EAPIC Lesson 2 - Fluency (and rise-fall and fall-rise hacks)

Important note:  As of tonight, March 4th, only 2 people had completed viewing of the L2 training video, and none had enrolled in the course officially yet, so there was no feedback session this evening. I will wait a week before uploading the L3 training video, to give time for others to get "caught up!" If you have viewed the L2 training video, feel free to email me with your questions or post a comment on the blog below. 

                   

                               Lesson 2 - Tai Chi  (Fluency 1)

                                                                    

 

Link to the L2 training video         (Google meet)

Link to L2 training video  (Youtube) 

Links to  the L2 feedback session 

Link to L1 training video                 

 Link to Introduction video

Objectives:

• Basic rhythm and fluency

• Haptic conversation hacks: 

                    Tai Chi Fluency, RISE-FALL ( / \ ) 

                    FALL-RISE ( \ /) tones 

           Warm up! (vowel lip shape up!)

Circles        (3 sided) boxes

 u                        i          
 U                        I          
 O                       e             
 Ɔ                       ɛ
 ʌ                     ae
       a         a    

a > i     a > u   Ɔ > i

i > i     e > i    u > u    o > u 

READ

Tai Chi Finger flow fluency: both hands move in clockwise circles.

•     Finger tips touch very lightly on the most stressed syllable in the rhythm group.

•     Arms, hands and fingers—and whole body as relaxed as possible.

RISE-FALL and FALL-RISE tone hacks, using bigger circles and energy

Tai Chi (Finger-flow fluency)Training

• Fingers touch on the stressed syllable: X
• Hands move in (soft ball size) clockwise circles!

Nice X
That’s nice. oX
Very nice.  ooX
That’s very nice.  oooX
Easy Xo
That’s easy. oXo
Very easy. ooXo
That’s ve-ry easy. oooXo
Beau-ti-ful Xoo
That’s beautiful. oXoo
Very beautiful. ooXoo
That’s very beautiful. oooXoo
Fascinating Xooo
That’s fascinating oXooo
Very fascinating ooXooo
That’s very fascinating oooXooo

RISE-FALL and FALL-RISE Hacks

• RISE-FALL: Soccer ball size circles with both hands! 
• Meaning: Enthusiasm or excitement, with more voice energy
• 
  
• FALL-RISE:  Right hand continues upward a little. Left hand continues down.
• Meaning: You are bit curious or surprised about something, 
• or you are a Canadian* who sometimes uses a FALL-RISE + "eh" at the end of a sentence.  

Nice X          / \        \ /
That’s nice. oX / \        \ /
Very nice.  ooX / \        \ /
That’s very nice.  oooX / \       \ /
Easy Xo / \       \ /
That’s easy. oXo / \       \ /
Very easy. ooXo / \       \ /
That’s ve-ry easy. oooXo  / \       \ /
Beau-ti-ful Xoo / \       \ /
That’s beautiful. oXoo / \       \ /
Very beautiful. ooXoo  / \       \ /
That’s very beautiful. oooXoo  / \       \ /

Fascinating Xooo / \       \ /
That’s fascinating oXooo / \       \ /
Very fascinating. ooXooo / \       \ /
That’s very fascinating.       oooXooo / \       \ /

*We lived in Canada | for twenty years | and love a Canadian accent! 

 

Lesson 2 EOR - Ducks on a plane! 

(Tai Chi, plus RISE-FALL and FALL-RISE hacks)

MOOD: VERY enthusiastic! (On a very noisy subway where you have to speak loudly!) 

1A: ExCUse me. Could you put my DUCK | in the Overhead?

            X / \                                             X / \                 X \ / or /

   B: SURE. GLAD to. THERE you are!

         X / \      X / \           X / \ 

2A: Thank you so MUCH!

                                X / \

   B: You're WELcome. Where're you FROM, EH?

                    X / \                                        X / \    \ /

3A: JapAN| but I’m a STUdent here now. 

             X / \                 X / \

    B: JaPAN?  WHERE in Japan?

              X \ /       X / \

4A: SENdai.  About two HOUrs | north of Tokyo by TRAIN. 

        X / \                         X / \ or /                                   X / \

   B: That's a REally nice area. 

                        X / \

5A: It certainly IS. But it’s beCOming | very CROWded. 

                        X \ /                  X / \                    X \ / or / \

B: I've HEARD that. How LONG | are you staying in CAnada?

              X / \                         X / \                                       X \ / or / \

6A: PERmanently! I'm going to be WORking | in ToRONto. 

       X/ \                                                X / \                     X / \ 

   B: WELL. Welcome to CAnada, EH!

         X / \                           X / \         X \ /

Rhythm First: Haptic Side-Step!  (plus Tai Chi)

(For activation of the body, going from left to right, like reading a book!
Each time you do it you will add a gesture!)

A-B-C-D-E-F!

Homework;

a. (Every day): Warm up (L1 and L2), training (3 days), EOR, new text (day 5). Notes (new targets and observations) and log of time spent and when!

b. (optional) If you want to enroll for Wednesday feedback, email me for a quick interview on Zoom. 

c. Check out Legalshield and IDshield on my website: williamacton.legalshieldassociate.com (If you sign up for Legalshield or IDshield, you get 3 more personal lessons, too!) 

Keep in touch! 

Bill

wracton@gmail.com
https://hipoeces.blogspot.com/
www.actonhaptic.com
www.williamacton.legalshieldassociate. com

Fall 2025 (KINETIK) English Accent and Pronunciation Course!

