Bill Acton's Embodiment Blog: English Accent, Pronunciation and Identity Improvement Course Lesson 3

English Accent, Pronunciation and Identity Improvement Course Lesson 3 - Power consonant abs and the 'th'

Objectives.

Percussive consonant awareness
First step in improving th pronunciation
Begin using AI to create practice materials for you! (Wednesday class)

Warm up: W-on-glide

Wooo! Weee!

Whoops! Which!

Whoa! Way!

Wall! Wet!

What? Whaap!

Wop!

[θ] Protocol (training)

1. SCRATCH tip of tongue with tip of stick

2. PRESS stick strongly against lips with edge of stick
(anchored just below the nose and on chin)

3. SET tip of tongue on stick, very lightly.

4. START air (count of 3)

5. SAY word: “thin” (3X)

6. SAY word: path, with quick stick touch on ‘th’

thin pathway path
thought northwest north
thing southwest south

[ð] Protocol

Substitute voicing for aspiration (touch on larynx or voice box)

though weather smooth
the father with
them mother breathe

Lesson 3 EOR Vacation plans

Situation: Friends are arguing about the best place to go on vacation.
MOOD: Energetic, fun

Instructions:

Go through EOR using "abs shot" on each underlined consonant
Using a stick, do each ‘th’ three times!
Go through the EOR, touching the stick lightly on each ‘th,' plus the voice box on (x).
Do the entire EOR using Tai Chi Widget on the stressed syllables.

1A: THINK that | I’ll go NORTH | for this vaCAtion.

x (x) x (x)

B: I’d rather go SOUTH, | mySELF, | better WEAther there!

(x) x (x) (x)

2A: But the NorthWEST | can be BREATH taking

(x) x x

B: My BROther lived there. | And so do my Other relatives.

(x) (x) (x)

3A: My father and MOther | grew up there, TOO

(x) (x) (x)

B: WHEther or not you go, | THOUGH, | good luck with the WEAther!

(x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

4A: I heard that near PORTland | there were thousands of dead FISH.

(x) (x) x

B: ANOther reason | to avoid the NorthWEST!

(x) (x) x

5A: MAYbe | to tell the TRUTH | that is a GREAT area.

(x) x (x)

B: A voyage along the northwest COAST | would be the BEST.

(x) x (x)

6A: Have to aVOID that. | My Other girlfriend | does not GO for them.

(x) (x) (x)

B: WELL then, | bon voyAGE | wherEVER you wind up this vacation!!!

(x) (x)

Homework:

Thursday: Do the training video, take notes
Friday: Do warm up, training, EOR, take notes
Saturday: Do warm up, training, EOR, take notes
Sunday: Take the day off!
Monday: Do warm up, EOR and new EOR you make, take notes.
Tuesday: Do warm up, training, EOR and new EOR
Wednesday: Do warm up, EOR, have AI create a list of words for you for next week; take notes.

Optional AI work! (Discussed at the Wednesday feedback session)

Check with your bot on the typical pronunciation problems for those speaking your L1
Figure out the key sounds that can at times be more difficult for you--and send that list to me to check.
In daily your notes keep a list of words that you can have difficulty at times pronouncing well. Have the bot give you the phonetic transcriptions and audio examples for you.
See if you can fix those based on the bot's info. (If not, let me know next Wednesday and I'll help you fix them!!!)
When you have 10 or 12, have your bot create a short conversation (or song or poem) or EOR that includes those words. Record that and send it to me for feedback.

To enroll: email me for interview! (if you qualify, you can pay the fee on PayPal or Venmo)

wracton@gmail.com
www.williamacton.legalshieldassociate.com
www.actonhaptic.com

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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.)

English Accent, Pronunciation and Identity Improvement Course Lesson 3 - Power consonant abs and the 'th'

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