Using TPR to the Fullest

Using TPR to the Fullest
by Roberta Young

TPR (Total Physical Response) can be a very useful technique for introducing new vocabulary and grammar into the foreign language classroom. It is particularly useful in the early stages of a lesson unit because at first students are only required to listen and imitate. This leads to aural comprehension which can then lead to simple oral production, and later, more complex oral production including grammatical changes. Reading and writing can also be introduced once the vocabulary has become familiar aurally. These are the steps I often use in developing a TPR-based lesson.

Steps 1-3: Students develop and demonstrate aural comprehension.

1)	Teacher gives a command and models the behavior; students copy.
2)	Teacher gives a command and waits briefly to give students a chance to initiate the response before modeling the behavior.
3)	Teacher gives a command and students respond. Teacher does not model the behavior.

Steps 4&5: Students produce orally.

(Exact Imitation) Individual students take the role of teacher and give commands to their classmates.

(Variation) Teacher gives a command to one student who responds. Teacher can then ask the class a variety of questions which fall into various categories of increasing difficulty:

For example, when the teacher says, “Dance!” and a student dances, the teacher can ask the class these questions:

Answers do not require the students to use the new vocabulary but, do require students to comprehend the new vocabulary. (And, depending on the language, students may have to infer related verb forms needed for correct subject-verb agreement.)

Who is dancing? (requires only a classmate’s name)
Is Lisa dancing? Is Lisa singing? (yes or no)
Is Lisa dancing or is Jim dancing? (either-or, requires a name answer)

Answers do require the students to use the new vocabulary. Depending on the target language the students may also have to change the form of the word in their answer. The teacher can deliberately manipulate the situation and questions to give students experience using the desired grammatical forms. Using the example above:

Is Lisa dancing or singing? (She’s dancing.) (either-or)
(after student stops) Did Lisa dance or swim? (She danced.) (either-or)
How about Jim? (He didn’t dance.)
What did Jim do? (He sang.)

(Of course, at the beginning level, the teacher may focus on only one type of question. Also, the teacher’s questions should be determined by the final communication goals.)

Steps 6-8: Students develop reading skills and demonstrate comprehension.

6)	Teacher gives the same commands that have already been learned aurally by reading them aloud while showing them in written form; students respond.
7)	Teacher shows a written command to the class without reading aloud. Students respond.
8)	Teacher shows a written command to one student who responds. Teacher can then ask the class a variety of questions as in Step 5 above.

Steps 9&10: Students develop writing skills.

9)	Students write one (or more) commands onto strips of paper. They show them to the class. The class responds (if they can read and understand).
10)	The teacher can ask questions from Step 5 above. Students write their answers.

Reminder: TPR is a tool for introducing language. It can be applied for all four skills - listening, speaking, reading, and writing. However, this does not qualify it as “authentic communication.” The final step is to have students apply their new vocabulary and language skills to communicate! For example: discuss daily activities, write about what they did over their vacation, or listen to classmates presentations about favorite activities, etc. It is the teacher’s job to present the vocabulary and grammar in the TPR activities with the final communicative goal in mind.

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