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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )

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APPROACH, METHOD AND TECHNIQUE.

In century spanning the mid-1880s to the mid-1980s, the language –teaching professio was
involved in a search. That search was for what was popularly called “ methods”, or ideally, a single
method, generalize across widely varying audiences, that would succesfully teach student a foreign
language in the classroom. Historical accounts of the profession tend therefore to describe a
succession of methods. Each of which is more or less discarded as a new method takes its place.
We will turn to that “ methodical” hstory of language teaching in moment, but first , we should try to
understand what we mean by method.
What is a method ? About four decade ago Edward Anthony ( 1963 ) Gve us a definition that
adirably withstood the test of time. His concept of “method” was the second of three hierarchical
elements , namely approach, method and technique. An approach according to Anthony was a set of
assumption dealing with the nature of language , learning and teaching. Method was described as an
overall pla for systematic presentation of language based upon a selected approach. Techniques
were the specific activities manifested i the classroom that were cosistent with a method and
therefore were in harmony with an approach as well.
To this day , for better or worse, Anthony’s term are still in common use among language
teacher. A teacher may , for example , at tthe approach level , affirm the ultimate importance of
learning in a relaxed state of mental awareness just above the threshold of consciouness. The
method that follow might resemble, say, suggestopedia. Techiques could include playing baroque
music while reading a passage in the foreign language getting student to sit in the yoga position while
listening to a list of words, or having learners adopt a new name in the classroom and role-play that
new person.
A couple decade later, Jack Richards and Theodore Rodgers ( 1982, 1986 ) proposed a
refomulation of the concept of “method”. Anthony’s approach, method and technique were renamed ,
respectively , approach, design and procedure, with a superordinate term to describe this three-step
process, now called “ method “. A method , according to Richard and Rodgers, was “ an umbrella
term for the specification and interrelation of theory and practice” ( 1982:154 ). A approach defines
assumption, beliefs and theories about the nature of language and language learning. Design specify
the relationshp of those theories to classroom materials and activities. Procedures are the techniques
and practices that are derived from one’s approach and design.
Through their refomulation , Richard and Rogers made two principal contribution to our
understanding of the concept of method:
1. They specify the necessary elements of language – teaching design that had heretofore been left
somewhere vague. Their schematic representation of method described six important features of

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designs: objectives, syllabus ( criteria for selection and organization of linguistic and subject-matter
content ), activities , learner roles, teacher roles and the role of instructional materials. The latter
three features have accupied a significant proportion of our collective attention in the profession for
the last decade or ( style , idividual preferences for group or idividual learning , student iput in
determining curricular content,etc.) are important consideration in your teaching.
2. Richard and Rogers nudged us into last relinquishing the notion that separate ,defineable, discrete
methods are essential building blocks of methodology. By helping us to think in term of an aproach
that undergirds our language designs ( curricular ) , which are realized by various procedures
( techniques ) , we could see that methods, as we still use and understand the term, are too
restrictive, too pre-programmed , and too “ pre-packaged”. Virtually all language – teaching methods
make teh oversimplified assumption that what teachers “do” in the classroom can be
conventionalized into a set of procedures that fit all contexts. We are now all too aware that such is
clearly not the case.
As we see, the whole concept of separate methods is no longer a central issue in language –
teaching practice. Instead, we currently make ample reference to “methodology” as our superordinate
umbrella term, reserving the term “ method” for somewhat specific , identifiable clusters of
theoritically compatible classroom techniques.
So, Richards and Rodgers’s reformulation of the concept of method was soundly conceived:
however their attempt to give new meaning to an old term did not catch on in the pedagogical
literature. What they wanted us to call “ method” is more comfortably referred to, I think as
“ methodology “ in order to avoid confusion with what we will no doubt always think of as those
separate entities ( like Audiolingual and Suggestopedia ) that are no longer at the center of our
teaching philosophy.
Another terminological problem lies in the use of the term design; instead, we are comfortably
refer to curricular or syllabuses when we refer to design features of a language program.
What we are left with in this lexicographic confusion? It is interesting that the terminology of
the pedagogical literature in the field appears more in line with Anthony’s original term, but with some
important additions and refinements.
Methodology : Pedagogical practices in general ( including theoritical underpinning and related
research ). Whatever consideration are involved in “ how to teach “ are methodologycal.
Approach : Theoritically well-informed position and beliefs about the nature of language, the nature
of language learning, and the applicability of both to pedagogical settings.
Method : A generalized set of classroom specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives.
Methods tend to be concerned primarily with teacher and student roles and behaviors and
secondarily with such features as linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing and materials.

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They are almost always thought of as being broadly applicable to a variety of audiences in a variety
of contexts.
Curriculum/ syllabus : Designs for carrying out a particular language program. Features include a
primary concern with the specification of linguistic and subject-matter objectives,sequencing and
materials meet the needs of a designated group of learners in a defined context. ( The term “syllabus”
is usually used more customarily in the United Kingdom to refer what is called a “curriculum” in the
United States.)
Techique( also commonly referred to by other term): Any wide variety of exercises, activities, or tasks
used in the language classroom for realizing lesson objectives.

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1.0 INTRODUCTION.
Total Physical Response Method is an example of a new general approach to foreign language
instruction which has been named “the comprehension approach”. It is called this because of the
importance it gives to listening comprehension. Method consistent with the comprehension approach,
on the other hand, begin with the listening skill. The idea of focusing on listening comprehension
during early foreign language instruction comes from observing how children acquire their mother
tongue. A baby spends many months to says a word, no one tells the baby that is must speak. The
child chooses to speak when it is ready. That also happen in this method, the students will speak until
they are ready. In the total physical response method, students listen and respond to the spoken
target language commands of their teacher. Commonly, this method is used with beginning class or
kindergarten.
TPR is a learning strategy developed by Dr James Asher, a professor at San Jose State
University , where the students understand the new language first before they have to speak it, write
it , or read it – just a child learns language the first time.
TPR is based on the premise that human brain has a biological program for acquiring any
natural language on earth-including the sign language of the deaf. The process is visible when we
observe how infants internalize their first language.
“ Asher reasoned that the fastest , least stressfull way to achieve understanding of ay target
language is to follow directions uttered by the instructor ( without native language translation )”
( Larsen 2000 : 108 ).
Total Physical Response ( TPR ) is a language teaching method built around the coordination
of speech and action; it attempt to teach laguage through physical ( motor ) activity. TPR 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, hence increase the probability of succesful recall.
Asher’s emphasis on developing comprehension skills before the learner is tought to speak
links him to movement in foreign language teaching . It shares the believe that :
 Comprehension abilities precede productive skills in learning a language.
 The teaching of speaking should be delayed until comprehension skills are established.
 Skilld acquired through listening transfer to other skills.
 Teaching should emphasize meaning rather to other skills.
 Teaching should minimize learner stress.

