AL-FARABI KAZAKH NATIONAL

UNIVERSITY

Course name: Methodology of

foreign language education

Name of author: Aliakbarova A.T.

Lecture 8
TOTAL-PHYSICAL RESPONSE
METHOD OF FLT (1969)
 LECTURE 8

1. Definition of the TPR.

2. History of the TPR.
3. Objectives of the TPR.
4. Principles of the TPR.
5. Teaching through TPR.
6. Advantages and disadvantages of the TPR.
7. Samples of tasks used in the TPR.
 1. Definition of the TPR (1/2)

• Total physical response is a language

teaching method developed by James
Asher, a professor emeritus of psychology
at San José State University (1969).

• It is based on the coordination of language

and physical movement. In TPR, instructors
give commands to students in the target
language with body movements, and
students respond with whole-body actions.

• 1929-2022
 1. Definition of the TPR (2/2)

• The method is an example of the comprehension

approach to language teaching.
• Listening and responding (with actions) serves two
purposes:
1) It is a means of quickly recognizing meaning in the
language being learned;
2) a means of passively learning the structure of the
language itself.
• Grammar is not taught explicitly but can be learned
from the language input. TPR is a valuable way to
learn vocabulary, especially idiomatic terms, e.g.,
phrasal verbs.
 2. History of the TPR (1/6)

• Asher developed TPR as a result of his experiences observing

young children learning their first language.
• He noticed that interactions between parents and children
often took the form of speech from the parent followed by a
physical response from the child.
• Asher made three hypotheses based on his observations:
1) language is learned primarily by listening;
2) language learning must engage the right hemisphere of the
brain;
3) learning language should not involve any stress.
 2. History of the TPR (2/6)

• Asher saw that most of the interactions that young children experience with parents
or other adults combine both verbal and physical aspects.
• The child responds physically to the speech of the parent, and the parent reinforces
the child's responses through further speech. This creates a positive feedback loop
between the parent's speech and the child's actions.
• Asher also observed that young children typically spend a long time listening to
language before ever attempting to speak, and that they can understand and react
to utterances that are much more complex than those they can produce themselves.
 2. History of the TPR (3/6)

• From his experiences, Asher outlined three main hypotheses about learning
second languages that are embodied in the Total Physical Response method:

• The first is that the brain is naturally predisposed to learn language

through listening. Asher hypothesizes that speech develops naturally and
spontaneously after learners internalize the target language through input.
 2. History of the TPR (4/6)

• The second of Asher's hypotheses is that effective language

learning must engage the right hemisphere of the brain.
• Physical movement is controlled primarily by the right
hemisphere, and Asher sees the coupling of movement with
language comprehension as the key to language acquisition.
• He says that left-hemisphere learning should be avoided, and
that the left hemisphere needs a great deal of experience of
right-hemisphere-based input before natural speech can occur.
 2. History of the TPR (5/6)

• Asher's third hypothesis is that language learning should not

involve any stress, as stress and negative emotions inhibit the
natural language-learning process.

• He regards the stressful nature of most language-teaching

methods as one of their major weaknesses. Asher recommends
that teachers focus on meaning and physical movement to avoid
stress.
 2. History of the TPR (6/7)

• The main text on Total Physical Response is

James Asher's Learning Another Language
through Actions, first published in 1977.
 3. Objectives of the TPR

• The general objectives of Total Physical Response 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.
• Specific instructional objectives are not elaborated, for these
will depend on the particular needs of the learners. Whatever
goals are set, however, must be attainable through the use of
action-based drills in the imperative form.
• Total Physical Response is often used alongside other methods
and techniques. It is popular with beginners and with young
learners, although it can be used with students of all levels
and all age groups.
 4. Principles of the TPR (1/2)

• As TPR is based on the comprehension approach, it emphasizes the

importance of listening and do not require spoken output in the
early stages of learning.
• Students are not forced to speak. Instead, teachers wait until
students acquire enough language through listening that they start to
speak spontaneously.
• At the beginning stages of instruction students can respond to the
instructor in their native language.
• Because the students are only expected to listen and not to speak, the
teacher has the sole responsibility for deciding what input students
hear.
 4. Principles of the TPR (2/2)

