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І Total physical response

1.1 Asher’s new approach

TPR is based on the premise that the human brain has a biological program for acquiring any natural language on earth. The process is visible when we observe how infants internalize their first language. With acquisition as the main focus in second language learning, TPR was developed in 1974, and continues to be used in the language classroom. It is focused on comprehension development before speaking; besides, it states that speech will emerge naturally as students internalize the language that is being spoken. This method combines information and skills through the use of the kinesthetic sensory system. As a result, this success leads to a high degree of motivation.

The aim is to understand the spoken language before developing speaking skills. Imperatives are the main structures to transfer or communicate information. The student is not forced to speak, but is allowed an individual readiness period and allowed to spontaneously begin to speak when the student feels comfortable and confident in understanding and producing the utterances. TPR method was popularized by Blaine Ray, a Spanish teacher who saw how well interactive movements and stories helped his students to learn. Since them, he has created the foundation of a 15 method, called Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS), which adds funny stories. The basic technique of TPR is simple. Learners act out commands given by the teacher or their fellow pupils. These commands, or series of commands, are simple at the beginning but after some time they may become more complex. A TPR sequence can be a chain of actions relating to a compound task, or even contain a story-line. Learning to understand and respond to language physically is something all – normally gifted – learners can do well. As a result, they feel successful as a student and, they experience the enjoyment of easy learning. They are usually surprised about the speed with which they learn to understand English. The TPR method aids learning foreign languages and relies on the assumption that when learning a second or additional language, that language is internalized through a process of codebreaking similar to first language development and that this process allows for a long period of listening and developing comprehension prior to production. Students respond to commands that require physical movement. TPR is an ESL/EAL behaviorist minded teacher‘s main tool.This strategy does not focus just on oral commands, but has been developed through the years with other aspects incorporated,which can include the use of pictures and props.One of Van Patten‘s guidelines in developing structured input activities states that learners must ―do something‖ with the input that is given to them to acquire the information and this is exactly what Total Physical Response does for the students.This method should not be the only approached used within the language classroom. Just like any other method, its overuse can be tiresome to students and can become ineffective. When teaching in the language classroom there is not one particular method that works for everything. A teacher must be open minded to the different approaches that are available to teach a language because what might work for one class one year may

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not work for another class because of the diversity of intelligence. Total Physical Response does have many beneficial components to it in reference to the learner‘s perspective. When used correctly, TPR will be an enjoyable learning experience for the student and for the teacher, making the lesson effective. Small children learn virtually all language in context. In the classroom we do not have the time that small children do to learn. This is quite a different process. We need to teach students words in ways that they enable them to remember the words, so that early on they can understand them when they hear them and later on the can retrieve them from memory when they want to produce them in speech or writing. The Total Physical Response works because it is comprehensible input with high believability since we create intimate, personal experiences for the students. There are several methods being practiced today for foreign language instruction.

Reviewing the principles


A new method, called the Lexical Approach. Developed by Michael Lewis. It is less concerned with student production and more concerned that students receive

abundant comprehensible input.

Students are given exercises and activities which raise their awareness about lexical features of the target language.

Another method “Comprehension Approach” is Winitz and Reed’s self-instructional program and Winitz’ The Learnables.

The students are asked to respond in some way such as pointing each picture to show that they are understand, but they don’t

speak.

One such method is Krashen and Terrell’s ' “Natural Approach”

The teacher helps her students to understand her by using pictures and occasional words in the students’ native language.

Figure 1 Methods for foreign languages

James Asher’s Total Physical Response (TPR), one method to see how the principles of the Comprehension

Approach are put into practice.On Asher’s research, least stressful way to achieve understanding of any target language is

to follow directions uttered by the instructor.


Teachers who use TPR believe in the importance of having their students enjoy their experience in learning to communicate in a foreign language.

1.What are the goals of teachers who use

TPR?

Initially, the teacher is the director of all student behavior. The students are imitators of her nonverbal model. At some point (usually after ten to twenty hours of instruction), some students will be ready to speak. At that point there will be a role reversal with individual students directing the teacher and the other students.

2.What is the role of the teacher? What is

the role of the

students?

The instructor issues commands to a few students, then performs the actions with them.These same students demonstrate that they can understand the commands by performing them alone.

3.What are some characteristics of the teaching / learning

process?

The teacher interacts with the whole group of students and with individual students.

Students perform the actions together. Students can learn by watching each other.

As students begin to speak, they issue commands to one another as well as to the teacher.

4.What is the nature of student-teacher interaction? What

is the nature of student-

student interaction?

TPR was developed to reduce the stress people feel when studying foreign languages.

Another way to relieve anxiety is to make language learning as enjoyable as possible.

Feeling of success and low anxiety facilitate learning.

5.How are the feelings of the

students dealt with?

Dr. James J. Asher originated the stress-free Total Physical Response approach to second language acquisition which is known internationally as TPR. Dr. Asher developed the approach in 30 years of research in the laboratory. He is a emeritus Professor of Psychology and former Associate Dean at San Jose State University, the first public institution of higher learning in California, founded in 1857. His undergraduate work was completed at the University of New Mexico, a masters degree and doctorate at the University of Houston, and postdoctoral training at the University of Washington (linguistics),Stanford University (educational research), and the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California (Arabic). Dr. Asher's research was supported by grants from the Office of


Figure 2 Principles

Just as with the acquisition of the native language, the oral modality is primary. Culture is the lifestyle of people who speak the language natively.

6.How is language viewed? How is

culture viewed?

Vocabulary and grammatical structures are emphasized over other language areas.

Understanding the spoken word should precede its production. The spoken language is emphasized over written language.

7.What areas of language are emphasized?

What language skills are emphasized?

