Providing pronunciation teaching with signs (and wonders!) and a hand!

More fascinating research on the role of gesture in learning from Goldin-Meadow at the University of Chicago, summarized by Science Daily. The research in part looked at "homesign-ing," that is systems created by children not introduced to the standard signing system of the language or culture. One conclusion of the study:
". . . gesture cannot aid learners simply by providing a second modality. Rather, gesture adds imagery to the categorical distinctions that form the core of both spoken and sign languages."

That research also sheds light on the function of the pedagogical movement patterns (PMPs) of haptic pronunciation teaching work as well. (Several of the gestural patterns closely resemble signs used in American Sign Language, and early development of the system was informed and inspired by ASL, in fact.)

One of the more interesting parallels is the fact that ASL signs of high emotional intensity more often tend to terminate in touch--as do all PMPs. A second is that the PMPs of EHIEP (Essential haptic-integrated English Pronunciation), for the most part, present vivid visual pictures that are learned and recalled easily. If you'd like to learn more, just join us next month in Costa Rica!

Citation: University of Chicago. "Hand gestures improve learning in both signers, speakers." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 August 2014. .

Vancouver Haptic Pronunciation Teaching Seminar - Cancelled!

Photo credit: 604now.com

We had planned on holding a 5-day, 40-hour, Haptic Pronunciation Teaching Seminar in Vancouver, August 4th through 8th, 2014. The plan now is to offer it again, next year at about the same time and place. (Announcement will be made later this fall!)
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The description:

By the end of the seminar, participants will be fully trained in haptic pronunciation teaching and certified to conduct teacher training using the Essential Haptic-integrated English Pronunciation System (EHIEP) and Acton Haptic English Pronunciation System (AH-EPS), the haptic video system. The venue will be the Sandman Hotel, Langley, BC, just east of Vancouver. (Hotel rates, about $130 CAD daily.)

Cost per participant: $2000 (includes breakfasts and materials.) Group discounts available.

The general structure will be:

Monday a.m. - Preliminaries and Research review
Monday p.m. - Visual field management and haptic warm ups
Tuesday a.m. - Haptic phonetics
Tuesday p.m. - English vowels and words stress schema
Wednesday a.m. - Rhythm
Wednesday p.m. - Pitch and fluency
Wednesday evening - Public seminar
Thursday a.m. - Basic Intonation
Thursday p.m. - Discourse intonation
Friday a.m. - English consonants
Friday p.m. - Teacher training protocols
Friday evening - Party 

Minimum number of participants: 12; maximum, 24
We will be accepting applications until June 1st. $500 deposit due by June 15th. It the training seminar is not fully enrolled by June 15th, deposits will be returned.

If you are interested in attending, please contact us at info@actonhaptic.com. The training seminar is open to all ESL/EFL instructors who have at least two years teaching experience and recognized formal training in ESL/EFL teaching methodology. Preliminary SKYPE interview and professional references may be required.

You can't beat (?) Haptic pronunciation teaching!

A sometimes accurate predictor of a student's ability to catch on to haptic or kinaesthetic teaching is the "baton beat" test. In essence, all the learner needs to do is read aloud a printed dialogue with some words marked in boldface while (a) holding a baton in his or her left hand and (b) tapping the right palm with the baton on the boldfaced words as they are said. (It is not easy; try it!) Some do find it to be exceedingly easy; others couldn't do it well even if their life depended on it. 

Clip art: Clker

In a 2013 study by Tierney and Kraus of Northwestern University, summarized by Science Daily, it was demonstrated that, "People who are better able to move to a beat show more consistent brain responses to speech than those with less rhythm." The review goes on to suggest that rhythmic work may enhance the brain's response to language. Really?

What we do know is that the "baton test," when administered after a couple of months of haptic-integrated pronunciation training, goes much better for most students, demonstrating more fluid upper body motion and speech synchronized gesture. (One of the last techniques in the AH-EPS curriculum is the "Baton Integration Protocol," in fact.) 

You can't beat haptic pronunciation teaching. 

Keep in touch.  

Teaching linking in speaking with touch and Tai Chi

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This one will be fun. If you are in Vancouver next Saturday, join us: 

Workshop to be presented at the BCTEAL Lower Mainland Regional Conference in Vancouver, BC, at Columbia College, November, 23, 2013, 1:30-2:30. 

