MT3 and get some idea on how to use it in "everyday" content in your class.

Two: Sign up for the KINETIK Method course, which, in addition to doing the Hapticanars, you (or technically, your body) do the 10-minute student training video for the MT3. Then later in the week, you and three or four other NewBees get together on Zoom or Webinarjam with me or another experienced Haptician. We look at how you could build in or integrate that MT3 into the content each of you are teaching. After you finish all lessons, about 12 weeks time, and take a REALLY easy little test, you get a beautiful certificate saying that you are now officially a Haptician and entitled to all the rights and kudos thereto! 

So . . . as we say, Keep In Touch! (KIT!)


Count Down Day Eleven: How do you learn to teach "KINETIK-ly?"

The same way you learn to do yoga, dance, piano or paint: You train the body first. And most importantly that training must be done in a community of at least two . . .  In time the mind joins the party, becoming one with the body in performance once a clear threshold is crossed. It isn't "difficult" to learn how to do haptic from reading about it--it is impossible. As we have learned over the years, even just watching the demonstration or training videos (www.actonhaptic.com/hapt) is not enough to "sell" the idea of embodied pronunciation teaching to most professionals. Some time ago, Nike said it best: [You] Just [have to] do it! You'll have a great opportunity to DO that soon, in fact!

Count Down Day Ten: CHIPS (Covert Haptic-integrated Pronunciation System)

 For all of you who are handed a book and lesson plans and held to a near minute-by-minute schedule, and under no circumstances are you to waste time on pronunciation, we've got good news for you: content-based haptic pronunciation teaching. You still DO pronunciation but it doesn't LOOK like it because, with the help of the body, it is woven into other content, like oral readings, conversations, group work, your comments at the head of the class. (I'd tell you how students can be discreetly introduced to key sound concepts, too . . . but that is a secret! You'll have to join us to find out!)

Count Down Day Nine: Free pronunciation

from disembodied, out of context, meaningless, drills, exercises, diagrams, explanations, courses and expensive textbooks: Body/embodiment-centered, content-based, haptic techniques. 

Count Down: Day Eight: KINETIK Method

Question: How do you learn about the, Acton Haptic Pronunciation, content-based KINETIK Method?
Simple answer(s):
A. See the links below to Locals, the blog and website!
B. join the weekly (free) webinars, beginning 5/25.
C. Become a supporter of the Acton Haptic Community (beginning on 5/20) which comes with downloads of all kinds!
D. Take the KINETIK Method course, beginning in June. (See details on the website (www.actonhaptic.com.)


Count Down: Day Seven! 

Question: Why Locals.com? The simple answer(s): Locals is a great platform for a "movement." It is professional, well supported, no ads and designed for community development. The main feed (from me) is free, open to the public, but only supporters can respond to my posts or comment, or create their own community, like ours. There will be other super "benefits" to being a supporter of the Acton Haptic Community which will be announced soon!

Count Down: Day Six!

Question: Why "Haptic" rather than "kinesthetic?" (Why gesture + touch, rather than just gesture?) The simple answer: touch controls gesture; using gesture in teaching can be effective, of course, but more often its applicability is limited by any number of factors, including some students being intimidated or not seeing such practice as legitimate, or the activities getting so out of control such that the objective of the movement gets lost. Touch, generally located at the end of the movement, changes that.

Count Down: Day Five

BIG Question: Why "KINETIK Method"? Actually, a few reasons. . . First, it is close to the phonetic representation of "kinetic." (In the logo it is phonetic) Second, of course, the method is very much about working with sound, something of a portmanteau of the two ideas. Third, and most importantly, "kinetic" most accurately describes the method, that is ". . . relating to the motion of material bodies and associated forces and energy" (M. Webster), a broader, more multi-dimensional understanding of the role of pronunciation in language teaching!

Count Down: Day Four!

Question: How does HaPT deal with the often stressful nature of pronunciation work?
My response: Embodied HaPT instruction, which includes breath, movement and attention management, goes a long ways toward solving that problem.

Count down: Day three!

Question: Why the "Rhythm First" principle of the KINETIK Method?
My response: Embodied rhythm "bookends" the process by initially helping get that critical "feel" for the language, and then later, in making adjustments or corrections, strongly rhythmic (embodied) oral practice is the optimal vehicle for integrating change in spontaneous speaking.

Count down: Day Two!

Question: What is truly unique about Haptic Pronunciation Teaching?
My response: Probably most important is the systematic use of touch attached to gesture.

Count down begins! Day One!

Most days until the 25th, I'll just pose a question for us. Sometimes, I may provide my perspective, but please feel free to follow the thread wherever it goes! Here is Question #1: What about Haptic Pronunciation Teaching is most valuable or rewarding to you personally or professionally?
My response: The relaxed, engaged and playful "dance" in class whenever we do pronunciation. Doesn't sound like a typical pronunciation class? It isn't!

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