TPR

Total Physical Response

• Where is it from?
• How can I use it in class?
• When should I use it?
• Why should I use it in the classroom?
• A few useful variations
• Are there any disadvantages with using TPR?
 Where is it from?
• TPR stands for Total Physical Response and was created by Dr. James J
Asher.
• It is based upon the way that children learn their mother tongue.
• Parents have 'language-body conversations' with their children, the parent
instructs and the child physically responds to this.
• The parent says, "Look at mummy" or "Give me the ball" and the child
does so.
• These conversations continue for many months before the child actually
starts to speak itself.
• Even though it can't speak during this time, the child is taking in all of the
language; the sounds and the patterns.
• Eventually when it has decoded enough, the child reproduces the language
quite spontaneously.
• TPR attempts to mirror this effect in the language classroom.
• In the classroom the teacher plays the role of parent.
• She starts by saying a word ('jump') or a phrase ('look at the board') and
demonstrating an action.
• The teacher then says the command and the students all do the action.
• After repeating a few times it is possible to extend this by asking the
students to repeat the word as they do the action.
• When they feel confident with the word or phrase you can then ask the
students to direct each other or the whole class.
• It is more effective if the students are standing in a circle around the
teacher and you can even encourage them to walk around as they do the
action
 When should I use it?
• TPR can be used to teach and practise many things.
• Vocabulary connected with actions (smile, chop, headache, wriggle)
• Classroom language (Open your books)
• Imperatives/Instructions (Stand up, close your eyes)
• Storytelling
• It can be adapted for all kinds of teaching situations, you just need to use
your imagination!
 Why should I use it in the classroom?
• It is a lot of fun, students enjoy it and it can be a real stirrer in the class. It
lifts the pace and the mood.
• It is very memorable. It really helps students to remember phrases or
words.
• It is good for kinaesthetic learners who need to be active in the class.
• It can be used in large or small classes. It doesn't really matter how many
students you have as long as you are prepared to take the lead, the students
will follow.
• It works well with mixed-ability classes. The physical actions get across the
meaning effectively so that all the students are able to understand and use the
target language.
• It doesn't require a lot of preparation or materials. As long as you are clear
what you want to practise (a rehearsal beforehand can help), it won't take a lot
of time to get ready.
• It is very effective with teenagers and young learners.
• It involves both left- and right-brained learning.
 A few useful variations
• Organize the students into a circle, say the word and the last person to do
the action is out.
• This person then stands behind me and watches for the student who does
the action last.
• Eventually there is only one student, she is the winner.
• You can extend this by playing Simon Says. This time when you give a
command, students should only do it if you say "Simon says..." at the
start. You might say, "Simon says, 'slice some bread'" or "Simon says,
'chop an onion'" and the students must do the action.
• However if I say, "Whisk an egg" the students shouldn't do this. If anyone
does the action that Simon doesn't say then they are out and have to watch
for the mistakes of the other students.
Are there any disadvantages with using TPR?

• It is really suitable for beginner levels.

• Whilst it is clear that it is far more useful at lower levels because the
target language lends itself to such activities it can be also used
successfully with Intermediate and Advanced levels.
• For example, it helps to teach 'ways of walking' (stumble, stagger, tiptoe)
to an advanced class and cooking verbs to intermediate students (whisk,
stir, grate).
• You can't teach everything with it and if used a lot it would become
repetitive.
• But it can be a successful and fun way of changing the dynamics and pace
of a lesson used in conjunction with other methods and techniques.
• One huge plus is that you can use this method in just about any lesson as a
supplemental activity or develop a lesson that is strictly TPR in nature.
• Using this method, your students will begin to develop a faster response to
English words and commands.
• Developing fun and exciting lessons is often difficult, especially in certain
areas of ESL, but it is never a challenge using the TPR method. TPR is
anything but boring!
 Activities That Elicit Total Physical Response
1. Simon Says

