Learning pronunciation is like....dancing?

I've recently been listening to the teachings of an excellent and seasoned ESL professional, Adrian Underhill. He shows ESL instructors how to teach pronunciation. The way he explains the process of learning pronunciation is fascinating. He describes it like learning how to DANCE.

In dancing, you need to move certain parts...your legs, arms, feet and hands, not to mention your hips. The same with pronunciation of any language. You need to move your lips, tongue, jaw and voice box.

The two are also similar in that the movement of one affects the movement of another. A slight turn of the hand in dancing leads your partner to turn her body to the side. Tension in your arms and hands helps your partner maintain balance.

In a similar way, dropping your jaw opens your mouth.

Here's an example of the interaction of the different mouth parts:

When speaking English, the tongue and the lips are in opposition, according to Underhill.

When the tongue is forward, the lips are back. So, when you say /i/ like 'leap', your lips stretch wide as if pushing back, and there is tension. Meanwhile, your tongue is pushing forward and toward the top of your mouth.

However, when the tongue is back, the lips are forward. Say 'loose' and push your tongue backward and round your lips. They are forward and rounded now.

Adrian also says that one sound leads into another as you move your mouth parts.

You can test this by using the vowel chart, and starting at /i/ like let, slide from that sound to /Ԑ/  like bet by opening the mouth and dropping the jaw. Then keep opening the mouth and dropping the jaw until you get to/ae/ as it cat.  The tongue stays in front whole time.

What I've learned from Adrian is that I can teach people how to learn through muscle memory. By teaching them how to move their mouth parts in progression, slowly like steps, they will remember. Therefore, constant repetition is not necessary ---movement makes the memory.

As a learner, when you become aware of how you are moving, you are then truly learning!