(Hapticians: JaeHwa Hong, Olya Kliuyeva and myself)

Pay attention to pronunciation!

As reported in earlier posts, no matter how terrific our attempt at pronunciation teaching is, if a learner isn't paying attention or is distracted, chances are not much uptake will happen--especially when haptic anchoring is involved. No surprise there. A new study by Lavie and colleagues of UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, focusing on "inattentional blindness" entitled,"How Memory Load Leaves Us 'Blind' to New Visual Information," just reported at Science Daily, sheds new "light" on exactly how visual attention serves learning.

In essence, when subjects were required to momentarily attend to an event or object in the visual field and remember it, their ability to respond to new events or distractions occurring immediately afterward was curtailed significantly. (The basic stuff of hypnosis, stage magicians and texting while driving, of course!)

What is of particular interest here is that, whereas the visual image that one is attempting to focus on can strongly exclude other competing distractions, that effect works precisely the other way around in haptic-integrated pronunciation instruction. It helps explain the potential effectiveness of pedagogical movement patterns of EHIEP and AH-EPS:

• Carefully designed gestures across the visual field 
• Performed while saying a word, sound or phrase 
• With highly resonate voice, and
• Terminating in some kind of touch on a stressed vowel, what we term "haptic anchoring." 

It also explains why insightful and potentially priceless comments from instructors coming in too close proximity to vivid and striking pronunciation-related "visual events" . . . may not stick or get "uptaken!" 

See what we mean? 

Embodied cognitive complexity--with haptic-integrated pronunciation!

I'm doing a plenary at the BCTEAL regional conference next week. Here is the abstract:

Credit: Villanova.edu

"This interactional presentation focuses on three of the most influential ideas in research in the field today: e-learning, embodiment and cognitive complexity. Taken together, the three help us address the question: How can students effectively acquire a second language--and especially pronunciation and high level cognitive functions--when more and more of their learning experience is mediated through computers?"

The point of my talk will be the power of haptic anchoring (as a form of embodiment), both in developing technologies such as the iPhone and in representing and teaching very complex concepts--even pronunciation! Those two perspectives are converging rapidly today, especially when it comes to dealing with today's media-immersed and media-integrated learners. Ironically, embodied methodologies, where explicit training and control of the body and management of its immediate physical milieu, provide both great promise and great cause for "a sober second look," as Canadians often remark. 

I'll spend more time on the former but will return to the latter here in a later post. If you'd like to initiate that discussion now, feel free! (Note: Unfortunately, I have had to switch to moderating all comments on this blog. If you do propose a comment, I'll review it quickly. Promise!) 

Introduction to some haptic gadgets - II

Kudos to CNN Tech Trends for this nice 14-slide piece by Arion McNicoll on haptics and new haptic gadgets. If you are just getting "in touch" with haptics, you'll like this. See especially slide #8 on Tesla Touch. I have done some research on that technology recently, an approach that may have promise for our AH-EPS haptic pronunciation. (See also the recent blogpost linking the TED talk on haptics, too.)

Credit: CNN.com

"Aha! change uptake!" versus the "practice" of haptic pronunciation teaching

For a while I had a special label for research reports that managed to confirm what any teacher with a modicum of common sense had figured out already, the "Well . . . duh!" category. There are any number of studies that demonstrate that practice, in addition to in-class work, is essential--in many different fields. In this field there are only a few. I cited one earlier, a 2010 study by Yoshida of Purdue University: those students who practiced pronunciation outside of class did better, significantly so.

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With only a few exceptions, and for the most part with good reason, classroom-based research focuses on in-class or in-lab treatment, not what happens beyond those contexts. In part that is because, contemporary methodology often implicitly must assume that nothing is going to happen outside of class of theoretical interest, whether the context is EFL or elsewhere. 

Decades ago, when ESL was still the conceptual center of pedagogy, you could tell students to go out there and practice, letting yourself off the hook. No longer. We talked about bringing the world into the classroom. For many, the "world" of language learning is now limited to the classroom--and maybe with random assistance of "my technology."

Pronunciation instructors who assume that just in class instruction, without any formal follow up, either face to face or as monitored homework, is sufficient may get lucky occasionally. There are, indeed, those rare, highly receptive students and memorable "Aha! change uptake," teachable moments when a lesson is life- or interlanguage pronunciation- altering, when explanation and insight and contextualized practice and uptake all collide! If you recall one, however, please describe it in a comment to this post! (Generous reward offered!) 

