KINETIK Method Roll Out Video and What's Next!

Go to the Roll Out Video

The development of the KINETIK Method was inspired by classroom teachers who not only had little or no background in pronunciation teaching but also were given no space for it in their lessons and, in many cases, had been “ordered” not to waste time on it. Given the generally disembodied and “out of context” nature of much of what passes for pronunciation work in integrated textbooks today and advice from leading methodologists on how to “work in” pronunciation or just teach it in a class by itself, it can be difficult to justify carving out time and resources for it.

 

The KINETIK innovation: Aspects of what is traditionally thought of as pronunciation, when “delivered” by the body, primarily with gesture and touch, actually become more immediately valuable and relevant to the learner by:

• · Greatly enhancing memory for the text as it is spoken
• · Allowing a broader range of expressiveness to be attended to
• · Providing greater attention, or emphasis to places of interest in the text
• · Improving clarity—what is normally thought of as the role of pronunciation

Of course, in reality all those, and more, are the “job” of the sound system of the language, especially rhythm, stress and intonation.

KINETIK employs the “Movement, Tone and Touch Techniques” (MT3s) developed by Haptic Pronunciation Teaching, in working with any and all texts, stories, narratives, dialogues, word lists, instructions (and even drills!) Any time or place one of those functions is needed during a lesson or homework, the KINETIK Method consistently . . . delivers, through use of a variety of “Embodied Oral Reading” frameworks. The MT3s serve as a “handy,” integrated “complement” to your lesson content.

After watching the four-part video, I hope you’ll not only join us at the weekly “Hapticanar” (Sign up on the Actonhaptic.com mailing list to be updated on that.), but also become part of the Acton Haptic Community on Locals (Actonhaptic@locals.com), even if you are not teaching in the classroom now. Membership is free but supporters get all kinds of goodies, and our eternal gratitude!

Please do pass on the word, forward this email on to friends and colleagues. Invitations for the June 8th Hapticanar will be sent shortly!

And above all, just KEEP in TOUCH!

 
Bill

KINETIK Method Roll Out Day: The Course, of course!

 The Roll Out Video will be "out" later today. You can engage with it here and on other social media, of course! I'll be on Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) for my follow up for the  most  part. The bottom line of the previous post, and the "bottom line" of the KINETIK Method is the Certificate course (of course!) Just to give you an idea of what the content of this content-based teaching certificate course is about, here is a sketch of the curriculum: Module One (Basic Rhythm, Basic Fluency, and some basic consonants; Module Two (Single vowels, double vowels and some basic consonants; Module three (Basic intonation, Advanced intonation, Basic integration, and linking); Module Four (Advanced rhythm and fluency, Secondary and unstressed vowels, Advanced/spontaneous integration) The course ends with brief review and certification test modules. Each module takes three weeks or so. (See the previous post for more details.) Classes begin whenever 3-5 students sign up who can meet together weekly for an hour on Zoom! Bring along 2 or 3 friends from work and you are ready to roll!

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 22 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website.

Penultimate KINETIK Method Roll Out Day 22: Your KINETIK TBD List!

 The KINETIK Method Roll Out video will be out tomorrow! (Tomorrow's blog post will include all details on the video.) Here's your Haptic TBD list:

1. Watch and share the Introductory Video with your network!

2. Go to actonhaptic.com and get on our mailing list. (We'll automatically send you invitations for the weekly Hapticanars.) While you are there, check out all the information there on KINETIK and the Acton Haptic Community.

3. Join us every Tuesday at 5 p.m., beginning June 8th, for Dr Bill's Weekly Haptic Technique Hapticanars (30 minute workshop and 20 minute Q&A) on Webinarjam.com. 

4. Sign up for the Acton Haptic Community at actonhaptic@locals.com. Signing up is free but if you become a supporter for $5 monthly or more, in addition to being able to be involved in the conversation there you get:

• Downloads of Hapticanars
• Downloads of 5-minute student training videos for each lesson
• Downloads of special features, including interviews with experienced "Hapticians"

5. Sign up for the 3-month, KINETIK Method Teacher Certification Course. (For details, go to the website, www. actonhaptic.com.) 

6. Keep in touch!

Bill

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 21 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website.

Day 21 Roll Out: Take the KINETIK Method Pronunciation Teaching Certificate Course!

In addition to the free weekly technique hapticanar (on Webinarjam) and connecting with the Acton Haptic Community, the best way to get the full tool kit is to sign up for the certificate course, which begins anytime there are 3 or 4 students who want to do it. (See earlier post on the "KINETIK-shop Quartet.) Key features:

• Four modules, three lessons each (takes 3 to 4 months to complete)
• Each lesson takes about a week (and usually about 2~3 hours, total)
• The pieces of a lesson: (a) Do the Hapticanar, (b) Do the 10-minute training video, the one your students would do, (c) Find someplace within a text or story in one of your lessons where the technique from the Hapticanar would "work," that is improve clarity, memory or expressiveness, and then (d) meet on Zoom later that week with 3 or 4 other students and a haptician (like Bill) to review your plan. 
• The cost is variable, from about $300 up to to $1600 USD depending on how many students are in the class. (Special arrangements available for schools and larger groups.) 

