Why exact repetition may be exactly . . .wrong (in pronunciation teaching and elsewhere)

This study is potentially something of a game changer, at least conceptually. A little background. In KINETIK work we make extensive use of gesture synchronized speech. Extensive. Something we "learned" early on was that 

• In modeling the gestures and getting learners to move along with us it was apparently critical to at least some learners that you try to stay in the same "track" in the visual field every time you use it in instruction. 
• If you didn't, some students (possibly as much as 5%) would become disoriented, unable to synchronize their body movements with the model. Some even experienced some "motion sickness." 
•  In effect, the variability in the position in the visual field could be disconcerting and disruptive. 

Turns out, we may have been actually approaching the problem from the wrong direction, that is doing our best to be as consistent in the patterns of the gestures we use as possible  . .  . was actually counterproductive!  

New research by Manenti, et al, Variability in training unlocks generalization in visual perceptual learning through invariant representations, summarized by NeuroscienceNews.com, demonstrated that variability in the repeated application in the visual field/tract may actually enhance learning of the pattern, itself. It does that in part, apparently, by presenting the pattern in varying contexts, perhaps giving it potentially wider applicability. 

Excerpt from the (exceptional) study: 

• . . . four groups of subjects were trained to detect small differences in the orientation of a line pattern. The relevant task was to detect the clockwise or counterclockwise slope of the lines. For each of two groups, the number of lines was changed during the experiment. This was the irrelevant stimulus.
• The subjects were still able to recognize the differences in the orientation of the line pattern, even when the number of lines was changed. They were able to perform the task even when they were shown entirely new line patterns or a new position on the screen that had not appeared during training. Thus, the increase in variability did not cause the learning process to deteriorate, but rather to generalize and even improve learning performance.
•  “We found that varying the number of lines during training led to better generalization of the actual task performance,”

Undoubtedly, that the same principle applies to repetition of sounds or words in instruction--and even formulations of ideas and concepts as well. (There is substantial research on the contribution of paraphrase training in writing instruction, for example.) 

The insights from this study are certainly worth repeating!

Source: 

Manenti, G., Dizaji, A.,Schwiedrzik, C. 
“Variability in training unlocks generalization in visual perceptual learning through invariant representations” in BioRxiv doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.08.26.505408

Content-based Phonetics and Pronunciation Teaching: The KINETIK Method™

"KINɛTIK" . . . Full body engagement in pronunciation and phonetics--in content instruction

Next month, on May 25th we are rolling out the new KINɛTIK Method™: Content-based Phonetics and Pronunciation Teaching. (That is also, incidentally, my birthday and our celebration of beginning my 50th year in the field!) 

Basically, the idea is that teachers must still be taught how to teach pronunciation and phonetics but students really don't need much formal attention to either, just enough to introduce (their bodies to) key concepts to help them learn everything else! Let me explain. 

For a decade or more at the high the Communicative Language Teaching era, pronunciation teaching was discarded or even condemned, for a number of reasons, but most importantly the learning of the sound system and instruction in it were seen as almost entirely "physical," that is behaviorial and noncognitive, learned best by exposure or  . . . drill. In addition, attention to errors, error correction and accent reduction were understood as almost anathema to communicative and fluency development, and even worse, likely to undermine self-confidence and identity. 

(Note: From here on the term "pronunciation" will be taken to entail some limited, although essential training in English phonetics as well.) 

The current revival of interest in pronunciation began probably twenty years ago, when it became painfully evident that appropriate, systematic attention to form and accuracy were essential. What has emerged, however, is perhaps, in its own way, potentially just as counterproductive as "mindless" early behavioral and structural methods in regard to pronunciation: DISembodied instruction, where only learner's minds and mouths are engaged, and often not even all that much of the latter . . . where comprehension and intelligibility are foregrounded at the expense of fundamental accuracy developed through (full) body engagement. 

The last year of teaching and learning pronunciation on Zoom et al has made the disjunct even more "pronounced." In many, if not most programs, pronunciation has been either abandoned or at least radically deemphasized. Not being face-to-face in the classroom, not sensing even at an out-of-consciousness level that the students are engaged nonverbally or synced with you . . . gives one a more  accurate, realistic picture of what "disembodied" instruction is really like, when the body is not actively engaged, without sufficient physical, lived experience of verbalizing new and "corrected" sounds or words. 

