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

Use it or lose it or feel good about it: myths, habits and pronunciation

Clipart by

Clker.com

*Tigger warning: Research on rats generalized to people who appear to be losing it!

Two fascinating studies which challenge two "sacred cows" of behavior change and skill development (especially as related to pronunciation teaching!)

(A) Use it or lose it (forever)!
(B) Habit change requires some positive reinforcement (or good feelings)
 
Study A, by Schwartz of University of Massachusetts, short version: Found that you don't lose it (muscle memory), not really; it can be reawakened faster than learning it first time.
     Details: Studies with "rodents and insects" establish that (from the Neurosciencenews summary) " . . . nuclei are not lost from atrophying muscle fibers, and even remain after muscle death has been initiated . . .This suggests that once a nucleus has been acquired by a muscle fiber, it belongs to the muscle syncytium — probably for life."
     Implications for (pronunciation) teaching: If learners can pronounce a sound right sometimes, even if only in oral reading carefully, they can be guided into using it spontaneously . . . believe it or not! The muscle "memory" for the action is nearly permanent; you just have to get back to it. There are a myriad of ways to do that, regular, disciplined practice being one!

Study B by Ludvig of Warwick University and colleagues, short version: Found that establishing a good habit depends more on how often you do the action rather than any inherent satisfaction you might get from it.
     Details: Another study with (digital) rodents, established that (from the Neurosciencenews summary) " . . . habits themselves are a product of our previous actions, but in certain situations those habits can be supplanted by our desire to get the best outcome.”
      Implications for (pronunciation) teaching: Regular drill and practice, done rationally and with strong "felt sense" (focused awareness on what it feels like to say the targeted words or processes.), develops effective habits and improvement, NOT whether or not it feels good prior to when the habits are firmly established. In other words, trust the method or instructor, at least temporarily, until sitting down (or standing up in haptic work) is nearly automatic, something you are just committed to.

How long does it take to establish a habit? Generally about a month in fitness training (See James Clear!), maybe a little less in pronunciation work, but not much . . . trust me.

Learners need to be motivated to practice, in part by being informed about and understanding this and related research--and practicing what you assign them--all the way to progress and the satisfaction and warm feeling that comes with it. 

Citations:

Frontiers (2019, January 25). Muscle Memory Discovery Ends ‘Use It or Lose It’ Dogma. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved January 25, 2019 from http://neurosciencenews.com/muscle-memory-dogma-10637/

University of Warwick (2019, January 28). Train the Brain to Form Good Habits Through Repetition. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved January 28, 2019 from http://neurosciencenews.com/repetition-habit-training-10652/

*On this blog, "Tigger warning" refers to "paper tigers", such as the Tigger of Winnie the Pooh!

Doing the preliminary "heavy lifting" of HICP change

HICP/EHIEP teaching and learning come almost effortlessly to some, the naturally kinaesthetic, among others. With good design and sequenced, scaffolded practice,  however, the techniques work for students of any learning style preference. For that reason, the initial introduction to haptic-based learning and to the various pedagogical movement patterns (PMP) involved can be critical in establishing a framework or "felt sense" that both "makes sense" and is physically engaging to the the learner.

Perhaps the best "physical" analog I have found is a Simlog simulator-based training system for heavy equipment operator trainees. Why it is so striking to me is that it "develops muscle memory" (in the terms of the system) in a way that not only makes perfect sense to the trainee but is based on very concrete, measurable and achievable benchmarks, leading to the requisite skill set needed for the particular equipment. In the HICP-EHIEP system there are about 24 distinct PMPs that represent sounds or sound processes in English, all of which could be easily taught in a Simlog-like, virtual-reality system. I love the direct, common sense, explanation of the heavy equipment training language: "But after a while, the "seeing-thinking-doing" gradually becomes "seeing-doing" because your muscles seem to "know" and "remember" just what to do. What you're learning now is speed, i.e. how to perform the task carefully and quickly. That's muscle memory." 

Now, if I can just figure out which piece of heavy machinery is closest to English  pronunciation and persuade instructors and learners to get up to speed quickly before we begin HICP-EHIEP training in earnest! My favorite is the "hydraulic excavator" simulator. 10 minutes on that every morning before pronunciation work would be the perfect, motivating, haptic warm up, helping even the most kinaesthetically-challenged to learn to "dig it," too!