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2.0 Theory of learning


Theory of Learning of Total Physical Response Method
Commonly, this method is used with a beginning class or kindergarten the analogous of
this method is as same as with the baby’s process to speak. A baby spends many months listening to
the people around it long before it ever says a word. The child has the time to try to make sense out
of the sounds it hears. No one tells the baby that it must speak. The child chooses to speak when it is
ready. In this method, the students will want to speak after ten to twenty hours of the teacher’s
instructions, although some students may take longer. Student should no be encouraged to speak
until they are ready. There are three techniques in this method. The major technique is using
commands to direct behavior, meaning and memory can be conveyed and activated through actions.
TPR takes its grounding in behavioral psychology. Asher sees a stimulus-response view
as providing the learning theory underlying language teaching pedagogy. To reinforce memorization
TPR combines motor activity (fulfilling the commands after the teacher) and verbal rehearsal
(listening to the teacher's model and speaking out when one is ready to produce). Such combination
can be labeled as an action-based drill in the imperative form. To justify development of listening
comprehension before expecting any production from the student Asher uses the facts from the
process of first language acquisition when children respond physically to spoken language in the form
of parental commands. Only after a long silent period (from several months to two or three years) the
child’s speech-production mechanism begins to function. Asher also believes that second language
teaching should be directed to the right brain hemisphere which is responsible for motor activities,
while the left hemisphere (responsible for verbal processing) watches and learns. To sum up this
theory in one sentence, TPR is based on recreating the first language learning process in the second
language classroom, because the human brain and nervous system are biologically programmed to
acquire language in a particular mode. The sequence is developing listening comprehension before
production skills and the mode is synchronizing language with body movements.
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

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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.
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. For
this dimension of his learning theory he draws on three rather influential learning hypotheses :
1. There exists a specific innate bio-program for language learning, which defines an optimal path
for first and second language development.
2. Brain lateralization defines different learning functions in the left- and right-brain hemispheres.
3. Stress (an affective filter) intervenes between the act of learning and what is to be learned; the
lower the stress, the greater the learning.
Let us consider how Asher views each of these in turn.
1. THE BIO-PROGRAM
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,
(a) 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 produce 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,
(b) Children's ability in listening comprehension is acquired because children are required to respond
physically to spoken language in the form of parental commands,
(c) 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.
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

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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.
A 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.
2. BRAIN LATERALIZATION
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 callosum 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 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.
3. REDUCTION OF STRESS
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.

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3.0 Theory of language


Theory of Language of Total Physical Response Method
In this method, the area of language are emphasized in grammatical structures and vocabulary.
These are embedded within imperatives. The imperatives are single words and multi word chunks.
One reason for the use of imperatives is their frequency of occurrence in the speech directed at
young children learning their mother tongue. Understanding the spoken word should precede its
production. The spoken language is emphasized over written language. Students often don’t learn to
read the commands they have already learn to perform until after ten hours of instruction. In learning
language, this method refers to the right hemisphere of the brain, the part which control nonverbal
behavior.

The approach is based upon structuralist or grammar-based views of language. The verb in
the imperative is considered to be the central linguistic motif around which language use and learning
are organized. The commands employed in the classroom are used to teach anything beginning with
focusing on prepositions to the conditional and subjunctive moods (e.g., Henry would you prefer to
serve a cold drink to Molly, or would you rather have Eugene kick you in the leg?). Since Asher
considers second language learning as a parallel process to child language acquisition, the language
contents are based on concrete nouns and imperative verbs, i.e. nonabstractions, the immediate
surrounding in the classroom. As for teaching abstractions, they should be delayed until students
have internalized a detailed cognitive map of the target language. Once students have internalized
the language code, abstractions can be introduced and explained in the target language. Though the
syllabus of TPR is structure-based and grammar-focused, the emphasis is on meaning rather than on
form. Language is presented in chunks so that it would be internalized as wholes rather than as
single lexical items. In the early stages teachers similarly to parents should refrain from too much
correction in order not to inhibit learners.
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
structuralist 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" (1977: 4). 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"

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without recourse to abstractions.
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 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.

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4.0 Objectives / Goals


The Objectives of Total Physical Response Method
This method is believed making the students enjoy their experience in learning to communicate in a
foreign language. In fact, the Total Physical Response Method was developed in order to reduce the
stress people feel when studying foreign languages and encourage the students to persist in their
study beyond a beginning level of proficiency. The way to do this is to base foreign language learning
upon the way children learn their native language. This method conform to kindergarten, the students
of kindergarten really like something or lesson that related to the physical response, therefore this
method will be more effective to make the students understand.

The general objectives of TPR are to teach oral proficiency at a beginning level. Another sub-
goal of the method is to have students enjoy their experience in learning a foreign language, to
reduce the stress that people feel when studying foreign languages and thereby encourage them to
persist in their study beyond a beginning level of proficiency.
The general objectives of Total Physical Response are to teach oral proficiency at a beginning level.
Comprehension is a means to an end, and the ultimate aim is to teach basic speaking skills. A TPR
course aims to produce learners who are capable of an uninhibited communication that is intelligible
to a native speaker. Specific instructional objectives are not elaborated, for these will depend on the
particular needs of the learners. Whatever goals are set, however, must be attainable through the
use of action-based drills in the imperative form.

5.0 Types of learning and teaching activities.


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.

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5.1 Learner roles


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 recombinations 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.

5.2 Teacher roles


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 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:
Teacher: Maria, pick up the box of rice and hand it to Miguel and ask Miguel to read the price.
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 feedback to learners, the teacher should follow the example of parents giving feedback to

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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."
Asher 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.
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.

5.3 The role of instructional materials.


There is generally no basic text in a Total Physical Response course. Materials and realia play an
increasing role, however, in later learning stages. For absolute beginners, lessons may not require
the use of materials, since the teacher's voice, actions, and gestures may be a sufficient basis for
classroom activities. Later the teacher may use common classroom objects, such as books, pens,
cups, furniture. As the course develops, the teacher will need to make or collect supporting materials
to support teaching points. These may include pictures, realia, slides, and word charts. Asher has
developed TPR student kits that focus on specific situations, such as the home, the supermarket, the
beach. Students may use the kits to construct scenes (e.g., "Put the stove in the kitchen").

5.4 Procedure.
Asher provides a lesson-by-lesson account of a course taught according to TPR principles, which
serves as a source of information on the procedures used in the TPR classroom. The course was for
adult immigrants and consisted of 159 hours of classroom instruction. The sixth class in the course
proceeded in the following way:
Review. This was a fast-moving warm-up in which individual students were moved with commands
such as: Pablo, drive your car around Miako and honk your horn.
Jeffe, throw the red flower to Maria.
Maria, scream.
Rita, pick up the knife and spoon and put them in the cup.