Ironically, the early Communicative theorists, such as Krashen, actually had it right: Pronunciation or phonetics as a focus or class or "subject" taught in most programs should probably be eliminated. Both can create as much clutter and "pronunciosis" as good in many situations.  Instead, teachers should still be trained in working with pronunciation and phonetics, but within content . . . something like what we term  "haptic pronunciation and phonetics-enhanced content instruction." 

How does it work? Basically like this:

• Students are gradually introduced to one of about 24 special haptic (movement plus touch) gestures either in short 3-5 minute videos or in class. (A quick bit of explanation and then three minutes of  doing the Movement, tone and touch technique, MTTP.) Those pretty much cover the basics of what students need to be able to do (and know) about pronunciation and basic phonetics of English. 
• Later, in class, in the process of  working on any content, any accessible written text, instructor and students do what we call an "embodied oral reading," something analogous to the traditional "Lectio Divina" method, where they work with the MTTP in that class content to promote
• Attention
• Memory/recall
• Expressiveness
• Emphasis
• Clarity (pronunciation of "old"!) 
• Content and "pronunciation and phonetics" are, in effect, learned together, although the MTTPs are introduced and ready to be used whenever necessary. 
• The same basic process can often be carried out in more advanced levels using a "Spoken Embodied Oral Reframing" where something spoken becomes the focus of the MTTP. 
• But the real pay off of MTTP work in content is how it enables learners to better integrate into their spontaneous use of the language that they are being exposed to in the classroom and beyond. 

Join us next month. Beginning on the 25th, I'll be doing about weekly live stream webinars called, Dr Bill's Weekly (haptic) technique. Full details will be provided here on the blog soon. 

Keep in touch!

New "NewBees'" Haptic Pronunciation course!

Want to teach pronunciation but have no training and no time in class to do it even if you knew how? 

We have a great new course for you: Acton Haptic Pronunciation: Content Complement System (AHP-CCS). 

It has been created so that you can use haptic pronunciation techniques (gesture controlled by touch) to:

• Improve memory for content you are teaching (in speaking, listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary, stories, concepts, etc.)
• Improve expressiveness, emphasis, and intelligibility
• Improve impact of modeling, feedback and correction
• Improve class engagement on Zoom
• Provide a way to work with pronunciation (on the spot) in any type of class

Specifics: 

• (Ideally) You study with another person who teaches the same type of student 
• 12 week course/4 modules/12 lessons. 
• The first ones begin on 3/25 and others can start anytime after when there are minimum of two students who want to do the course. 
• 60 minutes of practice on your own per week 
• 30 minutes of homework (on your own or with your friend) per week
• a 45 minute Zoom session each week, the two you, (Usually on Saturday) working with a  "Haptician" who also has experience teaching students of that age and level 
• Haptician: Trained by Bill Acton in the Haptic Pronunciation Teaching (HaPT)

• Cost: 
• 1 person ($1600 CAD each) - not recommended, but possible. 
• 2 people together ($800 CAD each or $ per 200 module) - best plan, especially if you are friends! 
• 3 people together ($600 CAD each or $150 per module) - OK if you are working together!  
• 4 people together ($400 CAD each or $100 per module) 
• (Locals.com subscription, $5 CAD monthly, also required to take an AHP-CCS course)

Designed for those 

• with little or no previous training in phonetics or pronunciation teaching
• who are teaching content classes or language classes
• teaching students of any age or proficiency
• have a colleague or friend that they can do the class with (if not, maybe we can find one for you!) 
• who have two or three hours a week for the course
• who would like to be part of a community of people who love teaching pronunciation and other things!
• on a tight budget!

More details: 

• Weekly Zoom sessions focus on how to use the pedagogical movement patterns (PMPs) of the lesson in your class
•  Both you and your friend should ideally be teaching or have taught the same kind of students if at all possible
• Certificate awarded after completion of the last Module!
• All materials furnished
• Basic training materials are designed to be used with students of any age and proficiency level, in class or out of class. 

