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!) 

Announcing new AH-EPS v2.0 packages and Demonstration videos!

Along with release of v2.0 of Acton Haptic English Pronunciation System will be a new set of 4, 2-module packages: Vowels and word stress, rhythm and linking, intonation and expressiveness, and fluency and integration. Any one of those packages can be used as a set. Each also includes some basic introductory material to AH-EPS for students as well. 

Also for a limited time, links to Vimeo-streaming demonstrations of the haptic pedagogical movement patterns (PMPs--See the Teaman and Acton paper) are available, included below. Each video will give you an idea of the basic haptic (movement + touch) gesture that is used in presenting, practice and correcting pronunciation in that module.  (If you cannot access Vimeo, email actonhaptic@gmail.com for a demonstration DVD or further information.)

NOTE: Some of the demo links below are now password protected but will be available shortly as part of AH-EPS v2.0, either on the AH-EPS DVDs or as streaming off Vimeo.com. If you would like to view some of the demos, please email me at actonhpatic@gmail.com for a temporary password!

Credit: AMPISys, Inc. 

A module typically includes instructional and student materials, plus a set of videos, including:

(a) A warm up DEMONSTRATION

(b) Demonstration of new PMP

(c) Review of PMP from previous module(s)

(d) Training in new PMP

(e) Practice of new PMP

(f) Practice of new PMP in conversational dialogues

Package 1. Vowels and word stress
(Module 2) Short vowels (lax vowels) DEMONSTRATION
(Module 3) Long vowels (tense vowels, and tense vowels + off glides) DEMONSTRATION

Package 2. Rhythm, phrasal stress and linking 
(Module 4) Syllable grouping DEMONSTRATION
(Module 6) Rhythm training and linking DEMONSTRATION (rhythm training only)

Package 3. Intonation and expressiveness
(Module 5) Basic Intonation DEMONSTRATION
(Module 8) Expressiveness (discourse intonation) DEMONSTRATION

Package 4. Fluency and integration
(Module 7) Conversational fluency DEMONSTRATION
(Module 9) Integrating pronunciation change DEMONSTRATION

Each package includes:
Instructor materials: Complete Instructor's Guide download and Vimeo video streaming of 2 modules (hardcopy and DVDs available)

 Student Workbook materials from 2 modules: Workbook download and Vimeo video streaming of 2 modules (hardcopy and DVDs available)

Cost will be about $35 for download/streaming version, or $90 plus shipping for the hardcopy/DVD version.

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Cost of other packages will range from $50 (consonants) to $400 (including student practice DVD/videos for a class of 12).

In addition to complete AH-EPS packages of Videos and materials (in download or streaming versions), the 2-module packages will be available later this month.

Keep in touch!

Pronunciation anxiety? Don't worry, be "haptic!"

Have done several previous posts that "touch" on the effects of interpersonal touch, such as "healing touch." In our kind of haptic pronunciation teaching, for a number of reasons, we use only "intra-personal" touch, typically the hands touching or hands touching the arms and shoulders or the outside of the hips. Generally, that's it. A new study by Koole and colleagues at the University of Amsterdam, reported in Science Daily in a summary entitled, "Touch may alleviate existential fears in people with low self esteem," re-opens that intriguing area of research and development for me.

Credit: AMPISys, Inc. 

I earlier explored interpersonal touch in private work, for example where a couple or two female learners practiced the EHIEP pedagogical movement patterns together, where one touched the hand of the other on stressed syllables in anchoring new pronunciation. (Have also had reports from instructors who work with child L2 learners that various group-based hand clapping or "give-me-five" gestures seem to work well, too.) The reports from the students were quite positive. Have always wanted to get back to figuring out culturally and interpersonally appropriate use of interpersonal touch.

There are certainly good reasons for that. Koole's work suggests that even our "intra-personal" touch gesture work may "work" better than we thought! Although this is close to being filed in our "Well . . . duh! file" (a study that empirically validates common sense), in essence, interpersonal touch, even touching inanimate objects, for some people, lowered anxiety--and anxiety can easily cancel out any kind of instruction, let along haptic engagement. What caught my eye was the last sentence: "The researchers are currently exploring the possibilities of simulated interpersonal touch through the use of a "haptic jacket," which can electronically give people the feeling that they are being hugged."

Hug your local haptician . . . and bring your teddy bear to class today. 

Minding your P's and Q's: Pronunciation Change Mindfulness at work! Quiet!