KINETIK – using the whole body to learn (especially gesture and touch)

The EAPIC course is an innovative 10-week online program designed for non-native adult English speakers who want to improve their accent and pronunciation, even without everyday conversational practice. Using embodied oral reading and haptic-based methods, students build fluency and confidence through structured private practice. The course suits learners with IELTS 4.0+ reading ability and lower intermediate English listening skills, especially those who are disciplined and prefer independent study. Skills gained in EAPIC empower ongoing improvement beyond the course, supporting personal, academic, and professional English communication needs.

Beginning September 25, 2025

• Much better accent or pronunciation
• Much better expressiveness in speaking
• More confidence in speaking
• Good method for continuing to improve
• Works for anybody with a CLB or IELTS 5 and up

• 10 weeks, online
• (Free) 20-minute training video uploaded every Thursday
• 15-30 minutes of homework every day!
• (Optional) live homework follow up meeting on Wednesday at 8-9 p.m. EST ($200 USD)

Weekly syllabus:

1. Basic rhythm 1(pronunciation grammar) 

2. Fluency 1(body rhythm)

3. Consonants 1 (common problems)

4. Vowels 1 (short)

5. Vowels 2 (long)

6. Consonants 2 (students’ “favorites”)

7. Melody 1 (little pieces)

8. Melody 2 (longer pieces)

9. Fluency 2 (Conversation)

10. Rhythm 2 (Public speaking)

A sample from Lesson 1

Warm up!  

1. Neck stretcher (left side, right side, back, front)

2. Upper chest and shoulders stretcher (elbows touch) 

3. Nasal resonance BUZZ (Ying! Yang! Young!) 

4. Back (‘Oh’ cone) and chest expander (Ooo-Wah!) 

 Syllable Butterfly Training

Strong tap on the stressed syllable: X

Light tap on unstressed syllables: o

Cool. X

That’s cool. oX

Really cool.  ooX

That’s really cool.  oooX

Awesome Xo

That’s awesome. oXo

Really awesome. ooXo

That’s really awesome. oooXo

Super cool. Xoo

That’s super cool. oXoo

Really super cool. ooXoo

That’s really super cool. oooXoo

Super awesome. Xooo

That’s super awesome. oXooo

Really super awesome. ooXooo

That’s really super awesome. oooXooo

Lesson I – Embodied Oral Reading (EOR)

1A:  I THINK | we've GOT it | figured OUT.    

           •X                     •X•                    • •X    

   B: Oh. Can you TELL me | what it IS? 

         X                      X   •              • •X   

2A: Your MUFfler | I THINK | has a small HOLE in it.    

 •    X•                 •X                   • • •      X      • •    

   B: Oh NO!  Does it NEED | to be rePLACED right now?   

          • X             • •     X            • •      • X                 •    •   

3A: Yes, it DOES. It ISN’T going to | last much LONger     

        X    •  X         •   X•        •   •             • •           X•.  

   B: Huh. How MUCH | will it COST?          

          X            • X            •  •        X   

4A: A-BOUT | a hundred | and fifty DOLlars.         

          •X           •     X•          •     • •       X•    

   B: Really. That's too BAD. Is there a less exPENsive way?       

          X•               ••     X                      • • • • •X    •        •   

5A: You could MAYbe | rePAIR it, yourSELF.

             • •       X•               •X     •         • X    

   B: How LONG | exACTly | will that LAST?

            •  X                 •X•                 • •     X   

6A: If it works at ALL . . . MAYbe | for a couple of MONTHS?

               • • •   •   X             X•            • •     • •       •   X    

   B: I'll DO that. SEE you | in a MONTH or two!

          •  X   •        X   •            • •     X         • •    

Homework: 

1. Practice the warm up, training and Embodied Oral Reading every day in the morning for 15-30 minutes, standing, with good posture and gesture!

2. Practice using pleasing (beautiful) voice, good breathing and confident volume.

3.  Keep a "learning conversation" journal with your favorite AI Bot!

Email me: wracton@gmail.com for more information or to enrol.

For a more in depth discussion of the basis of the EAPIC course, go to: https://www.actonhaptic.com/eapic

The "Fly-Chi": All you need is a little embodied, fluent rhythm--for "supra" vowels and consonants!

About a month ago, I stumbled on to a pair of "haptic" techniques, using "supra-segmentals," that is rhythm, stress and intonation--when used in sequence, that appear to dramatically and quickly improve the pronunciation of some multi-syllable words, including the pronunciation of individual vowels and consonants in them. I know that is a claim and a half! 

Here is the story . . . 

For over 15 years, two of the basic techniques of Haptic Pronunciation Teaching, have been the Syllable Butterfly and the Tai Chi Finger Flow Fluency. (Check out the links to those two from version 2.0.) The Butterfly focused on syllables and rhythm; the Tai Chi, on fluency. In a recent class where learners were trained in the Tai Chi, there was some additional time left at the end where we work on problematic words have noted during the week. The first student had several multi-syllable words, including 'custodial" and "maintenance." There was almost no contrast between stressed and unstressed syllables--and no obvious rhythmic structure. The Tai Chi technique made little difference, other than speeding up his speech a bit. 