Courses begin on 3/25/2021

For more information: Contact info@actonhaptic.com and go to actonhaptic@Locals.com

(New) v5.0 Haptic Pronunciation Teaching as "Metanique": any text, story, class or time

If you are new to haptic pronunciation, here is a quick history. (If not, drop down to after the bullets!) To understand the importance of this new development, Haptic as Metanique, a little background is helpful:

• 1970's - I was trained in pronunciation teaching, especially from a speech pathology, highly tactile and kinesthetic perspective
• 1980s - Extensive work in accent enhancement involving both kinesthetic and psychological models
• 1990s - Large class teaching of pronunciation in Japan and research on uses of gesture in ;pronunciation teaching
• 2000 ~ 2020 - Development of haptic pronunciation teaching, inspired in part by work in psychotherapy for PTSD, especially use of the visual field and touch.
• 2020 - v5.0 Haptic pronunciation teaching as "metanique" (a system of procedures where attention to pronunciation can be mapped on to any meaning or narrative-based classroom teaching text or technique. 

Haptic (Pronunciation Teaching as) Metanique is, in effect, a series of complementary overlays to any L2 instruction that can be applied in any class any time that any learners (all ages and contexts) are engaged in meaningful texts or interpersonal communication practice. 

We use the Butterfly above as our symbol of metanique, in general, a gesture complex that, in a sense, floats above or lands on any word, phrase, clause of sentence, embodying it. The Butterfly pedagogical movement pattern has been central to the haptic system from the outset. (See a demonstration of early butterfly and other PMPs.) and others from v1.0. Here is an example of how  metaniques, in this case the Butterfly and the intonation PMP, Touchinamis, might be applied to presentation of a model dialogue to embody lexical items (words), the rhythm patterning or the intonation contours:

X is Y /and Z, / but A, / who is from B, / is very much C, / to be sure. 

ooO        oO       oO              oooO                 ooooO                 ooO  (using Butterfly)

--/           -/          -/ \               ---/ \                  ----\                     --/ \   (using Touchinamis)

The concept is that anything that is the focus of instruction, where it is embedded in a vivid context or narrative, where some complementary attention to form would fit in relatively seamlessly without disrupting comprehension or production, can be "metaniqued!"

For more on metaniquing and v5.0, join us at the upcoming webinar in November (or possibly the webinar upcoming on 10/2 -- if you hurry and register at info@actonhaptic,com!

Becoming a great (haptic), "good looking" pronunciation teacher: Modeling

If your are in the Vancouver, British Columbia next month, join us at the joint 2020 BCTEAL and Image Conference. Always a great get together.

If you haven't done a video of yourself teaching in the last couple of years, you might do that before you read the rest of this post. Better still, doing pronunciation or conversation work where you, up front, are providing at least some of the pronunciation models. (I have a rubric for that for my grad students. If you'd like a copy, email me.) 

I'll be doing a new workshop, "Modeling and correcting pronunciation in and out of class," based on the idea that as an instructor, really any kind, but especially one doing (haptic) pronunciation, your dynamic pedagogical body image (DPBI) e.g., Iverson, 2012, your visual model, your physical presence, movement and gesture in the classroom, from several perspectives, are worth considering carefully. How you dress, your pronunciation and accent, the coordination of your speech with your overall body movement in providing models of language and general postural presentation, all have meaning. When, as in haptic pronunciation work, you are asking students to synchronize some of their speech and gesture with yours, the nature of what is in front of them visually, can obviously contribute to or detract from instructional effectiveness.

In haptic work, in principle, all aspects of pronunciation can be represented/portrayed or embodied using gesture and body movement. From that perspective then, just modeling a word, or phrase or clause, or passage, involves choreography, demonstrating both the sound but also the gestural complex that represents it. (to see examples of the earlier v4.5 version of the haptic system, check out the models on the website).

The same goes for in-class correction or required homework on the form attended to in class or self-correction by the student. The instructor may present the more appropriate form first, choreographed, and then have the student or students "do" the targeted piece of language/text together (never "repeat after me", always "let's do that together.") All key, necessary pronunciation work is to be embedded, practiced, synchronized with gesture for at least a week or so as homework to insure some degree of anchoring in memory and spontaneous speaking, or at least aural comprehension.