More about that on the 25th! 

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 20 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website.

KINETIK Method Roll Out Day 20: The story, telling!

One great feature of the KINETIK method is that the materials are absolutely free . . . in fact, there aren't any, because you provide them, text from your course teaching materials that are what we call "context-rich." By that we mean that pronunciation techniques are used to produce greater clarity (sort of like traditional pronunciation work) or greater emphasis, expressiveness or nuance WITHIN course materials that are good stories, in some sense, vived, memorable narratives of some kind. (Might even be a tightly organized set of theme-based vocabulary . . . but usually not.) In other words, KINETIC method is situated or target in dialogues, a readings, a sets of instructions, scripts from listening tasks, even students' draft compositions . . . where the "story" is . . . telling.

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 19 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

Roll Out Day 19: The KINETIK-shop Quartet (way of learning to do haptic!)

In the KINETIK Teacher Training Certificate Course, (a) after you do a little reading, and (b) a little "full body" training just like what your students will do, (c) you get together with three other teacher trainees and a certified Haptician (like me) on Zoom and (d) go over your homework, a piece of text from your regular course-content materials that has been "choreographed" with haptic Movement, tone and touch techniques (MT3s). Each session concludes with the "Happytic Dance" embodying the technique from the lesson, the one you were introduced to in the weekly "Hapticanar" (haptic + webinar)!

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 18 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

KINETIK Roll Out Day 18: The walkabout-talkabout . . .

 . . .  for improving memory (for content and pronunciation). Check out this great summary from Neuroscience News on a study by Reser et al at Monash University, Ancient Australian Aboriginal Memory Tool Superior to ‘Memory Palace’ Learning. The bottom line parallel to pronunciation teaching:  content (or pronunciation focus) embedded in a good story in a good "place" is more memorable than just being the focus of a loosely connected class mini-lesson sitting in the third row . . . 

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 17 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

Roll KINETIK Out Day 17! - Haptic Pronunciation teaching "Pas de deux"

To  quote one of my favorite lines from one of my all time favorite country western songs, "I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance." One "dance" in haptic pronunciation teaching happens when instructor and students move in synchrony as they do a Movement, tone and touch technique (MT3) to model, correct or provide feedback on some bit(s) of language in class--one of the two dozen or so that I'll be introducing each week in the Hapticanars, in fact.  

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 16 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

 

KINETIK Method Roll Out Day 16: Correction!

Probably the most "unique" (or really awesome) feature of Haptic Pronunciation Teaching is that in-class correction and feedback should be (almost) enjoyable and very much stress-free. Part of the reason for that is that basic "repair" or related practice or "reminders" are synchronized with gesture or some other part of the body. It is a bit like using sign language to signal change or a specific vowel, as is a common practice, except that the haptic signal connects to a set of gestures associated with sound or process. Communication in that paralinguistic channel between students and instructors, and students and students, does not seem to interfere much if at all with class activities or "thinking" or generate serious distraction or nervous, self-consciousness. 

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 15 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

KINETIK Method Day 15 Roll Out: To gesture or not to gesture (That's not the question!)

 It is not easy to speak a language without gesturing, but you can, of course. Teaching a language without body movement also may be possible, but certainly not efficient at least at this point in development of virtual reality. In the KINETIK Method, instructors must learn to perform a set of Movement, tone and touch techniques (MT3s) that they use in modeling, feedback and correction. Students, on the other hand, depending on age and context, may or may not have to be trained or even informed about the MT3s. For young, elementary age learners, instructor MT3 are often enough; the kids pick them up naturally, their mirror neurons fully online!  For older learners, training in some MT3s may be effective, but even then only so that when the instructor uses one, the learners "get" what is being corrected or enhanced. At the "top" level, especially where fossilization has set in,  instructors and learners generally do the MT3s together whenever they are used. 

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 14 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

Roll KINETIK Out - Day 14: Readiness for memorable and palpable pronunciation teaching!

 A key dimension of haptic pronunciation teaching and the KINETIK Method is the ramp up or preparation for an in class intervention where something in text or about it needs improving. That can take two forms, either a body-based warm up at the beginning of class where most of the body is engaged in focusing attention and getting more blood circulating where it is needed, or a very localized "activation" of some discrete areas of the upper body. In "straight" haptic (or any type of) pronunciation training, a full-body warm up is usually essential. In KINETIK, however, the Movement, Tone and Touch Techniques (MT3s) serve both functions, engaging simultaneously both the whole body and very specific "parts: of the process, e.g, hands, arms, positions in the visual field, vocal resonance. Instant "palpability!" 

