A "Scanpath" down Memory (for pronunciation) Lane: The Eyes have it!

"Eye catching" new study on the function of eye scanning movements in memory creation and access, Eye-movement replay supports episodic remembering, by Johansson, Nystrom, Dewhurst and Johansson in the recent Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences. (Also summarized informally in Neurosciencenews.com). The general concept is that eye movement patterns ("scanpaths") that accompany creation of a memory are virtually the same as those used in recalling features of the memory later. 

From the abstract:

Our findings provide direct evidence that such scanpaths are replayed to assemble and reconstruct spatio-temporal relations as we remember and further suggest that distinct scanpath properties differentially contribute depending on the nature of the goal-relevant memory.

In other words, at some level the eyes, at least in episodic memory creation, as part of the overall visuo-spatial processing system of the brain, move in minute scan patterns of millisecond duration, which are not only accessible in recall of that event/episode, but are integral to it. How that relates to internal "events" inside the brain is not entirely clear, of course, but the research again confirms the correlation between path and event-in-time. As the research literature review in the research report relates, those eye movements and related phenomena have been the object of research and various therapeutic applications for over 70 years. 

And how does this relate to remembering or learning pronunciation? The key idea is what constitutes an "episode" in this context " . . . that the sequential replay of eye movements serves to facilitate pure episodic reconstruction in the absence of visual input." (from the article) According to that model, when a gesture is used, for example, associated with a new sound or perhaps an intonation contour, the two are "stored" together in a sense. Either may, in principle, then prompt recall of the other. If the pair are practiced together, the components of the two, the sound, itself, the kinesthetic "track" of the gesture, the "trail" in the visual field can be further joined and strengthened. 

That is, in effect, the basis of the KINETIK Method, as well having gotten its early inspiration from what is known as Observed Experiential Integration Therapy.  

From about 30 years of experience in working with gesture and sound change, the connection between what we call the "movement, tone and touch technique," the MT3, the complex of sound and gesture (and touch), when mapped onto a sound or word or phrase or clause or passage, is incredibly powerful. At times the eyes are actually tracking a gesture across the visual field; at others, the MT3 is out of direct line of sight, but, as the research reveals the "episode" is still embodied, in part, by one or more eye movements that are associated with it. How to exploit those complexes effectively is the question, of course. To learn more about how that works, go to www.actonhaptic.com/kinetik. 

Source: 
Eye-movement replay supports episodic remembering
Roger Johansson, Marcus Nyström,Richard Dewhurst and
Mikael Johansson
Published:15 June 2022 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0964

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences

Haptic Pronunciation Teaching Webinars!

The first new, v5.0 "double webinar" is set to go, October 2nd and November 21st, 1930~2100 hours, Pacific Standard Time. Reserve your place now. (No deposit required.) Fee: 40 CAD

The webinars are highly experiential and participatory. You'll need

•  a hands free set up, 
• preferably projected on a TV screen, laptop or iPad of some kind, but a handheld with a BIG screen is OK, too 
• positioned at eye level  
• Wireless headsets or no headset at all are best, but headsets with a long cord are adequate, 
• since you have to stand up and "dance" on several occasions! 

The 75 minute, recorded sessions are followed by 15 minute Q and A.
Enrolment is limited to 50 participants in each webinar. There may be some time-zone restrictions, depending on early registration. Reserve your place now at: william.acton@twu.ca

Webinar topics 

• Introduction to Haptic Pronunciation Teaching
• Dictionary use for pronunciation
• North American English vowels
• Syllables and phrase grouping
• Intonation 
• Haptic homework
• Select consonants
• Fluency and linking
• Conversation rhythm and pausing
• Advanced intonation and secondary stress
• Classroom correction, feedback integration techniques

Webinars can be offered exclusively for one English teaching organization, as well as "on the ground," f2f one-day workshops.  (Contact: info@actonhaptic.com for information on group packages.)

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The noncredit haptic pronunciation course meets in a weekly 1-hour webinar and includes about two  hours of practice following the session. Course completion requires passing a certification test which includes a video test. 

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The graduate course, Ling 611 - Applied phonology, is a 3-credit online seminar. It is composed of three relatively equal streams: (a) the haptic pronunciation teaching, which is essentially the same as the noncredit course, (b) a phonological analysis of learner data stream, and (c) a theory and methods of applied linguistics stream with focus on speaking, listening and pronunciation. There is a combination of synchronous and asynchronous meetings and assignments. 