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Eduardo, take a drink of water and give the cup to Elaine.
New commands. These verbs were introduced.
your hands,
your face,
wash
your hair,
the cup.
a towel,
look for
the soap,
a comb.
the book,
hold
the cup,
the soap.
your hair.
comb Maria's hair.
Shirou's hair.
your teeth,
brush your pants,
the table.
Other items introduced were:
Draw a rectangle on the chalkboard.
Pick up a rectangle from the table and
Rectangle
give it to me.
Put the rectangle next to the square.
Catch the triangle and put it next to the
rectangle.
Triangle
Pick up the triangle from the table and
give it to me.
Walk quickly to the door and hit it.
Quickly, run to the table and touch the
Quickly
square.
Sit down quickly and laugh.
Walk slowly to the window and jump.
Slowly Slowly, stand up.
Slowly walk to me and hit me on the arm.
Look for the toothpaste.
Toothpaste Throw the toothpaste to Wing.
Wing, unscrew the top of the toothpaste.

Next, the instructor asked simple questions which the student could answer with a gesture such as
pointing. Examples would be:
Where is the towel? [Eduardo, point to the towel!]
Where is the toothbrush? [Miako, point to the toothbrush!]
Where is Dolores?
Role reversal. Students readily volunteered to utter commands that manipulated the behavior of the

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instructor and other students....
Reading and writing. The instructor wrote on the chalkboard each new vocabulary item and a
sentence to illustrate the item. Then she spoke each item and acted out the sentence. The students
listened as she read the material. Some copied the information in their notebooks.

6.0 Characteristics of Total Physical Response.

Total Physical Response has characteristic. Asher who developed this method, focused in
particular on two characteristics of first language acquisition which is written in David Nunan’s book
( 1991, 244).

1.”The child gets a vast amount of comprehensible input before beginning to speak. Young
children comprehend language which is far in excess of their ability to produce.

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2. There is a lot physical manipulation and action language accompanying early input. Throw
the ball to Rudi’, put your arm through here’, etc. This action language, encouraging
physical manipulation, is couched in the imperative” .

From the above description, the students try to comprehend the utterances of language before
trying to produce verbal language. They learn by using physical movements or actions. To make it
easy for the students, the teacher should not give abstract words first. It can be delayed until students
can comprehend the target language. Asher ( 1991, 244) stated that: “Abstractions should be
delayed until students have internalized a details 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 target language”
But the are also other characteristic that have been discussed by the others:
1. The teacher directs and the students “act” in response.
2. Understanding of the spoken language must be developed in advance of speaking.
3. Understanding and retention is best achieved through movement of the student’s bodies in
response to commands.
4. Listening and physical response are emphasized over oral production.
5. Students should never be forced to speak before they are ready . As the target language is
internalized, speaking will be emerged naturally.
6. Grammar and vocabulary are emphasized over other long areas. Spoken language is emphasized
over written language.
7. Whenever possible , humor is injected into lesson to make the learners more comfortable in
learning languages.
( Omagglo, 1986, http://www.Englisraven.com/methods TPR.html )

7.0 Principles
7.1 Stimulating memory with psychomotor associations:
Language in the form of the teacher's commands is synchronized with body movements. According
to Asher, this is the way to recreate the process by which children learn their first language.
Beginning foreign language instruction should address the right hemisphere of the brain, the part
which controls nonverbal behavior.

7.2 Comprehension before production:

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
Students are not required to produce in the second language until they themselves decide that they
are ready. Therefore students are allowed a silent period; an often lengthy period during which
learners do not try to speak but they internalize the language by listening and comprehending it. Input
(the new language material) is made comprehensible through listening and watching the teacher's
modeling of commands and later fulfilling these commands.

7.3 Lowering the student's anxiety and stress reduction:


This is achieved through the following:
(1) students are not required to produce in the new language before they feel ready,
(2) the teacher's commands are often zany and humorous in order to make language learning as
enjoyable as possible,
(3) students first perform the commands together with the teacher and in groups,
(4) early error correction is very unobtrusive and mistakes are allowed in the classroom at the
beginning period.

7.4 Inductive teaching of grammar:


The target language is presented in chunks and the focus is on meaning rather than on form.

7.5 Unobtrusive error correction in the early stages:


Asher believes that it is more important to let the students just talk in order to lower their anxiety
about making mistakes. Once their confidence in speaking is high they can be fine tuned to produce
the subtleties of speech that approximate the native speaker. Moreover, Asher states that the
emphasis on error-free production and correct form is risky and if done so most children and adults
will give up before reaching even the intermediate level.

7.6 Selection of grammatical features and vocabulary items from the immediate classroom
surroundings:
These are the imperatives in the first place and concrete nouns. With imagination, almost any aspect
of the linguistic code for the target language could be communicated using commands. E.g., the
future and present tenses can be embedded into a command as, "When Luke walks to the window,
Marie will write Luke's name on the blackboard!"; Abstract nouns are presented at the later stages
once the students are ready to decode the grammatical structure of a language.

8.0 Syllabus.

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
The TPR syllabus is sentence-based with grammatical and lexical criteria being primary in selecting
teaching items. Grammar structures and vocabulary are selected according to their frequency of
need or use in the classroom (not in target language situations) and the ease with which they can be
learned. Advocating the use of the imperative, Asher states that it should be used in combination with
many other techniques. A TPR course begins with about ten to twenty hours of training in listening
comprehension. Only after it the students are invited (but not pressured!) to reverse roles with the
teacher and speak out the commands in the target language.
TPR lessons are structured in the following way:
a) Demonstration: the students sit in a semicircle around the teacher, they listen carefully to his/her
commands and do exactly what the teacher does. The students are encouraged to respond without
hesitation and to make a distinct, robust response with their bodies. The first routine could be "Stand
up! Walk! Stop! Turn! Sit down!"
b) The routine is repeated for three or four times until individual students indicate that they are ready
to try it alone without the instructor as a model. Each repetition of a routine is never an exact
duplication of the previously done sequence.
c) The instructor recombines the previously learned material to form novel commands. When some of
the students are ready to produce in the target language, they give commands to the teacher and the
other students.

9.0 Teacher and learner roles.


The teacher plays an active and direct role in TPR. He/she decides what to teach, who models and
presents the new materials, and who selects supporting materials for classroom use. The teacher
usually initiates the interaction, even when learners interact with each other. According to Asher, the
instructor is the director of a stage play in which the students are the actors.
At first learners are listeners and performers of the teacher's commands. When they are ready to
speak there is a role reversal and students themselves speak out commands. Yet, they have little
influence over the learning process: the content is predetermined by the teacher.

10.0 Techniques.

1) Using commands in action sequences: The use of commands is the major teaching technique
of TPR (Larsen-Freeman, 1986). The teacher models the commands and performs the
corresponding actions to make the meaning clear. Students fulfill the commands (action-based drills)
with the teacher, individually and in groups. When they begin to speak they direct commands to the
teacher and to each other.