TPR is usually introduced in the student’s native language. After the introduction, rarely would the native language be used. Meaning is made clear through body movements.

8.What is the role of the students’ native language?

Teachers will know immediately whether or not students understand by observing their students’ actions. Formal evaluations can be conducted simply by commanding individual students to perform a series of actions. As students become more advanced, their performance of skits they have created can become the basis for evaluation.

9.How is evaluation accomplished?

It is expected that students will make errors when they first begin speaking. Teachers should be tolerant of them and only correct major errors. Even these should be corrected unobtrusively. As students get more advanced, teachers can “fine tune”---correct more minor errors.

10.How does the teacher respond to student errors?

Education, the Office of Naval Research, the Department of Defense, and the State of California. Total Physical Response (TPR) is a language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action; it attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity. Developed by James Asher, a professor of psychology at San Jose State University, California, it draws on several traditions, including developmental psychology, learning theory, and humanistic pedagogy, as well as on language teaching procedures proposed by Harold and Dorothy Palmer in 1925. Total Physical Response is linked to the " trace theory " of memory in psychology, which holds that the more often or the more intensively a memory connection is traced, the stronger the memory association will be and the more likely it will be recalled. Retracing can be done verbally (e.g., by rote repetition) and/or in association with motor activity. Combined tracing activities, such as verbal rehearsal accompanied by motor activity, hence increase the probability of successful recall.[1:291-300] In a developmental sense, Asher sees successful adult second language learning as a parallel process to child first language acquisition. He claims that speech directed to young children consists primarily of commands, which children respond to physically before they begin to produce verbal responses. Asher feels adults should recapitulate the processes by which children acquire their mother tongue. Asher shares with the school of humanistic psychology a concern for the role of affective (emotional) factors in language learning. A method that is undemanding in terms of linguistic production and that involves game like movements reduces learner stress, he believes, and creates a positive mood in the learner, which facilitates learning.[11:55-62] A typical TPR activity might contain instructions such as "Walk to the door", "Open the door", "Sit down" and "Give Maria your dictionary". The students are required to carry out the instructions by physically performing the activities. Given a supportive classroom environment, there is little doubt that such activities can be both motivating and fun, and it is also likely that with even a fairly limited amount of repetition basic instructions such as these could be assimilated by the learners, even if they were unable to reproduce them accurately themselves. The above examples, however, also illustrate some of the potential weaknesses inherent in the approach. Firstly, from a purely practical point of view, it is highly unlikely that even the most skilled and inventive teacher could sustain a lesson stage involving commands and physical responses for more than a few minutes before the activity became repetitious for the learners, although the use of situational role-play could provide a range of contexts for practicing a wider range of lexis. Secondly, it is fairly difficult to give instructions without using imperatives, so the language input is basically restricted to this single form. Thirdly, it is quite difficult to see how this approach could extend beyond beginner level. Fourthly, the relevance of some of the language used in TPR activities to real-world learner needs is questionable. Finally, moving from the listening and responding stage to oral production might


be workable in a small group of learners but it would appear to be problematic when applied to a class of 30 students, for example. [16:12-23] In defense of the approach, however, it should be emphasized that it was never intended by its early proponents that it should extend beyond beginner level. (In theory it might be possible to develop it by making the unstrung lexically more complex (for example, "Pick up the toothpaste and unscrew the cap"), but this does seem to be stretching the point somewhat). In addition, a course designed around TPR principles would not be expected to follow a TPR syllabus exclusively, and Asher himself suggested that TPR should be used in association with other methods and techniques. In terms of the theoretical basis of the approach, the idea of listening preceding production and learners only being required to speak when they are ready to do so closely resembles elements of Stephen Krashen’s Natural Approach. Short TPR activities, used judiciously and integrated with other activities can be both highly motivating and linguistically purposeful. Careful choice of useful and communicative language at beginner level can make TPR activities entirely valid. Many learners respond well to kinesthetic activities and they can genuinely serve as a memory aid. A lot of classroom warmers and games are based, consciously or unconsciously, on TPR principles. As with other "fringe" methods, however, wholesale adoption of this approach, to the total exclusion of any other, would probably not be sustainable for very long.[3:70-84] Asher's emphasis on developing comprehension skills before the learner is taught to speak links him to a movement in foreign language teaching sometimes referred to as the Comprehension Approach (Winitz 1981). This refers to several different comprehension-based language teaching proposals, which share the belief that


The emphasis on comprehension and the use of physical actions to teach a foreign language at an introductory level has a long tradition in language teaching. Asher does not directly discuss the nature of language or how languages are organized. However, the labeling and ordering of TPR classroom drills seem to be built on assumptions that owe much to structuralize or grammar-based views of language. Asher states that "most of the grammatical structure of the target language and hundreds of vocabulary items can be learned from the skillful use of the imperative by the instructor". He views the verb, and particularly the verb in the imperative, as the central linguistic motif around which language use and learning are organized. Asher sees language as being composed of abstractions and non-abstractions, with non-abstractions being most specifically represented by concrete nouns and imperative verbs. He believes that learners can acquire a "detailed cognitive map" as well as "the grammatical structure of a language" without recourse to abstractions. [18:99-123] Abstractions should be delayed until students have internalized a detailed cognitive map of the target language. Abstractions are not necessary for people to decode the grammatical structure of a language. Once students have internalized the code, abstractions can be introduced and explained in the target language. This is an interesting claim about language but one that is insufficiently detailed to test. For


comprehension abilities precede productive skills in learning a language;

the teaching of speaking should be delayed until comprehension skills are established;

skills acquired through listening transfer to other skills;

teaching should emphasize meaning rather than form;

teaching should minimize learner stress.

