recommend specific consonants throughout the program, which are available on both Teacher Disk 4 and Student Disk 4.
3. Summary of key parameters, benchmarks and goals:
A. General fluency and intelligibility in conversation prior to accuracy B. Focus on exemplars The word or phrase becomes the center of attention in
most sound change. C. Effective anchoring The new or changed pronunciation must be well connected
to its graphic, kinesthetic, auditory and visual features. D. Good pedagogical movement pattern form and execution for 2 to work There
is technically a different PMP for every vowel or consonant sound, stress pattern, rhythm pattern, intonation or tone group, phrasal fluency grouping. From the
student’s perspective, there are just a half dozen basic patterns that are modified slightly, or placed differently, depending on the type or vowel, for example.
E. Consistent warm ups before every video lesson or homework session F. Scaffolding. Modules 1-5 should be done in order; modules 5-9 can be worked
through as appropriate for the learners. If the class is text-based, using extended conversations as the primary source, then a slightly different order is possible,
fronting work in module 8 on discourse mood and setting to the early part of the process.
G. Vowel resonance. The key idea is that the effectiveness of the entire system depends on learners developing a strong felt sense of vowel resonance. That is
established in M2 and M3. At the very least, M1, with the Matrix Anchoring Protocol, should be thoroughly explored before doing any other module. Without
that grounding, the PMPs can easily get out of control, inconsistent and ineffective. See IIG below.
H. Disciplined; personalized practice, e.g., scheduling of homework, word lists, note taking, pronunciation logs andor journals. Of course, any system works better if
learners are persistent and consistent in well-conceived homework. The workbook with video and audio support is very helpful in that regard for most, giving the
less organized a formula to follow in practice and use of word lists.
I. Voice-body alignment, embodiment and coordination J. Integration into overall language learning classroom instruction preferably
during content or highly context-embedded activities K. Gradual, unobtrusive integration of new and changed pronunciation, typically in
two to three weeks. The general model given to learners is something like this: a. Practice new soundswords in phrases with PMPs regularly as homework
for two weeks, even if what they are saying appears to not be all that accurate at first.
b. Do only post hoc self-monitoring recognizing problems after they occur, not trying to prevent them in advance
c. Before long they will be aware, kinesthetically as the anchor replays in their body, when they use the word and sometimes even the sound in a
new word in conversation or when they hear it. A very common experience.
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d. Once that happens, they will begin hearing whether they have mis- pronounced it or not. Generally, that is the watershed or critical
benchmark. e. From there on, the word is quickly integrated into their spontaneous
speaking. Now, granted there is a substantial dose there of future pacing, or post-haptic suggestion, or whatever you want to call it Basic
stuff of at least some good psychotherapy.
4. The modules, appropriate for learners of upper-beginner proficiency level and above, cover most “standard” topics, although not necessarily in this order:
Warm ups Dictionary use for pronunciation, meaning and usage
Vowels Selected consonants interspersed throughout the process
Word, phrasal and clausal stress Pronunciation and vocabulary learning strategies
Basic rhythm canonical rhythm, as in poetry with regular “beats” Conversational rhythm and speed
Fluency and linking Pitch range and intonation
Conversational discourse prominence stress intonation
Each module in-class haptic video lesson plus homework should require a minimum of about one week to complete, depending on time-on-task and the proficiency level of
students.
Basic Syllabus
Those topics are aligned basically in this order:
Module 1 - Haptic learning preliminaries includes dictionary orientation Module 2 - Lax VowelsWord-stress
Module 3 - Tense vowels and tense vowels plus off-glides Module 4 - Focus grouping and phrasal stress
Module 5 - Basic Intonation 5 basic intonation contours Module 6 - General fluency and linking
Module 7 - Conversational rhythm, general speed, compacting of unstressed syllables, and providing listener with additional processing time
Module 8 - Expressiveness Takes the intonation patterns of M4 and adds to them pitch range [high, mid and low], final quick fall-rise [as in tag questions] and PMP for
secondary word or sentence stress [the mini-wave], a quick rise-fall Module 9 - Integration Takes the patterns from M8 and works with them using only a
baton, pencil or chopstick Module 10 – Optional Linking
Module 11 - Optional Unstressed vowels
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Research – The prime objective of AH-EPS work is to anchor sound and sound change. The set of basic targets are generally applicable to any learner. One
reason is that the basic PMPs serve to orient or reorient the body so that “it” can better monitor, recall and control that particular type of sound-movement “nexus”
or combination or association. Specific learners may, of course, have very different issues with the same sound, for example, one may have simple
articulatory problems just producing the target, whereas another fossilized, advanced speaker may be able say it fine but cant figure out where, in which
words of contexts. In both instances, getting to a point where one can concentrate on the true felt sense of producing it is often the cure in itself. See also
extensive discussion of this topic on the HICP blog.
Practical – The initial training sets up learners so that when a problematic sound or sound process comes up in context in an integrated skills class or in everyday
speaking or listening, it can be either dealt with efficiently or noted. Learners should have a much better chance of noticing it, “uptaking” it, recalling it later
and incorporating it into their spontaneous speech. In each module, the uses of the PMP are presented to learners in the introduction.
Why only 3 homework assignments, one every other day? And how do I get students to do their homework?
Research – The two questions are related. There is extensive research in what constitutes effective homework assignment in various fields other than
pronunciation teaching, some of it under the general rubric of “exercise persistence.” NCFS, 2012 In part the answer is if the assignments are right,
students will do them. In physical exercise, the recovery, timing 3x a week and rebuilding constraints following exercise are well documented e.g., Bernstein,
2011. Analogous research in cognitive functioning seems to bear out the same basic principle: the brain benefits substantially from appropriate intervals of rest
and consolidation as well.