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Commands are presented in a sequence, but as Asher suggests there should be no exact repetition
of the same sequence and the teacher should each time vary the routine to avoid memorization of a
fixed sequence of behavior. Commands should be funny and humorous to make the learning process
enjoyable. E.g., "Rosemary, dance with Samuel, and stick your tongue out at Hilda. Hilda, run to
Rosemary, hit her on the arm, pull her to her chair and you dance with Samuel!" The teacher should
also plan sequences of commands in advance to keep the pace of the lesson lively.
Commands are used, as Asher claims, to communicate all grammar features and hundreds of
vocabulary. Commands can be subdivided into the following groups:

a) Moving whole body or parts of body: Stand, walk, sit, jump, run, etc.; Touch your feet, head,
shoulders, etc.
b) Moving things (manipulatives): Put the book under the chair; Point to the purple paper; Pick up
the eraser and put it on your feet; Set the clock to 2:00.
c) Moving abstractions/pictures: Put the picture of the cookie on the table; Put the picture of the
principal in the picture of the office; Give the card labeled 'Sunday' to Juan; Pick up the card labeled
'Monday' and put it next to the card labeled 'Thursday'.
d) Action sequences (series of commands or operations): Action sequences are based on
numerous everyday activities, like writing a letter, cleaning the house, eating breakfast, etc, that are
broken down into separate commands, e.g. Eating Grapes:
-- Look at the grapes.
-- Turn on the water.
-- Put the grapes under the water.
-- Wash the grapes.
-- Don't use soap.
-- Shake the grapes dry.
-- Pick a grape.
-- Give it to a friend.
-- Pick another grape.
-- Chew it.
-- Chew it some more.
-- Swallow it.

2) Role reversal: When students are ready to speak, they command their teacher and classmates to
perform some actions.

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3) Conversational dialogues and role plays: These are delayed until after about 120 hours of
instruction, when students achieve an advanced internalization of the target language. Role plays
center on everyday situations, such as at the restaurant, supermarket, or petrol station.

4) Slide presentations: These are used to provide a visual center for teacher narration, which is
followed by commands, and questions to students, such as, "Which person in the picture is the
salesperson?"

5) Compiling language experience stories: A language experience story is a group-authored story


written about a shared experience. Students participate in an experience such as a cooking activity,
and then retell or dictate the story to the teacher who writes it down on the blackboard. The students
read the story and act out the written sentences.

11.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN.


Generally children like doing any kinds of activities as long as they feel happy. Children will choose
the activities they like to do according to their own characteristics. The character of the children may
be one of the signs of their development. According to Wendy A Schott et al (1990, 4) the
characteristics of children are as follow:
1. The children ask questions all the time.
2. They rely on the spoken word as well as the physical world to convey and understand
meaning.
3. They have definite views about what they like and do not like doing.
4. They have developed sense of fairness about what happen in the classroom and begin to
questions the teachers’ decisions.
5. They are able to work with others and learn from others” .

Using the body movement in the process of learning is suitable to the characteristic of the
children because children like to do physical movement. They like to move from one place to another
place. They like to go around without thinking whether they disturb their surrounding or not. They
don’t like to keep staying in one place which forces them not to do something. Geoffrey Broughton
stated that” Young children are physically active”(1980, 169) .
Besides that children also like to imitate and mime. They will give attention to other people
and try to imitate merely like other people do and say. This is the way how children learn and
develop their knowledge. This is supported by George Broughton et al ( 1980, 169) Rivers that
“Children love to imitate and mime: they are uninhibited in acting out roles, and they enjoy repetition

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because it gives them a sense of assurance and achievement” . According to the points of
explanation above, children like to be involved in something active. To make them active, the teacher
should be able to make the circumstance of learning process which is suitable to the characteristics
of the children. It may give motivation to the students to learn effectively. So hopefully the goal of the
learning can be achieved well.

12.0 ADVANTAGES OF TPR METHOD TO CHILDREN .


TPR method which developed by Prof. Dr. James J. Asher; a professor of psychology at San Jose
University California has been succeeded in learning of foreign language for children. The successful
of learning process can’t be separated from the advantages of TPR method itself. The advantages of
using Total Physical Response Method in teaching English are wide.
Firstly, Total Physical Response method creates positive thinking which facilitates the student
to involve in learning process, so it can develop not only motivation but also the aim of students in
learning. Besides that this method is very easy and the usage of language contains of action games,
that’s why it can help student to learn fast and effectively. Besides that it is also able to avoid the
problem which students usually meet during the process of learning especially when they study
foreign language. James Asher (ttp//www.tpr.world.com,1) stated that “Use Total Physical Response
method for new vocabulary and grammar, to help your students immediately understand the target
language … . This instant success is absolutely thrilling for students”.
Secondly, teaching vocabulary to children by using Total Physical Response method is very
useful for children because children like to give response by using physical response first better than
using verbal response. It is very suitable when the process of learning is emphasized on physical
response in the students’ response. Children also not only like to response and act out something
new but also intend to know more and more about language by responding the action toward the
given command. “Directly utterances to children contains of command and children or students will
respond toward their physic before they start to produce verbal response”. (James
Asher,http://www.tpr-world.com,1).
Thirdly, This method can facilitate students with the meaning in real context. Students can
memorize the vocabulary by looking at the action, even though the vocabulary is not translated. So
the presence of action in the classroom is as an imperative to help teacher in explaining the
materials for students and in understanding the meaning of vocabulary. Because of this method uses
basic command and real context in the process of learning it is very helpful for students to know the
meaning. By telling students to stand up, put their hands in the air, and pick up something and give it
to another students, etc, are acting which commonly and naturally done by students so it is easy for
them to memorize the vocabulary or utterance. ”. It is supported by Teacher Joe’s

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
(http://www.teacherjoe.us/teachers TPR.html, 1) that “TPR trains students to respond quickly and
naturally while also teaching vocabulary in a fun, lively lesson”.
The usage of Total Physical Response method emphasize in action so students are involved
in activities in the process of learning. This circumstance is interesting to students. So by using this
method students can accept the lesson easier and faster. Even though Total Physical Response
Method is effective to teach vocabulary, teacher needs to think of media to set up the context in
delivering the lesson of vocabulary to students. Besides teacher should be willing to create
conducive learning.
Fourthly, using Total Physical Response method is interesting and fun. It is very suitable for
the students’ characteristics which have been mentioned before. By giving something interesting and
funny makes children attentively focused on the process of learning. Because of that situation
children feel free to involve in learning process. Besides that they are not under pressed by the
threatening situation and condition. Finally they can get the aim of learning by keeping on learning
and giving attention to the lesson. ESL Café’s Idea Cookbook-TPR.(http://www.eslcafe.com, 1)
supported that “It’s fun! It’s non-threatening. It keep their attention. They learn!”. For example: put
your left hand in the air
- put it down – put your right hand in the air – put it down – put both hands in the air – put them down
– put your left foot in the air – put it down – put your right foot in the air – put it down – put both feet
in the air ! Students try jumping in the air or attempt a handstand on their desks! Another funny
sequence of basic TPR is : – clap your hands – clap your hands three times – clap them five times –
clap your hands 800 times ! – turn around – turn around twice then clap once – jump once – jump
seven times – turn around, jump once and clap twice – turn three times, jump five times and clap
twice! Students really struggle hard to remember this last one, but if you do it step by step and repeat
often, they can do it eventually.