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The Schrödinger's Cat(ch) of Pronunciation Teaching

Clker.com

Bottom line: It’s almost impossible to LOVE pronunciation teaching unless you have seen or heard or had it done to you. And if you love it, much of your best work will be spontaneous or at least seem to be. And for the most part, up until now, there has been no “virtually” useful research or methods stuff that can take you there

Until now. . . Introducing a new podcast (working title): Teachable Moments in Pronunciation Teaching (TMPT)

Once a week or so I'll be chatting with a real, practicing master pronunciation teacher/lover, not a “non-practicing” theorist or methodologist—to learn from. Our conversations will take place as soon as possible after a good class they have just taught, where we talk about what actually happened, moment by moment . . . how and why it worked, based in part on an audio recording of the session. 

Here is what inspired it:

One of the most striking thought problems of all time, “Schrödinger's Cat”, revealed a potentially fatal flaw in a school of quantum physics. in effect it exposed a “black box” in the theory where two contradictory states had to be present, where it was logically impossible to know which condition was in effect (whether a cat in a box was dead or alive).

In pronunciation teaching, just like the (in)famous "black box" in Chomsky's early work, we have our own enigmatic box as well: What actually goes on in the classroom, the quality of the moment by moment engagement that underlies every research study but is practically never mentioned or analyzed. There were good reasons for that, a broad range of (quickly) researchable variables, cognitions, techniques and features of students' L1s to be explored and understood. 

Almost without exception, research on pronunciation teaching effectiveness that looks at classroom work reports only at the activity-level, noting which techniques were used generally, something like: presentation and then various kinds of controlled and freer practice. The data is there, however, in any number of studies where transcripts of actual class sessions were analyzed for specific features, but we do not have publicly accessible studies of the messy, thick instructional discourse itself. That is the window that the podcast will look through: recent replays of pronunciation teaching as rich conversational engagement between students and instructor.

Know somebody we should talk to? Let me know!

The feeling of how it happens: haptic cognition in (pronunciation) teaching

Am often asked the question as to how "haptic" (movement+touch) can enhance teaching, especially pronunciation teaching. A neat new study by Shaikh, Magana, Neri, Escobar-Castillejos, Noguez and Benes, Undergraduate students’ conceptual interpretation and perceptions of haptic-enabled learning experiences, is "instructive". Specifically, the study,

 " . . . explores the potential of haptic technologies in supporting conceptual understanding of difficult concepts in science, specifically concepts related to electricity and magnetism."

Now aside from the fact that work with (haptic) pronunciation teaching should certainly feel at times both "electric and magnetic", the research illustrates how haptic technology, in this case a joy-stick-like device, can help students more effectively figure out some basic, fundamental concepts. In essence, the students were able to "feel" the effect of current changes and magnetic attraction as various forces and variables were explored. The response from students to the experience was very positive, especially in terms of affirmation of understanding the key ideas involved.

The real importance of the study, however, is that haptic engagement is not seen as simply "reinforcing" something taught visually or auditorily. It is basic to the pedagogical process. In other words, experiencing the effect of electricity and magnetic attraction as the concepts are presented results in (what appears to be) a more effective and efficient lesson. It is experiential learning at its best, where what is acquired is more fully integrated cognition, where the physical "input" is critical to understanding, or may, in fact, precede more "frontal" conscious analysis and access to memory. (Reminiscent, of course, of Damasio's 2000 book: The feeling of how it happens: Body and emotion in the making of consciousness. Required reading!)

An analogous process is evident in haptic pronunciation instruction or any approach that systematically uses gesture or rich body awareness. The key is for that awareness, of movement and vibration or resonance, to at critical junctures PRECEDE explanation, modeling, reflection and analysis, not simply to accompany speech or visual display. (Train the body first! - Lessac)

We are doing a workshop in May that will deal with discourse intonation and orientation (the phonological processes that span sentence and conversational turn boundaries). We'll be training participants in a number of pedagogical gestures that later will accompany the speech in that bridging. To see what some of those used for expressiveness look (and feel) like, go here!

KIT






http://educationaltechnologyjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41239-017-0053-2

Motor-mouth language (and pronunciation): learning through "sleep napnia"

"Give me a break!" (This is your brain talking after a hard day of learning.) One of the fundamental
principles of hypnotherapy, and many similar frameworks, is that at critical points in the process, conscious attention to learning must be suspended. Unless it is, little or nothing will be retained or integrated. One of the ways we do that, of course, is sleep. (In hypnosis that is done very intentionally.)

