Total Physical Response Activities

Total Physical Response Activities

            Total Physical Response, also widely known as TPR, is an approach that focuses on teaching language together with physical activities. The main idea behind this approach is that students, whether children or adults, are able to pick up and learn languages better and faster if they associate a physical act to a certain word. For example, if a teacher says "wave," students wave their hands in response. The TPR method is attributed to Dr. James J. Asher, who is a psychology professor at San Jose State University. There are several TPR Activities that can be used in language classrooms today.

Other People Are Reading

1.   Interactive Storytelling

o    This activity is mostly advisable for kindergarten and preschool kids who are just starting to learn the English language, but can also be a fun way to introduce adults to another language. Interactive storytelling requires a children's book that contains a lot of action words that listeners may follow. Before reading the story, the teacher should make clear that each action word requires a movement response. For example, if the character suddenly runs or screams, the students should imitate what the character did.

TPR Bingo

o    TPR Bingo is another activity that will help students, young or old, learn about a specific language. This activity was created by Ramiro Garcia, who is a Spanish teacher who has been using TPR for more than 20 years. TPR Bingo requires a set of bingo cards and a set of directions or movements that corresponds to each number on the bingo cards. For example, number one may correspond to "a man runs wildly across the street." When the game starts, the teacher will only say the corresponding direction related to the number, and the students will need to look for the corresponding number based on what the teacher said. If the number is on their bingo card, they will place a chip on top of it just like regular bingo.

o     

Drawing and Basic Construction Activities

o    A simple art activity that can be incorporated with TPR is model construction and basic drawing. For children, creating a set of instructions that teaches them basic shapes can be a good start. For example, when a teacher says square, students will draw a square on their paper. This enables the students to internalize the meaning of the word by creating a representation on paper. Model construction also works perfectly when employing this technique. A simple activity can be instructions on how to make a paper airplane or how to build a basic cylinder.

Simon Says

o    This is a classic game that can be incorporated with TPR. Just like a normal Simon Says game, the teacher utters a command beginning with the words "Simon Says" and the students will follow whatever the teacher says. For example, when the teacher says "Simon says ;jump,'" the students will jump. This simple activity follows the basic idea of TPR learning since students will be able to incorporate the word with the physical response required.