The “Silent Experience”: A New Approach to Prosody

Abstract

Oral communication is a physical activity. In second language acquisition, a greater awareness of, and work upon, the body in relation to language production is important for raising confidence and thus improving performance. This applies to the learner but also to the teacher, who serves as language model and motivator. Our approach, transmitted principally in teacher training workshops and training videos, develops awareness of the role of the body and the workings of the voice, through movement and vocal activities. One important aspect of our work is “The Silent Experience”, which involves work on posture, breathing and the articulators without sound, to allow focus upon the sensations within the body, the awareness of what is happening. It is an active silence, helping the mind and body to become (re)connected in language terms. This work is followed by playing with sound, for example via nonsense language, to once again emphasize form and feeling over meaning. We show teachers both how to increase their own confidence in their physical relationship with the language, and how to employ such exercises in work with learners.