• Lessons in TPR are organized around grammar, and in

particular around the verb.
• Students are expected to subconsciously acquire the
grammatical structure of the language through exposure to
spoken language input, in addition to decoding the messages
in the input to find their meaning.
• Grammar is not explicitly taught, but is learned by induction.
• Teachers do not have to limit themselves to TPR techniques
to teach according to the principles of the method.
 5. Teaching through TPR (1/3)

• The majority of class time in TPR lessons is spent doing drills

in which the instructor gives commands using the imperative
mood. Students respond to these commands with physical
actions.
• Initially, students learn the meaning of the commands they
hear by direct observation. After they learn the meaning of the
words in these commands, the teacher issues commands that
use novel combinations of the words the students have
learned.
 5. Teaching through TPR (2/3)

• Instructors limit the number of new vocabulary items given to

students at any one time. Asher suggests that students can learn
between 12 and 36 words for every hour of instruction, depending on
their language level and class size.

• While drills using the imperative are the mainstay of classes,

teachers can use other activities as well. Some typical other activities
are role plays and slide presentations. However, beginners are not
made to learn conversational dialogs until 120 hours into their
course.
 5. Teaching through TPR (3/3)

• There is little error correction in TPR.

• Asher advises teachers to treat learners' mistakes the same way a parent
would treat their children's.
• Errors made by beginning-level students are usually overlooked, but as
students become more advanced teachers may correct more of their
errors. This is similar to parents raising their children; as children get
older parents tend to correct their grammatical mistakes more often.
• According to Asher, TPR lesson plans should contain the detailed
commands that the teacher intends to use, “…because the action is so
fast-moving there is usually not time for you to create spontaneously”.
 6. Advantages and
disadvantages of the TPR

How do you think what are the disadvantages

of the Total Physical Response Method?
 6. Disadvantages of the TPR

• Shy students may get embarrassed;

• Not always suitable for older students;
• TPR actions themselves are nonstandardized,
meaning one teacher may use one action for a word,
and one teacher may use another;
• Should be used alongside other teaching method;
• Best for beginners and for introducing vocabulary
and instructions.
• It doesn't cover grammar and sentence structures.
 6. Advantages and
disadvantages of the TPR

How do you think what are the advantages

of the Total Physical Response Method?
 6. Advantages of the TPR

• Fun and engaging, reduces anxiety;

• Makes connections between movement and language,
especially when it is difficult to explain a word or actions;
• Gets students moving;
• Good for kinesthetic learners (i.e., those who learn by
doing);
• Requires little pre-planning;
• Engages the right and left sides of the brain;
• Memorable;
• Used well in storytelling, dialogue and role-playing;
• A wide variety of realia, posters, and props are used;
• A good technique for mixed-ability classes.
 Videos on TPR:

1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9omNHxf2pKA

2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIIVWLLFxEo

3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mk6RRf4kKs
 7. Samples of task used in the
TRP (1/13)

1. Songs and nursery rhymes:

These provide excellent TPR potential. Plus, once

you’ve prepared memorable, creative actions for
the songs you’ll have ROI for the rest of your
teaching career!
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (2/13)

2. Simon Says:

•The classic TPR game.

•The teacher gives a command and students should
only do it if the teacher "Simon says..." at the start.
The teacher might say, "Simon says, 'slice some
bread'" or "Simon says, 'chop an onion'" and the
students must do the action. However if the teacher
says, "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.
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR(4/13)

3. Scavenger Hunt Challenge:

Divide the class in teams and give instructions one by

one, such as:
• Bring me something orange
• March like a soldier
• Shout out your favorite color
• Dance salsa

Tip: If you think this could get noisy, go outside. After

all, teaching outside the classroom has many
benefits.
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (3/13)
4. Circle games: Change places if… (also known as “Have
you ever)

To play, make a circle of chairs with one chair less, leaving one
classmate to stand in the middle. That student says “Change places
if… (e.g. you ate toast for breakfast today)”. Then, all the students
who did must get up and change chairs. Whoever is left without a chair
provides the next instruction.
•This activity can provide practice for describing people, talking about
preferences, as well as the present, past, and present perfect tenses,
e.g.:
“Change places if…”
…you are tall.
…you live close to school.
…you went to the beach last vacation.
…you have seen a kangaroo.
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (5/13)
5. Circle games: Shopping list

•To play, the first student in the circle begins: “I

went to the shops and I bought a bag of flour.”
•The next student must add their own idea to the list:
“I went to the shops and I bought a bag of flour and a
kilogram of walnuts.”
•As play continues and students start forgetting the
list, you may choose to have them sit “out” to arrive
at an ultimate winner.