For most kinds of instruction what you look like and how you move can be pretty much irrelevant--one of the reasons I love online teaching!!! For some, however, it does, even if it means just cutting down on "clutter" in the visual field up front.

v5.0 will be out before long. This is, nonetheless, a good first step . . . continually taking a "good look" up front at the dynamic model you are providing for your students, and yourself.

Under (or between) cover pronunciation teaching: CHIP

Clker.com

Here is an instructive tale, describing a situation that may actually be becoming even more common, ironically, as textbooks "improve" and demands on teachers to do more and more "book keeping"--as opposed to teaching--increase.

Heard recently from a reliable source at a well-paying language school where there is (a) an unbelievably detailed curriculum, right down to near minute-by-minute classroom instructions and draconian oversight, (b) all books provided, no teacher-choice or adaptation allowed, and (c) at least three core, nonnegotiable methodological principles: No grammar, No vocabulary and No pronunciation. (There are virtually none of those in the lesson plans.) The curriculum, although basically English for Academic purposes is essentially extensive reading, free conversation and writing-centered. And when they say "no pronunciation" . . .  they mean it!

Now, granted that is a little extreme, even for a profitable North American sweat shop, but around the rest of the world, it isn't at all. The root cause may be different, of course, but the result is the same: Teach the book or you are gone!

So . . .  if you were teaching there and you believed that pronunciation work is essential (to both

intelligibility and. well . . . encoding and memory recall) what would you do and not lose you job in the process? Seriously, if you have an effective workaround where you teach (anonymously, of course), comment on this post and tell us. I have my grad students working on it, too, and will report back after they finish their  research papers.

Not surprisingly, we have one answer: Covert Haptic-Integrated Pronunciation or CHIP. It works like this: systematically, map onto any language used in the classroom some kind of gesture or body-synchronized movement. In the covert version, you can't talk about pronunciation or explain too much without giving away the game, but if it is apparently spontaneous and done consistently, there are ways.

In the "regular" version Haptic Pronunciation Teaching (HaPT-Eng), v5.0:

(a) We begin with  some kind of very brief mini-lesson (~5 minutes) where learners are introduced to sound(s) or sound process and then briefly embody/practice it accompanied by specifically designed pedagogical gestures. That is just to introduce mind and body to the "embodied pronunciation schema" (EPS).

(b) Next, either by design or when an obvious opportunity or need comes up in the lesson plan, the gestural set is mapped on to language being learned or practiced. That may or may not involve a little explicit, verbal explanation or reminder, pointing back to the EPS mini-module. The "learning" in a very real sense, happens here, with embodied practice, in what we call "initial interdictions" or IIDs, pronounced: I-Ds.

(c) From then on, anytime pronunciation feedback, modelling or correction will be advantageous, the gestural mapping is used, without accompanying explanation or focus, in "subsequent interdictions" or SIDs, pronounced: sids.

(d) Ideally, best case, pronunciation that is "body-lighted" in class is then automatically or routinely  assigned to homework practice, using the same gestural complex in practice. In other words, speaking out loud with accompanying gesture.

In one way or another, however, the key is still EPS, the initial, embodied understanding of how (and with what) to change pronunciation, consistently, over time. The general model is termed: EPS*AIC (embodied pronunciation schema, applied in the integrated classroom).

The covert version, not recorded in lesson plans or done when hostile observers are in the room, begins with a basic IID, done with as little verbal rationale as possible, and is followed up with SIDs, whenever. For most learners, just mapping on gesture, either modeling it with no comment or having them do it with the instructor is good, especially with kids. That relationship is, of course, something of the core of empathetic communication in all cultures and face to face interaction. (See forthcoming blogpost on that!)

Good, I-D, eh? Tell us how you teach pronunciation successfully, covertly. 

And . . . remember to sign up for next Haptic Webinar, May 17th and 18th (email: info@actonhaptic.com)

New Haptic Pronunciation Teaching "Work-inar"!