For the first time ever in working with vocabulary, I had him do the Butterfly first, which exaggerates both stress contrast and rhythm/length of each syllable, and then the Tai Chi. The student and the class were almost blown away by the improvement. He sounded almost  . . . Canadian! Actually, his pronunciation of the segmentals, per se, did  not change much if at all, but the relative amplitude and length of the syllables certainly did! The same happened on another dozen words or so after that. In subsequent weeks, the final segment of each class has become basically problematic vocabulary done to the tune of the Butterfly and Tai Chi. Have already included the "Fly-Chi" in Lesson 2 of the KINETIK method!

It is well established in the field that if a learner has relatively good rhythm, including contrast between stressed and unstressed vowels, that problems with segmentals (vowels and consonants) should be less  . . . problematic. Actually, and more importantly, with unstressed syllables somewhat backgrounded, vowels tend to be "reduced" and consonant near misses are not only not as noticeable but elide (blend with) adjacent  sounds. The process is very evident developmentally in child language learning, as well as the efficacy of embodied techniques such as handclapping in facilitating enhancement of segmentals, e.g.,  Baills and Prieto, (2023.)

There are "billions and billions" of videos on the web demonstrating the phenomenon and the effect. What those demonstrations do not do, however, is show how to help learners work with the process consistently so that the changes "stick." In preparing for a recent class, I seem to have "discovered" a way . . . The problem with either just using hand clapping with sentences or longer texts, such as songs, or focusing on just one word at a time is that the learner generally not able to take the process out of class effectively, consistently, and remember what was temporarily "embodied" in the process.

Students are using the Fly-Chi now in homework. (I have three weeks of good data so far!) And at least initially, their ability to both change and remember targeted words appears greatly enhanced. Just a fascinating "theory" at this point, Help me test it--and report back! 

Baills, F., & Prieto, P. (2023). Embodying rhythmic properties of a foreign language through hand-clapping helps children to better pronounce words. Language Teaching Research, 27(6), 1576-1606. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820986716

Metanoic English pronunciation training for the brain!

If you are not familiar with Daniel Amen MD's system and new book, Change your brain everyday, you may want to check it out. I bought it a couple of weeks ago and am started on the 366 day program. I can't vouch for all the other stuff that they sell on the website, but this book is very interesting from a Metanoic (transformational) perspective. The idea is, having at least a tourist's understanding of brain function, to trick yourself into taking positive, incremental steps--all of which require . . . disciplined, regular action with general basis in neuroscience. Then, in a sense, disciple and success breed more disciple and success. Will report back in a month or two after I have worked through three or four dozen of the daily 5-minute reads and follow on tasks. 

In the meantime, speaking of disciplined, potentially metanoic learning, here is a great one (in my humble opinion!) 

Spring 2024 Online KINETIK English Fluency and Pronunciation Course, a course for those who don't have time for a course but could be disciplined enough to work pretty much on your own for three months with a little help . . .  

This 11 week course, offered through Trinity Western University MATESOL Program, is designed for non-native English speakers who

• May not be able to attend a scheduled pronunciation or public speaking course
• May have pronunciation problems that are difficult to change or lack confidence in speaking in English at work or school.

Each lesson and related homework 

• Is a combination of public speaking and pronunciation work.
• Contains individualized training on vocabulary and pronunciation most useful for each student.
• Includes training in oral reading techniques which are effective for ongoing self-study and improvement.

Course dates: January 22nd ~ April 5th

Class format

A. View30-minute recorded lesson on Monday or Tuesday
B. Do 30 minutes of homework each day.
C. Meet with instructor on Zoom for 1-hour follow up class on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. (PST). (The session is recorded so it can also be viewed on Saturday or Sunday, if necessary.)

*Initial Zoom interview required before enrolling for the course.

Instructors: William Acton and Eileen McWilliams of the Trinity Western University MATESOL

To enroll, contact: William.acton@twu.ca

For additional information on EFPC: www.actonhaptic.com/efpc

Certificate is awarded upon successful course completion.

Materials provided. - Course fee: $500 CAD

Talk (to) Yourself into Improved English Fluency! (an almost DO-IT-YOURSELF course!)

Clker.com

And how do you do that? In part, using embodied oral reading to develop English fluency and confidence. The efficacy and methodology for the various applications for oral reading is well established. (For an excellent review of oral reading research and methodology, see Fuchs, Fuchs, Hosp and Jenkins, 2001) )

What haptic pronunciation teaching has brought to the party beginning in about 2007 has been the systematic use of the body and body movement in pronunciation teaching. What that means, in effect, is that every word in the selected oral reading is "choreographed" with some degree of conscious engagement of the upper body, generally focusing on rhythm of English but also, in principle, any phonological feature of any language. 

The concept of improving your speaking fluency in private, at least certain features of it, without talking with or working with another person or instructor, is today an almost radical position, as opposed to the prevailing social-constructivist, communicative view of ideal (probably group-based) context and input. Although it is difficult to establish empirically, of course, in reality the preponderance of ALL language learning happens as learners do "homework", either internal "self talk" or explicitly out loud speaking . . .  in private. 

That successful L2 learners can improve their fluency away from public engagement is pretty much a given. (By fluency here I am limiting the discussion to the learner's ability to speaking  rhythmically and confidently--and more rapidly, using language elements that they are capable of articulating, often very haltingly or not at all.)

The model of that methodology adopted by haptic pronunciation on this blog and elsewhere has been based on that of Lessac, presented in his book, The use and training of the human voice. Although the approach was developed essentially for native speakers and many actors or public speakers in process, the principles and system are beautifully compatible with confidence and fluency development for nonnative speakers as well. In that system, learners are first reoriented to the basic movement and somatic energy in their bodies, very much like contemporary "mindfulness" therapies, for example. 

