E-Learning Background
The online learning space has skyrocketed in recent years, due to advancements in technology and a certain C-word that has held the face-to-face world hostage since 2020. As e-learning has crept into different content areas and across age groups—particularly with young language learners—it has become increasingly important to simultaneously engage via a webcam and still see demonstrable language learning results. Enter Total Physical Response (TPR).
What is Total Physical Response (TPR)?
TPR is a language teaching method that focuses on comprehension by associating the target language with physical movement.
To the uninitiated, TPR may look like wild gesticulation, but TPR is a method that has been used in classrooms around the world since James Asher started writing about it in the 1960s. Asher was inspired by the way children interact with their parents as they acquire language, responding to verbal commands with physical reactions. During his research, Asher observed “[w]hen noises coming from someone’s mouth are followed by a body movement, the learner is immediately able to decipher the meaning of the noise at many levels of awareness” (Asher, 1977).
Imagine you are a learner hearing your teacher say “raise your hand” in isolation. Now, imagine hearing “raise your hand” while simultaneously raising your hand. Finally, imagine hearing “raise your hand” and reacting by raising your hand. Without producing language, you have demonstrated comprehension through reacting with the appropriate physical response. This is the foundation of TPR.
Benefits of TPR
While Asher himself was adamant that learners at any age benefit from TPR, the approach is commonly used with children who may feel uninhibited and less embarrassed when acting things out to express themselves. TPR is a great strategy for many learners, but it is particularly effective for beginners, who may feel frustrated or hesitant to try to produce language. TPR is sometimes called a stress-free method because there is no expectation of production. Instead, learners can mimic and repeat their teacher as they take time to construct language in a way that makes sense to them. TPR is also stress-free for a teacher who wants student feedback to gauge whether any of the language is sticking—their students will demonstrate comprehension by making the appropriate gestures and actions.
TPR is effective but can also be tricky to implement online. For some online classes that pair different teachers and students for each class, it can be difficult to establish consistent gestures with inconsistent teachers. Additionally, teachers and learners interacting through a webcam are often disadvantaged by not having a full range of motion to work with; “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” is arguably less successful if half of the body parts are out of view. The good news is that teachers in the online ELT space have spent years perfecting their craft, and some of the best online teachers have come up with creative and practical ways to use TPR with limited mobility (e.g., using fingers to mimic walking) so that it is still an effective technique.
TPR in the Online Classroom
Effective teachers are out there on the other side of a webcam, using TPR effectively to teach children new languages, and effective curriculum lines continue building dedicated TPR activities into their online courses.
Take LingoAce, for example, an online language company providing both Chinese and English lessons to young learners around the world. In LingoAce’s Chinese Foundation program, once the expression for hello (which is “Ni hao”) is introduced, the teacher asks students to repeat the phrase while using the appropriate motions. Moving forward in this lesson or in subsequent lessons, even if a learner is not ready to say the words “Ni hao”, when they react with the appropriate gestures as the teacher speaks, the learner is effectively demonstrating comprehension.
Similarly, in a LingoAce English trial lesson, a teacher guides a student through a challenging reading excerpt about whales, using exaggerated hand gestures to demonstrate a “huge” shape and flexing his bicep dramatically to communicate “strong”. By using these same gestures consistently—and encouraging the student to mimic his gestures—the teacher is using TPR to effectively aid comprehension.
TPR has been around in a formal capacity for nearly 60 years. As unprecedented times usher in new educational technologies and modalities, it will be interesting to see how this tried-and-true method evolves.
References
Asher, J.J. (2012). Learning Another Language Through Actions (7th ed.). Sky Oaks Production, Inc.
Asher, J. J. (1969). The total physical response approach to second language learning. The Modern Language Journal, 53(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.2307/322091
Cambridge University Press ELT. (2010, August 17). Total physical response (TPR) – Teacher training film no. 8. [Video] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkMQXFOqyQA&t=46s
Mills, S., & Johnson, S. (2021, November 30). Total physical response: Meaning, method, and examples. Study.com. https://study.com/learn/lesson/total-physical-response-method-examples.html
PR Newswire. (2021, July 2). English Language Learning Market Worth $54.92 Billion by 2027, Growing at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2020. Bloomberg.https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2021-07-02/english-language-learning-market-worth-54-92-billion-by-2027-growing-at-a-cagr-of-6-2-from-2020-exclusive-report-by
Appendix A: Additional References
Englishtina, I. (2019, January). The use of total physical response (TPR) activities for teaching young learners. Journal of English Teaching and Islamic Integration, 2(1), 113-120. https://garuda.kemdikbud.go.id/documents/detail/899005
Frost. R. (n.d.). Total physical response – TPR. British Council: Teaching English. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/total-physical-response-tpr
Nurrina, S., Amri, S., & Ardian, E. (2020, May). Improving students’ motivation in learning English by using total physical response (TPR) at grade VI of Mi Sa’Adah El-Islamiyah Tembilahan. J-Shelves of Indragiri, 1(2), 130-143. https://scholar.archive.org/work/jgtu3vc37bdfth4gvh64vcilvm/access/wayback/ https://ejournal.unisi.ac.id/index.php/shelves/article/download/1060/713/
Oflaz, A. (2019). The foreign language anxiety in learning German and the effects of total physical response method on students’ speaking skill. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 15(1), 70-82. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/684999
TPR World. (n.d.). TPR Experts. https://tpr-world.com/experts/
Widodo, H. P. (2005, August). Teaching children using a total physical response (TPR) method: Rethinking. Bahasa Dan Seni, Tahum, 33(2). https://sastra.um.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Teaching-Children-Using-a-Total-Physical-Response-TPR-Method-Rethinking-Handoyo-Puji-Widodo.pdf
Xie, R. (2021, March). The effectiveness of total physical response (TPR) on teaching English to young learners. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 12(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1202.11
