Correct pronunciation by talking about it: Think or swim . . .

Photo credit: Seaglobe.com

Ever notice how students often will not notice well enough to "get it"  when you point out a pronunciation issue for them and skillfully provide them with a preferred form on the spot?

A recent study of noticing by Hanna, Mullainathan and Scwartzstein (2012) suggests something of why from a different perspective. When their subjects, seaweed farmers, were presented with data that was potentially very valuable for them in improving their work and problem solving, they didn't "uptake" much either--unless the relevance of the key elements was also explicitly linked back to why they were critical or relevant.

In other words, the new data had to be immediately linked (somehow) to acknowledged and perceived (or felt) relevance, what we (following Gendlin, 1972) refer to as "felt sense." In pronunciation teaching with adults, that at least means "getting back in touch with" earlier explicit explanation and guided practice. The problem is often, without sufficient physical experience and practice of the sound change in the first place or in the referring "teachable moment," there is little chance for most that merely pointing out or covertly throwing in correct models is going to work.

And taking valuable class time in the middle of a content-based discussion, for example, to go into an impromptu explanation right there as to why that particular sound issue is important to intelligibility for some subset of learners will probably not be productive either. So what should you do?

What does work, in our experience, in EHIEP/AHEPS, is haptic anchoring (gesture + touch on stressed words or syllables), that is much more strongly body-based initial experience of the sound or word. Having intensely experienced the physical properties of the sound early on, learners then have better access to that anchor when it is activated in a meaningful context. (The basic trick involved in hypnotic suggestion.) The primary contribution of haptic engagement in pronunciation learning or any learning system is integrating the senses, providing the link back to the experience and sound later.

That way, in spontaneous conversation or classroom talk, after a problematic word or stress pattern occurs, with a quick "haptic-anchored noticing" as the word is repeated by the instructor, often w/out even saying the word out loud, the connection is made. The same principle holds if the instructor, aware of a feature that a student or students are working on, haptically anchors some element as he or she produces it in doing an explanation or providing a comment: the visual gesture accompanying the spoken word is often enough for students to "feel" and register that token.

How well that works consistently is, of course, an empirical question, one that can and will be researched in time. In the meantime, take it from the seaweed farmers. The only way to experience this level of somatic, whole-body, experiential learning . . . is to jump in the (haptic teaching) water .  .  . and notice what happens. As we say, "Think or swim . . . take your pick!

Keep in touch.

Confident, "power" pronunciation: in 2 minutes?

Photo credit: Ted.blog.com

Clip art: Clker

Here is a 21-minute TED talk by Amy Cuddy well worth watching, "Your body language shapes who you are"--for several reasons. First, at a superficial level it seems to agree with Lessac's "Train the body first" dictum. Second, it is another example of "discovering" biochemical and neurophysiological correlates to body state changes that impact emotional or cognitive performance. Third, it is also wonderfully ethnocentric, egocentric and culturally suspect. What professor Cuddy is recommending is basically (based on what appears to be a solid, experimental, laboratory study): striking and holding a "powerful" pose for 2-minutes to both feel more like an Alpha-fe/male and at the same time boost your power-hormone, testosterone--before going into that meeting where you need to be . . . well . . .more confident and in control.

We know from past research (and this blogpost or that one) that such procedures "work" in some settings. Lessac's system involves any number of body and voice awareness and re-orientation techniques that gradually and systematically change the "vocal life" of the student. As part of a (haptic) integrated method, there is some sense in that. But listen carefully to how Cuddy contextualizes her personal experience to persuasively situate her suggestion that you simply "power up" your posture using the same experimental protocol as in her research. (Any time you see the qualifier "power" before the name of a therapy, technique or training system, step back for 2 minutes, take a deep breath and approach with extreme caution.) Given the cultures, emerging identities (and genders) in your language/pronunciation class, how would that play? Caveat emptor . . . 