For Essential haptic-integrated English pronunciation model (EHIEP), and its haptic video offspring, Acton Haptic-integrated English pronunciation system (AH-EPS), practice is the sine qua non of pronunciation change. Haptic anchoring (gesture, plus vocal resonance positioned in the visual field consistently), sets up the process well but requires follow up, either in integrated focus on form by the instructor and peers, or practice outside of class, preferably with a technology assist. 

Haptic engagement, by its very nature is exploratory and at least temporarily very somatically attention grabbing (emotionally gripping.) But it is not sufficient. (That is, in part, why gesture work, in general, feels so good but rarely, by itself, sticks, to use a good haptic metaphor.) 

Next post will back up a bit and look at research underlying the relationship between haptic anchoring and subsequent noticing and practice. Keep in touch. 

Introduction to haptics and some possible applications

If you are new to the idea of haptics and "haptic," here is a neat 6 minute TEDYouth 2012 talk by Kuchenbecker of University of Pennsylvania (Hat tip to Karen Rauser.) Our work in haptic-integrated pronunciation teaching is something of the flip side of this. Whereas Kuchenbecker's work digitizes touch and movement to accompany video, we create the haptic felt sense of sound (through awareness of vocal resonance, upper movement and touch) to accompany the positioning of the hands and arms in the visual field. Have been working on the outlines of a TED talk proposal myself for next year. Keep in touch!

Haptic-integrated pronunciation instruction: Techniques

Here is the abstract and URL for a paper by Brian Teaman and myself just published in the JALT Conference Proceedings: JALT 2012:

In this paper we describe a series of new techniques for the teaching of pronunciation using movement and touch. The “haptic approach” described here assumes that speaking is essentially a physical act that engages the entire body and not just the speech organs. This paper reviews the theoretical foundations of a haptic system, describes 9 haptic-based techniques, and explores the specific application of these techniques with Japanese learners of English.

この論文は、現在開発中の身体の動きと接触を利用した発音指導のための新しいテクニックについて書かれたものである。「触覚アプローチ」とは動作と接触を用いるという意味で、話すこととは、本質的に身体全体を使った身体的行動であり、単なる「発話器官」ではないという考え方に基づいている。この論文では、触覚アプローチのシステムの論理的根拠を考察し、その触覚に基づく９つの教授テクニックを紹介し、なぜ日本人の学習者にそれらのテクニックが効果的かを述べる。

Haptic-integrated pronunciation instruction: Preliminaries

Here is the abstract and URL for a paper by Mike Burri, Amanda Baker, Brian Teaman and myself just published in Proceedings of the 4th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference / Iowa State University:

This paper reports on aspects of a haptic (movement plus touch) integrated system for classroom pronunciation instruction. It is based, in part, on established pedagogical practice in the use of somatic/kinesthetic techniques such as gesture in language instruction (Acton, 1984, 2012; Celce-Murcia, Brinton, Goodwin & Briner, 2010; McCafferty, 2004), and management of vocal resonance in singing and voice training (Lessac, 1997). The pedagogical method is designed for use by relatively untrained instructors and is generally best delivered through video with classroom follow up. Relatively recent research and development in haptics, especially in the areas of gaming, prosthetics and robotics, provides a rich source of potential principles and procedures from which to draw in exploring and rethinking the “clinical side” of pronunciation work. The use of haptic integration procedures in various teaching systems, in the form of designated movement patterns accompanied by various “textures of touch” has been shown to more systematically coordinate sensory modalities involved and greatly enhance both effectiveness and pace of instruction. In field testing the basic English pronunciation system to be described, this application of haptic procedures shows promise of also enhancing efficiency in anchoring sounds, words and phrases and in facilitating both recall and integration of targeted material in spontaneous speech.

Inattention to pronunciation (teaching)

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Why does pronunciation instruction often not "take," that is why are learners often unable to integrate new and changed sounds and words into their speaking? This new research by Drew, Vo and Wolfe of Brigham Young University, summarized by Science Daily, on "inattentional blindness," suggests something of an answer. One conclusion of the study was that "When engaged in a demanding task, attention can act like a set of blinders, making it possible for stimuli to pass, undetected, right in front of our eyes," At least in classroom-based instruction, for most, the central task in focus on pronunciation is generally linking sound to graphemes or text-based representations of speech, visual images.