Clker.com

A fascinating "rat" study, summarized by Neuroscience News, “Neural reactivations during sleep determine network credit assignment” by Gulati, Guo, Ramanathan, Bodepudi and Ganguly of University of California - San Francisco, explored how the brain consolidates motor learning during sleep. Let me translate the conclusion hidden in that title for you. 

They found that deep sleep was required for the brain to, in effect, sort out what was relevant and functionally important in learning a complex motor task, separating out and discarding all the false starts and exploratory moves required to finally get it "right." They could actually watch the motor area of the brain "playing" with the new pattern repeatedly in sleep. Upon waking, if the rats who were allowed to "sleep it through", their performance was correct. If the deep sleep activity was, in effect, injected with a little static that did not let the extraneous "moves" be backgrounded efficiently, the pattern was not readily available to the rat when conscious again. 

Hope that long "unpack" did not put you to sleep! The research on the function and necessity of sleep for learning is long established. Here is one takeaway for pronunciation teaching, or the use of gesture in language teaching in general

In our highly physical, "motorized" experiential work in haptic pronunciation teaching, we long ago recognized that learning how to use the pedagogical movement patterns (specifically created gestures tied to sound patterns) took time--and time off. In other words, you work on the movements for a few minutes and then set it aside, without even THINKING about mastery. That comes later, days later, pretty much without you even thinking about it. For the perfectionist and control freak, the haptic system can be quite a challenge initially.

We can't require that students get a good night's sleep or even a nap occasionally. There is also probably no feasible way right now to research that, but the principle is important. At least efficient, simple motor learning requires sleep to sort things out. In addition, the learning experience has to be relatively free of extraneous static being encoded or absorbed along with it as it is happening.

One of the primary contributions of touch in the haptic system is strong, temporary focusing of attention on the coordinated sound and gesture being learned. That should include enhanced body awareness and decluttering of the visual field. When the brain then works on the pattern that evening in the sack, it should have even a little less interference to play with and work through.

Pronunciation, as motor-based as it is,  is certainly nothing to lose sleep over!

Definitions of motor-mouth!

"Napnia" (a neologism) defined: Taking a nap to learn in or by!

Original source:
UCSF (2017, August 11). Deep Sleep Reinforces the Learning of New Motor Skills. NeuroscienceNew. Retrieved August 11, 2017 from http://neurosciencenews.com/Deep Sleep Reinforces the Learning of New Motor Skills/

Invisible pronunciation: What you see is not necessarily what you get.

Nice new study by Smotrova "Making Pronunciation Visible: Gesture In Teaching Pronunciation", in
press, in TESOL Quarterly, examining in depth the pedagogical gestures used by a pronunciation teacher. She had devised an ingenious set of gestures to signal various aspects of pronunciation, such as stress placement, intonation contours, etc. Students (subjects) seemed to have engaged well with the process and there was evidence of both uptake and subsequent student-initiated use of the gestural system.

EHIEP

In the literature review, Essential Haptic-integrated Pronunciation (EHIEP) is described in some detail, for the most part accurately. What is missing, however, is any reference to the critical role of touch in contributing to the effectiveness of haptic pronunciation (HPT). EHIEP is, instead, characterized as a "kinesthetic" approach, meaning: movement and gesture-based. That is, of course, correct at face value, as far as it goes, but the application of touch to the system has been fundamental for over a decade, since 2005.

What we discovered very early on was that gesture used for such "signalling" by the instructor has valuable applications, such as pointing out problems or coordination of gross motor movements such as hand clapping or dancing. What was far more problematic, however, was attempting to use gesture systematically by conducting learner body movement to help them "embody" the new or corrected sounds. Only by using touch to anchor gesture, primarily by touch on the stressed syllable but also in many cases by assigning touch to the beginning and the terminus of the gestural movement, could we consistently work effectively with pedagogical gesture.

That is particularly the case when you want learners to use gesture spontaneously or with homework assignments. If not carefully controlled and applied, gesture use is often at best only marginally effective; at worst, threatening, intimidating and highly invasive.

In other words, the key is not just what you can see someone else doing,  but how well that gesture connects up in the body, or is "embodied" with the sound element or structure being taught, corrected or practiced. And that happens most consistently when the learner does the pedagogical movement pattern (gesture) with precision, the focus of EHIEP. Touch makes that process consistent and systematic, and generally quite acceptable and emotionally "safe" for learners as well. 

