Total Physical Response (TPR) is a
language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action; it
attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity. Developed by
James Asher, a professor of psychology at San Jose State University, California,
it draws on several traditions, including developmental psychology, learning
theory, and humanistic pedagogy, as well as on language teaching procedures
proposed by Harold and Dorothy Palmer in 1925. Let us briefly consider these
precedents to Total Physical Response.
Imperative drills are the major classroom activity in
Total Physical Response. They are typically used to elicit physical actions
and activity on the part of the learners. Conversational dialogues are delayed
until after about 120 hours of instruction. Asher's rationale for this is that
"everyday conversations are highly abstract and disconnected; therefore
to understand them requires a rather advanced internalization of the target
language". Other class activities include role plays and slide
presentations. Role plays center on everyday situations, such as at the
restaurant, supermarket, or gas station. The slide presentations are used to
provide a visual center for teacher narration, which is followed by commands,
and for questions to students, such as "Which person in the picture is the
salesperson?". Reading and writing activities may also be employed to
further consolidate structures and vocabulary, and as follow-ups to oral
imperative drills.
Learners in Total Physical Response have the primary
roles of listener and performer. They listen attentively and respond physically
to commands given by the teacher. Learners are required to respond both
individually and collectively. Learners have little influence over the content
of learning, since content is determined by the teacher, who must follow the
imperative-based format for lessons. Learners are also expected to recognize
and respond to novel combinations of previously taught items:
Novel utterances are recombinations of constituents
you have used directly in training. For instance, you directed students with
'Walk to the table!' and 'Sit on the chair!'. These are familiar to students
since they have practiced responding to them. Now, will a student understand
if you surprise the individual with an unfamiliar utterance that you created
by recombining familiar elements (e.g. 'Sit on the table!').
Learners are also required to produce novel
combinations of their own. Learners monitor and evaluate their own progress.
They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak - that is, when a
sufficient basis in the language has been internalized.
The teacher plays an active and direct role in Total
Physical Response. "The instructor is the director of a stage play in
which the students are the actors". It is the teacher who decides what to
teach, who models and presents the new materials, and who selects supporting
materials for classroom use. The teacher is encouraged to be well prepared and
well organized so that the lesson flows smoothly and predictably. Asher
recommends detailed lesson plans: “It is wise to write out the exact utterances you will be using
and especially the novel commands because the action is so fast-moving there
is usually not time for you to create spontaneously". Classroom
interaction and turn taking is teacher rather than learner directed. Even when
learners interact with other learners it is usually the teacher who initiates
the interaction:
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