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Contemporary theorists and methodologists have argued strongly that such "work" should best be highly contextualized, what is termed "focus on form," where the flow of a speaking, listening, reading or writing task is momentarily frozen in time while some aspect of pronunciation is "attended" to, probably explained, drilled and then re-contextualized, back in the "story." The case for that perspective in vocabulary teaching is far stronger, although weakening with recent research as well. In other words, decontextualized work on pronunciation and vocabulary paradigms is now re-emerging as potentially much more effective than meaning, communication, narrative and fluency-biased approaches have suggested. (I realize that is quite a sweeping generalization. Research reported in previous posts has more than established that principle.)

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So what is the practical implication for our work? It is this: Highly communicative and engaging tasks may not be the best venue for at least basic pronunciation training in the form of interdictions and "pointing out" errors, etc. At the very least, if we are committed to "in-line" pronunciation instruction, then the treatment must be designed to stick, without having to compete unnecessarily with the visual and experiential  process of storing in memory the main, engaging story. Now how could one do that? (The "haptic" solution in tomorrow's blogpost!)

13 Haptic pronunciation teaching proposals for TESOL 2014!

The Team (of about 30 Hapticians and Hapticians-in-training) has submitted 13 proposals for the 2014 TESOL conference in Portland, in March 2014. Here is are some of the titles/topics:

• Workshop: Essentials of Haptic (kinesthetic+tactile)-integrated pronunciation instruction 
• Workshop: Using haptic-integrated pronunciation with the Academic Word List
• Workshop: Haptic consonant repair
• Workshop: Teaching English intonation by non-native speakers
• Practice-oriented session: Haptic pronunciation modeling with pre-literate L2 adults and children 
• Practice-oriented session: Haptic-integrated pronunciation homework
• Practice-oriented session: Speak fast; speak easy: The Butterfly Technique
• Practice-oriented session: Conversational rhythm: The Fight Club
• Discussion session: Haptic-integrated pronunciation teaching discussion (NNS/EFL)
• Discussion session: Haptic-integrated pronunciation teaching discussion (NS/ESL)
• Research-oriented session: Research basis of haptic-integrated pronunciation instruction
• Research-oriented session: Empirical study of two haptic-integrated protocols
• Research-oriented session: Haptic phonetics for phonetics instruction

Typically we get word on which has been accepted in early October. If you'd like further details on any of those proposals, let me know. (Actonhaptic@gmail.com)

Motion "IQ" and haptic pronunciation teaching

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A few decades back, the distinction between field independence and field dependence was investigated extensively in this field and others. (Several previous blogposts report often seemingly contradictory findings.) A new study reported by Science Daily, by by Melnick, Harrison, Park, Bennetto and Tadin, at the University of Rochester, on the relationship between general intelligence and ability to suppress some types of background motion in the visual field adds a new "wrinkle."

They found a striking correlation between IQ and ability to screen out small, background moving "clutter" and score on a standard IQ test. Even more surprisingly, according to the authors, they discovered that the high "IQ" subjects were correspondingly much worse at detecting large background shifts in the visual field itself. (According to the article, you can even test yourself on motion "IQ" with this YouTube video!)

Translation/relevance: Whether you are high or low IQ, being able to function in a non-distracting visual field makes you functionally more intelligent! (Being sensitive to movement of the larger field has been indirectly related to general empathy and relational awareness, which is also a good idea in language learning.)

In haptic pronunciation teaching, that principle is paramount. In the classroom, when doing haptic work  (movement-plus-touch) related to sound learning and change, visual distraction must be limited as much as possible. Anything that pulls the eyes and attention away from the pedagogical movement pattern can potentially "kill" or greatly limit the effectiveness of the haptic anchor in associating the gesture with the sound.

The design and format and background of the AH-EPS haptic video system is centered on that same concept: (a) black background, (b) clean, uncluttered movement, and (c) careful management of placement in the visual field. (For example, it is important to stay as close to the center of the visual field for general ease of maintaining attention and control.)

Just a little background for you there . . . and I mean a LITTLE!

Motivating pronunciation practice: Where seldom is heard a discouraging (or encouraging) word* . . .