If your organization would be interested in a 2-hour, highly interactive, experiential webinar on haptic pronunciation teaching (and you should be!), we have the answer! Our new haptic "work-inar" on English pronunciation!

Dates are available beginning in mid-August. The format looks like this:

• Introduction
• Haptic learning
• English vowels and word and phrasal stress
• Rhythm groups and rhythm
• Basic intonation
• Fluency and feedback
• Conversational speed and confidence
• Advanced and discourse intonation
• Integrating "haptic" into the classroom
• Consonants galore (done haptically)
• Q&A

Like all haptic workshops and presentations, it involves a great deal of participant engagement, including mirroring of the pedagogical gestures of the presenter (Bill Acton or colleague) and occasional "dancing" to the various rhythms of the webinar.

There is no charge for this basic v4.0 EHIEP (Essential Haptic-integrated English Pronunciation) webinar--other than the usual, tasteful, low key promotion of all things ActonHaptic.com--although there may be some additional fee attached if it is extensively customized for a local population or if by agreement there is some structured follow up, etc. In late Spring 2018 v5.0 of the haptic pronunciation teaching system and webinar will be rolled out as well!

The idea right now is just to further get out the "haptic word" to the profession.

If that sounds like fun, let us know!

Bill

(New) Haptic cognition-based pronunciation teaching workshop at 2016 TESL Ontario Conference

If you are coming to the 2016 TESL Ontario Conference later this month (November 24 and 25 in Toronto) please join us for the Haptic Pronunciation Teaching Workshop, on Thursday, 3:45 to 4:45. This will introduce the new "haptic cognition" framework for (amazingly) more efficient and integrated pronunciation modeling and correction that we have been developing for the last year or so. (See previous post on the applicability of a haptic cognition-based  model to pronunciation teaching in general.)

HaPT-E, v4.0

Haptic cognition defined: 

• The felt sense of pronunciation change (Gendlin, 1996) – somatic (body) awareness and conscious, meta-cognitive processing 
• Change activated consciously and initially through body movement pattern use (Lessac, 1967) 
• Haptic (movement+touch) uniting, integrating and “prioritizing” of modalities in anchoring and recall (Minogue, 2006)

Modalities of the model:

• Meta-cognitive (rules, schemas, explanations, conscious association of sound or form to other sounds or forms)
• Auditory (sound patterns presented or recalled) 
• Haptic
• Kinesthetic (movement patterns experienced/performed or mirrored by the body, gesture, motion patterns)
•  Cutaneous (differential skin touch: pressure, texture, temperature)
• Vocal resonance (vibrations throughout upper body, neck and head)
• Visual (visual schema presented or recalled: graphemes, charts, colors, modeling, demonstrations) 

 General instructional principles:

• Get to "haptic" as soon as possible in modeling and correcting.
• Use precise pedagogical movements patterns (PMPs), including tracking and speed in the visual field.
• Insure as much cutaneous anchoring as possible.
• Go “light” on visual; avoid overly “gripping” visual schema during haptic engagement.
• Use as much vocal resonance as possible.
• Repeat as few times as possible.
• Insure that homework/follow up is feasible, clear—and done (including post hoc reporting of work, results and incidental/related learnings).
• Use haptic PMPs first in correction/recall prompting, before providing oral, spoken model.

The elaborated, audio-embedded Powerpoint from the workshop will be available later this month.

KIT

Why feedback on pronunciation (often) fails--and how to make it work better.

Clker.com

We are getting a much better idea from research as to what kind of feedback from teachers seems to produce best results in a range of contexts (various mixes of explanation, modeling and guided practice). Notice that I said SEEMS to produce best results. New research by Winstone and colleagues at the University of Surrey and Aston University (summarized by Science Daily) suggests there may be something else going on here that significantly contributes to the puzzle: what learners DO with the feedback, not the feedback, itself.

In a meta-analysis of a large number of studies in education, they found that the actual form of feedback was not contributing as much variance to results as was how students followed up on that feedback, either on their own, or preferably in some kind of ongoing dialogue with their instructor. Their primary recommendation is that we "talk" with learners more, seeing feedback more as a process rather than an event. If you do process writing, you certainly know what they are getting at.