What was extraordinary back then--and even now--was the design where the entire 12-step process could be done by one person, alone, just using the book, following the plan. (One can, of course, today take courses in the Lessac method internationally, but the central premise holds: for speech fluency, as defined earlier, there is a great deal one can do on their own, such that it carries over very well into spontaneous speaking engagement.)

That, in essence, is how the KINETIK, haptic-based course works. Unfortunately, the October-December, Acton Haptic English Fluency Training (HFT) course offered through Trinity Western University is closed!!! However, there is still plenty of time, however, to set up a customized course with your organization for next spring, or plan to enroll for the upcomng January~March course. (for further information on either option, email me: wracton@gmail.com

A few excerpts from the HFT course description: 

HFT Embodied Oral Reading is done out loud, in private, using stories that are accompanied by special gestures which use language and vocabulary that students are already familiar with, what they can understand, but perhaps may not be able to talk about fluently.

The 9-week course is designed especially for non-native English-speaking adults who do not have the opportunity for much, if any English, face-to-face conversation in their daily lives but who want to keep improving, nonetheless. (and who have an IELTS reading ability of about 4.0 or above.) HFT provides the student with a set of skills so that they can continue improving after the course, working with other readings of interest to them. It is recommended, for example, for students who are not studying spoken/conversational English currently.

It is based on extensive research (and decades of teaching experience) in oral reading methodology and the well-known "Lectio Divina" tradition in meditation practice, using extensive oral reading as homework—not in a class. The key neuroscience-based innovation of HFT is the precise use of gestures and touch in the visual field, synchronized with speech, creating optimal conditions for attention, learning, retention and recall.

Course work is done individually, with four or five, 30-minute homework assignments and a live 75-minute zoom feedback meeting weekly, usually on Friday evening. (which is also recorded for later access, if necessary.)

Next course: January ~ March, 2024

·Cost for individuals: $350 USD, materials included, but for a school, for example, (maximum of 100 students) the cost per student can be as low as $25 USD.

A teacher training course in Haptic Pronunciation Teaching is also available (See www.actonhaptic/KINETIK

To enroll or for more info, go to www.actonhaptic/hft or contact Bill Acton at wracton@gmail.com

Full citation: 

Fuchs, L., Fuchs, D., Hosp, M. & Jenkins, J. 2021. Oral Reading Fluency as an Indicator of Reading Competence: A Theoretical, Empirical, and Historical Analysis DOI: 10.4324/9781410608246-3, in (Eds) Kamee'enui, E. & Simmons, D. 2002. The Role of Fluency in Reading Competence, Assessment, and instruction: Fluency at the intersection of Accuracy and Speed: A Special Issue of scientific Studies of Reading, New York: Rutledge, pp. 239-256

A Super Somewhat "Solipsistic" Solo Method for Greatly Improving English Speaking Fluency!

COURSE closed! But we are opening another soon! Keep in touch!

I know what you are thinking . . .well, actually,"solipsistically" speaking, I probably don't, of course! But, anyway, this is a remarkable new course offering,  one designed for learners in a somewhat unique but actually very common niche: 

The 9-week online course, Acton Haptic English Fluency Training (HFT), is designed especially for non-native English-speaking adults who 

1. Do not have the opportunity for much, if any English, face-to-face conversation in their daily lives but 
2. Who want to keep improving, nonetheless, 
3. Who have an IELTS reading ability of about 4.0 or above, and 
4. Do not have a lot of cash to work with!

• HFT features Embodied Oral Reading to develop English fluency and confidence 

·       Embodied Oral Reading is done out loud, in private, using stories that are accompanied by special gestures which use concepts and vocabulary that students are already familiar with, essentially, what they can understand, but perhaps may not be able to talk about fluently.  

·     HFT provides the student with a set of skills which once learned they can continue improving with beyond the course. It is especially recommended, for example, for students who do not have access to conversational English currently, such as

o   Undergraduate and graduate students in programs not taught primarily in English

o   Parents whose spoken English is not strong and whose children are in public schools in North America

o   New immigrants and family members who cannot currently access English instruction

o   Students who are in religious studies where they will serve in a language other than English, but where being able to read Scripture in English in public is essential,

o   Retired “senior” English L2 speakers who may be “home alone” in some sense much of the time but would value spending 3-4 hours weekly to develop the clarity of their spoken English.  

·    It is based on extensive research (and decades of teaching experience) in oral reading methodology and the well-known "Lectio Divina" tradition in meditation practice, using extensive oral reading as homework—not in a class.

·    The key neuroscience-based innovation of HFT is the precise use of gestures and touch in the visual field. Synchronized with speech, these multimodality gestures create optimal conditions for attention, learning, retention and recall.

·    Course work is done individually, with four or five, 30-minute homework assignments and a live 75-minute zoom feedback meeting weekly, usually on Friday evening. (which is also recorded for later access, if necessary.)

• The emphasis is on improving the English that learners understand well but do no speak with the same level of success. 

• Learners finish the course being able to speak more rhythmically, more expressively, more precisely and with greater confidence.

