HICPR: (New) Acton Accent Enhancement for International Professionals

(New) Acton Accent Enhancement for International Professionals

Key features of the program:

It is for working professionals ONLY, whose native language is not English.
Their English proficiency is roughly the equivalent of IELTS 6.5 and above.
Typically they have been speaking English 5+ years as an adult and are still experiencing some communication issues based in part on the quality of their accent.
They have the potential to set aside 3~6 hours weekly for practice.
Weekly sessions, on Zoom or SKYPE, last 45 minutes.
Weekly sessions of one hour are available in the case of two students of comparable background and accent issues who wish to work together on the project.
Initial diagnostic interview is done without charge. The method is highly successful for most professionals. Only those with the right combination of pronunciation "aptitude" and open, available time outside of work are accepted.
If the applicant is selected, the basic course contract is for $1000 USD for 10 weekly sessions, with 2 one-week breaks allowed. (The course can run up to 12 weeks.) A certificate and "before" and "after" video report is issued at successful completion.
Continuing consultation beyond the 10 week program is available by special arrangement.

The program is based on the haptic pronunciation teaching approach presented on this blog and in various publications, created by Professor William Acton of Trinity Western University, his colleagues in the field and students. (See the blog research reference link and Acton's CV). It has been proven effective in a wide range of situations and classrooms, and elements of the system are now used internationally by hundreds of classroom teachers and accent enhancement consultants.

Weekly sessions with Bill Acton, internationally recognized scholar in pronunciation and accent enhancement.
Individualized lessons
Weekly homework practice assignments (usually, 4~6, 30-minute sessions) on video and audio
Extensive use of haptic procedures (involving movement, gesture and touch)
Focus on pronunciation relevant to student's workplace.
Includes features of public speaking, time management and assertiveness training.

For more information or to schedule an initial screening interview: info@actonhaptic.com

If you want to see if you'd qualify, go to the Application Page!

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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.)

(New) Acton Accent Enhancement for International Professionals

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