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 13 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

Roll KINETIK Out Day 13: The left hand knows what the right hand is doing!

With almost every Movement, tone and touch technique (MT3) the hands touch on a stressed syllable of a word (also, often in the stressed word in a phrase or stressed word a sentence.) When that touch happens, connections are triggered all over the brain, in fact, much more so than previously thought as recent research has demonstrated by researchers at the Max Planck Institute. In KINETIK a vowel is linked to at least an MT3, a word, a course-content context, a body and the entire milieu of the moment. Touching, eh!

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 12 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

KINETIK Roll Out Day 12 - How can I become a "Haptician?"

 At least two ways: 

One: Show up for the free, weekly "Hapticanar" (with your body) and learn about the "Movement, tone and touch technique (MT3) of the week." For some of you, the naturally kinesthetic and dancers, just the 30-minute presentation and following Q&A will be enough for you to figure out how to train your students to use the MT3 and get some idea on how to use it in "everyday" content in your class.

Two: Sign up for the KINETIK Method course, which, in addition to doing the Hapticanars, you (or technically, your body) do the 10-minute student training video for the MT3. Then later in the week, you and three or four other NewBees get together on Zoom or Webinarjam with me or another experienced Haptician. We look at how you could build in or integrate that MT3 into the content each of you are teaching. After you finish all lessons, about 12 weeks time, and take a REALLY easy little test, you get a beautiful certificate saying that you are now officially a Haptician and entitled to all the rights and kudos thereto! 

So . . . as we say, Keep In Touch! (KIT!)

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 11 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

KINETIK METHOD Roll Out Day 11 - How do you learn to teach KINETIK-ly?

The same way you learn to do yoga, dance, piano or paint: You train the body first. And most importantly that training must be done in a community of at least two . . .  In time the mind joins the party, becoming one with the body in performance once a clear threshold is crossed. It isn't "difficult" to learn how to do haptic from reading about it--it is impossible. As we have learned over the years, even just watching the demonstration or training videos (www.actonhaptic.com/hapt) is not enough to "sell" the idea of embodied pronunciation teaching to most professionals. Some time ago, Nike said it best: [You] Just [have to] do it! You'll have a great opportunity to DO that soon, in fact!

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 10 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

Rollout Countdown Day 10: CHIPS! (Covert Haptic-Integrated Pronunciation System!)

 For all of you who are handed a book and lesson plans and held to a near minute-by-minute schedule, and under no circumstances are you to waste time on pronunciation, we've got good news for you: content-based haptic pronunciation teaching. You still DO pronunciation but it doesn't LOOK like it because, with the help of the body, it is woven into other content, like oral readings, conversations, group work, your comments at the head of the class. (I'd tell you how students can be discreetly introduced to key sound concepts, too . . . but that is a secret! You'll have to join us to find out!)

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 9 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

Count down to Roll Out of "KINETIK" Day Nine: Free Pronunciation

from disembodied, out of context, meaningless, drills, exercises, diagrams, explanations, courses and expensive textbooks: Body/embodiment-centered, content-based, haptic techniques. 

Today's post from Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 8 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

Count down to Roll Out of the AHP "KINETIK Method": Day Eight!

Question: How do you learn about the, Acton Haptic Pronunciation, content-based KINETIK Method?
Simple answer(s):
A. See the links below to Locals, the blog and website!
B. join the weekly (free) webinars, beginning 5/25.
C. Become a supporter of the Acton Haptic Community (beginning on 5/20) which comes with downloads of all kinds!
D. Take the KINETIK Method course, beginning in June. (See details on the website (www.actonhaptic.com.)
---------------------

Today's post on Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 7 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website

Count down to Roll Out of new Acton Haptic Pronunciation Teaching "KINETIK Method": Day Seven!

Just a little more than two weeks away, on May 25th! There'll be a weekly, "Dr Bill's Weekly Embodied (haptic) Pronunciation Teaching Technique Webinar," courses and many other features. 

Today's post on Locals.com (actonhaptic@locals.com) is also listed here on the Roll Out blog page, along with the previous 6 posts! Here are links to the recent blogpost with details on the method, and more on the Acton Haptic Community on the new, upgraded actonhaptic.com website.  

Keep in touch!

Bill

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!

Killing Pronunciation 15: Feelings . . . nothing more than feelings?

