Spring 23 KINETIK Courses!

Spring 2023 KINETIK courses now scheduled. 

KINETIK Method: a full-body/haptic approach to both pronunciation teaching and enhancing memory for course content. (Haptic: employing movement/gesture and touch)

English Fluency and Pronunciation Course

• For nonnative English speaking students, adults of upper intermediate level and above
• For those who need to improve their speaking fluency and pronunciation of English.
• Especially designed for those who do not have the opportunity to speak English often enough, or have pronunciation problems that are difficult to change.

• 11 weeks in length, 75 minutes per week, plus optional, 60-minute review session

 begins on January 26^th, 2023.

Thursdays, 5:00~6:15 p.m. – Live Class--on campus (or by viewing the class video later)

 Homework: 15-20 minutes per day for best results. 

Wednesdays, 5:00-6:00 p.m. -- Optional homework practice review on Zoom (or by viewing the class videos later)

• Instructor: Bill Acton, MATESOL Department, Trinity Western University 
• For additional information: william.acton@twu.ca
• Certificate is awarded for 80% attendance. Books and recorded practice videos are provided.

• Course fee: $500 CAD for on campus course. ($200 CAD for access to the 11 class videos only)

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KINETIK Method Instructor Certificate Course: 12 weeks, Online, beginning 1/30

• Objectives
• Basics of haptic pronunciation teaching
• Techniques for enhancing memory for course content
• Enhanced (instructor's) classroom speaking model and pedagogical presence 
• Weekly schedule
• 30-minute training (recorded, available Monday)
• ~60 minutes of "homework" (pre-reading and practice)
• 60-minute live seminar on Zoom (arranged according to participants' schedules, usually on Saturday evening, PST)
• $600 USD, materials provided
• Certificate provided upon successful completion
• Full-refund (no questions asked) up to Week 4
• Preliminary Zoom interview required (contact: wracton@gmail.com)

If you are an instructor, considering having your students take EFPC, contact me and I'll be happy to discuss the course with you. With sufficient enrolment, both courses can be offered for just one school.

Upcoming KINETIK Courses, beginning September, 2022!

As promised, two or three great KINETIK courses now scheduled: 

(For students, adults, lower intermediate and above) Embodied English Fluency and Pronunciation Course: 10 weeks, beginning 9/19, offered through Trinity Western University (for more details, see earlier blogpost)

• Objectives:
• Good uptake - attention to and memory for course content, meaning, emotion, concepts and vocabulary
• Improved clarity - greater emphasis, expressiveness, fluency and intelligibility
• Greater confidence in speaking and ability to "use what you know already!"

• Weekly schedule
• 30 - minute training (recorded), available Thursdays
• 60 - minute, (recorded or live), homework feedback Zoom class, the following week on Wednesdays (6 p.m. PST)
• Homework: 30 minutes per day, minimum 4 days per week
• Cost: $500 CAD, materials provided
• Preliminary Zoom interview required (contact: william.acton@twu.ca)
• Can also be customized for individual classes or schools.

Instructor Training Certificate Course (KMICC): 12 weeks, beginning 9/22, offered through ActonHaptic.com (for more details, see course description)

• Objectives
• Basics of haptic pronunciation teaching
• Techniques for enhancing memory for course content
• Enhanced (instructor's) classroom speaking model and pedagogical presence 
• Weekly schedule
• 30-minute training (recorded, available Monday)
• ~90 minutes of homework
• 75-minute live seminar on Zoom (arranged according to participants' schedules, usually on Saturday, PST)
• $600 USD, materials provided
• Certificate provided upon successful completion
• Full-refund (no questions asked) up to Week 4
• Preliminary Zoom interview required (contact: wracton@gmail.com)

In all humility, these are terrific courses. If you are an instructor considering having your students take EFPC, contact me and I'll be happy to discuss the course with you. Both courses can be offered for just one school, beginning in January 2023. 

New! 2022 Acton Haptic English Fluency and Pronunciation Courses!

As promised, the new (Amazing!) KINETIK Method student and instructor courses are ready to go! 

