Total Physical Response

 

1.                   James Asher 1977

2.                   also called comprehension approach

3.       combination of physical activities and learning, the motor activity (as a function of RH of the brain) should precede lg processing (LH of the brain), the whole brain should be activated

4.       like children, learners should do a lot of listening before they speak, their listening is accompanied by physical responses (they are manifestation of comprehension of the spoken lg)

5.     teacher’s orders are similar to parental commands

6.       the teacher is the director of a stage play in which the students are the actors

7.       TPR utilizes the imperative mood, no verbal response is necessary, more complex syntax is incorporated into the imperative

8.       also interrogatives: at first students’ physical response, e.g. in the form of pointing to an object or person connected with the questions, then they feel comfortable enough to ventare verbal responses to questions, eventually they ask questions themselves

9.       students start to speak when they are ready to speak

10.   teacher: active, very directive

11.   stress-free atmosphere (humanistic approach)

12.   TPR has to be accompanied by elements of other methods and techniques

13.   effective at the beginner level

14.   no textbook, TPR utilizes a set of accessories and requisites to create real life situations (e.g. shop, beach)

15.   TPR is used as a type of classroom activity to provide both autitory imput and physical activity), helps to increase students’ concentration

16.   drawbacks:

a)   grammatical limitation

b)   lexical limitation (only non-abstract nouns)

c)   neglects the developement of speaking skills

d)   no real communication

e)   shaken balance between input and output

 

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