The general visual/cognitive bias in pronunciation teaching today is very problematic. Although it is understandable, given the often rigid and noncognitive nature of traditional drill and articulatory training models, it is simply too easy for learners and instructors to avoid the physical/kinesthetic side of the process which can be both inordinately time consuming and individualized.

At the basic instructional level, HPT is (simply) the answer.

Gesture the cause of pronunciation problems?

That's right! You should try it! Here's why . . .

 Referring to ways in which learners' L1s differs from their L2s is generally not a priority in pronunciation teaching--or in general language instruction. In some contexts, however, especially EFL-like courses where phonetics or translation serve as the point of departure, the structure of the L1 may be among the early topics addressed. For a number of reasons, nonetheless, many contemporary methodologists avoid it. A quick, informal poll among colleagues recently came up with a nice range of opinion:

"Why confuse things?"

"Best avoided."

"Not that confident, myself."

"May cause even more interference."     

That last comment is interesting. Clearly, if not done carefully or well, that could be the case. So, how might you "do that well?" (If you have some suggestions in that regard, in addition to the one I am about to recommend, please post a comment w/it!)

In haptic pronunciation teaching, we often and very effectively lead learners across "gestural bridges" between L1 and L2 phonological elements, such as individual sounds (vowels and consonants), rhythm patterns and tone movement (intonation). We do that by having learners mirror us or a video  as they perform "pedagogical movement patterns" (PMPs),  gestures synchronized speaking, that represent both the L1 and L2 sounds or sound patterns--and often the relative distance between them--in the visual space in front of the learner. 

Recently published research by Carlson, Jacobs, Perry and Church in Gesture, The effect of gestured instruction on the learning of physical causality problems, suggests why the "contrastive haptic PMP approach" may work. (Now granted, the analogy between video instruction on how gears work and the relationship between how an L1 sound is physically articulated and that of its L2 near-equivalent--that may cause serious interference or negative transfer--may be something of a stretch! But stick with me here!)

In the study, subjects either viewed a video where the instructor (a) explained the process without gesturing or (b) the "speech plus gesture" protocol.  Their conclusion: 

"Results showed that . . .  instruction was . . .  significantly more effective when gesture was added. These findings shed light on the role of gesture input in adult learning and carry implications for how gesture may be utilized in asynchronous instruction with adults."

What the conclusion misses, but is unpacked in the article, is the potential importance of the nature of the concept being taught in the first place, as it says in the title: physical causality, meaning that the contact and motion of one  gear as it affected the state and movement of the other gear. In other words, the impact of the gestural protocol was so pronounced, in part, because it was portraying and embodying a physical process.

Studies of the connection of gesture to more abstract, far less embodied concepts such as interpretation of emotion or intent are much less consistent, understandably. Pronunciation of a language is, on the other hand, an essentially physical, somatic process. Hence, using gesture (and touch) to anchor it makes perfect sense. 

Just thought I'd point that out . .

No (pronunciation teaching) experience . . . REQUIRED!

Got a comment on a recent YouTube video clip: "I'll admit that I am a doubter . . . I have never tried Bill Acton's method, but in my experience . . . "

Normally, I prefer doing teacher training with those who have not had too much phonetics or have not been teaching pronunciation using an "orthodox" method for too long. (I suspect that the commenter meets neither criteria!)

I try to avoid retreating to the post-modernist's ultimate cliche of "If you aren't an X then you can't possibly know or understand an X's method"--but in this instance, I think I will. Too often, criticism of this (experiential) system is from those who have never, will not or cannot try it. There are several posts that consider valid psychological, pedagogical and neurological grounds for those responses.

Admittedly, haptic pronunciation teaching (EHIEP) is for some experiential learning in the extreme. Buy in to the system is unquestionably so. Typically, if we can get a teacher to attend a workshop--or students to do the first three modules of the system, they're sold.

We are always working on ways to truncate that process, but so far it is inescapable: You have got to do some of this stuff to get it. For "Newbees," it should be a piece of cake; others should just try to tone down "fossilized" pre-frontal chatter and let their bodies figure it out for them--first.

"Train the body first." (Arthur Lessac)

Play it again, SLLP! (Avoiding the 8 deadly sins of second language learning practice)

Clip art:
Clker.com

With apologies to Humphrey Bogart, a good first question in a learner interview is something like: How do you practice your pronunciation or English? If he or she plays or has recently played a musical instrument or sang well, I will follow up with an analogous, music-based prompt. 