Figure 3 Emphasis on developing comprehension skills

example, are tense, aspect, articles, and so forth, abstractions, and if so, what sort of "detailed cognitive map" could be constructed without them? Despite Asher's belief in the central role of comprehension in language learning, he does not elaborate on the relation between comprehension, production, and communication (he has no theory of speech acts or their equivalents, for example), although in advanced TPR lessons imperatives are used to initiate different speech acts, such as requests ("John, ask Mary to walk to the door"), and apologies ("Ned, tell Jack you're sorry"). Asher also refers in passing to the fact that language can be internalized as wholes or chunks, rather than as single lexical items, and, as such, links are possible to more theoretical proposals of this kind, as well as to work on the role of prefabricated patterns in language learning and language use Asher does not elaborate on his view of chunking, however, nor on other aspects of the theory of language underlying Total Physical Response. We have only clues to what a more fully developed language theory might resemble when spelled out by Asher and his supporters. [5:3-7] Asher's language learning theories are reminiscent of the views of other behavioral psychologists. For example, the psychologist Arthur Jensen proposed a seven-stage model to describe the development of verbal learning in children. The first stage he calls Sv-R type learning , which the educational psychologist John DeCecco interprets as follows: In Jensen's notation, Sv refers to a verbal stimulus—a syllable, a word, a phrase, and so on. R refers to the physical movements the child makes in response to the verbal stimulus (or Sv). The movement may involve touching, grasping, or otherwise manipulating some object. For example, mother may tell Percival (age 1) to get the ball, and Percival, distinguishing the sound "ball" from the clatter of other household noises, responds by fetching the ball and bringing it to his mother. Ball is the Sv (verbal stimulus), and Percival's action is the response. At Percival's age, children respond to words about four times faster than they respond to other sounds in their environment. It is not clear why this is so, but it is possible that the reinforcing effects of making proper responses to verbal stimuli are sufficiently strong to cause a rapid development of this behavior. Sv-R learning represents, then, the simplest form of verbal behavior. [19:81-106] This is a very similar position to Asher's view of child language acquisition. Although learning psychologists such as Jensen have since abandoned such simple stimulus-response models of language acquisition and development, and although linguists have rejected them as incapable of accounting for the fundamental features of language learning and use, Asher still sees a stimulus-response view as providing the learning theory underlying language teaching pedagogy. In addition, Asher has elaborated an account of what he feels facilitates or inhibits foreign language learning.[6:133-139] For this dimension of his learning theory he draws on three rather influential learning hypotheses :


Asher's Total Physical Response is a "Natural Method" inasmuch as Asher sees first and second language learning as parallel processes. Second language teaching and learning should reflect the naturalistic processes of first language learning. Asher sees three processes as central:


Stress (an affective filter) intervenes between the act of learning and what is to be learned; the lower the

stress, the greater the learning.

Brain lateralization defines different learning functions in the left- and right-brain hemispheres.

There exists a specific innate bio-program for language learning, which defines an optimal path for first and

second language development.

Table 4 Learning hypotheses

Parallel to the processes of first language learning, the foreign language learner should first internalize a "cognitive map" of the target language through listening exercises. Listening should be accompanied by physical movement. Speech and other productive skills should come later. The speech-production mechanisms will begin to function spontaneously when the basic foundations of language are established through listening training. Asher bases these assumptions on his belief in the existence in the human brain of a bio-program for language, which defines an optimal order for first and second language learning. 111A reasonable hypothesis is that the brain and nervous system are biologically programmed to acquire language ... in a particular sequence and in a particular mode. The sequence is listening before speaking and the mode is to synchronize language with the individual's body.[17:188-201] 11 Asher sees Total Physical Response as directed to right-brain learning, whereas most second language teaching methods are directed to left-brain learning. Asher refers to neurological studies of the brains of cats and studies of an epileptic boy whose corpus callous was surgically divided. Asher interprets these as demonstrating that the brain is divided into hemispheres according to function, with language activities centralized in the right hemisphere. Drawing on work by


-Children develop listening competence before they develop the ability to speak. At the early stages of first language acquisition they can understand complex utterances that they cannot spontaneously pro duce or imitate. Asher speculates that during this period of listening, the learner may be making a mental "blueprint" of the language that will make it possible to produce spoken language later,

- Children's ability in listening comprehension is acquired because children are re quired to respond physically to spoken language in the form of parental commands

-Once a foundation in listening comprehension has been established, speech evolves naturally and effortlessly out of it. As we noted earlier, these principles are held by proponents of a number of other method proposals and are referred to collectively as a Comprehension Approach.

Table 5 Three processes is a "Natural Method"

