12-step learner pronunciation goals, process objectives, benchmarks and haptic anchors

Clip art: Clker

Let's say a learner has a GOAL of being able to produce an acceptable "th" sound. A HICP-based model that would give the learner a relatively clear "line of march" might look something the following. (Note: I have linked above one of the most well-known "12 step" processes. I was tempted to unpack the rich analogy, theology and all, between that and this process, but I'll leave it for another post!) Here is the HICP 12 step learning model for fixing such a segmental problem, based, in part, on the types of staged treatment plans used by speech pathologists. (HICP seeks to bring to pronunciation teaching several of the key techniques from that discipline--adapted to the classroom, rather than the individual client.) It helps to focus the learner on what needs to be done and frames the tasks so that progress can be identified. Also, of course, feedback and "homework" can be reasonably concrete. For an upper beginner, this might be a two or three-week project. (PO~= process objective; BMK = benchmark)

1. PO~ Recognize current version and target sound (aural discrimination).
2. PO~ Achieve new articulation (target sound), in this case both voiced and voiceless.
3. PO~ Practice haptic-anchored new articulation.
4. PO~ Achieve appropriate version of target sound in main word-contexts (initial, medial, final.)
5. PO~ Practice haptic-anchored sound in contexts.
6. PO~ Create target word list.
7. PO~ Practice haptic-anchored word list as necessary.
8. PO~ Create target phrase list.
9. PO~ Practice haptic-anchored target phrase list as necessary.
10. BMK I - Recognize instances (the felt sense) of "current" versions (mispronunciations) in spontaneous speech after the fact.
11. BMK II - Recognize instances of target version usage in spontaneous speech after the fact.
12. Goal achieved: Integration of target sound successfully in most contexts.

That protocol is generally appropriate for changing pronunciation at beginning and intermediate levels. Heavily fossilized pronunciation, however, often requires something closer to the "other" 12 step approach!

Thresholds in learning pronunciation

Clip art:
Clker

Previous posts have considered thresholds in several disciplines, including recent looks at learning to juggle and the use of hypnotic suggestion in facilitating pronunciation change. In Lessac's work there is a similar point in the 12-step process where the student has arrived at a level where a quantum leap has been achieved (the ability to perform "the call") and the voice has a new quality about it that does not follow directly from the work that has proceded. The same experience is frequent in development of skill with musical instruments and complex athletic skills.

Here is study of, of all things, "critical evaluation of information resources" by upper division undergraduates. Those who were seen as having crossed the threshold into their chosen professions, in some recognizable sense, were able to " . . . establish the authority, quality and credibility of [discipline-specific] information sources--a remarkable, if somewhat mystical experience.

Pronunciation change often happens as abruptly, with analogous parameters. The "authority" of a sound or word is best thought of as its place in the system or in those words where it occurs; the "quality" of the sound, its resonant and articulatory features; the "credibility," both the felt sense (haptic anchoring) and the confidence attributed to the changed sound or word. To the learner, a new pronunciation should, for the most part, just "show up," be a pleasant surprise, not be consciously integrated into spontaneous speech most of the time. For the instructor, the designer, the process and protocols must be transparent and managed. We haven't crossed that threshold yet, but we are closer.