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As unpacked in earlier posts, "mindfulness" theory is often a good point of departure for understanding and managing pronunciation change, both as it is initiated in the classroom and "worked at" outside of class. A 2013 piece entitled, "Mindfulness-based emotional intelligence: Research and training," by Ciarrouchi and Godsell of Wollongong University, presents an interesting and useful set of parameters for optimal functioning of emotional intelligence, based on mindfulness theory and mindfulness training:

• Identifying personal emotional states
• Managing "incoming" emotion, recognizing intent of emotion expressed by others and appropriate responses to it
• Countering fusion (counterproductive influences of emotion in ways that undermine concentration, analysis, logic, learning or self concept)



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• Expressing emotion

How does that apply to our work? It is a good set of guidelines for learners to review as they practice, being mindful at all times as to the state of their "mindset." Especially in haptic-integrated pronunciation practice, some degree of mindfulness is essential to ensure that targeted sounds get their basic 3~8 seconds of undivided attention:

• Focus intensely on the present moment and task at hand, with controlled, emotional engagement,
• Work at anchoring the new or changed sounds quickly, speaking out loud in an expressive and resonant voice (accompanied by a haptic, pedagogically-designed gesture, of course!)   

Students can be trained to do that. Should be. At the very least something to be mindful of . . .

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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Clker

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.

Hmm! . . . Correcting English pronunciation (the Haptic-mimetic method)

Clip art:
Clker

Have been holding back on publishing this post on a somewhat different application of the EHIEP (Essential haptic-integrated English Pronunciation) or AH-EPS (Acton Haptic - English Pronunciation System) for some time. One reason was that I didn't have a term for how it works: mimesis or mimetic. In essence, by "rich" imitation. (There is actually much more behind that choice of term, which will be unpacked in upcoming blogposts.)

The other consideration was part theoretical, part bottom line: In some contexts, "Hmm!" can be carried out quite effectively-- without the students even being introduced formally or trained in the haptic system. That would be slick, of course, and also very inexpensive. (I need to make at least a little money on this, eh!)

Here is how EHIEP usually works:
A. Typically, students and instructor work through a 30-minute training video that teaches a haptic pedagogical movement pattern/technique for correction or presentation. (See previous posts for PMP description and links, including this one for lax vowels and this one for tense + off-glide vowels. Note: A PMP is one movement + touch for one vowel in those cases.
B. From there, students can either practice the technique in short dialogues or word lists immediately.
C. An additional option is for students to do 1-3, additional 30-minute homework assignments working with special practice video lessons.
D. Ideally, after A or B or C, the instructor begins using the PMP or technique in class for correcting or presenting.

Note: AH-EPS will work in classes of almost any size; Hmm! seems to work best in small classes where the Instructor already has good rapport and communication with students.

Here is how Hmm! may work: 
A. Instructor simply uses the PMP for correction in integrated classroom instruction-- without any explicit explanation or previous training of students.
B. Students "uptake" the correction almost as if they had been trained in haptic anchoring previously.

To train yourself to work with Hmm!, all you have to do is get the Instructor's Guide and accompanying videos (either off Vimeo or DVD format) and practice along until you can do the PMPs for the most typical pronunciation problems that you encounter daily in your classroom. To get it, go to the GETONIC shop and order it!

More on Hmm! shortly, Keep in touch!

Guidelines for using (haptic) gesture in pronunciation teaching

Literally for decades I was working under the assumption that gesture and general body movement work, in principle, was a good way to loosen learners up and get them engaged, let alone teach aspects of pronunciation. For some, it is, but the impact on others, especially those from less "gesticular" cultures, can be unproductive, at best. I have evolved, somewhat at least, from cheerleader to coach/consultant in that regard. A few general principles:

• If you do make extensive use of gesture with adolescents and adults, you must be able to explain why FIRST, at least initially persuade them that it is research and success-based. 
• The directed movement must be highly controlled, both in terms of range of motion and emotional loading, and very easy to teach and to follow. 
• The gesture work is most effective when done "in chorus," as a class, with learners visually attending to and following the instructor, not being able to see what each other is doing. 
•  It must not be forced. If a learner choses not to participate, or do so only minimally, that is fine. (Research on mirror neurons and years of experience with this kind of teaching confirms the power of engaged observation.)
• The gesture must be consistently coupled with strong vocal resonance to make sure that it is well anchored. That is based, in part, on the work of Lessac in voice training.
• Learners must experience early success. Using baton-like gesture on stressed syllables to enhance memory for vocabulary is often a good start. 
• The gestural patterns, what we ("haptic" pronunciation teachers) term "pedagogical movement patterns" need to be used consistently in integrated classroom instruction, presentation and correction. 