Jean Piaget, Asher holds that the child language learner acquires language through motor movement - a right-hemisphere activity. Right-hemisphere activities must occur before the left hemisphere can process language for production. Similarly, the adult should proceed to language mastery through right-hemisphere motor activities, while the left hemisphere watches and learns. When a sufficient amount of right-hemisphere learning has taken place, the left hemisphere will be triggered to produce language and to initiate other, more abstract language processes. An important condition for successful language learning is the absence of stress. First language acquisition takes place in a stress-free environment, according to Asher, whereas the adult language learning environment often causes considerable stress and anxiety. The key to stress-free learning is to tap into the natural bio-program for language development and thus to recapture the relaxed and pleasurable experiences that accompany first language learning. By focusing on meaning interpreted through movement, rather than on language forms studied in the abstract, the learner is said to be liberated from self-conscious and stressful situations and is able to devote full energy to learning.[8:85-96] 111The type of syllabus Asher uses can be inferred from an analysis of the exercise types employed in TPR classes. This analysis reveals the use of a sentence-based syllabus, with grammatical and lexical criteria being primary in selecting teaching items. Unlike methods that operate from a grammar-based or structural view of the core elements of language, Total Physical Response requires initial attention to meaning rather than to the form of items. Grammar is thus taught inductively. Grammatical features and vocabulary items are selected not according to their frequency of need or use in target language situations, but according to the situations in which they can be used in the classroom and the ease with which they can be learned.[20:78-86] 111 The criterion for including a vocabulary item or grammatical feature at a particular point in training is ease of assimilation by students. If an item is not learned rapidly, this means that the students are not ready for that item. Withdraw it and try again at a future time in the training program. 1111Asher also suggests that a fixed number of items be introduced at a time, to facilitate ease of differentiation and assimilation. "In an hour, it is possible for students to assimilate 12 to 36 new lexical items depending upon the size of the group and the stage of training". Asher sees a need for attention to both the global meaning of language as well as to the finer details of its organization. The movement of the body seems to be a powerful mediator for the understanding, organization and storage of macro-details of linguistic input. Language can be internalized in chunks, but alternative strategies must be developed for fine-tuning to macro-details. A course designed around Total Physical Response principles, however, would not be expected to follow a TPR syllabus exclusively.[10:26-41] 11 Imperative drills are the major classroom activity in Total Physical Response. They are typically used to elicit physical actions and activity on the part of the learners. Conversational dialogues are delayed until after about 120 hours of instruction. Asher's rationale for this is that "everyday conversations are highly abstract and disconnected; therefore to understand them requires a rather advanced


internalization of the target language". Other class activities include role plays and slide presentations. Role plays center on everyday situations, such as at the restaurant, supermarket, or gas station. The slide presentations are used to provide a visual center for teacher narration, which is followed by commands, and for questions to students, such as "Which person in the picture is the salesperson?". Reading and writing activities may also be employed to further consolidate structures and vocabulary, and as follow-ups to oral imperative drills. [15: 29-47] 1111 Learners in Total Physical Response have the primary roles of listener and performer. They listen attentively and respond physically to commands given by the teacher. Learners are required to respond both individually and collectively. Learners have little influence over the content of learning, since content is determined by the teacher, who must follow the imperative-based format for lessons. Learners are also expected to recognize and respond to novel combinations of previously taught items: Novel utterances are recombination’s of constituents you have used directly in training. For instance, you directed students with 'Walk to the table!' and 'Sit on the chair!'. These are familiar to students since they have practiced responding to them. Now, will a student understand if you surprise the individual with an unfamiliar utterance that you created by recombining familiar elements (e.g. 'Sit on the table!'). 1111 Learners are also required to produce novel combinations of their own. Learners monitor and evaluate their own progress. They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak - that is, when a sufficient basis in the language has been internalized [14:50-55].



TPR

inhances listening

skills

Support kinesthetic

learning styles

Uses psychomotor

systems to teach vocabulary

students react with their '

bodies as well as their brains

considered a right brain

toolhelps

student intemalize vocabulary

Figure 6 Total physical response

1.2 Teacher’s role


What are the goals of teachers who use TPR ?

enjoyment of learning

reduction of stress

encourage students to persist

What is the role of the teacher ? What is the role of the students ?

teacher as non verbal model

Students are imitator of the

teacher

later role-reversal

Figure 7 Aims of the teachers in use TPR

Figure 8 Role of the teacher and students


What is the nature of student-teacher interaction ? What is the nature of student-student interaction ?

The teacher interacts with the whole group of students and with

individual students.

How are the feeling of students dealt with ?

To reduce the stress

people feel..

Perfection should not

be expected..

To relieve anxiety..

There not be too

modeling but students not be too rushed..

Figure 9 student-teacher and student-student interaction

Figure 10 How are the feeling of students dealt with ?

The teacher plays an active and direct role in Total Physical Response. "The instructor is the director of a stage play in which the students are the actors". It is


How is the language viewed ? How is culture viewed ?

The oral modality is primary.

Culture is the lifestyle of people

who speak the language natively.

How does the teacher respond to student errors ?

Teachers should be tolerant of their students and only correct major

errors.

Figure11 How is the language viewed and culture

Table 11 The teacher respond to student errors

the teacher who decides what to teach, who models and presents the new materials, and who selects supporting materials for classroom use. The teacher is encouraged to be well prepared and well organized so that the lesson flows smoothly and predictably. Asher recommends detailed lesson plans: “It is wise to write out the exact utterances you will be using and especially the novel commands because the action is so fast-moving there is usually not time for you to create spontaneously". Classroom interaction and turn taking is teacher rather than learner directed. Even when learners interact with other learners it is usually the teacher who initiates the interaction. [14:6-17] Asher stresses, however, that the teacher's role is not so much to teach as to provide opportunities for learning. The teacher has the responsibility of providing the best kind of exposure to language so that the learner can internalize the basic rules of the target language. Thus the teacher controls the language input the learners receive, providing the raw material for the "cognitive map" that the learners will construct in their own minds. The teacher should also allow speaking abilities to develop in learners at the learners' own natural pace. In giving feedback1 to learners, the teacher should follow the example of parents giving feedback to their children. At first, parents correct very little, but as the child grows older, parents are said to tolerate fewer mistakes in speech. Similarly teachers should refrain from too much correction in the early stages and should not interrupt to correct errors, since this will inhibit learners. As time goes on, however, more teacher intervention is expected, as the learners' speech becomes "fine tuned".[11:87-98] 1111Asher cautions teachers about preconceptions that he feels could hinder the successful implementation of TPR principles. First, he cautions against the "illusion of simplicity," where the teacher underestimates the difficulties involved in learning a foreign language. This results in progressing at too fast a pace and failing to provide a gradual transition from one teaching stage to another. The teacher should also avoid having too narrow a tolerance for errors in speaking. 1111 You begin with a wide tolerance for student speech errors, but as training progresses, the tolerance narrows. Remember that as students progress in their training, more and more attention units are freed to process feedback from the instructor. In the beginning, almost no attention units are available to hear the instructor's attempts to correct distortions in speech. All attention is directed to producing utterances. Therefore the student cannot attend efficiently to the instructor's corrections. corrections.1 corrections. 1111 There is a secret to this way of learning in many age groups but one that is more acknowledged is that of an infant learning their first words. The unique conversation between a parent and infant would be a prime example. [10:26-41] 1111When a parent says “Look at daddy”, and the baby turns to the father and the father then responds, this becomes a “Language-Body Conversation.” Although the child is not yet speaking they are internalizing the patterns and sounds of the target language.

