TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE
brajesh kumar
built around the coordination of speech and action; it
attempts to teach language through physical
activity.Developed of James Asher,a professor of
psychology at Sas Jose University,California,it draws
on
several traditions,including developmental psychology,
learnig theory,and humanistic pedagogy,as well as
language teaching procedures proposes by Harold and
Dorothy Palmer in 1925.
In a developmental sense,Ashes sees successful second
language learning as a parallel process to child's
first
language acquisition. He claims that speech directed
to
young children primarily of commands,which children
respond to physically before they begin to produce
verbal responses.Asher feels that adults should
recapitulate the processes by which the children
acquire their native language.
Asher shares with the school of humanistic psychology
a concern for the role of affective(emotional) factors
in language learning.A method that is undemanding in
terms of linguistic production and that involves game
like movements reduces learner stress,he believes, and
creates a positive mood in the learner, which
facilitates learning.
Main components of TPR
The bio program
Brain lateralization
Reduction of stress
Objective: The general objectives of TPR 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.
SYLLABUS
The type of syllabus Asher uses can be inferred from
an analysis of the exercises types employed in TPR
classes.This analysis reveals the use of a sentenced
based syllabus,with grammatical and lexical criteria
being primary in selecting teaching items.
Total Physical response enjoyed some popularity in the
1970s and1980s because off its support by those who
emphasize the the role of comprehension in second
language acquisitiion.KRASHEN (1982), for example,
regards provision of comprehensibe input and reduction
of stress as keys to successful language acquisition,
and he sees performing physical actions in the targert
language as a means of making input comprenhensibe
and mininizing stress.Asher stressed that TPR should
be used iin association with other methods and
techniques.
The ABC's of The Total Physical Response
Preface
From the very first documentary film, “Demonstrations
of a New Strategy in Language Learning.” When the
instructor, Dr. Shirou Kunihara, uttered “tobe”in
Japanese, the 12 year old American boys jumped. Now
available in video format.
Through the years, as I successfully applied the
content of James J. Asher’s now classic book Learning
Another Language Through Actions with my high school
and college students, I discovered innovations that
accelerated student involvement and excitement. I am
pleased to share my experience with you in the second
edition of Total Physical Response in First Year
Spanish. Your colleagues will enjoy my new books:
Total Physical Response in First Year French and Total
Physical Response in First Year English.
For a solid understanding of the stress-free Total
Physical Response approach to second language
learning, I recommend that you start by reading
Learning Another Language Through Actions by the
originator of TPR, Dr. James J. Asher. Then follow-up
with a fine book by Ramiro Garcia entitled
Instructor’s Notebook: How To Apply TPR For Best
Results.
Introduction
Use the lessons in my book as a dramatic script in
which you are the director of the play and your
students are the actors. The important difference
between your production and a Broadway play is that
you are the only one who has read the script.
You will be uttering directions in the target
language and acting with the students for the first
part of the lesson so that they instantly understand
the meaning of what you are saying. I will guide you
step by step in how to do this.
Later in Act 2 of the play, students will be ready to
reverse roles with you and utter directions in the
target language to produce actions from you and other
students in the class. As you move from lesson to
lesson, I will cue you when it is time for role
reversal. You will be amazed with the ease that your
students understand what you are saying in the target
language. This is a heady experience for instructors
and often encourages an ambitious attempt to race
ahead. Resist the temptation! Relax. Take your time.
Enjoy the experience along with your students.
Remember Ramiro Garcia’s advice: Introduce only three
lexical items at a time. Do not proceed with new items
until your students are responding with confidence to
the previous set of three.
About Exhibits
In the first act of the play, students should not see
any of the directions you are uttering in the target
language. As you make a smooth transition from lesson
to lesson, I will cue you when to show students the
directions in print.
Props
You will need a variety of props for certain lessons.
I have listed at the beginning of each lesson the
props you will need to have on hand that day.
Reviewing
It is always a good idea to start every class with a
review of the previous lesson as a warm up before
introducing new material.
After listening comprehension, then what?
When the instructor, Dr. Shirou Kunihara, uttered
“aruke,” the boys walked forward.
As you move step by step through my book, you will be
delighted that your students understand everything you
are saying in the target language. You will be
surprised that they are internalizing the target
language rapidly in chunks rather than word-by-word.
As understanding of the spoken language expands and
expands, your students will be able to read without
being aware that they are reading. The magic of TPR is
that when the target language is internalized through
body movements, students not only comprehend what you
are saying but they comprehend what they see in print.
This positive transfer from listening comprehension to
reading is a huge saving in instructional time.
Throughout my book, I guide your students into a
smooth transition from listening fluency to reading
without awareness.
Yes, this transfer from understanding the spoken words
to reading works for languages that have a good
phonetic fit-- that is, the language appears in print
just like it sounds in speech such as, for example,
Spanish or French. But, it also works for languages
without a phonetic fit as when English speakers
acquire Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Hebrew or Arabic.
(For a complete discussion of this intriguing issue of
transfer, please see the Most Often Asked Questions
Chapter in Asher’s Learning Another Language Through
Actions.)