If you'd like to see an example of what the haptic patterns look like, here is a demonstration video clip that shows the set that can be used for presenting (not training in or practicing) the lax vowels of general American English. https://vimeo.com/60977241 Especially the set of low and mid-back vowels in that demonstration would have to be adjusted accordingly were you working with specific regional dialects of English or "World Englishes." 

Haptic pronunciation teaching presentations at TESOL 2014 in Portland!

There were at least a dozen explicitly "haptic" pronunciation teaching proposals that were submitted for the convention that I am aware of. (See earlier blogpost on that.) There are also always a number of other "near-haptic" presentations that focus on kinaesthetic techniques and those that involve touch+movement-based procedures indirectly. I'll report on those later, once the program is published. This year, four being done by myself and "haptician" colleagues were accepted:

Workshop: Essentials of haptic (kinesthetic+tactile)-integrated pronunciation instruction

    Kielstra, Baker, Burri, Rauser, Teaman and Acton

Practice-oriented session: Speak fast; speak easy: The Fight Club technique 

   Burns, Serena and Kielstra

Research-oriented session: Exploring research supporting haptic (movement + touch) pronunciation teaching

   Rauser, Acton and Burri

Workshop: Teaching basic English intonation by non-native English speaking teachers

   Lam, Zeng, Hong, Takatsu and Donkor

If you know of any others, please let us know!

See you there!

Use of (haptic) gesture in pronunciation teaching

Clip art: Clker

An excellent general framework, or place to start, in looking at the use of gesture in pronunciation teaching is Natalie Hudson's 2011 dissertation, "Teacher Gesture in a Post-Secondary English as a Second Language Classroom: A Sociocultural Approach," done at the university of Nevada, Los Vegas. The study looks at the use of gesture by both instructor and student in a pronunciation class. The detailed analysis includes examination of both consciously directed and incidental or "involuntary" use of movement in instruction. There is, for example, one short pronunciation-related section on "Haptic gestures of voice," where the instructor touches her throat to "concretize" consonant voicing.

Where haptic engagement comes much more into play is in anchoring lexical concepts related to smell, hearing taste and touch. That section is closer to what we refer to as haptic anchoring. Although the study is descriptive of what we do "naturally," it points very clearly--at least to me--toward the systematic use of directed movement, and especially haptically anchored pedagogical movement patterns, in pronunciation teaching.

Required reading for any HICP instructor-in-training.

The "touch-ture" of haptic pronunciation teaching

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A new study by researchers from Laboratoire de psychologie et neurocognition (LPNC) (CNRS/Université Pierre Mendès France/ Savoie University) in collaboration with Geneva University's Faculté de psychologie et des sciences de l'éducation and Les Doigts Qui Rêvent (Dreaming Fingers) in Talant (Côte-d'Or, France), reported by Science Daily, demonstrated the positive impact of variable texture on image comprehension in blind children. In essence, by providing materials with different, distinctive surface textures for the hands to survey, subjects were able to learn and recall more effectively. Research has long established that the blind develop superior touch-based senses that serve to replace visual--often in the same areas of the visual cortex as the sighted use.

The same principle should also apply to the application of touch and movement in our work. In the EHIEP (Essential haptic-integrated English pronunciation) approach, there are "roughly" a dozen distinct types of touch, each having its own texture. In principle, the "touch-tures" are related to the phonaesthetic and somatic qualities of the sound or sound process. For example:

For lax, or short vowels (such as: I, ae, a, Ə, U), the "touch-ture" is a light tap of both hands

For tense vowels+off glide (such as iy, ey, ay, ow, uw), the "touch-ture" is a brushing motion of one hand across the other as the first part of the vowel is pronounced. The moving hand then continues on to a location in the visual field associated with either glide, w or y.

We often have learners close their eyes or use eye tracking as they execute various pedagogical movement patterns across the visual field in presenting or correcting pronunciation. More focused attention to the "felt sense" or "touch-ture" of the hands in the process and the attendant vocal resonance has always been understood to be very important. Here is more evidence why. Keep in touch. 