Learners in Total Physical Response have the primary roles of listener and performer. They listen attentively and respond physically to commands given by


the teacher. Learners are required to respond both individually and collectively. Learners have little influence over the content of learning, since content is determined by the teacher, who must follow the imperative-based format for lessons. Learners are also expected to recognize and respond to novel combinations of previously taught items: Novel utterances are recombination’s of constituents you have used directly in training. For instance, you directed students with 'Walk to the table!' and 'Sit on the chair!'. These are familiar to students since they have practiced responding to them. Now, will a student understand if you surprise the individual with an unfamiliar utterance that you created by recombining familiar elements (e.g. 'Sit on the table!'). Learners are also required to produce novel combinations of their own. Learners monitor and evaluate their own progress. They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak - that is, when a sufficient basis in the language has been internalized. 1111 The first objective in any excellent language program is enabling students to be comfortable and confident with the sounds, the grammatical patterns, and semantics of the new language. That can be accomplished with students of all ages including adults using concrete nouns, adjectives, verbs, prepositions, and adverbs [6:102-113].


1.3Advantages and disadvantages of TPR


Advantages

It is a lot of fun. Learners enjoy it, and this method can be a real stirrer in the class .

It lifts the pace annd the mood ;

It is very memorable . It does assist students to recognize

Disadvantages

Students who are not used to such things might find embrassing . This can be the case initially that if the teacher is prepared to perfom the actions , the students feel happier about capying . In addition , the

students are in a group and do not have to perform for the whole class.

This pleasure is reserved for the teacher;

It is only really suitable for beginner levels . whilst , it is clear that it is far

more useful at lower levels becouse the target language lends itself to such

activities even though it can successfully be applied at Intermediate and Advanced levels. In this respect , it

is essential to adapt the language , accordingly.

It is good for kin aesthetic learners who are required to be active in the class;

It can be used both in large or small classes . In this case , it is no matter to have how many students you have as long as you are prepared to take the lead , the learners will follow;

It is not flexibly used to teach everything , and if used a lot , it would become repetitive . This method is a fun way of changing the dynamics and pace of a lesson used in conjunction with other methods and techniques . To same up , TPR should best be combined with others since it needs much energy so that learners do not feel tired of learning language ;


It works well with mixed- ability classes . The physical actions get across the meaning effectively so that all the learners are able to comprehend and apply the target language ;

Although the use of TPR in the classroom has often been effective , it does have its flaws. One of this method flaws is that when a teacher uses TPR in their lesson, they will have trouble teaching abstract vocabulary or expressions. As a remedy, the teacher can write the word on cards with a picture if applicable. Another flaw is that TPR can be in effective if the teacher uses it for a long period of time without switching it with other activities that help teach the target language. Since TPR is made up of manly of commands, it tends to neglect narrative , descriptions and conversation forms of language.

It is no need to have a lot of preparation or materials using the TPR. In this regard , as long as you are competent of what you want to practice (a rehearsal before hand can help), it will not take a lot of time to get ready;

It is very effective with teenagers and young learners ;

It involves both left and right and right-brained learning;

Figure 12 Advantages and Disadvantages

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20. Romi, T. 2001. Total Physical Response in the Classroom.[78-86]


http://www.tpr-world.com/

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http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/total-physical-response-tpr

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/total-physical-response-tpr

2.1 Survey consideration

The teacher or a more proficient student gives a command, demonstrates the command, and then students respond physically to the command. Because students are actively involved and not expected to repeat the command, anxiety is low, and student focus is on comprehension rather than production. Hence, they demonstrate comprehension before their speaking skills emerge. After an introduction to key vocabulary, students watch a demonstration of the command and then follow the command. For example, “paper (teacher shows a stack of paper) a piece of paper (teacher holds up one piece), take out (teacher does action with different objects) Take out a piece of paper.” New vocabulary is introduced and previous vocabulary reviewed in a series of related commands. New commands are added until students can respond to variations of several.

Table 1 Summery of the steps follows

TPR is a well-known beginning ESL method, but TPR-based activities can be adapted and incorporated into mainstream or multi-level classes, particularly in areas where visible directions can be given. It is very helpful to ESL students when mainstream teachers incorporate TPR into their instruction. This is particularly easy to do in physical education, art, and other classes where directions are commonly used for visual acts. Even in science and math students can gain a great deal of comprehensible input through the use of TPR. For example, any science experiment can be an opportunity to involve beginners through TPR. TPR also provides a base for literacy development in the second language as students learn to read the commands they followed.


Summary of the steps follows:

Students watch demonstration of key

words and then a command using

them.

Students listen again and watch as the

teacher performs the action.

The teacher gives the command to an

individual without modeling the action.

The teacher gives the command to the group without

modeling the action.

The teacher gives the command and models the

action again, this time having students perform the

actions simultaneously.

The teacher models variations &

combinations for the groups.

Students perform variations &

combinations.

If some students are ready, they give

commands to classmates.