A good example of "one way" feedback in pronunciation work is a nice study by Darcy and Ewert (2013) where explicit feedback and improvement on suprasegmentals (rhythm, stress and intonation) was associated with the kind of feedback provided. From the absract:

An analysis of classroom treatment recordings demonstrates that explicit phonetic instruction that makes learners notice L2 features (i.e., explicit presentation of contents, guided analysis and
practice, and corrective feedback.

What that research report did not look at systematically is how those four classroom activities actually happened. You could imagine a wide range of "interactivity" between instructors and students going on during any of those. In other words, something worked . . . but why exactly. According to Winstone et al., just listing those classroom pedagogical practices, especially the last does not tell really tell us much--or help us predict how well the same study would go with a different instructor who might be more or less "dialogic" in her teaching style.

In a 2016 study which complements that research, Feedback on second language pronunciation: A case study of EAP teachers beliefs and practices, Baker and Burri examine what EAP teachers believe about feedback and providing it. From the extensive literature review and the data analysis one question or theme in effect, did not even come up: What do students actually DO with the feedback you (or teachers, in general) provide--and how important is that?

That the researchers did not probe that line of inquiry, itself, reflects the near complete absence of research on what students consistently do either in class or out of class with pronunciation feedback, i.e., correction of various kinds. Teachers in the study did see the value of individualized feedback, which, if done face to face, would almost certainly involve monitoring of student response to feedback and a more dialogic approach to exploitation of feedback.

Granted, studying dialogic classroom engagement between instructors and learners to find out what is really going on is both time consuming and expensive, but you almost have to go there to figure out some of this. You can at least do that in your own classroom. 

Baker and Burri conclude by recommending use of oral journaling, for example, where students can be directed in any number of ways to actively work with teacher-provided feedback. That practice is, in fact, quite popular with language instructors in general, but I have been unable to find published research examining, in depth, what learners actually do with feedback in journaling or elsewhere that may significantly impact effectiveness of learning and uptake of targeted forms.

Welcome your contribution of other research sources and  feedback on this! 


Citations:

Baker, A. and Burri, M. (2016) Feedback on second language pronunciation: A case study of EAP teachers beliefs and practices, Australian Journal of Education 41(6). 
Gordon, J., Darcy, I., and Ewert, D. (2013) Pronunciation teaching and learning: Effects of explicit phonetic instruction in the L2 classroom. In J. Levis & K. LeVelle (Eds.). Proceedings of the 4th
Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference. Aug. 2012. (pp. 194-206). Ames, IA: Iowa State University.University of Surrey. (2016, September 21). Research shows that how students engage with feedback is as important as its content. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 2, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160921084806.htm

Haptic (10-year pronunciation teaching) birthday party!

v1.0

v4.0

We are planning a couple of parties next month, celebrating 10 years of haptic pronunciation teaching. If you are a haptician in the Vancouver or Kamloops areas of British Columbia, please join us. (More specifics on that soon!) Should you not be (either in the area or a haptician by practice) you'll still be invited to join us "virtually" in celebrating! That will include:

• New video released describing the history and development of  Essential Haptic-integrated English Pronunciation (EHIEP).
• Birthday webinar/party  (We'll post a series of "success stories" before that happens. If you have one you'd like to contribute, please pass that on to me.)
• Release of new student self-study course.
• Recognition of "shrewdnesses, pandemoniums and zeals" of hapticians worldwide! (Each local group needs to choose its respective collective noun, based on which best describes their collective "personality", of course.) 



v3.0



v2.0

• We are also working on setting up a new professional organization or "shrewdness" of Hapticians or reviving the earlier International Association of Haptic-integrated Pronunciation Teaching Researchers and Instructors (IAHPTRI) from a few years ago. (If you belonged back then, we'll be in touch.) 

It has been an amazing "haptic" decade. It all began with the discovery that kinaesthetic, gesture work in pronunciation teaching could be considerably enhanced with just a "touch of touch!"

Keep in touch!