Haptic Integration of AWL Vocabulary Instruction

Credit for image:
 Thehungergames.wikia.com

Amanda Baker, Mike Burri and myself are proposing a chapter for a proposed book on integrating pronunciation into other skill areas. (No guarantee it'll be accepted, of course, but here is a draft of that proposal): 

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The Academic Word List (AWL), a compilation of 570 word families, has generated much interest, discussion and research in the past decade, and is now widely used, particularly in English for academic purposes (EAP) contexts (Coxhead 2000, 2011). Current theory on optimal acquisition of vocabulary suggests that it is best learned in context, using a more task-based approach (Nunan, 2004.)

However, recent research reveals an interesting twist. File and Adams’ work (2010), for example, demonstrated that isolated (not contextualized) vocabulary instruction may lead to a higher rate of retention than some forms of integrated instruction. Such research partially vindicates more traditional, paradigmatic practice that incorporates such practices as the use of word lists, attention to derivational and affixational morphology, along with basic etymology and word-family-association.

That research serves as point of departure for this proposed chapter. A classroom-tested, haptic (movement + touch) pedagogical overlay and extension of that study is proposed (Acton, Baker, Burri & Teaman, in press.) A key assumption of the chapter is that a word may be “processed” more experientially (haptically), in such a way as to better anchor (committing to memory) its meaning, pronunciation, structural and "familial" properties. That may or may not include a relevant -usage sentence or phrase, associated with a high value conversational or EAP context.

The key principle is that both contextualized and non-contextualized attention to AWL words can be equally effective. Research in several disciplines has shown that appropriate "haptic engagement" in instruction can serve to effectively link together disparate features from different learning modalities (e.g., Fremdenback, Boisferon & Gentz, 2009.) In this case, the structural, physical and systemic features of the word can be linked enabling better recall and retention.  

The chapter presents a vocabulary list consisting of academic, multi-syllable words featuring the 14 most frequent word stress patterns occurring in the AWL (cf., Murphy & Kandil, 2004), followed by a set of four haptic protocols specifically developed to assist second language learners in anchoring (committing to memory) and acquiring high-value academic lexical items more effectively.

The protocols involve gesture-based movements that are linked to the following: word stress differentiating between stressed and unstressed vowels; prominent syllables and syllable grouping; phrasal collocations; word-level intonation; stress shift anchoring, and word family/paradigm-review

To illustrate, a "syllable protocol" (Acton, 2013) addresses primary stress and unstressed/secondary stress or rhythmic beats, each linked to a syllable in a word. For the syllable with primary stress, the learners tap their right hand on their left shoulder firmly. For all other syllables, the left hand touches the right forearm near the right elbow, one tap for each unstressed syllable. For example, in visualization, there are three small taps near the elbow (vi-su-al-), followed by one strong shoulder tap (-i-) and then two additional elbow taps (-za-tion). All of the protocols involve similar, gesture + touch movements that help learners focus their attention on the targeted term and recall it better, later.

 References

Acton, W. (2013). AH-EPS B-FLY-Demo, https://vimeo.com/61190793, retrieved September 25, 

           2013.

Acton, W., Baker, A. A., Burri, M., & Teaman, B. (in press). Preliminaries to haptic-integrated pronunciation instruction. In J. M. Levis & K. LeVelle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, Aug. 2012. Vancouver, BC.

Coxhead, A. (2000). A new academic word list. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2), 213-238.

Coxhead, A. (2011). The academic word list 10 years on: Research and teaching implications. TESOL Quarterly, 45(2), 355-362.File, K. A., & Adams, R. (2010). Should vocabulary instruction be integrated or isolated? TESOL Quarterly, 44(2), 222-249.

File, K., and Adams, R. (2010). Should vocabulary be isolated or integrated? TESOL Quarterly 44(2): 222-249.

Fredenbach, B., Boisferon, A. & Gentaz, E. (2009). Learning of arbitrary association between

visual and auditory novel stimuli in adults: The “Bond Effect” of haptic exploration. PLoS ONE, 2009; 4 (3): e4844 DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0004844.

Murphy, J., and Kandil, M. (2004). Word-level stress patterns in the academic word list. System, 32, 61-74.

Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Teaman, B., & Acton, W. (2013). Haptic (movement and touch for better) pronunciation. In N. Sonda and A. Krause (Eds.), Proceedings of the JALT 2012 Conference. Tokyo: JALT.