It is critical, as for all instruction, that the content chosen for any TPR lesson help students meet authentic needs. The examples listed reflect functional classroom instructions and begin to also introduce the language for math since ESL students can profit from some math instruction even with very limited English skills. Too often, the commands many published TPR lessons suggest do not provide the language that is most needed by new ESL learners. Commands such as: “Sneeze, giggle, wet your lips, scratch your nose”, and so forth are fun but don’t include vocabulary, content, nor classroom directions that are particularly useful to an ESL student. Fun commands, however, can be incorporated which use functional and purposeful vocabulary such as, “Write the answer on your hand.” “Write”, “answer”, and “hand” are useful for many classroom directions. “Thumbs up” and “high five” used in the sample that follows may not be high frequency words in English, but they help establish a positive and supportive classroom environment that is critical for reducing anxiety and helping students develop a sense of camaraderie. Outside of the ESL classroom, these supportive signs may also be one of the first ways an ESL student will try to communicate with a native speaker, and these gestures typically evoke a positive response.

As students follow the commands, they are not asked to repeat. This reduces anxiety and enables attention to be focused on comprehension. Soon, however, several students will begin to repeat words, phrases or sentences. As soon as some are comfortable saying the commands, they may begin giving similar directions to other students. The activities that preceded this one would have included fewer commands, shorter commands and more limited vocabulary. When review is carefully incorporated into a sequence of TPR activities, complexity can increase quickly. Without this type of review, progress is very slow, and student retention is dramatically reduced.

Once students can follow oral commands, this comprehensible and meaningful vocabulary and context can be used to teach literacy. One of the easiest things for a person to read is a simple command she just performed. Since literacy readiness in a second language will be determined primarily by literacy skills in the first language, there will be a wide range of performance in class even among the students with no prior English instruction. For a period of time (unique to each student) those who are illiterate may not be able to demonstrate many of the independent literacy skills in the sequence of suggested activities that follows; however, students with lower skills are still being exposed to key concepts and principles related to literacy.


The following sequence is a suggestion for an ESL instructor or aide; however, mainstream teachers would be able to replicate some of the activities with their ESL students. Often mainstream students can assist in providing the commands and in writing them for ESL learners. For example, as mainstream students learn TPR strategies, they can give commands, model them, and write the commands on 3 by 5 cards. The ESL student then draws an accompanying picture of the action on the back.


Given some beginnings of sentences and the endings of others, students will collaborate with a partner who has the missing endings and beginnings to combine the sentences.

When finished they can sequence the combined sentences.

Given a written list of the new commands from an oral activity, students follow along as the instructor reads them. A classmate will act out each command to insure comprehension. In TPR it is very beneficial to use a camera to record student action. Students take turns taking pictures of

classmates demonstrating each command. After the modeling, students read along with the instructor and then with each other. They collaborate to illustrate the commands for later use. It is easy now with electronic cameras for students to create their own sequences of pictures with

related commands.

Following review, student pairs will use a set of commands on sentence strips and take turns reading and acting out the commands. They will then

match the sentences with their own illustrations and sequence the commands in a logical manner.

POSSIBLE SEQUENCE OF LITERACY ACTIVITIES

The instructor shares the written form of some of the new vocabulary. Students demonstrate understanding of each, copy the words in the vocabulary section of their

binders, and illustrate each word in a way that is meaningful to them. Literate students may add a native language translation.

Table 2 POSSIBLE SEQUENCE OF LITERACY ACTIVITIES

The class book is a friendly way for students with low literacy skills to identify with literacy, to review and experience peer modeling, and to demonstrate personal skills at the point of readiness. At early stages an illiterate student may be


As students learn more English, they can add entries to the book. For example, students describe what a student, or group of students “is/are doing” in related pictures. They might write about what one student “does every day” to prepare for class, and so forth. Students will also begin writing dialogues that are relevant to the situations pictured. The class continues to add to this book throughout the year with

pictures of themselves and the accompanying text as they study other school situations. Gradually more school content directions are included such as the directions for a science experiment or directions for

using a computer.Students can role-play and tape or video-tape responses to a series of

commands and dialogues related to different situations. They can provide a written text to accompany the tapes and videos. Native English speakers (peer tutors or volunteers) can assist in insuring accuracy and comprehensibility of

the products.

Students may then be ready to write their own sentences or sequences and combine the vocabulary in original ways. They can illustrate their sentences and have classmates match the drawings with the sentences. The students can also create fill-in-the-blank

activities for other students.

Authenticity and purpose is enhanced if students develop a class project. They can collaborate with their teammates to write a meaningful sequence for a class book. Students can list the sequences studied in class

and each team can choose one. They use copies of the pictures taken of students and write a series of directions to accompany the selected pictures. The following are sample titles: “Directions for Opening a

Locker”, “Being Prepared for Class”, “Useful Directions For Class and Group Work”, “Ways to Encourage and Respect Others”, “Procedures in the Cafeteria” “Common Commands in Physical Education”,

“Reporting an Emergency”, “Checking Out Library Books”, and so forth.

Given a fill-in-the blank activity made from a meaningful sequence of commands, students will write in possible vocabulary. Some students may need a word bank.

Students who are ready will write commands dictated by the instructor. Others will attempt to fill in the blanks in sentences as they are dictated. Since students are at a very beginning level of English, one idea is to

have them assess themselves by first identifying anything they did correctly, rather than looking for errors. They can underline their successes (an initial consonant, a single word spelled correctly, a capital letter or a

period, the correct number of words, anything). They can then expand on this correctness by adding to and/or changing words and punctuation.

copying comprehensible words or sentences written by a classmate and practicing letter formation and movement from left to right before copying a sentence into the book. Yet from the beginning, his/her contributions are part of the class project, and photographs of the student and/or drawings done by the student are always included.