CONCLUSION
Total Physical Response is one of the learning processes which involves the students actively in the
classroom activities. It can be affective in delivering explicit instruction in learning. The effectiveness
of the Total Physical Response has been shown by the experts in some countries and has given
significant improvement of students’ achievement in learning English especially vocabulary in
language target. As children are physically active by nature, Total Physical Response will make
language learning especially vocabulary more effective because children feel fun during the learning.
This methods of instruction “injects the lesson with both physical activity and fun as the students
playact their roles and respond to both simple yes/no questions and more complex questions about
who, where, when, etc.” (James Asher, http:/www.tpr-world.com )

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By having a good skills in presenting the lessons in any kinds of models teacher is encouraged to
develop knowledge and stimulate children’s to learn. The knowledge and experience are influences
in developing of children’s vocabulary, that’s why teacher should be able to manage and select the
material which can be absorbed by children. Besides that comprehension of the vocabulary should
be more emphasized and developed in the learning process in order to get the aim of learning
vocabulary. Finally, after knowing some of the advantages of Total Physical Respond method,
hopefully teacher is able to present the lesson to students or children effectively.

LESSON PLAN.

[ 5-10 mins ] Review of previous day’s target vocabulary


[15-20 mins] Action and processing new material
[5 mins] Assessing – 5-10 sentences according to time/ Pop up grammar
[unless students are not yet literate, then the assessment is simply whether
they respond with their bodies to commands and verbally with “yes/no” or
choices. Try one word assessments: listing verbs on board, number, have
them match verb with picture. Competition to write verb first and hold up when
you say it.

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TPR [Total Physical Response]

Preparation:
Make stick figure pictures on sheets and laminate for vocab to TPR/ have tape ready to stick them
on the board.

TPR the words - Use their whole bodies


a. Model / Hesitate / Stop
b. No more than 3 words at a time and recycle - combine two commands with “and” and make sure
they can do both at the same time, like “touch your head and sing, jump and turn, raise your hand
and walk to the wall”
c. “one hand touches the knee, one hand touches the ear, one hand touches the floor, one hand
touches the eye, etc.” – this is really funny the faster you go. The hands are flying everywhere.
d. Novel commands – consist of words you taught, but in new, unusual combinations that you do
NOT model. Example- if they know “touch the head with the pen” and “touch the table”. Now give
them “touch the table with the head” but do not model it. The fun is in watching them get it
themselves.
a. Vary size of groups – boys and girls or half the class / 3 people at a time.
b. Chain commands – these are 3 things that are NOT done at the same time, like ‘walk to
the table, pick up the book, put it on your nose”
[ you will have to teach them to wait until you’ve finished the 3 rd command before they
start, especially if you do not speak their language]
c. Assess- have them close their eyes while you give commands. Try to see who may
need help. Decide if you need to teach a little more slowly if less then 80 % of the
people are getting it.

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Processing activities:
1. Hold two pics at a time- one in each hand and call out for one to be pointed to by students – far
right or far left. Raise the correct one after.
2. Call for 5 students to stand in front of the class each holding one picture. As the teacher calls out
the action, the person holding the corresponding picture to raises and lowers correct picture.
Increase speed when you’re sure they have it to help them hear target language at native speed.
3. Stick up the pictures on the board. Number them below and call out the action in the target
language for the students to respond through numbers [in their own language until they learn
numbers in target language]
4. Have students compete to draw quickly on mini-chalk boards when you shout out action and tell
them to raise quickly when finished. Erasable boards are good, or have them fold and tear paper
for 8 sides to draw on.

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
5. In pairs, one student draws a picture and shows it to his partner and the other says the
command.
6. Tapette - Divide the class into 2 teams, they select goofy name and motto. Then call for one
person from each group. Have 10 pictures taped to the board. Give the two people the fly
swatters and call out the picture. The first to hit it gets the point.
7. Charades – Write command on slips of paper and students choose, read silently, act out, others
guess in target language.
8. Teacher touches - one picture and gives choices while teaching “he” and “she” - example “He’s
touching or standing up?” “she’s sitting down or he’s sitting down?” Gives students opportunity
to start producing, but based on teacher’s model.
9. Three Ring Circus: Put three children up front [have male/female mix] each performing a
different action, but only ONE action. Be careful that it is an action that is not uncomfortable to
repeat, like one person might be touching his head, the other walking to the door and the last one
looking at the window. Then do circle questioning. Use the children’s names at first then insert
“he” and “she” where appropriate.
10. Structure for Circling Questions – 4 questions from easy to hard. For beginners, use only
inflection in the voice to make the question, keeping the same form used for the statement. New
students will unknowingly repeat the question part of the sentence in their answers because they
don’t yet understand it is the part of the sentence that creates the question.
11. He is clapping? – first students answer in target language “yes” and teacher confirms and says,
“Yes, he is clapping” in target language.
He is jumping? – students answer “no“ and teacher confirms, “ No, he is not jumping, he is
clapping.
Choice – he is jumping or he is clapping? “ Students answer “clapping” and teacher confirms,
“Yes, he is clapping.” When giving a choice, change only ONE WORD – either the noun, verb,
adverb, or subject. For beginners, use the same words you used in #1 and #2.
What is he doing? [If there is no answer, that means there is no comprehension so you should
go back to “choice” repeat step #3 and then try #4 again.

12. First stick to one picture for all the 4 questions and then go ahead with the other pictures.

13. For more advanced questioning, mix the 4 levels among many pictures.

14. Can also be used with stick figures once the real humans have been used “ John is touching
his head, yes or no? He is touching his nose

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
Variation for teaching “my” and “your”  - After the students touch their own body parts,
chairs, tables, words, etc. The teacher teaches “my” and tells the students to “ touch MY arms,
or MY stomach, or table, etc.” and the kids rush up together to touch the teacher. It is adorable.
Assessment:
Write out words that have been TPRed. First “one at a time” – like just 1 verb or 1 object
- not in sentences. If they show mastery of the following routine with one word, then
continue with whole sentences. See if they can tolerate little new additions like plurals,
negatives, and narrative instead of commands.
a. Number the words/sentences and write them on the board in the target language.
b. Read in the target language out of order, they shout out the number
c. Call out in English out of order, they shout out the number
d. They translate aloud one by one after you say “who thinks they can tell me what #1
means?” etc.
e. Pop up grammar - introduce them to it – give them grammar according to the meaning
and context, not grammatical terms.
f. Homework: have them keep a picture dictionary in the form of index cards to make
flash cards. Each action and noun should have a stick figure drawing they do
themselves. Encourage using different colors.

Week : 6th
Day : Tuesday
Date : 21st February 2012

FOCUS LISTENING AND SPEAKING


THEME WORLS OF KNOWLEDGE
TOPIC UNIT 5 :MY BEAUTIFUL BODY
CONTENT STANDARD 1.1 By the end of the Year 6 primary schooling, pupils will be able to
pronounce words and speak confidently with the correct stress,
rhythm and intonation.
1.2 By the end of the Year 6 primary schoolinf, pupils will be able to
listen and respond appropriately in formal and informal situations
for variety of purpose.
LEARNING STANDARD 1.1.3 Able to listen to, say aloud and recite rhymes or sing songs.
1.2.2 Able to listen to and follow :
(a) simple instructions in the classroom.