Finally (what seems to me) a fascinating glimpse, or at least different perspective, into why for many
language learners it can be so difficult to remember how sounds are pronounced in their second language. Fascinating study, by Fandakova, Johnson, and Ghetti of UC-Davis: Distinct neural mechanisms underlie subjective and objective recollection and guide memory-based decision making (summarized by ScienceDaily as "Making decisions based on how we feel about memories, not accuracy.") Now I'm  not sure that SD summary is entirely accurate, but it is close . . . 

Exploring the brain circuits involved in recalling past events, in essence what emerged was the "fact" that one circuit is more responsible for something resembling data, e.g., who, what, where, when; the other, with the emotion or "feeling" associated with the event. What the research demonstrated was that recall was overwhelmingly triggered through the affective/subjective wiring, not the objective circuit(s). In other words, in some very general sense our access to memory is substantially more emotion-based, not visual/objective data-oriented. 

So, other than the fact that there may be some potential gender bias there . . . how does that relate to learning the sound system of a language effectively? Ask yourself: How do you and your students feel about learning pronunciation? Does that answer the question? For many it does. If affect or feeling is that critical to good recall, then pronunciation learned may be especially vulnerable to being inaccessible in varying degrees. 

Now the "feeling" of  pronunciation could come from at least three primary sources: the affective climate of the class where it is studied; the relative engagement or appeal of the instruction to the individual, itself or satisfaction entailed or-- the somatic, physical sensations of what it is mechanically to perform or articulate the sound. 

I, myself, was trained in pronunciation teaching by one amazing speech therapist and early leaders in the field of TESOL. What I learned, which most pronunciation teaching does not take seriously enough or does not really focus on at all is how to help the learner get the richest possible somatic experience (mostly tactile and kinaesthetic) as to how the sound or pattern feels when it is articulated. Part of that, of course, is the metalanguage used in talking about it and to some extent, the procedures and practice routines, themselves. 

In other words, without a good sense of "the feeling of how it happens" (Damasio, 1999), often it just doesn't happen or at least is not anchored adequately to be remembered or recalled efficiently. There are any number of methods or systems for establishing that critical link between the sound and the feeling of the sound, not just its conceptual, visual, auditory and orthographic features. Of course, we FEEL that haptic pronunciation teaching, founded on gesture and touch, has "got that," and more. If your pronunciation work just doesn't feel right . . . get into touch . . . with us, or your local speech therapist! 

Sources: (Cited in ScienceDaily summary)

University of California - Davis. (2021, March 10). Making decisions based on how we feel about memories, not accuracy. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 14, 2021 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210310150347.htm
Yana Fandakova, Elliott G Johnson, Simona Ghetti. Distinct neural mechanisms underlie subjective and objective recollection and guide memory-based decision making. eLife, 2021; 10 

Synchronization of brain hemispheres for (pronounced) better auditory processing

For well over a century, synchronization of brain hemipheres has been thought to be somehow integral  to efficient or focused learning in many disciplines. Basically, and overgeneralizing, in processing language sound, the left hemisphere, linked to the right ear, initially handles vowels and consonants and syllables; the right, intonation and rhythm. It seemed to follow that enhancing synchronization should enhance that processing, especially the integration of both sources and meaning. 

Fascinating, forthcoming study by Preisig and colleagues at the University of Zurich, summarized in Neurosciencenews.com as "Synchronization of Brain Hemispheres Changes What We Hear" (to appear in PNAS) that examines the role of gamma ray modulation in brain hemisphere synchronization. What the research demonstrated, in part, was that as synchronization was modulated (by gamma wave variance) auditory processing was correspondingly downgraded or enhanced. For example, techniques such as stimulating dream recall with gamma wave stimulation, seem to operate in similar ways.  

That concept, synchronization and integration, has become something of the gold standard in many forms of therapy and optimalization of performance systems. From a non-invasive perspective, that is ways that do not involve stimulating the brain with electrical current or implanted devices, embodiment practices such as yoga, mindfulness--and many types of physical and athletic engagement, have been shown to influence or enhance brain hemisphere synchronization and integration. 

What "moves" do you do in teaching that involve hemispheric synchronization that may enhance your students listening comprehension or help them be more "mindful" of your teaching?  

In haptic pronunciation teaching, HaPT, there are several "bilateral" pedagogical practices, such as:

• Alternating hands/arms exercises
• Touching the other hand, arm, shoulder or opposing side of the body
  
• Practicing a movement/gestural pattern both left to right and right to left
• Doing gestural patterns that repeatedly cross the visual field, back and forth
• Intentional positioning of different haptic tasks in different areas of the visual field of students in the classroom. 
• Most activities involve continuous body engagement, using gesture and body movement. 

You haven't heard of haptic pronunciation teaching? Go to our website, www.actonhaptic.com, and try out a few of our best "moves!" While you are there, check out the new Acton Haptic Pronunciation system. It will be available soon! 

Keep in touch! 