• There are several possible story and text types that students can choose to use in their embodied oral readings (EORs):
• General academic English (for high school learners and older)
• General business English (for adults)
• General workplace English
• General seminary/Bible-based English (for students in Christian ministry or training)
• General informal conversation-based English (especially good for parents whose children's English is better than theirs!) 
• General instructional language used in teaching (for non-native English speaking teachers)
• Personalized, story-based English (for those want to improve just for the love of English)
• Course includes:
• Introduction and 8, 1-week lessons which include
• Weekly 30-minute recorded lessons
• Weekly 60-minute follow up, live (or recorded) lesson
• Daily, 20-30 minute homework assignments
• Syllabus
• Week 1 - Introduction
• Week 2 - Rhythm 1
• Week 3 - Fluency 1
• Week 4 - Vowels 1
• Week 5 - Vowels 2
• Week 6 - Consonants (th, w/y,  r/l and f/v)
• Week 7 - Intonation
• Week 8 - Rhythm 2 (Rhythm, linking and pausing) 
• Week 9 - Fluency 2 (Expressiveness and confidence)
• Example Unit:
• Monday, view recorded lesson
• Tuesday, do homework
• Wednesday, do homework
• Thursday, do homework
• Friday, follow up lesson live on Zoom (usually, 18:00 PST)
• Saturday, do homework
• Sunday: TAKE THE DAY OFF!!!
• Homework format:
• Review one part of the video (5 minutes)
• Practice the haptic gesture featured in the weekly lesson (5 minutes)
• Practice the Embodied Oral Reading (EOR) in the course materials (10~15 minutes)
• Record your last practice (about 2 minutes)
• Review your recording (about 2 minutes)
• Find some words or phrases that are not in the lesson to practice the lesson's  haptic gesture with! (5 minutes)
• (Optional) personalized Zoom meetings available for additional fee upon request
• Customized course versions tailored for organizations of almost any size. 
• (Optional) Professional development credit available through Trinity Western University

• Next course: October 9th ~ December 9th. 
• Cost: $350 USD, materials included. 
• To enroll or for more info, contact Bill Acton at wracton@gmail.com

• Further details are available at: www.actonhaptic.com/hft
• Instructors with training in haptic pronunciation teaching are invited to apply to be a collaborating instructor in these HFT courses. (Or offer the course through their school!)

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)

***

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.

Ben Bruno's "10 Commandments of physical training" applied to pronunciation teaching!

Ben Bruno, personal trainer to the stars, has a super set of principles for training that could as well be a guide to (haptic) pronunciation teaching. Use the following as something of a test for your method about either: 

Here they are: (the boldfacing and extrapolations are mine!)

1. Thou shalt not train through pain.

    💪 Pronunciation work works when at least you can focus just on it for bit. 

2. Think of strength training as your entrée and cardio as the side dish. Both have their place but divvy your time and energy accordingly. 

    💪 At least for a time, attention to accurate, good form must supersede being fluent. 

3. The hard exercises that you hate doing are generally the ones that work the best. Sorry. 

    💪 Repetition, especially where a new physical patterning is being established, may not be mentally stimulating but it can be key to establishing the anchoring and access for a new sound or word. 

4. You can always make a mistake not to train, but at some point you just have to make time for it. Or be weak and out of shape. 

    💪 For most learners, consistent, relatively long term practice is key. And, like physical training, a new sound or pattern is not acquired unless do, indeed, "use it or lose it" if there is not sufficient consistent practice. 

5. Thou shalt train thy legs. 

    💪 The "legs" of pronunciation work is at least the rest of the body from the neck down, but in haptic work, the entire mind-body nexus. 

6. Mobility work is boring. Do it anyway.

    💪 The analogs here are (a) warming up or stretching, and (b) general fluency exercises where the body moves "fluently," along with speaking, for example. 

7. Remember that outside the gym, no one cares what you did for your workout, or about your diet. Keep it to yourself

    💪 Unless you are working with somebody, like a partner or instructor, your progress and goals are critical and only you can judge how things are going, certainly not a non-informed bystander. 

8. Similarly, nobody cares how much you lift. Drop the ego, drop the weight, and do it right. Form matters. 

    💪 Two principles there, dropping the ego . . . and form (See Principle #2)

9. Train the muscles  you can't see in the mirror (glutes, hamstrings, back, etc.) more than the muscles that you can see (pecs, biceps, etc.). It's good for you, and just because you can't see them, everyone else still can.

    💪 In other words, the rest of the body, especially the quality and resonance of your voice, overall relaxation and breathing techniques

10. Don't overcomplicate things. Always be learning, but at some point you have to put down the books and pick up the weights. 

    💪 The  bottom line: The process requires extensive "performance" without overthink or even conscious processing of the meaning of what is being spoken out loud for success. 

Ben's 10 has improved my approach to both kinds of training already--since both are so interrelated anyway. In fact, it will form something of the foundation for a new project I'm working on. 

Keep in touch!

Bill

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. 

KINETIK English Fluency and Pronunciation Course (5/26~8/9)!

The course is being offered to the public for the first time by the Trinity Western University MATESOL (LIVE on Zoom or by viewing the class video later.) It has a somewhat unorthodox time format: 

• Instructor: Bill Acton
• May 26 – August 9, 2022 (12 weeks), 3-4 hours per week
• Thursday: 7 – 8 p.m. PST 
• And Wednesday, the following week: 7 - 8 p.m. PST
•  Homework: 15-20 minutes per day, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Specifics: 
This course is for those who want to improve their speaking fluency and pronunciation of English. It is especially helpful for students who have IELTS level of 4.5+ and do not have time or opportunity to practice speaking English outside of class, themselves, but have reasonably good listening skills.