Haptic entrainment: Why haptic works 2

Clip art: Clker

Clip art: Clker

May do a series of research updates on "Why haptic works!" Following up on the previous one relating to Grapheme-phoneme linkage, here is another connection. Research by Matthews, Beckman, Fabiani and Gratton of the University of Illinois, reported by Science Daily, has demonstrated that those subjects showing stronger "alpha" brain waves tend to be better at learning how to play a new video game. Alpha wave states have been associated with a wide range of behaviours and dispositions. Another way to modulate alpha wave intensity is through "entrainment," using various kinds of meditative or haptic-based body movement exercises. The pedagogical movement patterns, accompanied by vocal production, of the EHIEP system qualify as entrainment. Although I have not verified that, the impact on alpha wave frequency with fMRIs on students, the effect on general concentration, relaxed composure and attention is always evident and consistent. In fact, haptic-integration and anchoring is often so enjoyable that we should perhaps coin a new term for it: "ENTERTRAINMENT!" 

ERN more with self-esteem; correct more (pronunciation) errors!

Clip art: Clker

Clip art: Clker

Interesting study by Legault and colleagues of Clarkson University, summarized by Science Daily, which looked at the effect of self-affirmation on responding to errors or mistakes. Self-affirmation was operationalized by having subjects rank their top six personal values and then write a 5-minute mini-essay on the top one. In a subsequent experimental task they proved to be better at correcting errors than the control group. Now having students do something like that every class is probably not feasible but the underlying principle is worth considering. Self-affirmative thought, according to the researchers, activates a neurological response termed "error-related negativity"(ERN)--which, in turn makes one more alert to errors and, apparently, better able to respond to them. In this case, with attention just having been focused on "higher" values, the "negative" reaction proves beneficial. The importance of insuring that learners' attention is continually brought back, if only temporarily, to the tangible progress that they have made--and where they are headed--is almost a given in the field. How that works and how to nurture it consistently (and haptically!) has remained something of a mystery. Until now. But we are l-ERNing . . . 

Sound-grapheme nexus: why 'haptic' works!

Credit: jp41.com

The research on why haptic integration in pronunciation work should facilitate encoding and recall is substantial. A good example is the study of learning sounds related to a set of Japanese characters, by Gentaz and colleagues at the Université de Savoie, summarized by Science Daily. Their conclusion: "When visual stimuli can be explored both visually and by touch, adults learn arbitrary associations between auditory and visual stimuli more efficiently." The same team had earlier done similar research with children as beginning readers. Earlier posts have also examined the intervening variables that may compromise that effectiveness, such as other visual or auditory clutter, imprecise haptic anchoring and certain types of repeated touch which in effect cancels out earlier anchoring. Haptic-integration in EHIEP work is, of course, not a "no-brainer" but it is a very powerful and "hand-eye" tool!

Damasio on consciousness

Since I am back in the "hero list" mode recently, must link to a December 2011 TED talk by Antonio Damasio. If you are not aware of his work, it is probably time you were. EHIEP, like any other teaching methodology, attempts to manage consciousness at least momentarily to achieve its goals. This video will hold yours for about 18 minutes . . . guaranteed. If that one is a bit too philosophical for you and you'd prefer to experience something a bit more down to earth--but about as frightening as scaling Burj Khalifa tower with Tom Cruise, try this TED video by Ariel Garten on knowing thyself with a brain scanner . . . 

"Off the wall" example of the felt sense of haptic anchoring

If you haven't seen Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, yet, it is worth the ticket just to see Tom Cruise go up the side of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world . . . from about the 120 floor to the 130th, wearing "haptic gloves" that stick to glass . . . at least the left one! In IMAX the special effects are fantastic; you feel like you are free climbing with him. One of the best "haptic videos" I have seen . . .or felt! With one glove malfunctioning he, of course, accomplishes the impossible. Every time the "magnetic" left hand clamps onto the glass (with terrific sound effects) you can feel it in your left had as well. (If you are not a great fan of extreme heights, your palms will be activated already, of course!)

So if you would like to experience a couple of minutes of extreme haptic anchoring, not entirely unlike your average EHIEP protocol lesson . . . your mission, should you accept it . . . is just to accept it!