Practical – AH-EPS work is intentionally more physical and, not surprisingly, subject to many of the same constraints as working out in the gym. It is critical
that the “body” finds the exercises both interesting and relevant. Our experience is that a disciplined, systematic practice regimen, like that programmed into the
Student Workbook with accompanying audio and video and “pronunciation journal-like” engagement with pen or pencil—not done online works best. The
other aspect of body-based work is that it does provide more tangible and recognizable benchmarks of the process. See the Blog for extensive discussion of
that issue as well. Especially in the early modules, as the learners control of the PMPs and associated sounds improves, typically the sounds themselves are
recognized as better conforming to the target structures. They go hand in hand, so to speak
Now this may sound odd, but what we have found is that as long as learners have very clear instructions and expectations, theyll do the homework consistently.
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The homework, ideally, should not be more than three, 30-minute sessions per week, although in some modules that runs a little longer, to about 45 minutes.
Most seem to feel that that is a reasonable commitment of time for the potential benefits.
How is improvement or progress measured in AH-EPS? In terms of general intelligibility, any valid instrument, such as pre- and post-
audio recordings with appropriate scoring and reliability controls should be adequate for measuring the effectiveness of the protocols. See Appendices E for
two rubrics, one for use in assessing performance of the pedagogical gestures themselves and another for looking at general classroom work and participation
during haptic pronunciation instruction activities.
III BASIC HAPTIC TECHNIQUES: PEDAGOGICALPRONUNCIATION MOVEMENT PATTERNS
Note: HICPEHIEPAH-EPS is based on the concept of highly controlled, disciplined pedagogical movement patterns. Two or three of the PMPs are great
fun and learners can easily lose sight of the purpose of the work. One of the truly valid criticisms of kinesthetic work in pronunciation work and those proponents
of it myself included is that many of the exercises are emotionally or personally too far out of the box for many learners and instructors. That should never be
the case with AH-EPS. Emotional, overly excited gestures, out of control speaking pace and other reactions are generally counterproductive, at best.
The key is that the PMP is defined in relation to other related sound complexes, not just as an isolated element. Pike 1959 and others have characterized language as “wave,
particle and field.” A PMP is a precise movement wave across the visual field, representing a sound or sound structure particle in relation to all other adjacent sound-
complexes in the system. As such, the relative “space” between the PMP and its neighboring “sounds” comes to occupy relatively more of the learner’s immediate
attention than does just the physical experience of the targeted sound itself.
That is, in fact, a fundamental principle of haptic anchoring: relative spatial and touch texture are important, whether or not the learner matches me on the videos all that
precisely is pretty much irrelevant
Pedagogicalpronunciation movement patterns defined Research – It is a “temporary or transitional” movement or gesture across the
visual field concluding in touch, generally not associated with any iconic recognizable meaning-based pattern that accompanies a word or phrase. Where
the movement begins or ends can be important for how well it works in enabling or reinforcing learning of a sound, for example. There are a number of variables
that can affect the usefulness of a pattern, including how far away from the model the learner is located. Research has shown that the ability to mirror a gesture of a
model can be affected by a wide range of physical and emotional factors as well
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Murphy, 2000. PMPs are simply heuristics that help learners “get” something and then quickly fade from awareness. In part, that is also a function of the nature
of haptic as noted in the Why haptic section
Practical - In many ways it is just a formal, systematic version of gestures naturally used by pronunciation teachers. The first set of PMPs was based in part
on an inventory of directed movements from extensive classroom observation of experienced pronunciation teachers Acton, 1994. Even if the learner does
nothing else, just going through the PMPs, one after another, in succession as a daily routine is quite valuable. There is even a name for that: Botes No-practice
Routine After one of the first learners I worked with using some of the Observed Experiential Integration techniques. He did nothing but the PMPs and made
substantial progress, nonetheless.
Because of the wide-ranging movement across the visual field, the constant bilateral engagement and touch, and the attention to rich body and vocal
resonance, along with the music setting in many practice videos the overall effect is both energizing and channeling. As noted earlier, when facing the class,
instructors typically perform the PMPs in mirror image to that of the students. I have recently heard from one colleague who chose, instead, to do the PMPs with
the same handsarms as students--with seemingly good results also. My general response at this point to that is to proceed with caution in adopting that
perspective.
Some of the PMP routines are similar to those eye tracking therapeutic “moves” used by OEI therapists OIE, 2013; others are based on established meditation
and neuro-therapeutic procedures which produce both “mindfulness” and some measure of “mindlessness” Once finished with even some parts of the set, it can
be a challenge for some to even attempt to multi-task for at least an hour or so. That, in itself, may be worth the time to master the PMPs
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Descriptions of the basic PMPs.
The following, brief PMP descriptions are based on Teaman Acton 2013. These are also further detailed in the Guide, and are far easier to understand when experienced with
the haptic videos Recall that the protocols are sets of procedures that train learners in one or several related PMPs.
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The PMPs are powerfulespecially if you practice them for 4 or 5 hours nonstop, stressed and without eating before a test . . . say from about midnight on . . . I had a grad student do that a few years ago when
were experimenting with extensive eye tracking to go with each PMP. We no longer do that She fell asleep and discovered that she had temporarily scrambled her prioprioceptic nervous system enough so she
couldnt stand up for a couple of hours.
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1. Warm Up Protocol
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