This workshop introduces a set of six haptic (movement + touch)-based techniques for presenting and correcting English L2 pronunciation, applicable for intermediate English language learners and above. Guided by research on kinesthetic approaches to L2 pronunciation instruction, the presenters train participants to use the instructional techniques in their classrooms.

1. Introduction to Haptic-Integrated
Pronunciation Teaching
Nate Kielstra, Trinity Western University
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 (Deus ex-machina)
TESOL 2015, Toronto

2. Essential Haptic-integrated
Pronunciation Teaching
(EHIEP)
is different.

3. Close your eyes

4. Warm-you-up!
Shine Hong
Trinity Western University

5. WARM UP!
[I]
[ε]
[æ]
[a]
[ʌ/Ə]
[U]
[i]
[e]
[Ɔ]
[o]
[u]

6. ESSENTIAL HAPTIC-INTEGRAED
ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION (EHIEP)
focuses on
• Classroom-based, verbal feedback
(for modeling and correction)
• Systematic use of gesture (using touch)
• Integration into all skill areas, e.g., using
pronunciation to support vocabulary
learning
• Extensive homework follow-up

7. Short History of Haptic-Integrated
Pronunciation Teaching
o Lessac (1967) “Train the body first!”
o Accent reduction (Acton, 1984)
o Tactile/kinesthetic techniques (2005)
o Classroom use - EHIEP v1.0 (2006)
o AHEPS v2.0 (2012) – (Video system)
o AHEPS v3.0 (2014) - (Multi-purpose)
o AHEPS v4.0 (2015) – (Cloud-based)

8. Kinaesthetic Research
and Teaching
o Gesture in learning and speaking
o “Flamboyant” instruction
o Kinaesthetic intelligence
o Classroom studies of “gesticular”
teachers and learners
o “Power” teaching

9. OEI and Haptics
o Observed Experiential Integration
(2005) – Systematic use of visual field
and touch
o Experiential learning (therapy)
o Anchoring experience/emotion
o Enhancing memory for events, etc.

10. Why Haptic?
o Exploratory (and temporary) sense
o Integrates sight, sound, movement,
with touch
o Captures attention (3-seconds!)
o Examples: haptics, surgery, gaming,
prosthetics, haptic cinema…iPhones

11. EHIEP
o Systematic use of gesture (using
movement plus touch)
o Integration pronunciation with other
skills
o In class, spontaneous correction
o Persistent homework practice
o http://hipoeces.blogspot.ca

12. Single/Rough(lax & tense)
Vowels and Word Stress
Karen Rauser
University of British Columbia -
Okanagan

13. 10 cooks [U] 2 Chicken
[I]
8 salt [Ɔ] 4 best [ε]
7 love [ʌ] 6 hot/water
[a]
5 fat [æ]
Single/Rough/Vowels

14. 10 2
9 3
8 4
6
y
w
nose
throat
chest

15. chinook shiver
lacrosse pemmican
mukluk bannock
toboggan
Canajun Terms with
Single/Rough Vowels

16. 1A: That smells delicious!
5 4 2
B: No kidding. I love this recipe.
2 7 4
2A: Where'd you get it from?
4 4 7
B: From . . some . . Maritime recipe book.
7 7 4 4 10
3A: Well, What's it called?
4 7 8
B: Bang Belly Sub Sandwich!
5 4 7 5
What’s cooking?