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Glyde at ultimate-guitar.com has a new piece on something like the "8 deadly sins of bad (guitar) practice--and how to overcome them," which applies beautifully to our work: (His specific "how to" recommendations have been omitted for the time being.)

• Playing instead of practicing guitar
• Focusing too much on new material
• Going through the motions. 
• Failure to break up large practice sessions
• Failing to avoid distractions
• Failing to avoid boring practice routines 
• Failing to set up a practice schedule
• Failing to apply what you know

Not sure that I have ever seen a better, comprehensive framework for embodied practice. I'm going to come back and look at how that approach works specifically in haptic pronunciation teaching. In the meantime, feel free to comment on any of those. 

And, if you are serious about getting even better results with a wider range of learner "styles" this year, just begin by candidly sketching out for yourself how/if your system avoids those pitfalls (or persistent SLLP ups!) -- and have a very good 2015!

 

Bill

More on AH-EPS Introductory Video demo on Vimeo

Let me answer a couple of questions that came as email relating to the introductory Vimeo demo of AH-EPS. 

(1) AH-EPS does not in any way replace doing Judy Gilbert in class, especially in any kind of EAP class where rules and explanation rule. As I comment on in the video, it picks up where regular instruction generally leaves off, aiming to facilitate integration into spontaneous production. This is in a very real sense, a clinical approach, closer to "clinical phonetics," what my blog refers to as "haptic-integrated clinical pronunciation." Will be starting a new organization for us HICPRs, pronounced "hiccupers" which your are welcome to join--as long as you don't begin analyzing things until you have experienced them. (Be sure to read the fine print about excommunication for lack of experiential, common sense evidence supporting comments on the organizational blog.)  

(2) The real focus of the work is on something for the relatively inexperienced  and untrained (in pronunciation) instructor or the student who wants or needs to work on their own . . . on their own. The technology is finally available to make that happen. DVD or USB hard media is still an option, and will be available, but streaming and web/cloud access for most is going to be the only option. 

The possibilities for doing the same kind of haptic (and virtual reality) embodiment of the sound system with any language, are limitless. It is, as I have said for some time, integral to the future of the field. In principle, most initial "instruction" or training can go on outside of class with haptic video. In many instances that is the preferred approach, in fact. Practice will then either be with the instructor in integrated instruction in the classroom, using the techniques and patterns,  or with the three student practice videos per module. In fact, our experience is that it is imperative that if the 6 video clips of a module are done in a classroom setting, that the instructor must not interfere or comment in any way until all 6 have played. Best case, the instructor just "becomes" one of students and doesn't mess things up with impromptu comments or corrections, unless absolutely necessary! Instructor meddling and hyper-metacommentary may be the biggest threat to things working right!

Some version of the 10, 30-minute instructional videos will probably be free to the public. Ultimately, it all will.  (There'll be a small charge, at least for the time being,  for the 40 or so the student practice and consonant videos, like iTunes,  and the books will probably be available at minimal cost via Amazon. Teacher training, webcam consultations and haptic dinner with me will cost something as well, of course. 

At this point, I'm not as interested in making money from AH-EPS (that'll come later, of course) as I am in starting something that is high quality, accessible to most everyone, especially nonnative speaking colleagues-- and is very inexpensive. (I'll make a draft version of the instructor's book available free to everybody on this list after TESOL.)

Keep in touch.

Bill

The future of pronunciation teaching: It's simple, Haptics!

Clip art: Clker

Well . . . actually what Moussette proposed in a 2012 doctoral thesis at Umeå University, Sweden, reported by Science Daily, is the term "Simple Haptics," which " . . . advances that haptic attributes (how things feel through touch) are increasingly part of the qualities that make up the interactions and the experiences we have with objects and the interfaces that surround us, and that these considerations can and ought to be knowingly and explicitly designed by designers." This is from the abstract: "The main knowledge contribution relates to the massification of haptics, i.e. the intentional realization and appropriation of haptics—with its dimensions and qualities—as a non-visual interaction design material." Now I'm not exactly sure what "massification" means in that context but I like it, especially as it is used in this example by Wordnik online dictionary--which couldn't locate a definition apparently--quoting ANC Daily News Briefing: “This process, known as massification, would have to be accompanied by changes in curriculums and qualifications and the introduction of multiple entry and exit points.” (Italics, mine.)