For all learners, reading and writing instruction will immediately focus on purposeful activities. Even at beginning stages, in addition to personal relevance, student projects will incorporate writing that benefits others. For example, the class books, as well as the videos and tapes with their accompanying text will be a valuable resource for other students who enter the school later in the year as well as for new students the following year. Many students have access to videos in learning centers and in their homes. Watching videos of themselves and other classmates is very pleasant homework for a beginning ESL student. Students are often anxious to share this type of homework assignment with their parents. Many native speakers enjoy participating in producing these videos to provide appropriate modeling for some of the commands, to help incorporate authentic interaction, and to edit the accompanying text.

TPR IN LARGE OR MULTILEVEL CLASSES


COOPERATIVE SUGGESTION:

It is often beneficial for students to participate in TPR activities within

groups of four. If there are not enough manipulatives for each student to have his/her own, the teacher can give directions to a

designated person in a group. It is not as beneficial in a large class to

have only one student do an activity that the rest of the class watches. Even for commands such as: “Walk to the door,” or

“Write on the blackboard” can be directed to “Number 3, walk to the door.” Otherwise in a large class, students have to wait too long for

their turn. (See sample TPR activities.)

MULTILEVEL SUGGESTIONS:

In a multilevel classroom, the more advanced students will not respond to the TPR commands since the

activity would be too low level for them. However, it is important to remember that they will be distracted by the physical activity in the room unless they themselves

are involved in an engaging activity. One idea is for these students to use the oral activity as dictation

practice. They may write the commands on the board as they are given and peer edit their work. Because

they are written on the board, it is easy for the teacher to check them. An alternative would be to write a

description of what a student “is doing”. The teacher may ask one of the more advanced students to give the

commands to the beginners while s/he checks the written work. It is helpful if the teacher first identifies

the sentences with errors and the students collaborate to find and correct them. For errors students are unable to find, the teacher indicates where the error occurs in the sentence, and the students try again. Thus, the teacher

corrects only those errors that the students cannot correct themselves. Once the sentences have been edited, the more advanced students can take turns

reading the commands as the beginning students follow along or read them and then perform the action.

Table 3 TPR IN LARGE OR MULTILEVEL CLASSES

Another idea is for the more advanced students to answer more complex questions. For example, if a teacher incorporates TPR into a science experiment, all students follow the TPR directions for conducting the experiment. Students with some language skills are asked to describe what students are doing as they do the steps of the experiment and answer simple questions. The students with the most English language proficiency answer more complex questions and explain why they are doing what they are doing. For example, they may explain the rationale for the hypothesis, describe the controls and variables in the experiment, and explain the results.

MANIPULATIVES AND VISUALS sequential picture books about planting, growing, harvesting, and processing wheat and making bread:

What Goes Into Bread, How Bread is Made, Wheat, Different Kinds of Bread (Sunshine Books Science, The Wright Group) Wheat (Social Studies Emergent Readers, Scholastic) Bread, Bread, Bread, by Ann Morris, The Loaf of Bread, See How It’s Made, Modern Curriculum Press

real seeds, real wheat, real flour (samples for each team)Picture set for each team:each animal in the story of The Little Red Hen, table, stove with oven, wheat, wheelbarrow, bag of flour, mill,

SAMPLE COMMANDS (Imitate actions with visuals.)1. Number 1, put the hen next to the dog.2. Number 2, put the duck next to the cat.3. Number 3, take the dog. You are the dog.4. Number 4, take the cat. You are the cat.5. Number 2, take the duck. You are the duck.6. Number 1, take the hen. You are the hen.7. Dog, put the seed on the table.8. Hen, take out the money. Buy the seed.9. Cat, plant the seed.10. Duck, water the wheat. 11. Everyone grow from a seed to wheat.12. Everyone touch the wheat.13. Hen, cut the wheat.14. Cat, put the wheat in the wheelbarrow.15. Dog, push the wheat to the mill.16. Duck put the wheat in the mill.17. Cat, touch the mill.18. Hen, touch the mill.19. Everyone grind the wheat. Grind, grind, grind, grind the wheat.20. Dog pay the man in the mill.21. Cat, take the wheat out of the mill.22. Hen, put the flour in the wheelbarrow.23. Duck, push the flour to the cat.


24. Cat, put the flour on the table.25. Everyone touch the flour.26. Hen, put water in the flour and make the dough.27. Cat, help mix the dough.28. Everyone help mix the dough. Mix, mix, mix, the dough.29. Hen, make the bread.30. Cat, put the bread in the oven.31. Duck, please help set the table.32. Dog, take the bread out of the oven. 33. Hen, put the bread on the table.34. Cat, cut the bread.35. Everyone, eat the bread.

VOCABULARY (New vocabulary in bold)NOUNS

animal hen cat dog plant seed water wheat mill flour dough oventable water wheelbarrow

VERBShelp make cook take move puteat plant grow water cut grindpush touch mix pay buy money

IDIOMS: “put in” “take out” “take off”PREPOSITIONS

next to in on to outEXPRESSIONS

thank you please set the table

Table 4 Procedure


PROCEDUREStudents look through the content-related sequential

picture books prior to beginning the TPR activity.

As students look through the pictures, they talk with each other in their home

languages. Students who do not have a classmate who speaks his/her language sit with the teacher and listen as s/he talks through some

of the pictures.

Teacher models as needed. Teams of students (4 per

team, numbered 1-4) each have a set of pictures and

collaborate with each other to physically follow the

commands.

Students do not need to repeat. However, some students may choose to

repeat, and more advanced students may give some of

the commands.

