Chapter 1: TEACHING YOUR TONGUE TO SPEAK ENGLISH.

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Why have you studied English so long in school without learning to speak fluently? It is because your teachers have tried to train your mind with written exercises without retraining your tongue at the same time.
If you want to learn to speak English fluently (流利的), it will help you to understand how the human mind produces speech.
However, before looking at the mechanics of speech, I want to draw an analogy（相似） from machine control because the analogy closely parallels（平行的） neurological responses（神经学反应）in spoken language.

 OPEN-LOOP MACHINE CONTROL:

Wikipedia describes an open-loop control system as follows:

An open-loop controller, also called a non-feedback controller, is a type of controller which computes (计算) its input into a system using only the current state . . . of the system. A characteristic (特征的) of the open-loop controller is that it does not use feedback to determine (检测) if its input has achieved the desired goal. This means that the system does not observe the output of the processes that it is controlling. Consequently (所以), a true open-loop system . . . cannot correct any errors that it could make.

For example, a sprinkler (洒水机) system, programmed to turn on at set times could be an example of an open-loop system if it does not measure soil moisture (水分) as a form of feedback. Even if rain is pouring down on the lawn, the sprinkler system would activate on schedule, wasting water.

The open-loop control may be a simple switch, or it could be a combination of a switch and a timer. Yet, all it can do is turn the machine on. It cannot respond to anything the machine is doing.





 CLOSED-LOOP MACHINE CONTROL:

Wikipedia then describes closed-loop control as follows:

To avoid the problems of the open-loop controller, control theory introduces feedback. A closed-loop controller uses feedback to control states or outputs of a dynamical (动力的) system. Its name comes from the information path in the system: process inputs (e.g. voltage applied to a motor) have an effect on the process outputs (e.g. velocity (速度). . . of the motor), which is measured with sensors (传感器) and processed by the controller; the result (the control signal) is used as input to the process, closing the loop.
Wikipedia's definition of a closed-loop system subsequently (后来) becomes too technical to use here. However, as Wikipedia suggests above, a sprinkler incorporating (包含)a soil moisture sensor would be a simple closed-loop system. The sprinkler system would have both a timer and a control valve. Either could operate independently, and either could shut the water off, but both would need to be open in order for the sprinkler to operate.

 HUMAN SPEECH IS A CLOSED-LOOP SYSTEM:

Human speech is a complex (复杂的) learned skill and is dependent (依赖)on a number of memory and neurological functions. Speech is a closed-loop system because sensors within the system itself give feedback to the control portion of the system. The control then corrects and coordinates ongoing speech. In this case, the mind is in control of the closed-loop system, the mouth produces the desired product (speech), and auditory feedback from the ears and feedback from the nerve sensors in the mouth allow the mind to coordinate the speech process in real time.[1]

When you speak your own language, your mind stores all of the vocabulary you need. Your mind also controls your tongue, mouth, and breathing. Your hearing is also an important part of the control because your ears hear everything your mouth says. Therefore, what you say next is partially dependent on the vocabulary and other information stored in your mind. But what you say next is also dependent on what your ears are hearing your mouth say, and on the feedback that is coming from the nerves in your tongue and mouth.

Because you have spoken your own language all of your life, all of this control is automatic (自动的)—you do not need to think about it. But when you learn to speak English, you must retrain all of these processes so that they will all work together at the same time. It is not enough to simply put new vocabulary words or grammar drills into your memory. You must retrain your mind to use all of the new sounds your ears will hear, as well as the new movements of your tongue, mouth, and breathing. Yet, since all of these things must happen together for you to speak fluent English, all retraining of your memory, hearing, and the nerves in your mouth must be done simultaneously (同时的).
The inter-relationship of these functions is shown in the table below. The meanings of specialized (专用的) words are given below the table.



