Physical Approach: Total Physical Response

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Total physical response (TPR) is a language strategy, or better a teacher´s tool originated and developed by Dr. James J. Asher who is a professor emeritus of psychology at San José State University, and the author of ''Learning another Language through Actions'', 6th edition. As the name suggests, physical movement is a fundamental aspect of TPR.On principle, the method relies on the assumption that people learn better when they are involved physically coupled with mentally.Importantly, In TPR, students respond to commands that require physical movement.In this respect, as the teacher gives an order and the students respond physically or nonverbally, the teacher ascertains the students' comprehension of the command.Above all, it seems pertinent…show more content…
It is a challenge to convert the traditional class into an imperative – action form; it is a refreshing change of teaching style. In light of the evidence from the 2013 study, we have a better understanding of the usefulness of this practice. In research, students evaluated TPR classes as more interesting and found the teacher more inspiring than classical lessons. With this in mind, Asher’s theory postulates that languages can be more efficiently learned if we examine how infants acquire their first language. Before being able to speak, a baby reacts physically to language and then moves to verbal expression. During the pre-speech period, the baby internalizes the language. In this sense, the use of TPR in the classroom in many ways takes advantage of this ready-made learning capacity that everyone has. In a way, the teacher plays the role of the parent by giving prompts, setting patterns, playing games, and the student then tries to respond physically to the prompt. Afterwards, the teacher gives the correct response in a positive way like of which a parent…show more content…
By integrating TPR into routines, students will immediately become involved in the language and engaged in reacting to it.Thanks to this practice, they will soon realize that they understand a lot of things and will build confidence as they

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