Moving learners to be more positive and work together in (pronunciation) teaching: person or process?

One typical reason often given for not teaching pronunciation has to be something like: I don't feel comfortable having to be so outgoing and interpersonally "invasive" in messing with students' speech. Granted, many (if not near all) of the strongest proponents of pronunciation teaching, mea culpa, tend to be pretty far down the "extrovert" rabbit hole. In more traditional approaches to teaching you almost had to be to drive drill and other mindless practices with enthusiasm, motivation students to stay with it.  Being around someone who is excessively positive and extroverted can also get real annoying, eh!

Turns out, according to a non-significant study by Qui and Ho of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, that all that extroverted talk and language may not really be contributing much to the process--a proposition that I, being an extrovert, endorse whole heartedly, enthusiastically! (but see below.) Based on a meta-analysis of about three dozen studies of extrovert behavior, they almost discovered that extroverts tend to use more "positive emotion words" and "social process words" than the rest of you. Taken from the Neuroscience News summary: 

"Positive emotion words are defined by psychologists – using text analysis tools – as words that describe a pleasant emotional state, such as ‘love’, ‘happy’, or ‘blessed’, or that indicate positivity or optimism, such as ‘beautiful’ or ‘nice’. Social process words include words containing personal pronouns except ‘I’, and words showing social intentions, such as ‘meet’, ‘share’ and ‘talk’."

Then, their conclusion: "Our results suggest that positive emotion words and social process words are linguistic correlates of extroversion, but they are small in magnitude." 

Really? By "small in magnitude" they mean their findings did not reach an r of 0.05 (0.069 and 0.077.) Normally, I don't report "near misses" like that, but since I like the conclusion, let us run with it a bit. What it "tells" me, is that what many see as the secret to setting up the most effective learning "atmosphere" in class, the use of "pedagogically correct" language that is generally positive, "grouply" discourse, does not depend on being personally . . . extroverted. So what does motivate (move) your students? You, your pedagogy or both? And how does that interaction really function in class? 

We discovered early on that uncontrolled enthusiasm, as great as it is for getting everybody on board, is near toxic in working with gesture, easily letting things get out "hand" or of control or focus--and very likely pronunciation, in general. In part, the reason for that being that the learner's attention can go almost anywhere in the visual field around them, affecting what is remembered from the session, compromising attention to sound, for example. Research (and common sense) has long established that both positive excitement and negative stress can wear you out equally, take you off your game. 

It's certainly about moving . . . moving learners to learn efficiently, metaphorically and physically. Try this: Evaluate your next three or four in-class or on Zoom lessons just in terms of relative quantity and quality of body movement, by both you and the class--a fundamental principle of haptic pronunciation teaching. 

One great way to do that is to record the session and then review it with the sound off. (If you are interested, let me know in the comments section and I'll share with you a rubric for that that we have developed for teacher training.) That will seriously impact/enhance your awareness and work on screen. Guaranteed. 

Achieving intentional, appropriate kinaesthetic engagement is critical in teaching with systematic gesture, as in HaPT. And it can't help but make you and students look and sound better as well! 

------

Bottom line: Being an extrovert should NOT be especially advantageous in pronunciation teaching, properly understood . . . like in the new (EXCITING!) iteration of haptic pronunciation teaching (HaPT.) I'm sure you saw that coming! Acton Haptic Pronunciation: Content Complement System (AHP:CCS) official roll out date is now 2/15/21. Check out previous blogpost for more info on that. ,

Original source:
“A meta-analysis of linguistic markers of extraversion: Positive emotion and social process words” by Jiayu Chen Lin Qiu, Moon-Ho Ringo Ho. Journal of Research in Personality

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

Killing Pronunciation 14: One tip at a time (or better still . . . "pho-nunciation")

Nice new book just out by Mark Hancock, 50 tips for teaching pronunciation. Currently it is only available in hardcopy, but you can preview it off that link, the latest addition to Scott Thornbury's "Tips" series. Other than the fact that it has the "wrong" vowel system (British), it is very cool. 

It is, however, also a perfect candidate for the 14th in our "Killing" series. In that spirit, it might also be characterized, to paraphrase the 'death by a thousand cuts' notion as: Death (of pronunciation teaching) by a thousand tips.

 Hancock's book is a pretty comprehensive, self-guided short course in itself in teaching pronunciation. (I have it as recommended in my graduate applied phonology course.) The title is misleading, however. It is not just a random set of techniques; it is a relatively systematic set of principles, "tips," if you will. It is actually, read front to back, a pronunciation teaching method. 

It represents the state of the art in the field today: Go big or go home . . . either you invest a considerable amount of time in training to bring pronunciation teaching into your classroom, so you can integrate it in or teach a free standing class, or you avoid it entirely or use a few relatively ineffective techniques here and there and call it a day. In truth, there is very little middle ground left, especially with curriculum priorities in most teaching institutions, especially K-12, that allow precious little space, if any, for attention to pronunciation.  