17. Tense/Double-Smooth Vowels
and Word Stress
Nate Kielstra
Trinity Western University

18. (y)
11w too [uw] 1y she [iy]
9w boat [ow] (w) 3y may
[ey]
8y boy [Ɔy]
6y like [ay]
6w now [aw]
Double Smooth Vowels

19. kangaroo emu
odor Mate
hoi polloi
outback Australia
Words with
Double-Smooth Vowels

20. 1A: Excuse me. How do you get / to Texas Sushi House?
11w 6w 11w
B: Lemme see . ..I know / where Sushi House is.
1y. 9w 11w
2A: About / how far is it, / Y'know?
6w 6w 9w
B: Maybe / half and hour / or so
3y 6w 9w
3A: Cool. / I have enough time. / How do I go there?
11w 6y 9w
B: Walk down / to ninth street / and then go left on Roy.
6w 6y 8y
Texas Sushi House

21. Syllable Butterfly
Brian Teaman
Osaka Jogakuin University

22. Syllable Butterfly groups usually:
o Are maximum 5-7 syllables in length
o Are more frequent if there is more excitement or
emotion
There is one (main/anchored/focal)
syllable in each focus group which is:
o More prominent than the other syllables in the
group
o Related to the information structure of the
discourse

23. The Stressed Syllable in each Focus
Group is Usually Located:
o On new or key information
o On content words
o To the right, near the end of a sentence, clause or
focal group

24. Butterfly Positions
o Fingers of one hand on the shoulder deltoid
muscle
o Fingers of the other hand on the outside of the
forearm muscle

25. Key Words:
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)

26. 1A: I think /we've got it/ figured out.
• 2 • 6 • • • 6w
B: Oh ./ well what is it?
9w • • 2 •
2A: Your muffler / has a small hole in it.
• 12 • • • • 9w • •
• B: Oh, gosh./ Does it need to be / replaced right now?
• 6 • • 1y • • • 3y • •
3A: Yeah, /pretty soon./It isn't going to / last much longer.
5 • • 11w • 2 • • • • • 8 •
B: Huh. //What'll it cost?
12 • • • 8

27. Rhythm Fight Club
Michael Burri
University of Wollongong

28. Symbols Explained
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

29. 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

30. 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

31. P Bad!
< P That’s bad!
> < P Very bad!
< > < P That’s very bad!
P < Nasty!
< P < That’s nasty!
> < P < Very nasty!
< > < P < That’s very nasty!
RFC: Bee Sting Fight! 1-2

32. P < > Dangerous!
< P < > That’s dangerous!
> < P < > Very dangerous!
< > < P < > That’s very dangerous!
P < > < Devastating!
< P < > < That’s devastating!
> < P < > < Very devastating!
< > < P < > < That’s very devastating!
RFC: Bee Sting Fight! 3-4

33. < < < < P < < <
Oh that’s very devastating!
< < < < < P < < <
You know that’s very devastating!
< < < << < P < < <
Oh you know that’s very devastating!
Flow

34. 1A: Hey! Can I help you?
P > < P <
B: We got a disaster at the house!
> < > < P < > < >
2A: What’ya got?
> < P
B: Water coming out / of the furnace!
P < > < > > < P <
3A: Any idea / where it is coming from?
< > < P < < > < P < >
B: Ooooh! I didn’t’ look behind it.
P < > < > < P <
Disaster at the House!

35. 4A: What’s right above it?
< > < P <
B: The jacuzzi . . .
> < P <
5A: Go home and call me / if shutting off / the jacuzzi doesn’t help.
< > < P < < P < > > < P < > < >
B: I’ll bet that’s it!!!
< > < P
6A: You never know. / Good luck on that one!
< > < P < > < > P <
B: Thanks! You’re the greatest!
P > < P <

36. Intonation Touch-i-namis
Aihua Liu
Harbin Institute of Technology

37. o Touchinamis
= touch + wave movement
Intonation “Touchinamis!”

38. Basic Intonation “Touchinamis!”
1. Flat
2. Fall
3. Rise
4. Rise-fall

39. Pedagogical movement pattern (PMP)
PMP
Left
Right
Touchinamis PMP

40. Flat
Example:
“well…that’s possible.”
Used for:
 Thinking or hesitating
 A pause in a long
sentence where there
is no comma
[--]

41. Fall
Example:
“Nice to meet you.”
Used for:
 Basic statement or at
a comma or period
 WH Questions
[]

42. Rise
Example:
“Are you okay?”
Used for:
 Basic Y/N questions
 Part of a series:
“red, white and blue”
[/]

43. Rise-Fall
Example:
“It’s beautiful.”
Used for:
 Enthusiasm
 Empathy & emotion
 Citation forms –
“pronunciation”
[/]

44. A: Hi, B! How are you?
B: Well, not bad . . .
A: Oh . . . Is something wrong?
B: I've not been feeling too well.
A: What's the problem?
B: I got the flu a week ago.
How about a Movie?