KINETIK Method: Embodied fluency, content and pronunciation enhancement

Features

• Instructor training certificate courses (12 weeks) 
• Student courses (applicable for literate adult learners, upper beginner level and above--10 weeks)
• Available for individuals or groups
• Online only, on Zoom, 2 hours of "live" class per week and 3~6 hours of homework
• Cost varies, depending on class size, from $200~$1500
• Use of embodied techniques for improving students’ fluency, memory for course content, vocabulary and intelligibility

For the instructor:

• Training in doing effective in-class feedback and correction
• Requires no previous formal training in pronunciation teaching or basic pedagogical phonetics
• Designed for instructors who do not have enough space in their lesson plans for pronunciation and effective homework assignments
• Designed for instructors who value greater engagement of the body in instruction and general body “consciousness and agency.”
• Provides improved personal “pedagogical voice” in classroom and classwork
• A complete method: one adaptable for most learners and contexts

For the student:

• Makes you easier to understand
• Fixes most important pronunciation problems
• Makes correction easier. . . self correction, correction by teachers and peers
• Increases confidence in speaking in conversationi
• Allows you to use what you “know” but may not be able to use in speaking 
• Especially good for students who do not have much opportunity to practice speaking English outside of class
• Includes effective system for continued study after the course

Why rhythm first, using gesture and touch:

• Rhythm is basic to speaking and understanding language!
• Gesture helps us emphasize rhythm and remember language.
• Touch helps us bring our senses together to learn. remember better and control attention and body movement, in general.
• Rhythm is key to integrating changed sound patterns.

Classes are available, beginning February 1st.

For more information: www.actonhaptic.com/KINETIK or email me directly at wracton@gmail.com

 

Next Haptic Pronunciation Teaching (Free!) Webinars!

We (the MATESOL at Trinity Western University) are doing two FREE introductory webinars on haptic pronunciation teaching: Friday, October 2nd and Saturday, November 14th, 2020. The webinars are held from 7:30 p.m. PST to 9:00. Contact: william.acton@twu.ca for more information and reservations.  (Places limited!) At least two reasons we are offering those: 

First, "haptic" is the only way to teach pronunciation (at least in our modest opinion!) 

Second, every spring, beginning in mid-January, we offer an online, 3-credit graduate course, Ling 611 - Applied Phonology. Roughly one quarter of that course is "Haptic Pronunciation Teaching." 

For more detail on the webinars noncredit haptic course and the grad course, go here! 

You can apply to take either the regular course (for about $2200 CAD, as a special student) or the noncredit haptic stream by itself (for about $500--comes with a certificate.)

You do need some prerequisite work to do Ling 611, for example, some background in phonetics, linguistics and pronunciation teaching. (Check with me if you have a question on that.) No prereqs required for the haptic stream, however. The grad course runs 14 weeks; the haptic certificate, 12. The grad course takes about 8~10 hours a week; the certificate, about 3. 

Ling 611 or the certificate course can also be hosted at your school or program, done for groups or individually.  

See you next month!

Bill

william.acton@twu.ca

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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Haptic Pronunciation Teaching Certificate Course (v4.1) Preview - FREE!

HaPT-E v4.1

v4.1 includes several new "touching" features. The Preview includes:

• Modules 1 and 2 (of the 10 modules system)
• 1 month free access to the course videos
• The Instructor's manual
• SKYPE consultation upon completion of the Preview.
• Option to purchase the course at a reduced price (until January 2017)

For more detail on the system itself, check out the Certificate Description, including the Certificate Forum. v5.0 is now scheduled to be available in January or February, 2017.

If you purchase v4.1 you will automatically be given access to the new v5.0 beta videos as they come on line for field testing this fall. 

To get the preview, contact: info@actonhaptic.com

Haptic Pronunciation Teaching and Applied Phonology Course, August 1st~26th in Vancouver, BC!

If you are in the Vancouver area in August, join us at Trinity Western University for the Ling 611 Applied Phonology course (3 graduate credits), part of the MATESOL or just the Haptic Pronunciation Teaching component of that course. (Housing available.)

Ling 611 meets on campus 9~12:00, Tuesday through Friday. August 2nd ~ 18th. Monday's are "reading days". Fridays, students in teams submit a brief research report on the week's work. During the 4th week of the course, students do an individual research paper in consultation with the instructors and take final certification test in haptic pronunciation teaching. 

HaPT-E Certification Course

General syllabus:

• Week 1 - Learning and teaching pronunciation
• Week 2 - Teaching listening and pronunciation
• Week 3 - Teaching speaking and pronunciation

The  topics of the 3 hours of each morning are roughly as follows:

• Hour 1 - Haptic pronunciation teaching
• Hour 2 - Phonetic analysis of learner data
• Hour 3 - Theory and methodology

Options: (If interested, contact me at TWU: william.acton@twu.ca)

• Take the graduate course for credit (about $2400) or as an auditor (less than half price). You have to apply for that and have some prerequisite background in either case. 
• Do just the Haptic Pronunciation part. That means 12 hours of class, plus about 12 hours of  homework, which includes 2 tests. If you pass the tests, you get a certificate in HPT. (Cost of that will be about $500, which includes materials and certificate. You'll also be free to sit in on the other two hours of Ling 611 if you have time.) Limited number of places available for that option. 

Keep in touch!

Bill