Variation: Students are only allowed to choose items that start

with the first letter of their name. “We went the shops, and Tim
bought a tart, Emily bought an elephant…”
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (6/13)

6. Circle games: Past simple memory

•The same memory structure can be used to practice

the past simple in an activity that is especially
relevant after a long weekend or end of semester
break: “On the long weekend, I went to the beach,
cooked lasagne, swam in a lake, learned to play the
piano…”
•Students must add to the list plus remember all the
items that came before.
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (7/13)

7. Circle games: That’s the rule!

•One student briefly leaves the room. While they’re

away, the class decides on a “rule”, such as ‘cough
every time someone says “ummm,”’ or ‘clasp your
hands in your lap when answering a question’.
•The student comes back inside and begins asking
their classmates questions. As they do, they watch
the students’ behavior and try to discover the rule
that was decided upon.
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (8/13)

8. Circle games: Balloon up!

The idea is that the class must keep a balloon up in

the air at all times. Increase challenge and interest
by creating limitations: they can only use their noses
(or elbows, shoulders, thumbs…).
Tip: This game works better with a smaller class size.
If yours is on the larger side, have them play seated
or on their knees.
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (9/13)

9. Circle games: Wink murder

•While one student—the “detective”—is outside, the

others decide on a “murderer” who will kill by
winking. When the detective comes back inside the
murderer begins silently winking at their classmates.
When winked at, the students are allowed to die as
spectacularly or quietly as they like. The detective
watches and guesses who the murderer is.
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (10/13)
10. Circle games:Conditional practice

•The teacher provides the first sentence in the conditional structure

currently in revision. For example “If I was Japanese, I would eat
Japanese food every day.”
•The first student in the circle continues, taking the end of your
sentence to complete the conditional. “If I ate Japanese food every day,
I would be very happy.”
“If I was very happy, I would dance and sing”
“If I danced and sang, I’d perform in a musical”
“If I performed in a musical, I’d live in New York”
“If I lived in New York, I’d eat hotdogs every day”

After a time, remind students how this crazy story began (in this case,
“If I was Japanese, I’d eat hotdogs every day,”). The end points can be
extremely amusing!
 7. Samples of task used in the
TRP (11/13)

11. Show me …

• When teaching vocabulary terms, the body can be

used as an excellent tool to associate the new
vocabulary term to a motion of the body.
• E.g. the animal 'elephant' can be depicted and
taught using the body while making the trunk with
hands and shaking and twisting the body from side to
side. E.g., flower, tree, snake, elephant, river,
mountain, read, run, brush your teeth, sleep, jump,
eat, drink, think, etc.
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (12/13)

12. Storytelling:

An excellent way to use TPR in classrooms is to use it

while telling stories. Everyone loves stories,
irrespective of their age group. The innate need to
satisfy curiosity lies at the center of listening to a
story with much gusto. When interspersed with TPR,
the fun is only doubled. E.g. one day a snake was
sleeping on a mountain.
 7. Samples of task used in the
TPR (13/13)

13. Reading dialogues/ performances/role-playings:

This is another way to encourage students into

communication and acting. These type of activities
develop students speaking skills, improve their
pronunciation, intonation, acting skills, imagination
and so on.
 References
 J. Asher. The Total Physical Response Approach to Second Language Learning. The Modern Language Journal. (1969).
 Гальскова Н.Д. Современная методика обучения иностранным языкам: Пособие для учителя. М, 2000.
 Harmer, J. 1991. The Practice of English Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Harlow: Longman.
 Scrivener J. 1994. Learning Teaching. Oxford: Heinemann. Ur, P. 1996. A
 Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Brooks, N. (1964). Language and language learning: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace.
• Chastain, K. (1988). Developing second-language skills: Theory and practice. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
• Chomsky, N. (1959). A review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior. Language, 35(1), 26-58.
• Fries, C. C. (1945). Teaching and learning English as a foreign language. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
• Hadley, A. O. (2001). Teaching language in context (3rd ed.). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
• Lado, R. (1964). Language teaching: A scientific approach. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
• Rivers, W. M. (1981). Teaching foreign language skills. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.