Bill

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

HaPT-E v4.1

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

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

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

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

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

Haptic dance, Aikido and the future of language (and pronunciation) teaching

Clker.com

For an intriguing glance at what future language (or pronunciation) teaching may "look" like, check out the following "haptic dances" by media artist, Landau: Exploratory Dance 1.1, and Motor Imagery Dance. Computer-mediated mirroring will be key; not just culturally appropriate body movement and gestures, for example, but gesture-synchronized speech as well (not unlike what we see in haptic pronunciation teaching, not surprisingly!)

Another piece or theoretical model of what that process will involve is evident in this article in Gesture focusing on the full-body, dialogic "dance" between opponents in Aikido,"The coordination of moves in Aikido interaction." Lefebvre's 2016 framework was developed examining the interplay involved, created with the goal of being able to better characterize the way entire bodies communicate with each other, the intricate synchrony of moves and counters that characterizes all "conversation".

Aikido embodies the moves of your opponent, in part by almost subliminally synchronizing the body to the motion coming at you. Bouts are "won" often by simply redirecting or escorting one's opponent to the floor or out of the ring. (That was, by the way, my wife's basic approach to dealing with first graders: You cannot possibly just block them or stop them, but you can almost always deftly redirect their energy and motion more to your purposes!)

What those two systems in part provide us with is the beginnings of a framework by which to design methodologies that (literally) embody language models, including technology that "manages" articulation as well. There have been for quite some time haptic systems that assist patients with various articulatory conditions, guiding the vocal apparatus in producing more "normal" speech patterns.

Embodied, computer-mediated language learning, something analogous to the Aikido experience, will provide learners with a way to (safely and completely) give themselves over to the "dance" as they are guided to speak and move with models, and ultimately be able to adopt and use the energies, words and moves of the L2, themselves--faster and more efficiently.

This is one dance you'll not want to miss! In the meantime, of course, you might prepare by doing some Aikido--and Haptic Pronunciation Teaching!

Full citations:
Daniel Landau - http://www.daniel-landau.com/about
Lefebvre, A. The coordination of moves in Aikido interaction. Gesture 5(2) 123-155.

Haptic Pronunciation Teaching - v3.5 TESOL 2016 Special!

Even if you can't make it to Baltimore next week for the TESOL Convention for one of the demos, you can still get the AHEPS "TESOL special" version 3.5 for a limited time (until this September!)

Keep in touch!

Basic cost: $100 CAD for (copying authorized), 12 months unlimited streaming and (the BIG bonus) . . . a half hour SKYPE Chat w/me after you have tried some haptic with your students.  (DVD set is also available for $60 CAD, free shipping). For immediate purchase, go here! For hard copies and special orders, contact: info@actonhaptic.com.

p.s. If you don't want to talk w/me, I'll knock of my "2 cents worth" from the price!

Good looking, intelligible English pronunciation: Better seen (than just) heard

One of the less obvious shortcomings of virtually all empirical research in second language pronunciation intelligibility is that is generally done using only audio recordings of learner speech--where the judges cannot see the faces of the subjects. In addition, the more prominent studies were done either in laboratory settings or in specially designed pronunciation modules or courses.

In a fascinating, but common sense 2014 study by Kawase, Hannah and Wang it was found that being able to see the lip configuration of the subjects, as they produced the consonant 'r', for example, had a significant impact on how the perceived intelligibility of the word was rated. (Full citation below.) From a teaching perspective, providing visual support or schema for pronunciation work is a given. Many methods, especially those available on the web, strongly rely on learners mirroring visual models, many of them dynamic and very "colorful." Likewise, many, perhaps most f2f pronunciation teachers are very attentive to using lip configuration, their own or video models, in the classroom.

What is intriguing to me is the contribution of lip configuration and general appearance to f2f intelligibility. There are literally hundreds of studies that have established the impact of facial appearance on perceived speaker credibility and desirability. So why are there none that I can find on perceived intelligibility based on judges viewing of video recordings, as opposed to just audio? In general, the rationale is to isolate speech, not allowing the broader communicative abilities of the subjects to "contaminate" the study. That makes real sense on a theoretical level, bypassing racial and ethnic and "cosmetic" differences, but almost none on a practical, personal level.