OBJECTIVES By the end of the lesson, pupils will be able to :


i) listen to and sing the song ‘ Ten Little Fingers’ in correct rhythm.
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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
ii) listen to and follow instructions correctly.
TIME 09.40 A.M. – 10.40 A.M. ( 60 minutes )

CLASS 2 BIJAK 3

LEVEL INTERMMEDIATE

TEACHING AIDS Pictures,whiteboard,radio,flashcard.

PROCEDUR TEACHING – LEARNING ACTIVITIES TIME MATERIAL TEACHING


Set Induction.
1. Teacher greets the pupils in the class.
e.g Teacher : How are you, class? 5
Pupils : Fine, thank you, teacher. minutes
2. Teacher tells them that they will going to sing Listening and singing.
a song “ Ten Little Fingers “.
3. Teacher asks pupils to look at the screen. Guided Reading
BEFORE and then repeat and point the body parts
according to the instructions. Song: ‘ Ten Little
. Fingers’.
4. Teacher sings together with the pupils while
doing the action . Pupils mime the action by
teacher.
5. Teacher introduces the topic today and put
title of lesson on the board.

Presentation. Teaching aids :


1. Hold two pictures at a time- one in each Pictures of action.
hand and call out for one to be pointed to by
students – far right or far left. Raise the correct
one after. Identifying details.
DURING 2. Call for 5 pupils to stand in front of the class 15
minutes
each holding one picture. As the teacher calls
out the action, the person holding the
corresponding picture to raises and lowers

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
correct picture. Increase speed when you’re
sure they have it to help them hear target
language at native speed.
3. Stick up the pictures on the board. Number
them below and call out the action in the target
language for the pupils to respond through
numbers [in their own language until they learn
numbers in target language] Applications.
4. Have students compete to draw quickly on
mini-chalk boards when teacher shout out
action and tell them to raise quickly when
finished. Erasable boards are good, or have
them fold and tear paper for 8 sides to draw on.
5. In pairs, one pupil draws a picture and
shows it to his partner and the other says the
command.

Following instructions.
Practise.
1. Tapette - Divide the class into 2 teams, they 20 Identifying details.
minutes
select goofy name and motto. Then call for one
person from each group. Have 10 pictures
taped to the board. Give the two people the fly
swatters and call out the picture. The first to hit
it gets the point Applications.
2. Charades – Write command on slips of
paper and students choose, read silently, act Example:
out, others guess in target language. Teacher :He is clapping?
3. Teacher touches - one picture and gives – first students answer in
choices while teaching “he” and “she” - target language “yes”
example “He’s touching or standing up?” and teacher confirms
“she’s sitting down or he’s sitting down?” Gives and says, “Yes, he is

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
students opportunity to start producing, but clapping” in target
based on teacher’s model. language.
4. Three Ring Circus: Put three pupils up Teacher :He is jumping?
front [have male/female mix] each performing a Student: No.
different action, but only ONE action. Be Teacher: No, he is not
careful that it is an action that is not jumping, he is clapping.
uncomfortable to repeat, like one person might Teacher : He is jumping
be touching his head, the other walking to the or he is clapping? “
door and the last one looking at the window. Students: Clapping.
Then do circle questioning. Use the pupil’s Teacher: Yes, he is
names at first then insert “he” and “she” where clapping.
appropriate. When giving a choice,
5. Structure for Circling Questions – 4 change only ONE
questions from easy to hard. For beginners, WORD – either the noun,
use only inflection in the voice to make the verb, adverb, or subject.
question, keeping the same form used for the For beginners, use the
statement. New students will unknowingly same words you used in
repeat the question part of the sentence in their #1 and #2.
answers because they don’t yet understand it is What is he doing? [If
the part of the sentence that creates the there is no answer, that
question. means there is no
comprehension so you
5. First stick to one picture for all the 4 should go back to
questions and then go ahead with the other “choice” repeat step #3
pictures. and then try #4 again.

15. For more advanced questioning, mix the 4


levels among many pictures.

6.Can also be used with stick figures once


the real humans have been used “ John is
touching his head, yes or no? He is touching his
nose
7. Variation for teaching “my” and “your”
After the pupils touch their own body parts,

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
chairs, tables, words, etc. The teacher teaches
“my” and tells the pupils to “ touch MY arms, or
MY stomach, or table, etc.” and the pupils rush
up together to touch the teacher.
Production.
15
Guided writing.
minutes
1. Write out words that have been TPRed.
Applications.
First “one at a time” – like just 1 verb or 1
object - not in sentences. If they show mastery
of the following routine with one word, then
continue with whole sentences. See if they can
tolerate little new additions like plurals,
negatives, and narrative instead of commands.
a. Number the words/sentences and write them
on the board in the target language.
b. Read in the target language out of order,
they shout out the number.
c.Teacher call out in English out of order, the
pupils shout out the number.
d. Pupils translate aloud one by one after
teacher say “who thinks they can tell me what
#1 means?” etc.
e. Pop up grammar - introduce them to it – give
them grammar according to the meaning and
context, not grammatical terms.

Closure
5 Flash Cards
1. Let's review today's lesson.
minutes
(action)
AFTER 2. Teacher chooses a sentence and mime it.
3. Pupils say it in English. Recalling
4. Do this with their peer in the classroom.

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TASK 2

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CONNECTED THEORIES.

TPR is based on behaviourism, a theory developed by B.F. Skinner. This theory sees learning merely
as a result of imitation, practice, reinforcement and habit formation (Lightbown and Spada, 2006,
p.34). According to behaviourism, an individual will show a certain behaviour due to imitation. If he
then receives enough positive feedback, this person will continue to show this kind of behaviour and
eventually this action will develop into a habit (Lightbown and Spada, 2006, p. 10). In the same way,
according to behaviourism, in order to learn a foreign language, a language student only needs to
imitate the language he/she hears from the teacher and react to his feedback. Language
development is seen as a result of habit formation (Lightbown and Spada, 2006, p.34). This view of
language learning becomes apparent in TPR with regards to its focus on performance by the teacher
and imitation by the students.
Apart from behaviourism, TPR can also be connected to the 'trace theory' in psychology which claims
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" (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p.73).

