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 1. Home
 2. Professional development
 3. Teachers
 4. Managing the lesson
 5. Articles




TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE - TPR

This is an introduction to the teaching approach known as total physical
response.


Author
Richard Frost, British Council, Turkey
 * Where is it from?
 * How can I use it in class?
 * When should I use it?
 * Why should I use it in the classroom?
 * A few useful variations
 * Are there any disadvantages with using TPR?


Where is it from?

TPR stands for Total Physical Response and was created by Dr. James J Asher. It
is based upon the way that children learn their mother tongue. Parents have
'language-body conversations' with their children, the parent instructs and the
child physically responds to this. The parent says, "Look at mummy" or "Give me
the ball" and the child does so. These conversations continue for many months
before the child actually starts to speak itself. Even though it can't speak
during this time, the child is taking in all of the language; the sounds and the
patterns. Eventually when it has decoded enough, the child reproduces the
language quite spontaneously. TPR attempts to mirror this effect in the language
classroom.

How can I use it in class?

In the classroom the teacher plays the role of parent. She starts by saying a
word ('jump') or a phrase ('look at the board') and demonstrating an action. The
teacher then says the command and the students all do the action. After
repeating a few times it is possible to extend this by asking the students to
repeat the word as they do the action. When they feel confident with the word or
phrase you can then ask the students to direct each other or the whole class.

It is more effective if the students are standing in a circle around the teacher
and you can even encourage them to walk around as they do the action.

When should I use it?

TPR can be used to teach and practise many things.

 * Vocabulary connected with actions (smile, chop, headache, wriggle)
 * Tenses past/present/future and continuous aspects (Every morning I clean my
   teeth, I make my bed, I eat breakfast)
 * Classroom language (Open your books)
 * Imperatives/Instructions (Stand up, close your eyes)
 * Storytelling

It can be adapted for all kinds of teaching situations, you just need to use
your imagination!

Why should I use it in the classroom?

 * It is a lot of fun, students enjoy it and it can be a real stirrer in the
   class. It lifts the pace and the mood.
 * It is very memorable. It really helps students to remember phrases or words.
 * It is good for kinaesthetic learners who need to be active in the class.
 * It can be used in large or small classes. It doesn't really matter how many
   students you have as long as you are prepared to take the lead, the students
   will follow.
 * It works well with mixed-ability classes. The physical actions get across the
   meaning effectively so that all the students are able to understand and use
   the target language.
 * It doesn't require a lot of preparation or materials. As long as you are
   clear what you want to practise (a rehearsal beforehand can help), it won't
   take a lot of time to get ready.
 * It is very effective with teenagers and young learners.
 * It involves both left- and right-brained learning.


A few useful variations

When I use TPR, first I get the students to do the actions and then I do them
and drill the students (chorally and individually) to give them an opportunity
to practise making the sounds. They are then ready to give commands to each
other.

A game I like to play is to organize the students into a circle around me, I say
the word and the last person to do the action is out. This person then stands
behind me and watches for the student who does the action last. Eventually there
is only one student, she is the winner.

You can extend this by playing Simon Says. This time when you give a command,
students should only do it if you say "Simon says..." at the start. I might say,
"Simon says, 'slice some bread'" or "Simon says, 'chop an onion'" and the
students must do the action. However if I say, "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.

Are there any disadvantages with using TPR?

 * Students who are not used to such things might find it embarrassing. This can
   be the case initially but I have found that if the teacher is prepared to
   perform the actions, the students feel happier about copying. Also the
   students are in groups and don't have to perform for the whole class. This
   pleasure is reserved for the teacher.
 * It is only really suitable for beginner levels.
 * Whilst it is clear that it is far more useful at lower levels because the
   target language lends itself to such activities I have also used it
   successfully with Intermediate and Advanced levels. You need to adapt the
   language accordingly.
 * For example, it helped me to teach 'ways of walking' (stumble, stagger,
   tiptoe) to an advanced class and cooking verbs to intermediate students
   (whisk, stir, grate).
 * You can't teach everything with it and if used a lot it would become
   repetitive. I completely agree with this but it can be a successful and fun
   way of changing the dynamics and pace of a lesson used in conjunction with
   other methods and techniques.


Bookmark this


COMMENTS

Submitted by Manch on Wed, 02/08/2023 - 20:41

Permalink


EMBODIED LEARNING

Interesting read! Someone pointed me to this resources because I am a Professor
of Education at the University of Edinburgh researching the role of movement and
gesture in young children's learning (Embodied Learning). I focus on STEM but
some in the field focus on language learning. Here's a link to one of our
project videos that summarises some of the field where you might see interesting
overlaps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLYw69l_q5g&t=6s(link is external) .
Thanks for posting this.

 * Log in or register to post comments

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 08:37

In reply to Embodied Learning by Manch

Permalink


THANKS

Thanks for sharing that link into the work you are doing - interesting overlap
with TPR in the English language classroom!

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

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Submitted by MD ILYAS on Wed, 08/26/2020 - 00:56

Permalink


WHY TPR EFFECTIVE.

Mother is the first teacher and teacher is the second mother. So playing the
role of a mother a teacher can make TPR effective no doubt. 

 * Log in or register to post comments

Submitted by AndyB on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 01:17

Permalink


IS THIS CORRECT?

Written in the 'Where is it from' section of the TPR article by Richard Frost is
"Eventually when it has decoded enough, the child reproduces the language quite
spontaneously." Is this correct? A child makes a huge number of different sounds
before starting to speak after which more practice is required before the
language (e.g. English) phenomes become intrinsic so this can not be referred to
as "quite spontaneously."
 * Log in or register to post comments

Submitted by AmyKlipp on Fri, 04/08/2016 - 17:00

Permalink


TPR

One way I use TPR in the older classes is by combining sign language with the
vocabulary. I have to learn these gestures first, but Youtube has loads of
tutorials and the kids like them.
 * Log in or register to post comments

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