Total Physical Response (TPR) is a language teaching method developed by James Asher in the 1970s that is based on the coordination of speech and physical actions. It mimics how children acquire their first language by having students listen and perform physical actions in response to verbal commands before speaking themselves. This helps reduce anxiety and develop comprehension skills first in a low-stress, enjoyable way through activities like games and skits. The teacher actively guides lessons while students respond physically at first before also giving commands in the target language.

1. Total Physical Response (TPR)

2. Total Physical Response "Babies don't learn by memorizing lists; why should children or adults?“ from a lecture by Dr. Asher at Cambridge University, England.

3. What is TPR?

4. Developed by James Asher in the 1970s, TPR is a language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action.

5. Origin

6. In psychology, it is linked to the trace theory of memory, which says that the more often a memory connection is traced, the more likely it will be recalled. Tracing and retracing can be both verbal (language) and motor (actions). The combination of the two fosters the recall. In addition, in a developmental sense, Asher claims that speech directed to young children consists primarily of commands, which children respond to physically before they begin to produce verbal responses. The emphasis on developing comprehension skills before the learner is taught to speak links to the so-called Comprehension Approach, the principles of which share the belief that: (1) comprehension abilities precede productive skills in learning a language; (2) the teaching of speaking should be delayed until comprehension skills are established; (3) skills acquired through listening transfer to other skills; (4) teaching should emphasize meaning rather than form; (5) teaching should minimize learner stress (Richards & Rodgers, 1986).

7. The learning hypotheses:

8. 1. Innate bio program: listening before speaking (Natural Approach) and synchronized with body. Second learning language should imitate first language learning. 2. Affective Filter: like first language learning, second language learning should take place in a stress-free environment because the lower the stress, the greater the learning. 3. Brain Lateralization: TPR is directed to right –brain hemisphere because the right brain is responsible for motor activities while language activity is situated in the left hemisphere. Right hemisphere activities trigger left hemisphere activities, but right brain activities must occur before the left brain can process language for production.

9. Left Brain v. Right Brain

10. Left Brain V. Right Brain Left brain Right brain Left Brain: Right Brain: Logical Random Sequential Intuitive Rational Holistic Analytical Synthesizing Objective Subjective Looks at parts Looks at wholes

11. Principles

12. Understanding of the target language should be developed before speaking. Meaning can often be conveyed through actions, especially by using commands. Feelings of success and low anxiety facilitate learning. Spoken language should be emphasized over written language. Teachers should be tolerant of errors which are expected to be made by students. Meaning is more important than form.

13. Goals

14. to provide an enjoyable learning experience, having a minimum of the stress that typically accompanies learning a foreign language.

15. Roles

16. The teacher plays an active and direct role because he decides what to teach, he selects and models the material. The learners listen attentively and respond physically to commands. They are expected to recognize and respond to new combinations of taught items and they have to produce new combinations of their own.

17. Teaching/learning process:

18. Lessons begin with commands by the teacher. Students demonstrate their understanding by acting these commands out. Teachers recombine their instructions in novel and often humorous ways; eventually students follow suit. Activities later include games and skits.

19. Interaction

20. Teacher-Student and student-student: The teacher interacts with individual students and with the group, starting with the teacher speaking and the students responding nonverbally. Later, this is reversed; students issue commands to teacher as well as each other.

21. Dealing with feelings

22. The method was developed principally to reduce the stress associated with language learning. Students are not forced to speak until they are ready and learning is made as enjoyable as possible, stimulating feelings of success and low anxiety.

23. Aspects of language the approach emphasizes:

24. Grammatical structures and vocabulary are emphasized, imbedded in imperatives. Understanding precedes production; spoken language precedes the written word.

25. Role of students’ native language:

26. Method is introduced in students’ native language, but rarely used later in course. Meaning is made clear through actions.

27. Response to students’ errors:

28. Students are expected to make errors once they begin speaking. Teachers only correct major errors, and do this unobtrusively. “Fine-tuning” occurs later.

29. Means for evaluation:

30. Teachers can evaluate students through simple observation of their actions. Formal evaluation is achieved by commanding a student to perform a series of actions.

31. What are advantages of TPR?

32. Fun and Easy: Students enjoy activity! Simple TPR activities do not require a great deal of preparation on the part of the teacher. TPR is inclusive and works well in a class with mixed ability levels. Good for kinesthetic learners who need to be active in class. Good tool for building vocabulary. Actions help build connections in the brain. Helps learners achieve fluency faster by immersing learners in activities that involve them in situational language use . Good instructional practice for ESL’s learners in their silent period. Works well for child and adult learners.

33. What are disadvantages of TPR?

34. Most useful for beginners. Preparation becomes an issue for teachers at higher levels. Students are not generally given the opportunity to express their own thought in as creative manner. It is easy to over use TPR and begin to bore students. May limit teachers in term of scope of language that can be addressed. Can be a major challenge for shy students.

35. Check your understanding of TPR. 1.Asher believes that foreign language instruction can and should be modeled on native language acquisition. What are some characteristics of his method that are similar to the way children acquire their native language? 2.One of the principles of TPR is that when student anxiety is low, language learning is enhanced. How does this method lower student anxiety?