The KINETIK teaching method includes neuroscience-based haptic techniques (using special gestures and touch) to improve memory for new vocabulary, pronunciation and and confidence in speaking.

In addition to one hour of class each week and one hour of homework review every week on Zoom, for best results students should practice their homework exercises at least 15-30 minutes per day, 4~5 days a week. Book and practice video recordings are provided.

A brief, preliminary interview on Zoom is required to be admitted into the course. If interested, contact Professor Bill Acton (William.acton@twu.ca) in the MATESOL Department at Trinity Western University. Classes are recorded. If a class is missed, it can be watched later. Certificate is awarded for 80% attendance.

Course fee: $500 CAD ($400 USD) Group discounts available. 

Also: The 4-week version of the instructor certificate course is also available this summer, on campus, in Langley, BC, July 18th ~ August 12th. One hour of class, 4 days a week and approximately 6 additional hours  per week of preparation and practice. Cost: $800, all materials included. (A zoom hybrid of the course may be available as well.) Contact me, if interested: william.acton@twu.ca. 

Keep in touch!

Bill

Z-OR: Enhanced English Fluency and Confidence

Conference presentation later this month with Eileen McWilliams at the BCTEAL annual conference, entitled: How to Speak with Confident Vowels and Beyond! It is based on research I reported on at the 2022 Spokane ESL Conference: Using what you know: Embodied Oral Reading to Spontaneous Speech, with Volzhanina and Qie.

Here's the summary:

This workshop presents a haptic technique (using systematic movement and touch) based on strategic use of intonation and vowel quality for helping learners achieve more confidence in speaking based on developing awareness and control of the fundamental formant (lowest) in their speech, evident especially when one is relaxed and confident.

There are two terms we have been using: Haptic-Embodied Oral Reading (HE OR), and Spontaneous Haptic-Embodied Oral Recast (SHE-OR). Using the HE-OR technique, which involves using gesture and touch to accompany an oral reading, learners developed remarkable confidence and fluency in speaking and (they report) that the technique also improved their reading fluency. At the end of the study, learners switched to SHE-OR, where they managed their spontaneous speech using a fluency gesture as they were describing various locations and events. The apparent carry over from HE-OR over to SHE-OR was striking. Have just updated our terms a little. Now, instead of HE-OR or SHE-OR, we use the gender neutral, Z-OR, to refer to both fixed text and spontaneous embodied readings and recasts. 

If you can’t join us at BCTEAL, no worries. We’ll post the recording right after the conference.

50 ways to say "Haptic Pronunciation Teaching is BEST!"

About 30 years ago, at the KOTESOL annual conference, I did a plenary talk, something of a demonstration of the power of using gesture, prosody and expressiveness, entitled: 50 ways to say, good morning! (A take off either on a scene from Cyrano de Bergerac or song by Simon and Garfinkel.) Have continued to use that technique/trick ever since. It came off quite successfully, in fact, with an audience of over 100, where each person had to not only come up with a unique way to say "Good Morning!" but include a gesture to accompany it. One we had done "the 100," I then went back and pointed out something of the range of emotional, prosodic and gestural overlays that were evident. (Try it sometime!) 

CAVEAT EMPTOR: The following is very much fun and decidedly PRO-KINETIK!!! (But, also, pretty much accurate!) 

Now, instead of using the same words with varied overlays, here are 50 REASONs why Haptic Pronunciation Teaching in the new KINETIK method, including the "Embodied Oral Reading/Recast System" (EORRS) is, in my humble opinion, simply the best. 

KINETIK 

1. is "full-body" based and fun
2. is based in embodiment theory
3. develops "mindful" body awareness
4. is based, in part on American Sign Language
5. is based, in part, on Observed Experiential Observation 
6. uses gesture synchronized speech
7. uses gesture-managed, spontaneous speaking
8. is based in the neuroscience of touch
9. is rhythm-based, done first before anything else!
10. includes just the essentials of pronunciation
11. is almost as good online as in person (if not better)
12. is easy to learn to teach with (one technique at a time)
13. is inexpensive to learn to teach with ($500 minimum for complete system)
14. is inexpensive for students (It requires little, if any special materials, just access to online training videos)
15. uses "regular" course content for teaching pronunciation
16. can be applied in any skill area class
17. is great for in class correction and feedback
18. is excellent, with straightforward homework system
19. is great for modeling sentences, phrases, idioms
20. strongly enhances memory for vocabulary 
21. strongly enhances expressiveness
22. requires very little or no background in linguistics or phonetics to use it effectively
23. requires very little or no background in language teaching to use it effectively
24. uses (near revolutionary) "Embodied Oral Reading and Recast System"
25. consistently enhances student confidence in speaking
26. can be applied to a learner's L1 sound system
27. engages better breathing and posture
28. helps develop better abs!
29. facilitates feasible peer correction and feedback
30. is a complete scaffolded, method
31. has highly personalized weekly face to face session (or on Zoom)
32. facilitates development of rapport in the classroom
33. is based on quality dialogic instruction (instructor-student, and student-student)
34. has an amazing technique for [th]
35. has an amazing technique for [r/l]
36. has an amazing technique for linking
37. has an amazing technique for word-final voiced obstruents
38. has an amazing techniques for discourse orientation (prosody between speakers)
39. facilitates enhanced visual presence on screen/zoom
40. creates a relaxed classroom milieu
41. is applicable for learners of all ages
42. is applicable for learners of all proficiency levels
43. is applicable for classes of all sizes
44. is applicable for use in literacy training
45. is based on over 50 years of pronunciation teaching experience
46. is based on about 35 years of kinaesthetic pronunciation teaching
47. is based on over 15 years of effective haptic pronunciation teaching
48. is adaptable for special needs instruction
49. is applicable for accent reduction
50. makes some kinds of drill "great" again

For more information, goto: www.actonhaptic.com/kinetik/ or email me directly: wracton@gmail.com

Confident English Speaking, Fluency and Pronunciation--in 10 weeks!