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Learners are basically passive, just responding to stimuli. Here we can see that during learning
process pupils in the classroom, they only respond with every command give by the teacher with their
physical meovement.
Behaviourism focuses on actions as habits. Audiolingual teaching of language is meant to
develop speaking habits by repeating sentence patterns over and over. Another approach,
sometimes referred to as a cognitive approach, focuses more on understanding the mechanism of
the grammar. Behaviourism has been tried and discredited as a theory to language teaching and
learning. The behaviorist theory is a psychological model that, in essence, defines human behavior
as something that is conditioned or instilled. The model basically states that humans are products of
their environments and all behaviors are positively reinforced, negatively reinforced, or punished. If a
behavior is positively reinforced, or praised, then there is incentive to repeat it. If instead, it is
negatively reinforced or punished, then the behavior will cease. One of the classic cases given as
evidence of this theory is of Ivan Pavlov and his dogs. When Pavlov rang the bell, he would feed his
dogs, and they would salivate. After repeating this a number of times, Pavlov noticed that every time
he rang the bell, whether he fed the animals or not, they would salivate, proving to Pavlov that if there
is a reward associated with a behavior, then eventually the behavior will continue even without the
reward. The behaviorists have applied the same principle to human behavior. The Father of
Behaviorism is usually considered to be John B. Watson, who has been rumored as boasting, "Give
me a child, and I’ll make him anything you want him to be." This attitude has influenced many
psychologists, with the more recent behaviorists still holding strong to the idea that any human being
can be conditioned to behave in very specific manners. B.F. Skinner, the most recent and perhaps
well-known advocate of this theory, contends that language is acquired the same way—it is no
different than any other behavior a child is conditioned to do. Skinner’s work in the field of language
acquisition was done in the late 1950s, a revolutionary time in the field as many theories concerned
with language acquisition were born. This section on the psychological aspects of language
acquisition with specific regard to behaviorism will begin with an overview of the historical trends of
language acquisition research, highlight the basic stages in child speech development, and then
discuss the basic assumptions of the theory.
According to Jean Berko Gleason’s The Development of Language, interest in language
development dates back to ancient times, though the study of systematic development in children is a
somewhat young field. (Gleason, 24). The latter half of the 19th Century and the first part of the 20th
revealed German and French studies, and in the first half of the 20th many psychologists kept diaries
recording speech progress. However, it was not until the 1950s that the field was seriously studied,
with many revolutionary theories emerging, such as Chompsky’s idea of an innate device in the brain
that naturally produces language (LAD: language acquisition device), and Skinner’s behaviorist

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
model. The 1960s were "characterized by studies of grammar" while the "primacy of syntax in
research gave way to a broadening interest that included the context in which children’s language
emerges and an emphasis on the kinds of semantic relations children are trying to express in their
early utterances" in the 1970s and 1980s (25). While areas of study have changed in recent decades,
the behaviorist model is still widely accepted in the psychological community. Next, the basic phases
of speech development are examined, which lay the foundation for all of the theories—each theory
provides a description of how and why these occur.
Gleason has determined that there are essentially five stages of basic child speech development (46-
47). Stage I consists of reflexive crying and vegetative sounds, which occurs between zero and eight
weeks. The infant has very little voice capability at this point, since the vocal cords are positioned
relatively high and the tongue fills up most of the oral cavity. In Stage II, there is cooing and laughter,
as well as some brief consonant sounds, such as ‘c’ and ‘k’. Crying is also less frequent between this
period of eight to twenty weeks. The cooing in this phase is generally thought to be in response to
external stimuli, which the behaviorists will claim is true for all phases. Between sixteen and thirty
weeks the infant is in Stage III in which he or she engages in vocal play: "[uttering] single syllables
with prolonged vowel- or consonant-like sounds…which is the transitional period between the earlier
comfort-related cooing and later true babbling" (46). In Stage IV, between twenty-five and fifty weeks,
the infant engages in reduplicated babbling, in which she has much more control over her articulatory
structures and repeats the same vowel-consonant combinations a number of times. Interestingly
enough, research does not have evidence that such babbling is meant to be a form of
communication; to the contrary is often occurs more when the infant is alone. Behaviorists justify with
the idea of self-reinforcement (or, inner reinforcement): after a child learns to speak, she recognizes
what she says with familiarity, is pleased by it, and thus repeats it. Lastly, Stage V occurs,
characterized by nonreduplicated babbling and expressive jargon, between nine and eighteen
months. In this stage, "the baby’s babbling now becomes more complex: the consonant-vowel-
syllables change within an utterance of babbled sounds…[and] the total repertoire of consonant
sound increases" (47). While the study of language acquisition does reach into the areas after
infancy, looking at the school years of a child and the acquisition of a more complex vocabulary as
well as intentional voice fluctuation, the main concern of this discussion will be behaviorist theory as it
relates to early language acquisition as was examined in the latter five stages, in which very basic
speech is attained, with less attention given to the later years. The discussion will next move into the
basic assumptions of the behaviorist model, and then compare it to Wittgenstein’s theory earlier
discussed.

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The basic assumption of the behaviorist model is that all behavior is conditioned. More specifically,
when examining language acquisition, there are eight basic assumptions, as given by Diane Nelson
Bryen in her book Inquiries into Child Language:
The organism is psychologically empty, and the environment is all important. Language is merely
another learned, observable behavior. No distinction exists between speech and language. No real
distinction exists between the comprehension and production of language. Meaning is the association
of the word with its referent. No distinction exists between thought and language. To know is largely
to be able to talk (Skinner, 1957). Learning language is largely contingent upon the processes of
imitation, reinforcement, stimulus discrimination and generalization, and shaping. Mastery of one’s
language is demonstrated through observable responses (i.e., speech production) (Bryen, 151). Each
assumption will now be explained and discussed, which will be the examination of the behaviorist
theory in the language acquisition context.
Assumption one contends that the organism is psychologically empty. This essentially means that
human beings are not hard wired to behave in any specific manner—they enter the world as a blank
slate, not predisposed toward any behavior. The environment in which one is raised determines what
behavior one will adapt. It is not genetics or biology that determines action; rather, it is the
environmental (external) stimuli. In other words, human beings are merely reacting to their
surroundings—the surroundings are imposed upon them rather than them actively imposing upon
their surroundings. This assumption carries over into all of behaviorist theory.
Assumption two finds that language is another learned behavior. Note that this implies that the
behaviorists find all behaviors to be learned and observable. Behaviorists have been quite concerned
with the lack of empirical validity in psychology, and therefore set out to quantify and measure
behavior just as a chemist measures chemical reactions: essentially, cause and effect. Henceforth,
behaviorists view all behavior as measurable—it is the effect of the environment. Language, then, is
no different. It too, is learned through a series of differential reinforcements in which the act is either
praised, punished, or negative influences stop when the behavior is performed. If an infant makes a
sound, and the parents give positive reinforcement, such as vocal praise, hugs, or affection, then the
child has incentive to repeat the sound. When a child utters a word, the same process occurs. One
example from Gleason is how a child learns to say ‘good-bye.’ An adult holding the child waves the
child’s hand and says (usually in a high-pitched voice), "Say bye-bye. Say bye-bye" (181). When the
child finally says the words, she is showered with praise and affection, and thus continues the speech
to gain the affection again. After this process has occurred a number of times, the child doesn’t need
the reinforcement for the behavior to continue—the behavior has been associated with the praise
enough that it will continue for some time without it. Accordingly, even pain can be relayed in such a
way. When a child skins her knee and someone tells her that it is painful, she associates the term

