Total physical response-a stress-free approach to lreaning a foreigne language

Nguyễn Thúy Hòa Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ 133(03)/1: 115 - 119

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TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE - A STRESS-FREE APPROACH TO

LEARNING A FOREIGNE LANGUAGE

Nguyen Thuy Hoa*

College of Information and Communication Technology - TNU

SUMMARY

Among several approaches to teaching and learning a foreign language, Total Physical Response

(TPR) is one that simulates the way children naturally acquire their mother tongue. Instructors give

commands to students in the new language, and students respond through gestures. This article

explores the principle and feature of TPR, and its advantages and disadvantages. This article also

presents a study on the use of TPR in teaching English of the first -year non-English major

students at Thainguyen University of Information and Communication Technology (ICTU) and

provides some suggestions for applying TPR.

Key words: Total Physical Response, stress-free approach, commands, ESL, James Asher

THE INTRODUCTION*

What is TPR?

Total physical response (TPR) is a language

teaching method that was developed in the

1970s by American psychologist James

Asher, a professor at San Jose State

University, California. The method is

intended to simulate the way children acquire

their mother tongue. Asher (1974) notes that

children first learn their mother tongue

through responding physically (e.g., pointing,

nodding, waving, shaking their heads, and

other meaningful actions) to the commands

their parents give before they are capable of

uttering words. TPR works in the same way:

the teacher commands "stand up," "point to

the blackboard", "raise your hand," etc., and

the whole class responds physically. This

method is linked with the "trace theory" in

psychology, which implies that the more the

target language is associated with physical

actions, the stronger its recollection is in the

memory. Asher (1984) further notes that

children initially observe and comprehend the

language their parents use for a short period,

which Asher calls the "Silent Period," and

then begin to produce the language.

Accordingly, he points out that students

should not be forced to produce the language

immediately and oral practice should be

*

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delayed in language classrooms until the

students are ready. Dr. Asher considers TPR

as a method of teaching language using

physical movement to react to verbal input in

order to reduce student inhibitions and lower

their affective filter (stress).

Principle and feature of TPR

One of the major principles of TPR is

lowering the affective filter to facilitate the

learning process. Students' anxiety should be

lowered to that of a more natural setting so

that they do not feel threatened in a language

classroom (Asher, 1984). TPR creates a

motivating environment by encouraging

students to participate and involve themselves

in actions, which builds their enthusiasm as

they feel free to move around. Therefore,

TPR students experience the language in a

relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. Such

an approach definitely injects fun and

amusement into the learning, and students

feel relaxed enough to imitate their teacher

and express themselves kinesthetically.

Comprehension is an integral aspect of TPR.

Teachers should initially pay attention to

students' comprehension of language and

delay a focus on speaking until a later stage

(Asher, 1969). Thiele and Scheibner-Herzig

(1983) also confirm that students'

comprehension should come before oral

practice. Thus, students should not be forced

to respond to the language until they are