2.2 Enhanced games

TPR GamesYoung learners like active games. You can draw on well known games that involve TPR. Don’t be afraid of adapting them to suit your needs. Particularly useful games are: • Simon Says — can be adapted to body words, action words and objects students can touch (or not touch) • Chain games building on actions with each progressive child • Charades — miming and guessing words using picture or word cards My Little Island incorporates the development of learning through TPR. In it, you will find many suggestions for TPR games and activities to play in the classroom that are associated with the new language in each unit.

This activity is great for kids and adult students. You'll need several objects or props - as many as you'd like to use. First, you pantomime a series of actions while you say the phrases. Then you say the phrases and ask a student to pantomime the actions. You can try this with several students and use different objects. Finally, they should do it on their own and walk around the classroom interacting with objects. Try something like this: You open your bag. You look inside. You take out a pencil case. You open it. You close it. You put it in the bag. You look at your book. You open it. You close it. You touch your ear. You find your pencil!

TPR and everyday classroom activitiesYou can easily use TPR in your everyday classroom routine. Get the children used to responding to greetings and questions like: How are you? by doing a thumbs up or down. Encourage the children to recognise and respond to your simple classroom instructions and gestures to do things like:• touch • hands up/down• stand up • find• sit down • open/close your booksMake visual associations with words that they can learn and mimic, especially descriptive words:• big • happy• small • sad And of course, they love to mime people, animals, vehicles, weather… (you can probably think of many more.)


TPR songs With a little imagination, you can turn elements of most children’s songs into action songs and build up the TPR element. It is important that the children understand the meaning of the songs. It is also useful to choose simple repetitive songs so that they can anticipate the structure and participate more fully. Memorable song tunes help enormously in creating mental links to words and meaning. Children will remember a song they like for a long time. Most songs in My Little Island have been written as TPR songs, with actions embedded to promote understanding and memorability. For example, the song “Close Your Eyes” (see page 4) mixes actions with face vocabulary. You would teach them the actions first, introducing the parts ofthe face by saying and demonstrating “Pointto your…”.You would then play the song and encourage the children to do the actions.Repetition of songs and actions is very importantfor young learners as familiarity breeds confidence and will help them remember.

TPR storiesChildren can participate in stories using TPR with a few simple techniques. They can: Close your eyes Open your eyes Open your mouth Close your mouth Point to your nose Wiggle your ears Point to your nose Wiggle your ears Shake your head and move your hair Shake your head and move your hair. Partner activitiesFinally, students work in pairs or teams of four to tell or read the series. In teams of four, two students give commands and two respond physically. Meanwhile, the teacher monitors each team and suggests ways to elaborate on the vocabulary by adding new words.Here is one example of the process:

1. Let's go to the zoo. Open the door and get in your car.2. Turn on the engine in your car.3. Drive to the zoo.4. Park the car.5. Get out of the car.6. Buy your ticket with a $5.00 dollar bill.7. Hold out your hand for your change.8. Walk to the entrance.9. Give your ticket to the person at the gate.


10.Open the gate and go in.11.Wave at the giraffes.12.Walk like a giraffe.13.Wave at the monkeys.14.Laugh like a monkey.15.Wave at the elephants.16.Wave your trunk like the elephants.

TPR Teaching Activities

Teachers adapt TPR activities that suite different classroom situations to teach first grade lessons. They are required to provide physical fan activities that teach different first grade lessons in a practical way that is both fun and engaging for the kids to participate in. Creativity and imagination is vital for the success of TPR teaching methods when teaching first-graders. Among the lessons teachers can use TPR teaching methods to teach include typical classroom phrases and language, such as “Take out your pens, please?” Others are common classroom commands and imperatives, such as “clap for her" or “stand up;” language tenses, including present, past and future tenses, such as “I walked to school today” and “I pray every night” and vocabulary related to actions, such as "sit" or "stand."

How it works TPR classroom activities that include playing traditional games such as Charade and Simon Says in class are used to teach first grade lessons. Teachers use TPR classroom activities to teach different things, such as parts of the body. They can achieve this by playing Simon Says with the children where the teacher gives simple commands beginning with the phrase “Simon says…,” such as “Simon says clap your hands” or "Simon Says touch your toes." -- - The teacher then demonstrates the action for the children to follow. When children clap their hands and touch their toes, they learn parts of their bodies. Other TPR classroom activities that teachers can use in class include singing play-songs, engaging in mime role-play and telling stories that have movements and mime. TPR classroom activities can be diversified to include more complex commands that teach things such as directions and action verbs. -----Teachers can give instructions such as “Simon says turn right/left” and demonstrating the action to teach direction. Charade can be used to teach action verbs and sports. Teachers introduce flashcards with a sport/action written on them and then act out the sport/action on the flashcards for the children to identify the sport out loud. -----This creates a fan way for teaching the actions on the flashcards. Teachers may, however, need to divide the class into teams for the kids to take turns


pantomiming and identifying different sports/actions on the flashcards out loud to each other. TPR teaching method can facilitate long-term lessons retention and make it fun for children to learn and develop their academic abilities. Does TPR really help students with grammar? --------It does. Eric Schessler’s English Grammar through Actions is a fine little book showing how to TPR 50 grammatical features in English. We recommend that you use this as a supplement as you go along for pinpoint instruction of specific grammatical features. With TPR, students understand grammar in the right brain but cannot tell you how grammar works. If your intent is getting specific points of grammar into the left brain for analysis, then Schessler’s book can help. Remember, the right brain internalizes without analysis for high- speed learning. The critical left-brain must analyze everything, which makes for agonizingly slow-motion learning. Excellent guidelines to keep in mind for teaching any subject come from Leslie Hart who calls left brain learning “brain antagonistic” instruction while right brain learning is “brain compatible” instruction. (For more on right-left brain research discoveries in more than 4,000 studies, read my books: Brains witching: Learning on the Right Side of the Brain and The Super School: Teaching on the Right Side of the Brain) .


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