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given with the pain in her leg and discriminates it from all other feelings. Situations such as the latter
explain how all vocabulary develops (stimulus, reaction, discrimination of the feeling or behavior,
repeated action). Also included in this is that language, like any other behavior, is subject to
extinction. If the behavior is not positively reinforced, then eventually, it will cease. This logic explains
how a child moves away from ‘baby talk.’ Eventually, it is no longer praised, and a child gains much
more acceptance by speaking like an adult.
Assumption three consists of there being no difference between speech and language. In other
words, every time someone speaks, that is language. There is no difference between the basic
syntax and communication. Language, in no way, transcends speech. Language is merely the
assigning of terms to objects and feelings, reinforced over time. Speech is an active participation in
this—they are one in the same.
Assumption four contends that comprehension and the production of language are essentially the
same as well. For example, if one says, "One red apple," then one does not have a comprehension
of the words that is separate from saying them. The fact that the person said those words in
conjunction with specific references is the comprehension—it is the language. There are no external,
metaphysical definitions of one, red, or apple. The comprehension of those terms is found in the fact
that a child is able to say them in accordance with the objects they have been assigned to. As Bryen
states, "The comprehension of language is explained by Skinner quite simply as understanding what
someone is saying when we ourselves say it for the same reason" (151). In other words, all meaning
is common and public, all words are said simply because they are terms assigned to specific objects
and feelings, thus each person means the same thing with the same word, and no distinction is then
drawn between the comprehension and the production of language.
Assumption five, that meaning is the association between the word and the referent, or the object or
feeling, is quite consistent with the latter description. In fact, assumption four rests on this premise,
since this assumption is the framework that allows four to be possible. Meaning is merely assimilating
a term with a given object, which allows for assumption four to be possible, as well as assumption
six, which contends that there is no distinction between thought and language. Just as
comprehension of language is the production of language, such is that thought is language. The
thought is not a distinct and separate entity, since it too rests on the association described in five.
Just as there is no metaphysical definition of ‘apple,’ which allows for the comprehension and speech
not to differ, having no such definition also does not allow for thought and speech to differ—the
thought is contained within the language, within the term itself. There is no separate thought of the
actual meaning of the term, because that meaning is contained within the association, which is then
the thought itself. Therefore, the knowing is within the talking, rather than talking being a product of
speech.

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Assumption seven is the basic premise of all behaviorist theory, which is somewhat a restatement of
assumptions one and two. This assumption describes language acquisition as any other behavior--
one that is learned through imitation and reinforcement, a reaction to external stimuli and the
discrimination of it from other objects and feelings. The last assumption, eight, then follows from this,
with the mastery of language being demonstrated through observable responses. Otherwise stated,
one can observe that language is mastered by observing the language being used in the way that it
was originally reinforced.
These eight assumptions essentially contain the whole of the behaviorist model and related with Total
Physical Response method in my teaching and learning process.

CONCLUSION
After completed this course work successfully, overall it can be summarized that a play through
learning is very important in teaching process and thus learning able to create indirectly learning
atmosphere. In this modern civilatization, the society now aware of on this importance of play.
Apart from that, in generating the quality pupils, various aspects have to be taken into consideration
like multiple intelligence, thinking level and motivation. This case because human being is a unique
creation that different from other creatures. Hence approach that is suitable according to thinking
level and cognitive very important pupil in produce first class human module.
Teachers also do not perform discrimination on pupil because they should know and aware that
every pupil have the skill and thinking that is different and depends on teachers to use approach,
method and technique that suit with pupil's ability. By giving inducement and opportunity that is
optimum to pupil thus we can produce human that is quality from all other aspect.

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )

REFLECTION
Finally all works that planned have been completed a. The coursework that I thought impossible to
be completed ultimately completed successfully . I have been through so many obstacles in way to
complete this assignment that I faced. The coursework which encompasses topic that learned in
Learner and Learning subject was challenging because it required me to do rational on the TPR
method that can be intergrated to the learning process. In my first topic, I had learned about TPR
concept. Which previously, the TPR is considered absorb the appearance children that is distinctive.
Apart from that, it can help physical development and emotion, TPR also can expand children's
thoughts. I learn and deepen in children's world so that I can apply learning techniques and lesson in
class later. For as a teacher, its important to identify ability and pupil's weakness that is different
from development cognitive side and physical. After that , teacher can use technique and method
based on learning model and lesson proposed by phsicologist 's figures children during in class.
Something that I never expect all this while. We cannot purposely ignore in our daily life because
there are more new findings which can open our mind . Hence we have to come into all things with
open heart but we also should be careful beside that.
Early information that made certainly from the guide lecturer that helps me and friend in completing

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
this assignment. In chapter learning theories such as behaviouris theory, cognitive learning theory
and so on has been learned. This theory is from education psychology member approaches in
education and training constantly evolving across through time. From studies and research carried
out by earlier knowledge figures such as Gagne, Pavlov, Watson, Maslow, Rogers and etceteras,
they successfully describe many steps that is usable in children' learning process and they produce
theory that difference based on outcome of study that carried out.
To do lesson and learning that is effective, strategy and method of learning that is suitable very
needed. Through this assignment I can learn a little bit method and strategy that is suitable according
to certain factors to create learning process and lesson that is effective.
Although there was various models in education field, but not all suitable to be applied. For example
personal model that only suitable to be used in class that have pupil that the number less. This case
because teacher have to see individually pupil. If in class that have yag number a lot certainly hinder.
. As such, ekstrintik motivation approach considered suitable because pupil like to reward grant.
Apart from that, in my opinion class that mix between wise and imprudent pupil need to in
constructing pupil that is balanced. And the matter not impossible to be carried out.
Indeed it is very important for motivation because during learning process, I always felt spirited
because there are many important inputs that I can get from my lecturer. This is important in
constructing self confidence and self concept.
Overall, I delighted to accept this assignment, although its a bit hard but it is enough to give
the effect on me. I hope it may continue to having positive thinking and constructed learning
conducive later so that pupil that is balanced from emotional aspect, personality, physical, spiritual
and social can be born from this way.

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References :
1. The English Language Teacher’s Handbook, Joana Baker, Heather Westrup ( 2006 ), Continuum
International Publishing Group,London.

2. Simple Lesson In English, Barbara Murray ( 2001 ), W. Foulsham&Co.Ltd, United Kingdom.

3. The Practise of English Language Teaching, Jeremy Harmer (2004), Person Education Limited,
England.

4. Teaching by Principles An Interactive Approach To Language Pedagogy, H. Douglas Brown


( 2001), Addison Wesley Longman , Inc. New York.

5. Techniques And Priciples In Language Teaching, Diane Larsen – Freeman ( 2000), Oxford
University Press, United Kingdom.

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ELT METHODOLOGY TESL 3103 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ( TPR )
6. Machova, J . ( 2009 ). Application of Total Physical Response method in teaching fifth form pupils
of primary school.Retrieved February 23rd 2012, from
http://is.muni.cz/th/105545/pedf_b_c1/Machova_Jana_Bp.pdf

7. Krashen, S.D. Principle and practise in second language acquisition. Retrieved 23rd March 2012
from http://www.sdkrashen.com./Principles_Practise /index.hml

8. Haynes, J ( 2005 ), Stages of second language acquisition. Retrieved 5th February 2012, from
http://www.everythingtesl.net/inservice/language_stages .php

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APPENDIX

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