As announced here on the blog, the new KINETIK English Fluency and Pronunciation Course is on. 

Especially designed for students who do not have much opportunity to practice speaking English outside of class! (But great for everybody else, too, of course!)

Gives you confidence to use what you “know” but may not always be able to access in speaking 

• Applicable for literate adult learners, upper beginner level and above
• Online, on Zoom, 2 hours of "live" class per week and about 2 hours of homework (20 minutes a day is best)
• Weekly live Zoom class: Thursdays, 4~5 p.m. (PST) or recorded
• Weekly live Zoom follow up: Wednesdays, in small groups, by appointment
• Cost: $500USD (or $60 per lesson)
• Use of embodied haptic techniques (using gesture and touch) for improving students’ fluency, memory for course content, vocabulary and intelligibility
• Makes you easier to understand and develops better posture and breathing
• Fixes most important pronunciation problems, or at least gets you well on the way.
• Makes self correction easier
• Includes effective system for continued study after the course
• With some slight modifications is also an excellent professional development system for any instructor, native or nonnative speaking. 

Still time to sign up! February 10th ~ April 24th! Contact me: wracton@gmail.com for required initial  Zoom interview.

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

 

KINETIK (Haptic Pronunciation Teaching) Method Certification Course

 Three ways to take the course!

1. (FREE) Attend the weekly Haptic(web)inars, Tuesdays at 6 p.m. PST. Learn one technique per week. Tomorrow is Week 2. The technique this week is the "TaiChi - Finger-flow-fluency,," a great procedure for encouraging overall fluency and integrating new or changed sounds into spontaneous speaking. To join, go to www.actonhaptic.com and sign up! 

2. Attend the webinars and also get the student training videos and teaching handouts. (at very minimal cost!) 

3. Take the Certification Course (available beginning August 1st!) Here are the details:

KINƐTIK METHOD™applies the basic Movement, Tone and Touch Techniques (MT3 - gesture plus touch routines) of HaPT to enhancing learning and memory for any class content and language, not just specifically pronunciation. It also promotes general intelligibility, using more pronunciation-oriented techniques. The haptic gestures serve to “complement” instruction in all skill areas, speaking, listening, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar . . . and even pronunciation!

The course contains four modules, three lessons each. (Each lesson takes about a week to complete)

• Module 1

• Lesson One - Syllable Butterfly and rhythm

• Lesson Two - Finger-flow Fluency

• Lesson Three – Haptic phonetics: th/th, f/v, p/b, y, w, consonant clusters

• Module 2

• Lesson One - Single vowels, word stress, and word-final consonants

• Lesson Two - Double vowels and phrasal and sentence stress.

• Lesson Three – Haptic phonetics: n/ng, l, r, s/z/sh/zh, tsh/dzh

• Module 3

• Lesson One - Basic intonation

• Lesson Two - Advanced intonation

• Lesson Three - Baton integration and linking

• Module 4

• Lesson One - Advanced rhythm and fluency

• Lesson Two - Tense, unstressed vowels and secondary stress,

• Lesson Three – KINƐTIC review, advanced integration, and Certification test

The structure of a typical lesson is something like this:

(A) Attend the weekly Hapticanar on that lesson or do the video of it. (About 30 minutes),

(B) Do the training video for that lesson, the same one you would use to train you students (5-10 minutes, but you might want to do it two or three times),

(C) You identify a short section of a text of some kind from your current course content or a previous course, and figure out how you could use the MT3 of that leson with in a short embodied oral reading, usually about 25-50 words.

(D) At the end of the week, you meet for an hour or so with 3 or 4 other instructors like yourself, hopefully who are teaching the same type of students, and ME (or another experienced Haptician) to go over the Embodied Oral Readings that the four of you have come up with.

After Module 4, you take a REALLY easy little certification test where you create a video showing that you can do some of the MT3s and write up a couple of pages telling me how you would sell your KINETIK MT3s to your students, your colleagues and your boss!

The cost will vary, depending on how many students there are in a course. If there are 6 students, the cost will be about $300 per student. (There are a maximum of 6 students per course,) If there are 2 students, the cost will be $800 per student. Special programs are available for schools and larger groups.

For more information, contact info@actonhaptic.com.

The course will be rolled out in Auguet 1, 2021. It will be featured and discussed in Acton Haptic Community on Locals.com. Stay tuned here for more information as it is released!

Haptic Webinar #2: How can a little "TaiChi" enhance uptake and speaking fluency?

Come to the next Haptic(web)inar and find out! To get there, go to the website and register. While you are there, check out videos of the Introduction to KINETIK Method and Webinar #1: The Syllable Butterfly technique!  (And, of course, Keep in Touch!

Affluent pronunciation: not so fast!