45. A: [] Hi, B! [/] How are you?
B: [--] Well, [--] not bad . . .
A: [--] Oh . . . [/] Is something wrong?
B: [/] I've not been feeling too well.
A: [] What's the problem?
B: [ / ] I got the flu a week ago.
How about a Movie?

46. Tai Chi Fluency
Shine Hong
Trinity Western University

47. Tai Chi
• Driver of fluency and flow
• Creates natural linking and reduction of vowel
quality
• Ball in right hand
• Catch on stressed syllable

48. Tai Chi PMP
•PMP goes from the Left to the Right
key words:
Tough/Nice
Tricky/Easy
Dangerous/Beautiful
Complicated/Fascinating

49. Tai Chi Practice (Family History)
1A: How about your family tree?
B: I'm basically Greek / and Swiss-Irish.
2A: That's quite a combination, isn't it?
B: At home / we often had great food/ and dancing!

50. Tai Chi Practice (Family History)
3A: I believe that! //What about your grand parents?
B: Dad's parents /both came from Greece as children.
4A: Uh-huh. //And your mother's parents background?
B: I know her father was Irish / but I'm not as sure / about
her mother. //Swiss, I think.

51. Consonants
Bill Acton
Trinity Western University

52. Parameters
o Movement
o Resonance
o Touch points
o Anchoring
o Visual schema and video models
o Equipment
o Lips, teeth, tongue, aspiration

53. “Sticky” Consonants
th/th
f/v
r/l
s/sh/z/zh
tr, ch

54. More Sticky Consonants
m, n, ng
w
y
h

55. EHIEP
Haptic-o-logues are
Short, in-class, verbal exchanges that
manage sound change, e.g.,
• Mirrored modeling (visual, auditory,
kinaesthetic, tactile engagement)
Or
• Mirrored correction and practice
• Designed (focus on form)
• Spontaneous (Pre-fab or free-form)

57. Keep in touch!
www.actonhaptic.com

58. Practicing pronunciation of new
or corrected sounds or words
(1)
• On a card, on the front, write down the word with
an apostrophe (‘) before the stressed syllable.
• On the back of the card, write down the vowel
number of the vowel in the primary stressed syllable
and the phonetic transcription of the whole word.

59. Practicing pronunciation of new
or corrected sounds or words
(2)
• If you are working on one sound only, do one word
per card. Use many cards, if necessary!!!
• Check meaning and usage. Copy a phrase from
the dictionary with the word in it.
• Practice the word, saying it OUT LOUD, with vowel
PMP three times.

60. Practicing pronunciation of new
or corrected sounds or words
(3)
• Practice the word in a phrase, saying it OUT LOUD,
with the Fight Club PMP three times.
• Using your deck of cards, practice new or
corrected words for 2 weeks, at least 3 times each
week.

61. Practicing pronunciation of new
or corrected sounds or words
(4)
• ALWAYS do sharp PMPs. NEVER do the word list
without PMPs. NEVER. NEVER!”
• If you get the chance, when you hear the word in
conversation or read it, quickly do the vowel or
Fight Club PMP as you say the word OUTLOUD or to
yourself.

62. Acton Haptic-integrated English
Pronunciation System (AHEPS, v3.0)
“Bees and Butterflies: Serious Fun!”
• Student Guide (11 modules)
• Student Practice videos (DVDs or streaming)
• Instructor Notes
• Instructor Teaching videos (DVDs or streaming)