That is us; that is Haptic-integrated Clinical Pronunciation! Along with Moussette, now we "simply" need to get the word out to the "masses" of language teachers and curriculum designers who have yet to be "touched" by haptics in pronunciation teaching!

Blame it on your Alpha: why some people don't learn pronunciation well

Clip art: Clker

According to 2013 research by Dinse from the Neural Plasticity Lab of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and colleagues, reported in Science Daily, the answer seems to be that " . . . the main problem is not that learning processes are inefficient per se, but that the brain insufficiently processes the information to be learned." Hmmm. Now why could that be? The study is relevant in that subjects were trained to be more touch sensitive and then, using EEG technology, researchers explored why some were better at developing that heightened sensitivity. Exactly why is not clear, but there was a predictably correlation with alpha wave frequency: in an awakened state, higher alpha frequency related to better tactile learning. (Counter to that, lower Alpha in restful, semi-conscious or sleep states has long been related to more effective learning, both conscious and "unconscious" in nature.)

What is interesting is that the main effect, although the researchers relate it to perceptual learning in general, is at the very least touch-related: "The results, therefore, suggest that perception-based learning is highly dependent on how accessible the sensory information is. The alpha activity, as a marker of constantly changing brain states, modulates this accessibility." (Italics, mine.) So how do we make "sensory information" about pronunciation more "accessible?" The implication there is that one way is some kind of direct stimulation and management of alpha that might lead to better learning in that context.

Clip  art: Clker

Haptic-integrated clinical pronunciation work, in general, should fundamentally do just that: promote heightened sensual awareness (of physical sensation in the body) and at the same time, more relaxed, less-stressed physical/somatic (body awareness-based) states. The flowing pedagogical movement patterns (PMPs) create a sense of fluidity, rhythm and emotional coherence; simultaneously, the hands touching on stressed syllables in words, phrases and sentences evoke a very much heightened "felt sense" (balanced physical + cognitive processing) and foregrounding of the prominent elements or words in discourse.

Why some don't learn well? They may just be "out of touch!
 

Connecting "internal" pronunciation memory with "external" movement and vocal resonance

Clip art: Clker

Now, granted, this one is a bit of a stretch but it is certainly headed in the right direction . . . from a new study on motor memory by Smith of Harvard university, summarized by Science Daily, connecting internal (brain only) motor memory with memory for "external," physical body movement. The concept is that the neurons that actually manage physical movement are much more closely related to those that "store" or generate that action in the brain than has been generally assumed in contemporary neurological theory. Now why is potentially very big?

Clip art: Clker

In part, it suggests that in haptic-integrated clinical pronunciation work, for example, procedures that focus learners' attention more on the "physical" or "somatic" dimensions of sound production and comprehension should, correspondingly, have greater impact on memory for the sounds and later recall--than do more cognitive functions such as insight, systems "noticing" and context embedding. In other words, this seems to explain why over-reliance on metacognitive activities in pronunciation teaching such as explanation, reflection and rule schemas may not be all that effective in assisting learners in integrating new and corrected pronunciation into spontaneous speech.

Bottom line: Get connected with haptic pronunciation teaching!

An alternative (hand) approach to (haptic) pronunciation teaching!

Clip art: Clker

Have done a few posts on "exercise persistence" research, trying to figure out how to help learners practice consistently. Among the variables will always be something like "self-control or self-discipline," along with other socially-oriented factors. One of the reasons I have found such studies of interest, of course, is the connection to movement and physical exercise in haptic pronunciation work.

In a new review article by Denson, DeWall and Finkel (summarized, of course, by Science Daily!) is reference to a study by Denson in which he (simply) had subjects use their non-dominant hand (in this case left hands) for two weeks for various "normal" functions, as all were right-handers, to see whether that might enhance self-control and reduce aggression. It worked! Denson doesn't say exactly why . . . but we can maybe help him.

Clip art: Clker

In the "brain business," such organizations as Luminosity and Brain Gym and many others, use a wide range of "out of the box" but proven, physical, bi-lateral hand and arm movements to manage thought in many forms, from emotion to brainstorming to creativity. They often report or claim the same general effect.

In EHEIP work, for rhythm, intonation, fluency and (some types of integration) the left hand moves across the visual field to the right hand. The left hand, in effect, "conducts" intonation, pitch and pace functions during correction and practice--and regulates overall speaking performance. The right hand (on the other hand) serves as the anchor for word, phrase, sentence and discourse focus. Denson's research is fascinating. Clearly some of the effectiveness of the EHIEP system as well may be due (simply) to increased activation and engagement of the left hand and arm. We'll take it, whatever the explanation.