Clker.com

Will improving your accent or pronunciation enhance your chances of making more money later? That is a study that has not been done to my knowledge. but just ask anybody other than a prominent pronunciation researcher or methodologist (or one of their students) and the answer is a resounding: Well, of course! I did just that, in fact, an informal poll around the building last week: Yes (22) No (0).

The distinction between "accent" and "pronunciation" instruction is important in the field today. It is essentially this: The goal of pronunciation instruction should be intelligible speech; the speaker is understandable without unduly taxing the ear of the listener. Accent reduction, on the other hand, appears to go beyond this "intelligibility threshold" aiming at more and more native-like pronunciation. There may be any number of reasons to "go near there," of course, including working at an international call center, managerial or executive positions where public speaking persona may still require a certain degree of conformity, such as consular representatives--or, of course, secret agent types!

So, how fast can a learner's accent or pronunciation change and get to a goal or model?

Purely anecdotal evidence from about 40 years of working with accent, suggests that for most students it is a relatively long and incremental process--if attempted at all. There are those of amazing natural ability who almost chameleon-like appear to absorb the second language in all its multifaceted dimensions, accent being just part of the picture, of course. In truth, however, most of those who approach a native-like accent work at it, often for years--or longer. If it is worth doing, for only some, mind you, how do you get there?

One way, of course, could be to go to SpeakMoreClearly and help them become more affluent in getting you there quickly. Or . . . you might, however, want to consider this new research by Hampton, Asadi and Olson at Temple University, Good Things for Those Who Wait: Predictive Modeling Highlights Importance of Delay Discounting for Income Attainment." (Summarized by ScienceDaily.com.)

What their research demonstrated was some validation of the old saw, Good things come to those that wait! In essence, children who were trained to postpone the natural drive for more instant gratification (had more self control), later in life made significantly more money. From the ScienceDaily summary:

"Unsurprisingly, the models indicated that occupation and education were the best predictors of high income, followed by location (as determined by zip code) and gender -- with males earning more than females. Delay discounting was the next most-important factor, being more predictive than age, race, ethnicity or height."

So how does that work for predicting success at obtaining great pronunciation or accent?

(occupation and education) -- (zip code and gender) -- delay discounting. i.e., self control/delayed gratification -- (age, race, ethnicity or height)

That actually might work, as long as you flip the gender (from male in the affluence study to female!) and begin the study at age 12 or so. That would be particularly the case if you factor in DD.  

When it comes to training the body in the gym, the DD principle is a given. Self control and persistence is the only way to get to excellence--and stay there. And what that entails is adopting a commitment to the process, over time, not some abstract goal in the future. In most respects, quick fixes are only temporary, at best. For a great perspective on that, check with my favorite source on such topics, James Clear, here or here!

So, what is your best plan to achieve "a fluent" accent or pronunciation?

clker.com

DD-based practice over time (done as embodied and
haptically as possible, of course!) . . . and you can take that to the bank!

A "pronounced" victory for phonics!

2 questions:

• How many phonics rules do you know explicitly and work with with your students?  
• How fluent (in reading or speaking) are your students expected to become working with you?

  

  Clker.com

The (generally pointless but commercially and academically lucrative) battle between proponents of "phonic" and "whole word" approaches to reading instruction  is (apparently) over, according to new research by "Researchers from Royal Holloway, University of London and the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit", summarized by our friends at Science Daily, quoting one of the researchers:

"The results were striking; people who had focused on the meanings of the new words were much less accurate in reading aloud and comprehension than those who had used phonics, and our MRI scans revealed that their brains had to work harder to decipher what they were reading."

 Q.E.D.

Since from the summary we do not get much of an idea as to what the research methodology looked like, we'll just have to trust them--and their conclusions. (I'll access the actual article and report back in a comment to this post, but that is almost irrelevant here.)

What is of real interest is not the link between phonic training and reading comprehension but the connection between training in oral reading fluency and reading comprehension, well established in early literacy instruction for kids. (The current study was with adults learning a new, artificial language but seems to be a good parallel.)

In L2 pronunciation teaching, the relationship between accuracy of individual sounds or words and speaking fluency has not, to my knowledge, been researched--and published. (If you have a good ref on that, please post it for us!)  Part of the reason for that is that intelligibility, rather than accuracy, has become the "gold standard" of instruction in the field, to a large extent creating the understandable lack of interest in "traditional" segmental-focus-based (individual sounds) teaching methods.

The real irony here, if the new research is even close, is that in L2 instruction, downplaying phonetic accuracy and instruction in phonics may ultimately be undermining development of reading (and speaking) fluency. At the very least, the MRI data apparently indicated that the brains of  the adult "whole worders" in the study had to work much harder with word recognition.

Although in haptic work we are certainly not "phonatics" by any means, the method is still based on initial phonetic anchoring and extensive, systematic oral reading practice. If yours isn't, it may be time to get back to basics. To get started, begin by seeing how many phonics rules that you use in teaching you can jot down in less than 1 minute. Anything short of a dozen suggests that your students may be "dys-fluent" as well.

Citation:
University of Royal Holloway London. (2017, April 20). Phonics works: Sounding out words is best way to teach reading, study suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 21, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170420094107.htm

The source article:

Taylor, J. S. H., Davis, M. H., & Rastle, K. (2017, April 20). Comparing and Validating Methods of
Reading Instruction Using Behavioural and Neural Findings in an Artificial Orthography. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: General. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000301