• Most ESL students, regardless of their nationality, have experienced some

form of Simon Says during the course of their academic careers and
personal lives.
• TPR Simon Says is a great ESL activity that will get your students moving
and it is exceptional for learning different parts of the body and physical
directions like right and left.
• Beyond the basics, you can have them act out more elaborate scenarios
and activities, like “Simon Says, make a sandwich!,” “Simon Says, go
fishing!” or even “Simon Says, stir the tomato sauce!”
• In TPR Simon Says, students will follow commands that will evoke a
desired physical response in a quick manner, in order to stay in the game.
• You can divide your class into groups and make it a team game or you can
keep students formed as a whole class for the activity.
• This, of course, depends on class size, how you want to approach the
activity and if you want students to act out situations that require more
than one person.
 Sample Activity:
• 1. First things first, in order for the game to work you must introduce the
necessary material for your students to follow the commands correctly.
• TPR activities are usually a great, fun way to end the week and solidify
what was learned in class prior to the activity.
• Review all the vocabulary and grammar that they have recently learned,
and that you want them to use in TPR.
• 2. Have your students clear ample space for them to move around in.
• Make sure the class is TPR safe, since this activity can get pretty wild
when students really get enthused!
• Give them the room to create their responses in a safe and fun way.
• 3. After everyone is ready and spaced around the room, begin your
commands.
• “Simon says, touch your nose with your left knee.”
• It is a great idea to start off with a few easy-to-understand and silly-to-do
commands all your students will easily respond to, have fun with and giggle
over.
• You don’t want anyone eliminated from the game until the fifth command or
so, helping your students keep their confidence levels high.
• 4. After students begin to fall out of the game, it will continue on until
there is only one student left as the victor.
• Make your commands challenging as the game goes on and save a few of
the hardest for those final moments.
 2. Drive Time
• Experiences like giving and receiving directions are essential elements for
ESL and the TPR driving activity will allow your students to master these.
• You will need to get to class a bit early for this lesson, well before your
students are due to arrive if possible.
• The reason for this, is that you will construct your classroom into a series
of streets and commonly known places around a town or neighborhood.
• You can label each street that winds around the room, leading to a
hospital, post office, home, hotel, park and so on.
• You could tape papers with location drawings and names on them to the
students’ desks, and make the pathways between the desks into the streets.
 Sample Activity:
• 1. After you have constructed your little classroom town with streets and
important places, have your students stand in various areas of the town
using commands.
• This will be the first stage of this TPR activity.
• For example, “Tom, go stand by the post office.” Student Tom will follow
the command and walk to the post office.
• 2. Next, you will instruct a few students to get into their imaginary cars
and command them to move about the room as you instruct.
• For example, “Jane, go pick Tom up at the post office.” Jane will then go
and pick up Tom.
• 3. Another layer to this activity is to give and receive directions.
• Have Student A give Student B directions to a certain area of the
classroom town and see if Student B can complete the task without
knowing the final destination.
• This promotes discussion and communication between students, a great
ESL sub-skill for your students to work on.
 3. Your Morning Routine
• This TPR activity is a wonderful way to group together a list of
commands under a specific time of the day, or to simulate a routine that is
commonly carried out every day.
• The TPR morning routine activity focuses on the essential actions we
perform every morning.
• This activity is excellent for students to act and it is fun and very good for
creating the quick physical response you are looking for in your students.
 Sample Activity:
• 1. Before you get started on the activity, it is a good idea to go over the
different morning routines that you may use in the TPR activity.
• This can be done the day of or it could be the material your students have
been learning throughout the week and the activity can act as a review or
test.
• 2. For added competition, break your class into two groups.
• For each specific morning routine command, the group will select a
representative to respond to the command.
• Group A will choose Tom for the first command and Group B will choose
Jane.
• 3. Tom and Jane will stand at the head of the class and you will give a
command to each.
• “Tom, wake up and get up from your bed. Jane, put on your robe and
slippers.”
• Tom and Jane should be able to respond to your commands quickly and any
long period of hesitation could be considered as “no point.”
• For each correct response, the group gets a point and the game continues with
new student representatives for each question.
• 4. The group with the most points at the end is the victor and you can
develop some sort of reward system for winning performances.
 4. The Teacher Walkabout
• The TPR teacher walkabout activity is your chance to stump your students
with every move you make around the classroom.
• This TPR activity focuses on the sudden, quick response time your
students will need to have when navigating an English world abroad.
• In the teacher walkabout activity, you will slowly float around the
classroom and suddenly command a student you are near to respond to
your command within seconds.
• Your students never know when your command will come and you can
even use names to command them from across the room.
 Sample Activity:
• 1. Have your students seated with their eyes looking straight ahead,
towards the front of the classroom.
• They can chat a bit amongst themselves in English, but not too much or
too loudly.
• 2. Begin your stroll around the room and let the tension build before
picking your first student out by tapping on his or her shoulder or desk.
• You will send your command at this moment as they jump from their seat
and respond.
• For example, “Tom, stand up and turn your desk around, facing
backwards.”
• Tom should be able to quickly respond to this task by processing your
command and the key words like stand up, turn, desk, backwards.
• 3. After Tom completes his task, you continue floating around the room
searching for your next unsuspecting TPR victim.
• 4. The activity continues and you can reward each student with candy
after they respond and correctly complete the command.
• At the end of the TPR activity you can give everyone candy, not leaving
anyone out.