I.

Describe the key features of TPR

1. Background
- Total Physical Response (TPR) is a method of teaching a foreign language
based on the coordination of language and physical movement.
- It was founded and developed by James Asher, a professor of psychology, in
the late 1960’s.
- The TPR is a result of his observation of the language development of young
children.
- Nowadays, it is still considered and used as a valuable linguistic tool in
teaching a target language, especially in initial stages of instruction.
2. Approach
2.1. The view of language
- TPR is a structural view or grammar-based view of language that most of the
grammatical and lexical items can be learnt from the skillful use of imperative
sentences.
- Verbs in the imperative are seen as the central linguistic motif around which
language use and learning are organized.
2.2. The view of language learning
- Trace theory: when a memory connection is traced intensively, the memory can
be more recalled. Therefore, combining tracing activities such as verbal
rehearsal together with motor activity can develop the possibility of successful
language recall.
- Three learning hypotheses:
+ Bio-program: Listening comprehension leads to physical response to spoken
commands (TPR is designed based upon the way that children learn their
mother tongue. Because they learn through listening first, and then imitate to
speak)
+ Brain lateralization: Language development is considered as left brain; body
movement is seen as right brain. And TPR as a connection between them,
linking right to left brain, left brain observes right brain in action & learn.
+ Stress-free learning environment: a stress-free learning environment will
duplicate the relaxing experiences with L1 learning.
3. Design
3.1. Objectives
- Teach the students the basic language skills at the beginning level.
- Aim to teach basic speaking ability.
- Attain goals through the use of action-based drills in the imperative form.
3.2. Syllabus
- Select sentences according to the target grammar/ vocabulary items.
 - Select grammar/ vocabulary according to their meaning and the situation in
which they are used in the classroom.
3.3. Learning activities
- Observe and listen to second language stimuli.
- Show physical response to stimuli.
- Act and utter words/ phrases in isolation.
- Practice the above words/ phrases in association with motor via repetition and
substitution.
Our group recommend some types of TPR activities:
* Commands
- Teachers give commands and students respond physically, demonstrating
comprehension.
- Some commands require using large motor skills, while others involve
interaction with classroom objects, like desks, chairs, maps, the whiteboard,
board markers, or pictures and charts.
* Storytelling
- Vocabulary is put in context in order for students to learn.
- Students respond to vocabulary with gestures or pantomime.
* Miming
- Students simulate a task or a phrase through actions.
- This is a great way to test your student’s understanding, as they will have to
remember the vocabulary off the top of their heads.
* Role - playing
- The teacher gives students a scenario or a few pieces of target vocabulary.
- Students roleplay easy scenarios.
3.4. Teacher’s roles
- Teachers play a centered role: They are active and direct in deciding teaching
or learning content, method and assessment.
- They teach, find materials and prepare for the TPR lesson; they organize the
classroom interaction and communication and respond to elicitation.
- They give feedback for their students.
3.5. Learner’s roles
- Listener & performer: They have to listen attentively and respond physically to
the teacher’s commands.
- They are required to recognize and respond to novel combinations of
previously taught items and to produce novel combinations of their own
- They monitor and evaluate their own progress
- They can speak when they feel ready to put their opinion into words.
3.6. Materials
- No basic text, just the teacher's voice, action and gesture.
 - Common classroom objects: books, pens, cups, furniture.
- Supporting materials: pictures, realia, slides, word charts.
4. Procedure
4.1. Techniques for instruction
- Step 1: Teaching and Learning.
The teacher needs to clearly and consistently act out the actions, or give the
clear pictures that refer to the words to be taught.
- Step 2: Constituting Practice and Rehearsal.
+ The teacher does the action and shows the pictures for the pupils while
repeating the words simultaneously => help the pupils to combine their
comprehension of the words’ meaning with the words themselves.
+ If the pupils fail in the second stage , they need to return to stage one and to the
second stage.
- Step 3: Evaluating
+ The teacher evaluates whether the pupils have mastered the words the teachers
had taught.
+ The pupils need to give their physical responses without any hints from the
teachers.
+ The teacher will repeat stage one and stage two until all the pupils can do a nice
job in stage three.
4.2. Techniques for feedback
Stress-free
+ At the early stage: The teacher makes little corrections because of focusing
more on meaning.
+ Later on: The teacher makes more corrections; but in a gentle and funny way.
4.3. Teaching aids and resources
- Teacher’s voice, action and gesture.
- Visual aids = real objects, realia, video clips, music, pictures, drawings, etc.
4.4. Classroom interaction:
- Teacher - student, student - student
- Interaction platform: face-to-face
- Mode of interaction: audial, visual.
5. Discussion
5.1 Strengths
Discussing this method, we find that it has a number of obvious advantages below:
(1) First, It is a natural process of learning. I mean, the TPR method used
for second language teaching is based on the process of first language acquisition, so
learners can easily acquire the second language in the same way that they acquire
their mother tongue..
 (2) Second, It fits the pupils’ learning characteristics because most learners at
this kind of class are extremely active.
(3) Additionally, it boosts students’ body language when they usually make
physical movements.
(4) Moreover, The TPR method needs the coordination of both the right and left
hemisphere of the human brain. Because language activities are carried out in the left
brain, and physical actions are coordinated by the right brain. And that’s quite a
good thing to combine both of them
(5) Finally, it is a lot of fun with zero- stress and it is more practical rather than
theoretical. While learning a language, children focus on movements, so they acquire
the language unconsciously, which reduces stress of learning a language as well as
lifts the pace and mood. Consequently, learners enjoy and pay much attention to the
lessons.
5.2 Weaknesses:
Besides, the TPR method still has some downsides.
(1) First, Learners are passive, reliant on teachers, which can limit their
creativity. Because in the TPR classroom, the teacher controls the input of learners
and gives feedback for them to have a great output while learners just play a role as
listeners and performers.
(2) Another disadvantage is that Introverted students who are quiet and prefer
spending time alone may not be willing to participate in TPR activities. So the teacher
has to be smart to persuade shy students to be part of the learning activities,
otherwise these pupils will not learn as the others.
5.3 Implications
- The TPR method is most suitable for young learners who are from 5 or 6 years
old to 11 or 12 years of age because of their psychological characteristics.
They are too young to begin studying English, which is an obstacle for them in
finding useful ways to remember what they have learned. Learners in this age
range are also active and talkative. They can not sit and keep silent obediently,
they tend to make noise and move around the classroom, which has impacts on
teachers’ control and makes them have trouble teaching their students.
 Therefore, TPR with a lot of physical energy will be a great method for these
children.
- In contrast, TPR might be less attractive to adults than to young learners. This
is because activities like demonstrating “stand up” or “sit down” seem to be
tedious and childish to them. Besides, adults have a better ability to stay
focused and motivated than children.
- Courses for intermediate and advanced learners might also include TPR
method with more adjustment and supplement. For example, when teaching
pronunciation for adults, teachers can use their mouth gesture to demonstrate
how a word is pronounced. Another example is that teachers might include
more pictures, realia, slides, and charts to support class activities. On the
other hand, at intermediate and advanced level, there are numerous abstract
words that TPR method can not illustrate. This is when an alternative method
is required.
- TPR is considered to be not suitable for some language skills such as writing
and reading. This is because learners in TPR have the primary roles of listener
and performer, so reading and writing activities are not emphasised in these
methods. However, many researches and experiments are being conducted on
how the TPR method can improve students' reading and writing skills.