Total Physical Response ( TPR )

Prepare by :Chang Kwang Linn

Ling Cheng Yiing

‘Babies

don't learn by memorizing lists;

why should children or adults?’from a lecture by Dr. Asher at Cambridge University, England

James J. Asher

What is Total Physical Response

1. It was developed by James Asher, a professor of psychology at San Jose State University, California.

2. TPR (total physical response) is a method of teaching language using physical movement to react to verbal input in order to reduce student inhibitions and lower their affective filter.

3. It allows students to react to language without thinking too much, facilitates long term retention, and reduces student anxiety and stress.

More About TPR

1. Childhood language acquisition theories- Language learners can benefit from following this “natural” progression from comprehension to production, instead of the more normal situation where learners are asked to produce instantly.

2. The right brain/left brain divide- The left brain can be described as logical, one-track, and cynical.- The right brain is used when moving, acting, using metaphor, drawing and pointing.- When language is taught actively through movement, the right brain “believes” the information and retains it, in the same way that skills such as swimming or riding a bicycle are remembered long term.

3. Lowering stress and the affective filter- Students learn more when they are relaxed.- TPR helps reduce the affective filter because it is less threatening than traditional language activities.

Some Principles of TPR

1. Prepare a script2. Build on what has gone before3. Recycle language and review extensively4. Don't change the target language5. Be good-natured and positive

6. Introduce limited number of new items and manipulate them extensively

7. Incorporate some humor8. Students don't speak9. Students don't “help” each other

Objectives

1. To teach oral proficiency at a beginning level and the ultimate aim is to teach basic speaking skills.

2. To produce learners who are capable of free communication, which is understandable to a native speaker.

Goals

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

Roles

The teacher plays an active and direct role because he/she decides what to teach, 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.

What are advantages of TPR?

Advantages

• It is fun and easy. Students will enjoy getting up out of their chairs and moving around.

• Simple TPR activities do not require a great deal of preparation on the part of the teacher. However, some other more complex applications might.

• It is good for learners who need to be active in the class. • It is a good tool for building vocabulary. • It is memorable. Actions help strengthen the connexions in

the brain. • Work effectively for children and adults. There is no age

barrier.

What are disadvantages of TPR?

Disadvantages

• Whilst it can be used at higher levels TPR is most useful for beginners. It is also at the higher levels where preparation becomes an issue for the teacher.

• Students are not generally given the opportunity to express their own thoughts in a creative way.

• It is easy to overuse TPR. "Any novelty, if carried on too long, will trigger adaptation." Asher writes, "No matter how exciting and productive the innovation, people will tire of it."

• The teacher may find that it is limited in terms of language scope. Certain target languages may not be suited to this method.

• It can be a challenge for shy students.