So . . . Hancock's book is on the right track: it adds up to a method. (Since we are supposed to be all "post-method" now, Hancock probably didn't dare mention that, but I can, of course!) And the reason I do, is that Haptic Pronunciation Teaching (HaPT) is also a coherent method, one best learned from front to back, but the differences are:

• Although you can "do" our course, yourself, and take it to the classroom, you don't have to. You can just stream the lessons to your students and let me do the initial teaching and you do the follow up. 
• 50 Tips is designed so that you can do it on your own. The HaPT system almost has to be learned "in community." Actually, you go through the course with two or three other newbees, guided by an experienced "Haptician," somebody who is certified in HaPT and is available to help out and "test" you at each benchmark. 
• 50 Tips is great for coming up with quick, mini-lessons, integrating in pronunciation here and there and getting a basic background in pronunciation teaching. HaPT can be used the same (old fashioned way) but it is really aimed at using pronunciation (or what we call "phonunciation") to enhance memory for regular course content, expressiveness, emphasis and (surprise!) pronunciation intelligibility. 
• The new HaPT method, coming out next month,  Acton Haptic Pronunciation: Content Complement System (CCS, for short), focuses on "phonunciation," not pronunciation. You can use it any time you are working with content, a story, a dialogue, a word list, a song, a set of instructions. Basically, you embed HaPT techniques (gestures anchored by touch) in almost anything to enhance it and make it more memorable. 
• CCS has been created for those with no background in pronunciation teaching and (typically) no time during the week to do it effectively. 
• Keep in touch for more announcements. It will roll out first here and then actually go live on Locals. Go join up now and be part of the Acton Haptic Pronunciation Community when it happens! 
• 

Out of sight!. . . Speechless! . . .Hands on teaching of the "grammar" of phonology and pronunciation

The study, “Feeling Phonology: The Conventionalization of Phonology in Protactile Communities in the United States" by Edwards of Saint Louis University and Brentari of the University of Chicago, could be something a game changer for us in haptic pronunciation teaching. (It will be published in Language shortly, but, we'll assume that the tantalizing neuroscience summary is correct for the time being!)  From the summary: 

In order to uncover the emergence of new grammatical structure in protactile language, pairs of DeafBlind research participants were asked to describe three objects to one another: a lollipop, a jack (the kind children use to play the game ‘jacks’) and a complex wooden toy with movable arms, magnets, and magnetized pieces.  . . . They found that the early stages of the conventionalization of protactile phonology involve assigning specific grammatical roles to the hands (and arms) of Signer 1 (the conveyer of information) and Signer 2 (the receiver of information). It is the clear and consistent articulatory forms used by each of the four hands that launches the grammar in this case and allows for the rapid exchange of information.

Let me try to translate: Signer 1, using only touch, is passing on a "description" of each object to Signer 2. The four hands involved quickly assume their respective "grammatical functions" in conveying the critical information about the objects. That level of detail is not unpacked in the summary, but we can assume that that is referring to functions such as agent, object, action (verb-like), conjunction (joining), descriptor (adjectival, adverbial), etc. 

In effect, in haptic pronunciation, where the hands of the instructor, for example, moving through the visual field with speech synchronized gesture, depict the embodied nature of a phrase or word, such as "I'm speechless!" --which is simultaneously mirrored by the student in receiving that information, the functionality of the hands and arms of each in the interaction is quite analogous. 

For example, one hand/arm may trace out the path of an intonation contour, whereas the other hand serves as the "landing point" for the other hand ono the stressed element in the phrase. Given the general structure of English grammar, that landing point is also generally the place where the sound system and new information intersect. (New information tends to be near the end of a phrase or sentence.) 

Although sight and sound are involved, the fundamental "vehicle" for the engagement is the movement of the hands and arms, culminating in the hands touching in various ways on the stressed syllable in the phrase or word--mirrored and modulated also by the mirror neurons in the brain of the both participants. Each part of the process or mechanism has its own basic function or purpose in conveying the information. Add to that the notion that every pedagogical gesture used can be performed at differing speeds or pitches or volume, and the roles of the instructor's hands and arms, and those of the students, can take on a wide range of subtle meanings and responsibilities. 

Cannot wait to "lay my hands on" that article!

Keep in touch!

Killing pronunciation 13: Mastering mastery learning, teddy bears and other nonsense!

Good news for those who still believe that their students just need lots and lots of exposure to the language in meaningful contexts--and that their brains miraculously keep track of situations filled with incomplete, seemingly random bits of data that eventually result in the emergence in the mind of words and structures--without the requirement to mastery one word at a time or "get" a grammar structure the first time they encounter it. In fact, in many contexts, mastery learning, seen from this perspective, may have just the opposite effect: destruction of the delicate, potentially associative links of words and actions across situations. 

