Bill Acton's Embodiment Blog: AMPISys

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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Haptic pronunciation teaching as theatre, Part Two: EXPRESSIVE

This is Part Two of two that explores how to understand EHIEP and AH-EPS training, based on the Association of Theatre Movement Educators (ATME) characterization of both the physical and expressive dimensions of movement training.

I have excerpted out the basic focus of the four features of theatre movement related to "expressiveness" that follow and have inserted in italics after each one the relevance to haptic pronunciation teaching (HPT):

. . . use of the body as an instrument of perception and expression . . . (In addition to enhancing general expressiveness, HPT creates in the learner the ability to "record" and recall words, phrases and sentences based on what it feels like to articulate them and what body movement accompanies each, what is often termed, kinaesthetic memory)
. . . externalize and communicate . . . inner state through movement . . . (Any sound or group of sounds can be represented using speech-synchronized gesture systematically in the visual field, terminating in hands touching on the focal or stressed syllable)
. . . concentration, observation, and sensitivity to others . . . (Perhaps the most striking effect of haptic pronunciation training is the management of attention, if only for brief periods of time, to concentrate on the target sound or word.)

AMPISys, Inc.

. . . skill, confidence and freedom of expression . . . (Public speaking instructors are generally good at using movement and body-based techniques to promote a feeling of confidence and greater expressiveness. Learners doing EHIEP consistently report increased confidence in speaking and ability to express their feelings more effectively.)

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Introducing "Acton Haptic, Inc." and "Acton Haptic - English Pronunciation System"

Clip art: Clker

As noted in the right sidebar, we are about to do a little re-branding. Our company name will officially change to "Acton Haptic, Inc." (currently AMPISys., Inc. in Canada) and what we have been calling "Essential Haptic-integrated English Pronunciation (EHIIEP) will now become (version 3.0): "Acton Haptic - English Pronunciation System" (abbreviated to "Acton Haptic - EPS", AH-EPS or informally, just "EPS" for short.)

There are, as you can imagine, any number of reasons for those changes--including ease of pronunciation by those new to haptic work! Mainly the new names just more accurately reflect what we are doing and how we exist for now on the web. There will be a new logo shortly and extensive reframing of the haptic-vido-based "products" available associated with AH-EPS. (One other rationale for the "EPS" designation is that we have already done some preliminary work on analogous systems for teaching the basic sound systems of Chinese and Korean, CPS and KPS. In principle, of course, any sound system can be taught "haptically!")

Keep in touch!

Monday, November 12, 2012

EHIEP "haptic video" system development update!

By late February everything should be ready for use in local programs, most anywhere on the planet. At this point, these courses could be in several formats:

Image: AMPISys

A one-hour introductory session and then
8 or 9 weeks of classes, one module per week (or just selected modules, relevant for that class)
Each class would begin with a 30-minute instructional video, and then
could involve either

*immediate in class follow up by the instructor, or
*assigned homework, or
*(simply) integrated use of the techniques by the instructor in subsequent speaking, listening or vocabulary instruction.

For each module there are 3 homework practice videos, accompanied by a section from the student workbook.
There are also about 12, 5-minute mini-modules for selected consonants.

Image: AMPISys

EHIEP can be done

online,
in schools or at
informal venues,
as independent study,
by trained or untrained instructors.

Based in part on the recent "TED" blogpost, will have some new video to introduce the EHIEP system, etc. to prospective students. Have been talking with the university about collaboration in some venues to get official certificates or join in w/advertising, etc. Will also set up "profit sharing" framework for other potential partners who run or sponsor a class.

Am setting up one-day teacher training workshops in a number of places, beginning in April. (We are doing one already at the TESOL convention in Dallas.) The idea there will be to do a day of training at relatively low cost to participants and then make available the online video and materials, either by download or subscription. WIll announce those here as they are confirmed.

If you'd like to try out a specific, pre-publication EHIEP "haptic" video in your class, let me know. (wracton@gmail.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.)