Conferences at which the content has been presented:

Acton, W., & Burri, M., Rauser, K., & Teaman, B. (2013, March). Anchoring academic word list vocabulary: One touch at a time. Workshop presented at the 47^th Annual TESOL Convention, Dallas, TX.

Acton, W., Baker, A., Burri, M., Kielstra, N., Rauser, K., Teaman, B., & Van Dyke, A. (2013, March). Essentials of haptic (kinesthetic + tactile) - integrated pronunciation instruction. Pre-conference Institute presented at the 47^th Annual TESOL Convention, Dallas, TX.

Acton, W., Baker, A., Teaman, B., & Burri, M. (2012, August). Preliminaries to haptic-integrated pronunciation instruction. Paper presented at the 4^th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, Vancouver, BC.

Acton, W., Burri, M., Teaman, B., Goertzen, M., & Brodie, A. (2012, March). Getting optimal pronunciation from learner English dictionaries and beyond. Workshop presented at the 46^th Annual TESOL Convention, Philadelphia, PA.

Acton, W., Burri, M., & Teaman, B. (2011, October). Moving pronunciation, meaning and usage from the dictionary! Workshop presented at the 2011 Tri-TESOL Conference , Des Moines, WA.

Brain-fit Pronunciation Instruction!

Wow! Science Daily just published an article on a program developed by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center called the "Brain Fit Club." Here's the description (emphasis, mine) :

" . . . . might involve a combination of scientifically-validated computerized cognitive training, brain stimulation, nutritional coaching, mindfulness training, sleep and lifestyle education, gait and balance evaluation and treatment, and group classes in meditation, tai chi and gentle yoga designed to target a full range of cognitive struggles or decline . . . there's a lot to be gained from pairing traditional treatments like medication with special kinds of exercises, and we're very excited to offer this comprehensive approach . . . " 

Sign me up! The boldfaced terms would describe basic HICP pretty well! The BIDMC has apparently been around doing this kind of thing for decades. Of the dozen or so techniques or technique-types mentioned, as of now AH-EPS does not exactly employ only a few of them, namely: 

Clip art: Clker

(a) computerized cognitive training--although we do it well w/o the wiring and are ready to go virtual reality at a moment's notice!

(b) nutritional coaching--although AH-EPS is very much based on coaching models and students do find the system "food for thought!"

(c) sleep education--although research is clear when most learning consolidation happens.

(d) gait evaluation--although general body fluidity and balance are critical. 

Clearly, if you are not doing this kind of pronunciation work, you may be in some degree of cognitive (phonological) decline . . . 

Keep In Touch. 

Famous "Alcohol/L2 pronunciation study" mystery solved: Here's (NOT) looking at you, kid!

Clip art: Clker

If you have done some formal study of second language pronunciation teaching and learning, you have almost certainly ran across the 1972 "Alcohol" study done by Guiora and colleagues. Explanations as to exactly why drinking about an ounce and half of alcohol seemed to improve subjects' ability to imitate an audio recording of Thai sentences have run from Guiora's theoretical construct of "enhanced ego permeability" to simply "muscle relaxation" (Brown 2006 and elsewhere.) If you have followed this blog some you are aware of the critical importance of limiting visual field distraction to effectiveness of haptic pronunciation teaching techniques. (That observation is backed up by any number of studies in general "haptic" learning that demonstrate how visual modality consistently overrides auditory and tactile engagement.)

In Guiora's study, subjects sat facing an experimenter who operated the tape recorder. I have long wondered what would have happened had the imitation phase been done in a lab, rather than face to  face. (In a 1980 attempt to replicate the alcohol study later--in which I was on the research team, the attractive "social presence" of one of the (female) experimenters appeared to demonstrate the added impact of a face on the effect.)

A new study by Gorka, Fitzgerald, King, and Phan at University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, reported by Science Daily, Alcohol attenuates amygdala–frontal cortex connectivity during processing social signals in heavy social drinkers, suggests another, related explanation for the improved performance of subjects on the imitation task: desensitization to "threatening" features in the visual field in front of them. In the current study, "heavy social drinkers." given an appropriate size drink, were significantly slower in reacting to pictures of "threatening" facial expressions. The bottom line: the alcohol served to somewhat disconnect the connection between the (emotion-related) amygdala and the pre-frontal (visual) cortex.