It is analogous to reading an engaging blog post that has all kinds of interesting "facts" or observations but that doesn't appear to make any sense, at least at the moment. Read on, Dear Reader . . . 

Interesting study, "Learning vocabulary and grammar from cross-situational statistics," by Rebuschat, Monaghan, and Schoetensack, in Cognition in the prestigous journal, no less, reported by Neurosciencenews.com. Their conclusion: 

“We have discovered that the chicken-and-egg problem of learning language can be solved just by hearing lots of language and applying some very simple but very powerful learning to this. Our brains are clearly geared up to keep track of these links between words and the world. We know that infants already have the same power to their learning as adults, and we are confident that young children acquire language using the same types of learning as the adults in our study.”'

And what was that type of learning that was evident in the subjects of the study? In essence they "learned" an artificial language created for the experiment (simply) by looking at a picture of action or a scene while listening to it being talked about. Just that. With repeated iterations, the subjects gradually made sense of what they had heard in terms of being able to associate words with images or concepts and being able to identify the basics of the underlying grammar or syntax of the language. 

The researchers "associate" that innate ability with how babies learn language, where to them words like "teddy bear" and all the other meaningless babble around them begin to connect across situations, where the same combinations of sounds keep showing up, etc. The fascinating finding . . . or claim . . . is that the brain has enormous capacity for holding the information inherent in situations somewhat in "limbo" for a time without requiring instant, meaningful connection to what was encountered earlier.--much more so than current language learning theory generally credits it with. 

The key to the study, however, is that the depicted action and associated objects that the subjects were observing, as the babble poured in, was, itself, meaningful in some broad sense, so that the sound complex was associated with the situation, not the abstracted concept or word, per se. The "very powerful learning" being referred to is what they term, "cross-situational statistical learning." What a perfect metaphor. Recall your first statistics course, the flooding of your brain initially with totally disembodied nonsense that only could be applied meaningfully after multiple passes and luck.   

This is (potentially) big, implying as it does more of a theoretical basis for immersion-based language learning and other less deductive practice. For us in pronunciation work, it suggests that more highly intentional focus of learner attention on both sound and context is critical. It is especially common practice to teach pronunciation without regard to the learner encountering the target of instruction in meaningful, memorable context or story. (If you are looking for a way to better anchor pronunciation to context--and the body--we have more good news for you! Check out the recent IATEFL Pronsig haptic pronunciation teaching webinar) 

If that doesn't make sense now . . .  it will later, eh! 

Motivation to do Pronunciation work: Smell-binding study!

Rats! Well . . . actually . . . mice who are motivated to (voluntarily) exercise more are genetically set up or developed to have better, more discriminating vomeronasal glandular structure. Is that big, or what? Check out the Neuroscience News summary of this unpublished study by Haga-Yamanaka, Garland and colleagues at UC-Riverside, forthcoming in PLOS ONE, Exercise Motivation Could Be Linked to Certain Smells.   I LOVE the researchers' potential application of the research: 

“It’s not inconceivable that someday we might be able to isolate the chemicals and use them like air fresheners in gyms to make people even more motivated to exercise,” Garland said. “In other words: spray, sniff, and squat.”

Being a runner, myself,  I especially like the study since it uses mice who are what they term "high runners!" Admittedly it is a bit of a stretch to jump to the gym and then to the ELT/pronunciation classroom from the study, but the reality of how smell affects performance is well established in several disciplines--and probably in your classroom as well! 

Decades ago, a colleague who specialized in olfactory therapies and was a consultant in the corporate world on creating good-smelling work spaces, etc., sold me on the idea of using a scent generator in my pronunciation teaching. Required a mixing of two or three oils to get students in the mood to do whatever I wanted them to  better. Back then it seemed to be effective but there was little research to back it up and it was before we have been forced to work in "scent-free" and other things-free spaces.

What is interesting about the study to our work is the connection between persistence in physical exercise and heightened general sensory awareness, and the way smell in this case is enhanced. My guess is that touch, foundational in haptic pronunciation teaching is keyed in similar ways. Gradually as students practice consistently with the gestural gross and fine motor gestural patterns, what we call pedagogical movement patterns, their differential use of touch increases. (An earlier post identifies over two dozen "-emic" types of touch in the system.) In other words, touch becomes more and more powerful/effective in anchoring sound change and memory for it. 