Clip art: Clker

Following up on a recent post on the value of self-affirmation, or affirmation in general in learning, a 2013 study, "You Can Do It: the Efficacy of Encouragement in Motivating the Weak Link to Exercise Longer During an Online Exercise Video Game," by Irwin of Kansas State University, reported in Science Daily It. looked at optimal workout partners in exercise persistence and effectiveness. What the study found was that " . . . individuals tend to work out longer when their partner was perceived to be more skilled and was one who kept verbal encouragement to a minimum." (Bold face, mine!)

That should be the hallmark of HICP, especially when using haptic video in instruction. (See sidebar on  AH-EPS.)

How well encouragement to practice, do independent work and homework is consistently "delivered" in a course is probably one of the best indicators of the general method, approach and competence of the instructor. The important distinction there is between "getting students going" and "keeping students going." The first can be accomplished in any number of ways, from highly verbal and meta-cognitive (involving detailed planning, etc.), with all kinds of explanation and exhortation--to "direct orders." The second, ongoing directive engagement in the process, is in many ways another matter entirely, much more indirect, noncognitive, emotional and nonverbal in nature.

How is your method in that regard, partner?

And, of course, what do you say to that?

*The song "Home on the range" was in one of the course books + audio cassettes I was assigned to use when I was just starting out in the field. My upper beginner-level students loved to sing it, even though the materials provided almost no explanation of the vocabulary and cultural context. The students understood something that many in the field today downplay: there is much more to songs than words and "situatedness."  (BTW, the Youtube audio, with Pete Seeger singing the song, is a classic.)

Haptic Pronunciation Teaching @ TESOL 2014 in Portland!

Time to start preparing our proposals for TESOL 2014 in Portland! TESOL 2013 in Dallas will be hard to beat but Portland is also a great venue--and it is a much shorter drive from Vancouver, of course!
At Dallas we had four haptic events: (a) a PCI, (b) a workshop EHIEP intonation for NNS instructors, (c) a workshop a haptic approach for working with the Academic Word List, and (d) a "Breakfast with the Stars," where I got free burritos for talking with a dozen or so around the table about EHIEP!

If you are thinking about going to Portland next March, here are a few of the topics that we have been considering. If you'd like to join as a co-presenter--or do one or something else yourself--let us know:

A. Another PCI on basic of haptic-integrated pronunciation teaching.
B. A paper re-interpreting previous research on gesture in SLA to show how haptic engagement has been there but, in many respects, just "not noticed." (my current project, but would love to share that w/somebody!)
C. Workshop on haptic anchoring of vocabulary (more general than the one last year on AWL)
D. Reports on ongoing research on the effectiveness of EHIEP techniques
E. A workshop on pronunciation homework, with haptic focus
F. Another NNS instructor-oriented workshop on "expressiveness" (i.e., more advanced intonation)
G. fMRI-based study on basic haptic anchoring
H. Haptic approach to teaching contrastive vowel systems in pronunciation teaching
I. Haptic phonetics (I may do that one or get a colleague here to do it!!!)
J. Haptic pronunciation discussion group (usually @ 7:00 a.m.)
K. A booth in the exhibition area (We will have an AH-EPS booth there to sell AH-EPS, of course, but will also try to figure out how to promote and sell other haptic "devices" and instructional programs.
L. Aerobic haptic demonstration (That went so well at BCTEAL in Vancouver that we have to do it at Portland, too!)
M. Poster sessions (There are any number of pieces of the basic EHIEP approach that could be done very effectively in a poster format.
N. Electronic village presentation of AH-EPS (absolutely essential this year.)
O. EHIEP and L2 identity embodiment (a former grad student has great data on that one)
P. Haptic pronunciation modelling in elementary ESL/EFL work (I'm doing a plenary in Korea in January on that topic
Q. Application of HICP principles to the teaching of sound systems of other languages.
R. Workshop on annotating written dialogue (especially with haptic parameters) for use in pronunciation teaching
S. Action research report on EHIEP protocol implementation in college EFL class (the data is available for that now)
T. Research summary report on the basis of HICP (similar to the one Karen Rauser and myself just did in Vancouver)
U. Demonstrations of AH-EPS (a freebee because we'll be paying for a booth at the convention)
V. Demonstrations at the AH-EPS booth throughout the conference (You can't up that on your CV, but it will be fun!)
W. Workshop on basic haptic pronunciation teaching techniques
X. Workshop on using haptic pronunciation techniques with graduate students
Y. Workshop on making your own haptic videos
Z. Get together of "hapticians" who are members of IAHICPR (Was supposed to have an organizational meeting at Dallas but we were having too much fun!)