Will see if I can work out a protocol to moderate the sometimes mildly (or wildly) "aggressive" reactions to haptic techniques of the "hyper-cognitive" or "hapticaphobic"--before they walk out of the next workshop, something a bit out of the (fuzzy-haptic) box . . . (See previous post on haptic "fuzziness.") 

Disembodied pronunciation: computer generated, animated images of learners' inappropriate articulation

Clip art: Clker

Clip art: Clker

May start a new series of blogposts focusing on amazing-looking pronunciation techniques that, from a HICPR perspective, are so thoroughly disembodied or "dys-haptic" (generally depending heavily on only visual modalities, lacking a somatic, physical basis) such that chances of them working are probably not all that good, at best, such as this one:
"Improvement of animated articulatory gesture extracted from speech for pronunciation training," by Manosavan, Katsurada, Hayashi, Zhu, Nitta of Toyohashi University, a paper from the 2012 IEEE Convention--available for 31 bucks to nonmembers. (Have not read the full paper, just the abstract. My general policy is to pay for no research papers that cost more than 6 Starbucks Vente Carmel Frappuccinoes.) Computer-assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) is probably the future of the field, but a system that creates a moving cartoon-like representation of what a learner is doing wrong and then juxtaposes that with an animated image of how to do it right cannot possibly work effectively or efficiently-expect perhaps for those who are CAPT designers and gamers. (What do they need appropriate pronunciation for anyway?) 

However, if that video image were to be merged with "haptic cinema" technique and technology, (linked is a very "a-peeling" example, in fact!) they may still be on to something. 

ESP: "Social rewards" to encourage pronunciation practice and change!

Clip art: Clker

Clip art: Clker

How's this for a conclusion? " . . . a person performs better when they receive a social reward after completing an exercise. There seems to be scientific validity behind the message 'praise to encourage improvement'. Complimenting someone could become an easy and effective strategy to use in the classroom and during rehabilitation."  Really?

As self-evident and "Pavlovian" as that may sound, there is actually an interesting twist in the research by Sugawara, Tanaka, Okazaki, Watanabe and Sadato, entitled, " Social rewards enhance offline improvements in motor skill," as reported by Science Daily. Two key terms there: offline and motor, meaning performance on a keyboard finger dexterity task. Those who were praised after a trial, regardless of their relative performance, tended to do better on the next one; those who weren't, tended not to, at least not as much. (Their earlier research had established the concept that a cash reward had about the same effect--in the same area of the brain.)

The extensive research on the effect of praise for behaviour other than "offline motor" skills is ambiguous as best. Verbal reinforcement, like all instruction, must be thoroughly contextualized and situated. How and when to provide praise, as opposed to "corrective" feedback in pronunciation work, is a skill that develops with experience and constant, informed reflection on classroom practice (such as watching yourself teaching on video regularly!)

To the extent that pronunciation change is "motor-based" the research is certainly relevant. That is, of course, especially the case in "haptic" work, where learners are given feedback initially (almost exclusively) on accuracy of pedagogical movement patterns (which are done simultaneously as the sound, word or phrase is spoken)--not accuracy of articulation of the sound in question. The explicit movement, touch and body resonance focus in EHIEP, for example, provides an analogous framework for such timely "social rewards" . . .  We need to "cash in" on this, so to speak.

 "Embodied social praise" (ESP!) I like that! Looking good!

In the mood to better manage the milieu during pronunciation work?

Photo credit: Library of Congress/Clker

Intuitively, everyone from marketers to mothers understands the power of music to alter mood and help manage behaviour. Some language teaching methods, such as Suggestopedia, have been very intentional in what kind music is applied, how and when. Previous posts have addressed the value of using music synchronized to movement in training and practice in kinaesthetic and haptic-integrated work. (Some of the EHIEP videos are being redesigned to be strongly music/rhythm-synchronized.)

Like many of you, I have experimented over the years with background or "mood" music in a wide range of classroom settings. In general, I think it is fair to say that it always "worked." The problems, however, were simply time and technology: time, in that it took so much of it to identify and prepare appropriate pieces and excerpts; technology, in that the equipment at the time was so cumbersome that often just the effect or distraction of operating the system during a lesson was enough to more than cancel out any potential benefit. (At one point I did have great system in a mammoth classroom with a 6-CD capacity that seemed to be very effective at times.)

