Teachers and tutors get physical about pronunciation

ELI faculty get a pronunciation "workout" with presenter Bill Acton (left).

On one Friday in May, if ELI students had passed Clayton Hall on the UD campus and glanced through the window, their jaws would have dropped in amazement. There were their ELI teachers and tutors, gathered in a large conference room, their bodies twisting and turning in a variety of exotic positions. Was this Tai Chi? A ritual dance? Acting class? In reality, ELI faculty were doing none of the above. Rather, they were being trained in a unique method of teaching pronunciation. Dubbed “Multi-Modal Intelligibility Integration Interface System” (MI3), the method was developed by Dr. William Acton of TrinityWestern College in British Columbia, Canada. MI3 is based on Acton’s conviction that English vocal patterns are learned best when they are produced in combination with other “modes,” especially movement and touch (thus the term “multi-modal.”)

These different sources of sensory input activate different areas of the brain in both hemispheres. As a result, the speed and accuracy of learning vowel sounds, pitch and intonation increase significantly. Dr. Acton was the guest presenter for this daylong professional development workshop. During the training, ELI faculty and visiting instructors from Drexel and Temple Universities learned how to help students visualize a chart, drawn in the space around their bodies. On this imaginary chart, there is a specific place for each English vowel sound, pitch and intonation pattern. When making the target sound, students simultaneously reach with their hands for its position on the chart, each sound being represented by a unique position of the arms and hands. With practice, students come to associate specific movements with specific sounds, and the result is more accurate production of English sound patterns.

ELI teachers are now experimenting with the MI3 system, adapting it to their listening/ speaking classes in various ways.  • SP