There are many ways to functionally do the same thing in pronunciation instruction, restricting the emotional/social/visual impact on learner's attention. The field (pronunciation teaching) has figured out how to deal with the social and emotion milieu reasonably well but generally does not focus on the potentially disruptive effect of what is going on, on an ongoing basis,  in the visual field. In our work, that is essential--a given. SEE what I mean?

Apologies to Bogart for the take off on his famous line from Casablanca in the post title.

New introduction to Haptic Pronunciation Teaching!

Keep in touch!

This article, "Haptic (Movement and Touch for Better) Pronunciation," by Brian Teaman and yours truly, was just published in the JALT 2012 Conference Proceedings. If you are new to our work, this is a pretty good place to start. For more information on how to get the materials or training in how to do "haptic," email us at: actonhaptic@gmail.com.

What comes first? Speaking confidently or confident speaking?

I know . . . trick question. A recent Facebook post by the seriously "positive" Tim Murphey got me thinking. He was commenting on a study commented on by Lynn McTaggart at Positive News.org.uk, commenting on a study done by Michigan State University researchers. (One of my alma maters, by the way, so it must be true!) The point of the article was that people speak in public more confidently when they think about others in their group and not just how nervous they are or whatever. Murphey's point is that when we are connected, we are confident. (In the original study, however,  they seem to have not controlled for the intentional mental focus on anything other than stage/speaking fright--a near fatal flaw--an effect well-established by research and practice in several fields.)

Acton Haptic -
English Pronunciation System

Mea culpa. I tend to be a little skeptical about claims in "confidence before competence" models, especially in pronunciation teaching. An interesting 2007 doctoral thesis by Montha Songsiri of Victoria University, nonetheless, demonstrated, at least in part, how pedagogy can indeed engender confidence in speaking that appears to show up in greater intelligibility and more accurate pronunciation.

And then recently I did a 10-day intensive speaking/pronunciation/accent reduction program using a modified version of the AH-EPS system with pre-MBA nonnative speakers--and may have watched it happen: Beginning with a great deal of speaking in public (oral reading and highly formatted interactions, coupled with public speaking confidence tricks such as posture, breathing)--and concentrating on something other than performance anxiety--seemed to "work!" (In this case, the pedagogical movement patterns of AH-EPS to some extent, I assume.) Where participants' improved pronunciation came from exactly and so quickly is, of course, impossible to say, but the degree of reported improvement alone was almost surprising.  But I am confident in speaking from that perspective, of course! 

No native-speaker models for pronunciation teaching allowed? Rats!

Clip art: Clker

For a number of reasons, the native speaker as model (or target) for L2 pronunciation or accent has been displaced by most contemporary theorists and methodologists--but probably not by most classroom instructors and learners. At least not yet. The reality that one will not "get there," along with the cultural-political-psychological-pedagogical-historical baggage the native speaker model carries has become sufficient grounds to dismiss it.

Research by by Graybiel and Turney at MIT and Sandburg at Washington University of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research on the neurophysiological basis of persistence toward goal (by rats) suggests both just how critical a clear target is but also the importance of benchmarks on the way. One surprising finding of the research was the way brain dopamine levels reflected not just reaching a goal but the continuing awareness of being on the right course.

What does that mean for effective pronunciation teaching today? Creating good nonnative speaker and "near peer" models has turned out to be problematic at best. Although instructors may use recorded models that work, including themselves, there is still little agreement in the field on how to do that effectively. At least not yet!

The potential problem for the learner, of course, is not having a clearly discernible goal or model, irregardless of how unrealistic or culturally "incorrect" that endpoint may be. Both the general absence of workable targets and models, clear trajectories and achievable benchmarks--in most cases for theoretically valid pedagogical reasons--can easily leave learners not only without a plan but--short on dopamine, and consequently the motivation to stay at it.

So what to do? Haptic pronunciation instruction is a step in the right direction. In the interim, at least just keep in touch!

Dealing with problem pronunciation? Gesticulate!

Clip art;
Clker

This from a Science Daily summary of new research by Miller and O'Neil of San Francisco State University on the role of gesture in problem solving variability in young children. The basic finding was that the more "gesticular" were better at solving problems. Furthermore: 

"There is a growing body of research that suggests gesturing may play a significant role in the processes that people use to solve a problem or achieve a goal. These processes include holding information in memory, keeping the brain from choosing a course too quickly and being flexible in adding new or different information to handle a task."

So, how does that relate to haptic pronunciation teaching? 