A 2011 study by Jolij and Meurs of the University of Groningen (Summarized by Science Daily) again points to the potential of background/mood music in our work. That research demonstrates dramatically how music can alter perceptions and expectations--based not just on experience, but mood (affected by music) as well. Although the study itself was relatively simple, basically varying speed of identifying happy and sad icons, depending on background music, the underlying effect appeared to be strong. Now that the technology is readily available to quickly create collections of songs with seamless transitions that complement the tasks involved, it is clearly time to reconsider managing the milieu more systematically--with music. 

The scent of pronunciation work: what you don't know can help you!

Clip art: Clker

Clip art: Clker

Previous posts have looked at the potential impact of olfaction on pronunciation instruction. A new study by de Groot, Smeets, Kaldewaij, Duijndam, Semin of the University of Utrecht, summarized by Science Daily, looked at the role of scent in signalling emotion. One conclusion: "The findings provide support for the embodied social-communication model, suggesting that chemosignals act as a medium through which people can be 'emotionally synchronized' outside of conscious awareness." Basically, subjects reactions were recorded as they sniffed sweat collected earlier  from people in various states of stress. Not surprisingly, as we all know from lived experience, body odor communicates, often quite unambiguously.

So what? Apparently, if a student is stressed, fearful or threatened that can covertly contaminate the lesson with the same emotional unease. Is that important? Research on multiple modality learning would suggest that it certainly can be. Can that be mediated with "de-stressing" exercises and techniques? (Check with your local "Affective" colleague!) To some extent, yes, but a more practical solution at this point may be to just mask it.

Also as noted earlier, I have experimented with mixed success over the years with a number of room scents or hand creams. Some students, of course, know how to use chemo-signals, such as perfumes and pheromones, very effectively! This research reaffirms the concept that aspects of embodied social communication which function generally outside of conscious awareness such as body motion and scent . . . are certainly nothing to sneeze or sniff at . . .  

Merging pronunciation with posture and gesture (PGMs)

Have you been watching any of the US presidential debates or video clips of both candidates? In doing a delightfully biased analysis of the use of body movement by both men, researchers at NYU and UC Berkeley, summarized by Science Daily, set the stage this way:

Clip art: Clker

 "Physical motions of speakers determine how voters feel about them. How they move influences whether you believe they are standing behind what they are saying -- or if you get the impression they are simply repeating a memorized list of terms. A speaker's physical movements -- arms, legs, shoulders, and facial expression -- can undermine or even contradict the verbal message."

Setting aside the results of the study, what is of particular interest are PGMs, " . . . full-body gesture movements, also called Posture-Gesture Mergers (PGMs), occurred when the candidates were stating their own beliefs and lauding their own accomplishments, with emphasis added in their beliefs by those body motions."

The concept of the PGM is actually a good way to characterize haptic (-integrated) anchoring: engaging the whole attention of the learner, using gesture, the visual field, posture and pronunciation. I will use that acronym from now on. In fact, had I a video camera handy, would love to whole-heartedly and whole-bodily PGM the strength of our belief in that regard and go on to "laud" some typical EHIEP stories and accomplishments.

"Couch potato" pronunciation learning

Clip art: Clker

Clip art: Clker

So what if some students, for whatever reason, cannot or decide not to participate in your choral drills or (from a haptic perspective) "move" along with the model on the video or mirror your movements as you try to correct a mispronunciation? According to Science writer, Paul, that may not be as much of a problem as you might think. Apparently, your more passive learners, "couch potatoes" are capable of getting it, too--with a few conditions attached. Research cited by Paul suggests that it is helpful if they have previously been at least exposed to the movement pattern, even better if they have actually been through it physically in some manner. In addition, if they know what to expect or know what is coming, they may pick up more as well. (In one experiment just lying still during an fMRI, so their brain activity could be monitored, as they thought about a coming test on what they were to about to watch, showed both increased activity in related motor areas and enhanced retention of movement patterns later.) But then this final challenge to the more "unmoved":

"Lastly, Grafton of UC-Santa Barbara notes that as valuable as watching others can be, multiple studies have shown that “the benefit from learning by observing is never as strong as advantages derived from physical practice.' With apologies to the couch potatoes out there, sometimes you just need to get up and dance."

Of course, the irony here is that EHIEP uses video clips (the virtual breeding ground of couch potatoes) as the basis of instruction. Turns out that, if done right, the "medium" can indeed still be experienced as the  "massage," (and not just the message) as well!