I could go on . . . but I've run out of letters . . .KIT

HICP, EHIEP, HICPR, HPT, IAHICPR, AH-EPS . . . and HIPOECES!

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Over the course of the last five years or so the acronyms we have been using, along with the theory, models and methods have evolved.
Here is a brief tour:

• HICP (Haptic-integrated Clinical Pronunciation)  – The term we use now for the general approach, especially the "clinical" side that focuses on integration into spontaneous speech and systematic,  invasive management of homework practice
• HICPR (Haptic-integrated Clinical Pronunciation Research)  – The mother blog; can also be "Haptic-integrated Clinical Pronunciation Researcher"
• HPT (Haptic pronunciation teaching) – The other blog
• EHIEP – The application of HICP to English. Each of us really has our own take on that. EHIEP doesn't require haptic video, per se. AH-EPS does. We have been training people at workshops in the non-video-based use of some of the protocols for five years or so.  
• AH-EPS (Acton Haptic - English Pronunciation System) – The haptic video system that is coming on the market now. 
• HIPOECES (Haptic-integrated Pronunciation for other- and extended circle- English Speakers) Name of the blog when it started in 2010. It made sense at the time . . .
• IAHICPR (International Association of Haptic-integrated Clinical Pronunciation Researchers). Have list of people who will become charter members of that later this fall when I kick it off officially. 
• HIC (Haptician-in-Chief) A term referring to me on occasion



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• KIT (Keep in touch!) Our favorite sign off. 

KIT

Accuracy, complexity and fluency: the Schrödinger's cat of pronunciation teaching

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The concept of "Schrödinger's cat" seems to be everywhere you look in contemporary culture, let alone quantum physics. The idea or paradox relates to two seemingly opposite conditions or demands  existing simultaneously. In pronunciation teaching we have a few as well. None is more obvious than the requirement that instruction focus on both accuracy and fluency "simultaneously,' or at least from a curriculum perspective. The "complexity" there, of course, is that for even the most experienced of us, balancing those seemingly irreconcilable demands can be  . . . well . . . demanding. One of my favorite test questions in graduate methods is, in fact, "How do you balance the need for fluency with accuracy?" How would you answer that?

Found an interesting piece of research that at least articulates the question well by Hunger (2011). (The linked source is a pdf from something called, "ELT Journal Advanced Access, March 15, 2011.) Hunter did a small study using a system called, "Small Talk," that seemed to suggest some preliminary technology-based strategies that is worth a look sometime.

The "problem," of course, is trying to figure out whether accuracy and fluency need to be addressed at the same time, within the same class period, for example, or whether focused doses of each at different times, in different classes is sufficient. Most theorists opt for the latter in very general terms, the assumption being that from there it is the learner's job to integrate and reconcile the two.

"Haptic-integrated clinical pronunciation" (HICP) assumes, on the other hand, that it is the responsibility of the instructional program to provide practice that do both simultaneously. In part the way that is done is by having set up "kinaesthetic monitoring" of targeted sounds prior to engagement in conversational practice, somewhat analogous to that done visual/auditory in "Small talk."  See this blog post and the links to several others on the use of different "channels" in HIPC work. The idea is to allow both accuracy and fluency work to be relegated to control and monitoring by "the body" in a less conscious channel that will not interfere with conscious thought any more than absolutely necessary.

There is, of course, more than one way to "skin this cat," but none more moving and touching, to be sure.

HICPT! (Hapticians of the world, connect!)

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As announced some time ago, one of my goals at the TESOL Convention is to begin a new international organization for those "hapticians" among us and those who are interested in haptic-integrated clinical pronunciation teaching, working title: HICPT! (Pronounced: Hiccupped!) Have several (half serious) ideas for a organizational bi-line, such as:

HICPT: Getting in touch with pronunciation teaching
HICPT: Hands on pronunciation teaching
HICPT: Moving and touching pronunciation teaching
HICPT: Post-pronunciation, pronunciation teaching
HICPT: From text to texture
HICPT: Hands up!
HICPT: What? Me? Homework?
HICPT: I like the way you move there . . .
HICPT: Haptictalk!
HICPT: The felt sense of how spontaneous speaking happens

Will begin to get out the word at the Convention. After the Convention we'll look into getting some kind of forum set up, other than these two blogs. If you are interested in joining, keep in touch!

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

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

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

Keep in touch!