Pronunciation change readiness: Meditate amygdala affect collar? Better pronunciation should "faller!"

Clip art: Clker

Clip art: Clker

This one is a bit of a stretch . . . stick with me. The impact of affect and emotion on pronunciation, both acquisition and production, is reasonably well understood--but how to manage it is not. One of the principles or assumptions has been that management of emotion should go on simultaneously with instruction, that a learner's affective state (relatively out of consciousness) tends to be pretty fragile and easily disrupted. (That certainly seems to be the case with one's "haptic state," at least. A number of studies have been reported on the blog pointing to the importance of attention management during haptic work.)

In new research by Desbordes and colleagues at Boston University, summarized by Science Daily, on the lasting impact of meditation training, it has been demonstrated that the effect of mediating amygdala responsiveness--through two types of standard meditation work--may persist for some time, the "physical" changes to the brain being clearly evident in increased mass and activity, or lack of, in the targeted area.

What that means for us, in principle, is that some kind of brain "training" (or maybe analogous neuro-therapeutic treatment) could have real promise for enhancing pronunciation change. The key here is that what is done (a) impacts general emotional responsiveness, and (2) may well be unrelated to what is considered "normal" classroom instruction, as long as it assists the learner in achieving a more "amiable (and less hyper-reactive) amygdala." Now if that immediately strikes you as utter nonsense . . . you, yourself, may be a good candidate for a little mindful, "amygdala tune up"!

New pronunciation learning readiness warm up!

Linked above is a demonstration of the new (shorter version of the) EHIEP warm up. It takes about four and a half minutes and loosens up just about everything you need to. There are three parts to it, including most of the classic or standard moves of voice and body instructors in some form: (a) body flexibility (head, shoulders and hips), (b) vowel resonance centers (front of the face, back of the throat and chest) and (c) general vowel quality and articulation of most English vowels. Have students just follow along a few times before pronunciation or speaking work. This version is decidedly understated, appropriate for a wide range of student and personality types!  After about the fourth time through, it becomes almost addictive and higher in energy, a great way to wake up in the morning or to get the class tuned up. All modules and homework "modulettes" of the EHIEP system begin with some form of this warm up as well. (Note: It seems to work better by having students follow the video, rather than an instructor at the front of the class--who would have to perform it "mirror image," which can be a challenge for many.) This is the demonstration version. To train students in doing it you many need to stop and rewind each of the moves or write out the sounds and key words. The complete EHIEP haptic video system will include both this version and a training version that breaks down each piece, along with complete text and visual schemas in the instructors manual and student workbook. Need to warm up to pronunciation? This is a good place to start!