Using Haptic Techniques to Teach English Rhythm 2018 Annual ETAS Conference Zofingen, Switzerland January 21, 2018 Dr Michael Burri mburri@uow.edu.au @michaelburri

Overview

• Some background

• Haptic pronunciation teaching

• Warm-up

• 3 haptic rhythm techniques

• Q & A

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Haptic Team

William Acton, Trinity Western University

Aihua Liu, Harbin Institute of Technology

Shine Hong, Trinity Western University

Michael Burri, University of Wollongong

Brian Teaman, Osaka Jogakuin University

Karen Rauser, UBC-Okanagan

Amanda Baker, University of Wollongong

Nate Kielstra, Trinity Western University

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“Our sense of self and community are bound up in the speech-rhythms of our first language (L1). These rhythms were learned in the first year of life and are deeply rooted in the minds of students” (Gilbert, 2008)

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Some Background • Pronunciation plays a crucial role in communication (Celce-Murcia

et al, 2010)

• NS and NNS lack confidence & find pronunciation challenging to teach (e.g., Baker 2011; Couper, 2016; Foote, Holtby, & Derwing, 2011; Macdonald, 2002)

• Teaching/learning of English rhythm is problematic (Setter, 2006)

• Suprasegmentals are perceived as being difficult to teach, too time-consuming, and/or too expensive

• Few resources/textbooks move beyond canonical rhythm

• Excessive, de-contextualized instruction (Darcy, Ewert, & Lidster, 2012; Sicola & Darcy, 2015) – lack of integration into other skill areas

• Lack of (or unsystematic) use of kinesthetic intelligence (i.e., body) in teaching

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Canonical Rhythm • Set patterns, regular

timing • One stressed syllable

per thought group • Based on

grammatical boundaries

Conversational Rhythm • Irregular timing,

pauses, hesitations, bursts

• Secondary stress often apparent

• Based on communicative intention

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Essential Haptic-integrated English Pronunciation (EHIEP)

• Haptic: movement + touch (Acton, Baker, Burri, & Teaman, 2013)

• Systematic use of gesture, using movement + touch

• Integrated senses: sight, sounds, movement, touch

• Experiential learning (by doing)

• Captures attention (3-seconds)

• Allows for spontaneous, in-class correction/feedback

• Integration of pronunciation with other skills

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Thought Group & Focus Word Thought Groups:

• Groups of words that are “semantically and grammatically” coherent (Celce-Murcia et al., 2010)

• Noun phrases, verb phrases, and preposition phrases often go together with thought groups

• There may be several thought groups in a single sentence or clause (often learner proficiency dependent)

Examples: The book is on the table

The book / is on the table

The book / is / on the table

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Thought Groups: • are (usually) separated by pauses • are (usually) separated by phrasal groups or clauses • (usually) have a grammatically coherent structure • (ALWAYS) contain a prominent (focal stress) word • Are (in read speech, ALWAYS) separated by

punctuation • For lower level learners: (Usually) maximum 7

syllables in one bunch

Example: In this presentation, / I’m gonna *talk about / haptic techniques / that teachers can use / in their classrooms.

Thought Group Guidelines (Acton©2017)

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Focus Word Guidelines (Acton©2017)

A Focus Word:

• (often) changes for emphasis

• (usually) located on new or key information

• (usually) on content words

• (usually) on words expressing negation

• (usually) to the right, near the end of sentence, clause or focal group

• (always) located on a stressed word or phrase

• (always) controlled by the story

Example: In this presentation, / I’m gonna *talk about / teaching techniques / that teachers can use / in their classrooms.

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Three Haptic Techniques

Syllable Butterfly

Rhythm Fight Club

Tai Chi Fluency

CANONICAL RHYTHM CONVERSATIONAL RHYTHM

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Warm-up

/a/ /o/

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Thank you Tennis Club Old Boys for the for tennis balls!

Experiencing short and long syllables

• Ball in left hand and on the right shoulder deltoid muscle

• Fingers of right hand on the outside of the left forearm muscle

• See AH-EPS-BFLY-Demo (syllable grouping) video: http://www.actonhaptic.com/videos/#/demovideos/

• See Burri & Baker (2016) in English Australia Journal and Acton, Baker, Burri, & Teaman (2013) – see last slide (References)

Butterfly (Acton©2017)

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Tough (or Nice) (1 tap) That’s tough (or nice) (2 taps) Really tough (or nice) (3 taps) That’s really tough (or nice) (4 taps)

1. Two-syllable word “tricky” (or easy)

2. Three-syllable word “puzzling” (or beautiful)

3. Four-syllable word “complicated” (or fascinating)

Key Words

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1A: I think / we've got it / figured out.

• 0 • 0 • • • 0 B: Oh . // Well . // What is it?

0 0 • 0 •

2A: Your muffler / has a small hole in it.

• 0 • • • • 0 • •

B: Oh, gosh. // Does it need to be / replaced right now?

• 0 • • 0 • • • 0 • •

3A: Yeah, / pretty soon. // It isn't going to / last much longer.

0 • • 0 • 0 • • • • • 0 •

B: Huh. // What'll it cost?