• Holding information in memory (by means of haptic anchoring, using movement and touch on stressed syllables and words)
• Keeping the brain from choosing a course too quickly (managing attention, haptically, with gesture and touch, at least 3 seconds at a time!)
• Being flexible in adding new or different information to handle a task (enabling learners to work with multiple modalities in pronunciation work simultaneously, i.e., auditory, visual, kinaesthetic, tactile, etc. )

And you have a problem with that? Good!

(Haptic) Marking for better pronunciation: Going through the motions

If you are a dancer, you'll get this one! Dance instruction and the dance "mind set" have long been two of my favourite analogues to pronunciation work. According to Warburton, Wilson, Lynch and Cuykendall of University of California, Santa Cruz, reported by Science Daily, the "conflict between the cognitive and physical aspects of dance practice" is central to highly artistic performance. A new study suggests an intriguing remedy: dance marking (where the routine was done in slow or slower motion) " . . . essentially . . . a run-through of the dance routine, but with a focus on the routine itself, rather than making the perfect movements." (emphasis, mine.) 

Clip art: Clker

Furthermore, according to the researchers, "Smaller scale movement systems with low energetic costs such as speech, sign language, and gestures may likewise accrue cognitive benefits, as might be the case in learning new multisyllabic vocabulary or working on one's accent in a foreign language."

Previous posts have reported similar "marking" systems by "power learning" practitioners,  athletes, actors and weightlifters. In haptic pronunciation work, "marking" is done by using movement and touch to in some sense rehearse and anchor any aspect of the pronunciation. To get an idea of how this works, get a copy of the Guide to AH-EPS, which is part of the Instructor's Package. (See the GETONIC tag at the top of the right hand column.) Another way to get one is to join IAHICPR for a year and I'll send you a PDF copy, free!

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.

Art: 

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.)

Clker

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!)

Haptic Pronunciation Teaching (AH-EPS) Materials and Courses!

We now have 14 AH-EPS haptic pronunciation teaching packages. They are listed below and also available at the Haptic Pronunciation Teaching blog:

1. AH-EPS Basic Instructor Package ($200)
2. AH-EPS Teaching Video DVD set ($75)
3. AH-EPS Student Workbook and DVD set ($35)
4. AH-EPS 12-pack, Student Workbook and DVD sets ($400)
5. AH-EPS 20-pack, Student Workbook and DVD sets ($640)
6. AH-EPS Independent Study package ($350)
7. AH-EPS Level-1 Student Package ($25)
8. AH-EPS Pronunciation Diagnostic ($100)
9. AH-EPS Instructor Accent Enhancement Program ($960)
10. AH-EPS Consonant DVD ($28)
11. AH-EPS Student Tutoring ($30)
12. AH-EPS Instructor Consultation ($100)
13. AH-EPS One-day on-site Professional Development Workshop ($2000 - for up to 100 participants)
14. AH-EPS One-week training and certification ($2400) at Trinity Western University

For further information, go to the teaching blog or contact us at: actonhaptic@gmail.com

(AH-EPS) Instructor Accent Enhancement Course!

Have just finished work on a new course for nonnative English-speaking instructors--or native English speaking instructors who would like to add a more "standard" (North American) dialect to their speaking repertoire. It focuses on accent, rather than general pronunciation or intelligibility. It involves the following:

ACTONHAPTIC
                                             

• Done individually; requires SKYPE or similar video chat technology
• 10 modules; 4, 30-45 minute assignments per module 
• 10, 30-minute post-module SKYPE sessions (5 with Bill Acton; 5 with one of his colleagues)
• Includes all materials (both books and DVD sets)
• Initial screening questionnaire submission and 5-minute narrative video speech sample required. 
• You can begin at any time, and, with approval, may take one break in the course of up to 3 weeks.
• Once the course commences, however, its effectiveness depends critically upon consistent regular practice. (Just like you demand of your students!) 

The main differences between this course and one we use with non-instructional professionals are that
(a) Assignments from the Instructors Guide are included with each module.
(b) More attention is paid to vowel quality, secondary and unstressed syllables, word-level segmentals, and personal, professional word list development.
(c) Completion of minimum of 3 (of 4) assignments per module is required before the post-module SKYPE video consultation. (In the professional version, only one assignment is required.)

Cost: $960 CAD. Interested?  Email us (info@actonhaptic.com) for further information. Enrolment is limited to 10 at any one time.