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TABLE 1: The three components of human speech and their primary functions:
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PROPRIOCEPTIVE [2]: Human speech would be impossible without the proprioceptive (本体感受的) sense. (Proprioceptive refers to the sense within the organism itself which detects or controls the movement and location of the muscles（肌肉）, tendons（腱）, and joints（关节） which are used to create speech.) Our mouth, vocal cords, diaphragm, and lungs incorporate thousands of nerve sensors which the brain uses to control the movement and position of these same organs—the mouth, vocal cords（声带）, diaphragm（膈膜）, and lungs（肺）. Imagine the complexity （复杂度）of pronouncing even a single word with the need to coordinate（协调）the tongue, breath control, and jaw （颌）muscles. Now multiply this complexity exponentially (指数的) as sentences are constructed in rapid succession during normal speech.

REAL TIME: Unlike an open-loop control system, a closed-loop control system monitors (监控) feedback and corrects the process as the machine is running. The reciprocal (相互的) path between the control, the feedback sensors, and the process itself is instantaneous (霎时的). That is, information is not stored for later use. Rather, it is used instantaneously as the sensors detect it. In this chapter, I use the term simultaneous to indicate real time feedback during speech.

CALIBRATION (校准 ): In human speech, the mind must constantly monitor the feedback information from both the speaker's own hearing and the proprioceptive senses which enable (使能够) the mind to control muscles and create the desired sounds. Thus, the speaker is constantly "calibrating" the feedback to control speech. To change a tense, the speaker may change "run" to "ran," or change the person from "he" to "she," and so on. These "word" changes are achieved by precise control of the muscles used to produce speech.
We "calibrate" our speech frequently (时常地 ) as we talk. This is why we can misuse a word, verb tense, or some other part of the initial sentence and still make corrections in the remaining words of the sentence so that the listener does not hear our mistake.
Thus, human speech is represented (代表) as the interplay between the mind, the mouth, and its related organs two feedback systems, and conscious (清楚的) calibration as the speaker constructs each sentence. In addition, calibration is continuously (持续不断地) taking place within the control center—the mind. However, because it is acting on feedback from hearing and the proprioceptive senses, I am showing calibration as acting on the source of the feedback.





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Control and feedback in human speech:
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When children learn their mother tongue, their natural ability to hear and mimic (模仿) adult speech builds complex proprioceptive response patterns. A French-speaking child effortlessly learns to make nasal sounds. An English-speaking child learns to put her tongue between her teeth and make the "th" sound. A Chinese-speaking child learns to mimic the important tones which change the meaning of words. Each of these unique sounds requires learned muscle control within the mouth.

I make no apology for the intricacy (复杂性) of this explanation. The neurological feedback and resulting control of the muscles involved in speech is extremely complex. The mind is involved in a far greater task than simply remembering vocabulary and organizing words into meaningful sentences.

If you are learning English as a new language, all of its unique sounds and syntax must be learned. This is much more than a memory function involving just your mind. Each of these new sound and syntax patterns requires retraining your entire mind, the nerve feedback in your tongue, mouth, and breathing (which is proprioceptive feedback), and the auditory feedback (your sense of hearing).

Even English syntax is dependent on your proprioceptive sense. The statement, "This is a book," feels different to the nerve receptors in your mouth than the question, "Is this a book?" We can certainly understand that memory is involved in the use of correct grammar. Just as important, however, is the observation that proprioceptive feedback demands that a question evoke a different sequence of feedback than a statement. This is why I have identified partial syntax control in Table 1 as being a shared function of both the mind (memory) and the mouth (as a proprioceptive sense).

If you doubt that the proprioceptive sense is an important part of speech, try this experiment. Read two or three sentences written in your own language. Read it entirely in your mind without moving your lips. You may even speed read it. Now read the same sentences "silently" by moving your lips without making any sound. Your mind will respond to the first way of reading as simple information which is primarily a memory function, but will respond to the second way as speech because of the proprioceptive feedback from your mouth.