There are an infinite number of ways to "fake" a consonant or vowel, coming off quite intelligibly, while at the same time doing something very much different than what a native speaker would do. So why shouldn't there be an established criterion for how mouth and face look as you speak, in addition to how the sounds come out? Turns out that there is, in some sense. In f2f interviews, being influenced by the way the mouth and eyes are "moving" is inescapable.

Should we be attending more to holistic pronunciation, that is what the learner both looks and sounds like as they speak? Indeed. There are a number of methods today that have learners working more from visual models and video self recordings. That is, I believe, the future of pronunciation teaching, with software systems that provide formative feedback on both motion and sound. Some of that is now available in speech pathology and rehabilitation.

There is more to this pronunciation work than what doesn't meet the eye! The key, however, is not just visual or video models, but principled "lip service", focused intervention by the instructor (or software system) to assist the learner in intelligibly "mouthing" the words as well.

This gives new meaning to the idea of "good looking" instruction!

Full citation:
Kawase S, Hannah B, Wang Y. (2014). The influence of visual speech information on the intelligibility of English consonants produced by non-native speakers. J Acoust Soc Am. 2014 Sep;136(3):1352. doi: 10.1121/1.4892770.

The perfect body image for haptic pronunciaiton teaching!

Clipart: Clker.com

 

Is haptic pronunciation teaching for you? According to research, here's a way to check. Put on your exercise clothes. Stand in front of a full length mirror. If you don't like what you see (really!) or you like what you see too much . . . maybe not. If you are not up to speed on the impact of body image, this readable, 1997 summary of research by Fox is a pretty good place to start.

We have known for over a decade that some instructors and students may find haptic pronunciation work disconcerting for a number of reasons-- including culture and personality. They can be understandably skeptical about moving their bodies and gesturing during instruction, in class or in private. Likewise, teaching, standing in front of a class, has proven in many contexts not the most effective way do initial haptic pronunciation training.

Fast forward to the age of media and the potential of body image to affect personality and performance is magnified exponentially. In a new study of the impact of body imagery presented on the website "Fitsperation"and Pinerest, Teggeman and Zaccardo of Flinders University, found that for college age-women, viewing attractive fitness models generally does nothing for body image; quite the contrary, in fact. The subjects in the study reported lower satisfaction with their body after viewing the Fitsperation images, but better, more positive sense of body image after looking at a selection of "travel" pictures.

Now there could be many explanations for that effect. (I do need to get a copy of those "travel" pictures!) Numerous other studies have found that the same goes for motivating you for long term diet and fitness persistence. Short term is another matter. Great looking models do help get you and your credit card in the door! The point is that in this kind of media-based instruction, especially haptic pronunciation work that is, in essence, training the body to control speech, the appearance of the model may be important. I'm sure it is, in fact.

In part for those reasons, the Acton-haptic English Pronunciation System (AHEPS) training videos use a relatively non-distracting model whose image could not possibly intimidate, one that should not negatively impact body image. We found one: ME, in black and white, dressed in a white, long sleeve pullover with dark grey sweater vest, wearing black beret.

I must admit that I was a bit disheartened at first when I was told by consultants that I was a near perfect model: 70+ years old, bald, no distinguishing facial features, nondescript body shape, "professor-type"--my appearance would distract no one from the gestural patterns I was doing with my hands and arms in front of my upper body. Great. So much for my plan to use a "Fitsperational" model for the 120+ videos of the system.

For a time we tried using an avatar, but he was not engaging enough to hold attention. Alas, I proved to be "avatar-enough" in the end. In addition, any number of studies have confirmed the relatively fragile nature of haptic engagement. It is exceedingly sensitive to being overridden or distracted off by visual or auditory interference. 

With a few exceptions, such as workshops at conferences, most hapticians, myself included, let the videos do the initial training, where learners and models need to do a good deal of uninhibited upper body movement of hands and arms. Later, in classroom application of the pedagogical movement patterns, instructors use a very discrete, limited range of movement in correction and modeling--generally within the "body-image-comfort-zone" of most.

Not quite ready to teach pronunciation haptically, yourself?--Let us do it for you!

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