The secret of “reading without awareness” is not to
mention that the students are reading. They glide into
“reading” by seeing messages in print and
understanding what it says. For example, I use another
“trick” I learned from Ramiro Garcia’s book: Ask each
student to reach into a hat, select a strip of paper
on which I have written ten commands in the target
language. My directions are: “Look at the paper and do
what it says to do.” I do not mention the word
“reading.” There is no such thing as “reading.” They
are only looking at symbols on paper and doing what it
says to do.
How about speaking?
After about ten to twenty hours of understanding the
target language through physical movements, students
spontaneously begin to speak in the new language.
Speaking cannot be forced, but will appear naturally
as a playful activity. And when speaking appears, it
will not be perfect. There will be many errors. But if
we are as tolerant of student errors as we are of
infants acquiring their first language, gradually
speech will shape itself in the direction of the
native speaker.
Throughout my book, I will help your students shape
their speaking skills with role reversals, scenarios
in which students play different parts, and skits that
students create, stage, and act out.
How about writing?
As your students evolve from lesson to lesson, they
will be writing without knowing that they are writing.
In other words, we do not announce that, “Now you will
be writing!” because this triggers resistance from the
left brain which whispers sabotaging messages to the
student such as, “Oh, oh, this is something new! This
will probably be difficult. You don’t know how to
write in this strange language. You will have trouble
with this!” (For a more sophisticated understanding of
the right and left brain, read James J. Asher’s book,
Brainswitching: Learning on the Right Side of the
Brain and The Super School: Teaching on the Right Side
of the Brain.)
When the instructor said “hashire,” the boys ran.
Testing Listening Comprehension
Here’s how testing works so that the experience not
only demonstrates comprehension, but is enjoyable for
both the students and the instructor: I put several
versions of each quiz on a strip of paper which I
place in a hat. Then three or four students come into
the room and each gets to reach in the hat for a slip
of paper. Students enjoy having some control over the
testing process.
Each student hands their strip of paper to me. I then
read the commands and record the accuracy of each
student’s performance. I note on paper any mistakes
that have been made and grade it with points decided
in advance. This saves time because the quiz is graded
immediately before the student leaves the room.
Another powerful advantage of this procedure is that
each student gets immediate feedback. You will be
surprised how few mistakes are made.
Testing Reading Comprehension
As you probably guessed, the testing procedure for
reading is the same as I use for listening
comprehension. That is, three or four students come
into the room, select a strip of paper from the hat,
look at what is written and follow each direction on
the paper. I will be noting errors, if any, on the
strip of paper.
Testing the entire class as a group
Realizing that many teachers have limited time for
testing, I provide in my book, exams designed for
administration to the entire class as a single group.
After a year, the students showed more than 90%
retention of the Japanese commands such as, “Throw the
car to me!”
Your students are on their way to fluency, now what?
You have enjoyed a successful experience with your
students using Total Physical Response in the First
Year. How do you follow that act? I have discovered an
exciting way that my students can continue to develop
the three skills of speaking, reading, and writing
which is Blaine Ray’s student books, Look, I Can Talk!
for high school, college and adults, and Todd McKay’s
TPR Storytelling for students in elementary and middle
school.
As you work with classic TPR, you will discover that
your students have instant understanding of everything
you are saying in the target language. As a result,
students of all ages experience remarkable
self-confidence as revealed in comments such as: “I
can do this! I was afraid that I would not understand,
but I get it! I am actually enjoying this language
class!”
Once your students have internalized a batch of
vocabulary and grammar in the target language with
TPR, those items can be used to tell them a very short
story. Follow up by coaching them to try telling the
story to a classmate. Gestures are used to prompt the
student step by step. As one young instructor told me
recently on the telephone, “I was an average teacher,
but these techniques of TPR followed by storytelling
made me an outstanding instructor because my students
are achieving fluency---not just ten percent of the
class who will achieve no matter what the
instructional strategy is—but 95% percent. It is
extraordinary.”
This is an introduction to the teaching approach
known as 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.
How can I use it in class?
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.
Top of page
When should I use it?
TPR can be used to teach and practise many things.
* Vocabulary connected with actions (smile, chop,
headache, wriggle)
* Tenses past/present/future and continuous
aspects (Every morning I clean my teeth, I make my
bed, I eat breakfast)
* Classroom language (Open your books)
* Imperatives/Instructions (Stand up, close you
eyes)
* Story-telling
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
When I use TPR, first I get the students to do the
actions and then I do them and drill the students
(chorally and individually) to give them an
opportunity to practise making the sounds. They are
then ready to give commands to each other.
A game I like to play is to organize the students into
a circle around me, I 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. I might say,
"Simon says, 'slice some bread'" or "Simon says, 'chop
and 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?
* Students who are not used to such things might
find it embarrassing.
This can be the case initially but I have found
that if the teacher is prepared to perform the
actions, the students feel happier about copying. Also
the students are in a groups and don't have to perform
for the whole class. This pleasure is reserved for the
teacher.
* It is only really suitable for beginner levels.
Whilst it is clear that it is far more useful at
lower levels because the target
language lends itself to such activities I have
also used it successfully with
Intermediate and Advanced levels. You need to adapt
the language accordingly.
* For example, it helped me 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.
I completely agree with this 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.
BRAJESH
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