Did you also notice a difference between the two readings in terms of your mental intensity? The first reading would elicit (引导出) the mental activity required when you do a written grammar-based English assignment. The second would result in the same kind of mental activity required when you study English using spoken drills. How quickly you learn to speak fluent English will be directly proportional to your mental involvement when you study.









 THE BEST WAY TO LEARN ENGLISH:

Two skill areas must be emphasized (强调) if you want to learn to speak English fluently. The first is memory (which is involved in both vocabulary and syntax) and the second is proprioceptive responses (which are involved in both pronunciation and syntax).

You may be able to learn simple vocabulary-related memory skills with equal effectiveness by using either verbal or visual training methods. That is, you may be able to learn pure memory skills equally well with either spoken drills or written exercises.

However, it is impossible for you to retrain your proprioceptive sense without hearing your own voice at full speaking volume. Thus, in my opinion, it is a waste of your time to do written assignments for the purpose of learning spoken English.

Surprisingly, it will take far less time for you to learn both fluent spoken English and excellent English grammar by studying only spoken English first, than it will for you to study written English grammar lessons before you can speak English. This does not mean, however, that grammar is not a necessary part of spoken English instruction. It is impossible to speak English—or any other language—without correct use of its grammar. My statement simply means that the best way to learn English grammar is through spoken English exercises. (See Chapter 3: Grammar and Writing in Spoken English Study.)

Inasmuch as(由于) spoken English involves multiple areas of skill working cooperatively in real time, it is mandatory (强制的) that effective spoken English teaching methods simultaneously train all of these areas of speech.

 Control and feedback training must be simultaneous:

It is the important area of the proprioceptive sense which has been most overlooked in current grammar-based teaching methodology (方法论). When any student over the age of about 12 attempts (尝试) to learn a spoken language, his or her proprioceptive sense must be consciously retrained for all of the new sounds and syntax.

Furthermore, to properly retrain the proprioceptive sense of the mouth, the combined feedback from the mouth and hearing must be simultaneously processed in the mind. Simply said, the student must speak out loud for optimum (最佳的 )spoken language learning.

Without simultaneous involvement (眷顾) of all skill areas of speech, it is impossible for you to effectively retrain your proprioceptive sense in order for you to speak fluent English. Yet, this is exactly what grammar-based English instruction has traditionally done by introducing grammar, listening, writing, and reading as segregated (使隔离) activities. It is not surprising that you have studied English so long in school without learning to speak fluently.


Grammar-based instruction has hindered English learning by segregating individual areas of study. Grammar-based English training has not only isolated proprioceptive training areas so that it prevents simultaneous skill development, it has replaced it with visual memory training by using written assignments. Grammar-based language instruction teaches English as though spoken English was an open-loop system. The result for the student is that, gaining English fluency requires far more study time, pronunciation is often faulty, and grammar becomes more difficult to learn.

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Control and feedback training are not simultaneous in grammar-based English instruction:
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CONCLUSION:

Why has it taken you so long to learn to speak English fluently?

Grammar-based English language instruction teaches as though spoken English is primarily a function of memory. Consequently, a grammar-based English lesson emphasizes non-verbal (written) studies of grammar, writing, reading, and listening. All of these activities may increase recall memory for written examinations, but they have little benefit in teaching you to speak fluent English.

The only way you can effectively learn spoken English is by using spoken English as the method of instruction. All of your study (including English grammar) should be done by speaking English at full voice volume for the entire study period.



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[1] Some researchers think human speech is an open-loop system. However, it has been shown that the human brain does many things using both open– and closed-loop control. As suggested in this chapter, spoken English learning would be improved using spoken English study irrespective of whether speech control is open– or closed-loop.

[2] The terms Proprioceptive Method and Feedback Training Method may be used interchangeably in describing this language learning method. An earlier term, Proprio-Kinesthetic Method, was also used for this same language program. I will use the term proprioceptive to describe the neurological process but will call the language learning method the Feedback Training Method.