That insight is central to the new haptic pronunciation teaching system, Acton Haptic Pronunciation Complement--Rhythm First, which will be rolled out early in 2021. (For preliminary details on that, check out the refurbished Acton Haptic website! )

Zoom(h)aptic: Haptic Pronunciation Teaching online

Keeping in touch doing pronunciation online with your students a problem? We've been working with what we call "haptic videos" for over a decade. Basically by that we mean using video models that learners move along with and in the process use gestures that are mediated and regulated by touch. (The touch usually occurs in the path of a speech-synchronized gesture where the stressed syllable in the word or phrase is articulated.) 

Just read a fun piece by Powers and Parisi on Techcrunch.com (hat tip to haptician Skye Playsted) The hype, haplessness and hope of haptics in the COVID-19 era, I'll focus a bit on the latter! What they get to is a number of haptic technologies, some of which at least promise to help us touch during COVID so we don't pass on something, such as virtual bank "touch" screens that feel to your fingers like you are actually touching the buttons when, in fact, you aren't. They also mention the sort of thing we have been following here for years such as haptic prosthetics, full-body suits and vests and gaming consoles. 

What we have discovered in doing haptic pronunciation teaching online for the last few years is that having learners "dance" along with us haptically, with extensive use of gesture and touch as they repeat or speaking spontaneously from various perspectives, is that the work really does "connect" us. Because the gesture complexes (pedagogical movement patterns - PMPs) are very easy to teach and conduct on Zoom, for instance, everybody (or every body) should get the sense of greater participation and what we term "haptic presence." 

Years of research on mirror neurons has demonstrated that if you are paying careful attention to the motions of another your brain is experiencing much of what is happening as if you, yourself, were the source of the action. What that means is that after students have been introduced to the gestural patterns--by doing them along with select phrases, when they see them again, it should (and generally does from our experience) resonate with them. In informal experiments where we ask students NOT to move along with us, they report that their bodies generally cannot help but move along to some degree. (That is a doctoral degree research project for any haptician who is interested!!!)

So . . . pack up your mirror neurons and go over the www.actonhaptic.com and look at the demonstration videos. And, while you are at it, check our our latest webinar with IATEFL on HaPT! After you do, come back and we'll sign you up for some HaPT training. Right now we are still in v4.5 but v5.0 "ActonHaptic Pronunciation Complement" will be rolling out later this fall!

Managing distraction in (haptic pronunciation) teaching: to block or to hype . . . or both!

New study by Udakis et al:  Interneuron-specific plasticity at parvalbumin and somatostatin inhibitory
synapses onto CA1 pyramidal neurons shapes hippocampal output, characterized by Science Daily as a  . . . a breakthrough in understanding how memories can be so distinct and long-lasting without getting muddled up." Normally, I wouldn't take a shot at connecting research in basic neuroscience to haptic pronunciation teaching, but this one, describing the basic mechanisms by which some memories get stored so that they are recalled vividly later, points to a couple of principles that should underlie all instruction, not just haptic pronunciation teaching. 

In essence what were identified are two key "circuits," in effect, one that basically intensified the event and another that served to block out distraction, or put another way functions to inhibit other "learning" that might cover over or undermine an experience. One interesting implication of that model is that the brain, in some sense, is "intentionally" managing distraction. Now the conditions that have to be in play for an experience to be "protected" are, of course, myriad, but the concept that highly systematic attention to distraction, not just increasing excitement or emotional engagement in a "teachable moment" is critical is worth considering. 

Clker.com

In the comment on the earlier post on distraction, the observation was made that, at least in one program, distraction was not seen as having any relevance in instruction, whatsoever. My guess is that that is the case in many systems as well. In our haptic pronunciation teaching workshops one of the questions we must explore is how teachers explicitly and intentionally deal with in class distractions, of all kinds, but especially extraneous kinetic (movement in the room), visual (elements in the visual field of learners), auditory (any noise coming in from outside or being generated in the room), olfactor (odors), airborne (pollution, etc.), temperature fluctuations and furniture comfort and distribution. 

Any one of those can seriously undermine instruction, of course. In haptic work which is based on systematic control of movement and gesture and utilization of the visual field, you can see how any distraction, in addition to just naturally "wandering students minds" can undermine the process. Consequently, we attend to ALL of them in our initial assessment of the classroom setting that learners are about to enter. 

Just the use of gesture and movement synchronized with speaking will capture the attention of learners at least temporarily mediating the surrounding potentially distractions, but the idea is that in addition to learners being "captivated" by the lesson content, activities and instructor delivery, attention to or control of select environmental features may be extraordinarily important. Assuming you can not control everything at once, I'd suggest you use our basic heuristic: adjust . . . at least just one or two intentionally . . . each class--without letting learners know what you are up to.  Then maybe do some kind of warm up, maybe not like this one of mine, but you get the idea!

Source: 

University of Bristol. (2020, September 8). Research unravels what makes memories so detailed and enduring. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 1, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200908131139.htm