0 • • • 0

Dialogue Work (Acton©2017)

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A: What do you like to do / in your free time? B: I like to party / and I like to sleep. Steps:

• Make 1 question • Parse it into thought groups • Identify focus word (or syllable) in each thought group • Ask 3-4 people using the Butterfly • Answer using the Butterfly

Free Practice

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Rhythm Fight Club (RFC) (Acton©2017)

Compressing syllables, foregrounding focus words

P Punch, with arm extended out almost as far as possible < Short jab that goes back toward the body > Short jab that goes out away from the body • See Burri, Baker & Acton (2016)

P Cool < P That’s cool > < P Really cool < > < P That’s really cool P < Funky < P < That’s funky > < P < Really funky < > < P < That’s really funky

The Rhythmic “Feet” of English 1-2

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P < > Super cool < P < > That’s super cool > < P < > Really super cool < > < P < > That’s really super cool P < > < Super funky < P < > < That’s super funky > < P < > < Really super funky < > < P < > < That’s really super funky

The Rhythmic “Feet” of English 3-4

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Dialogue Work (Acton©2017)

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A: What do you like to do / in your free time? B: I like to party / and I like to sleep. Steps:

• Use your (Butterfly) question and ask 3-4 people with the Fight Club

• Answer using the Fight Club

Free Practice

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Tai Chi Fluency (Acton©2017)

• Driver of fluency and flow

• Creates natural linking and reduction of vowel quality

• Ball in right hand

• Catch on stressed syllable

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Movement goes from the left to the right

tough / nice

tricky / easy

dangerous / beautiful

complicated / fascinating

Key Words

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A: How about your family tree?

B: I'm basically Greek / and Swiss-Irish.

A: That's quite a combination, / isn't it?

B: At home / we often had great food / and dancing!

Dialogue Work (Acton©2017)

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A: What do you like to do / in your free time? B: I like to party / and I like to sleep. Steps:

• Use your question again and ask 3-4 people with the Tai Chi

• Answer using the Tai Chi

Free Practice

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More on Pronunciation Teaching? • Jane Setter’s IATEFL plenary session on intonation:

http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2017/session/plenary-session-jane-setter

• Practical tips for integrating pronunciation into your lessons (free TESOL webinar): http://eventcenter.commpartners.com/se/Meetings/Playback.aspx?meeting.id=290652

• Gilbert, J. (2008). Teaching pronunciation: Using the prosody pyramid. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Available at https://www.tesol.org/connect/tesol-resource-center/search-details/teaching-tips/2013/11/06/teaching-pronunciation-using-the-prosody-pyramid

• The Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching (PSLLT) Proceedings (2009-2015): https://apling.engl.iastate.edu/psllt-archive/

• Pronunciation for Teachers: http://www.pronunciationforteachers.com/

• Yates, L., & Zielinski, B. (2009). Give it a go: Teaching pronunciation to adults. Sydney, NSW: AMEP Research Centre. Available at http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/resources/professional_development_resources/give_it_a_go

• Bill Acton’s website https://www.actonhaptic.com/ and blog at http://hipoeces.blogspot.com.au/

• www.michaelburri.weebly.com or follow me on twitter @michaelburri

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Keep in touch!

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References Acton, W., Baker, A. A., Burri, M., & Teaman, B. (2013). Preliminaries to haptic-integrated pronunciation instruction. In J. Levis & K. LeVelle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference (pp. 234-244). Ames, IA: Iowa State University.

Baker, A. A. (2011). Discourse prosody and teachers’ stated beliefs and practices. TESOL Journal, 2(3), 263-292.

Burri, M., & Baker, A. A. (2016). Teaching rhythm and rhythm grouping: The butterfly technique. English Australia Journal, 31(2), 72-77.

Burri, M., Baker, A. A., & Acton, W. (2016). Anchoring academic vocabulary with a "hard hitting" haptic pronunciation teaching technique. In T. Jones (Ed.), Pronunciation in the classroom: The overlooked essential (pp. 17-26). Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., Goodwin, J., & Griner, B. (2010). Teaching pronunciation: A course book and reference guide (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Couper, G. (2016). Teacher cognition of pronunciation teaching: Teachers' concerns and issues. TESOL Quarterly, n/a-n/a. doi:10.1002/tesq.354

Darcy, I., Ewert, D., & Lidster, R. (2012). Bringing pronunciation instruction back into the classroom: An ESL teachers' pronunciation "toolbox". In J. Levis & K. Lavelle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference (pp. 93-108). Ames, IA: Iowa State University.

Foote, J. A., Holtby, A. K., & Derwing, T. M. (2011). Survey of the teaching pronunciation in adult ESL programs in Canada, 2010. TESL Canada Journal, 29(1), 1-22.

Gilbert, J. (2008). Teaching pronunciation: Using the prosody pyramid. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Macdonald, S. (2002). Pronunciation – views and practices of reluctant teachers. Prospect, 17(3), 3-18.

Setter, J. (2006). Speech rhythm in world Englishes: The case of Hong Kong. TESOL Quarterly, 40(4), 763-782.

Sicola, L., & Darcy, I. (2015). Integrating pronunciation into the language classroom. In M. Reed & J. Levis (Eds.), The handbook of English pronunciation (pp. 471-487). Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell.

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