Total physical response (TPR) is a language teaching method developed by James Asher, a professor emeritus of psychology at San José State University.
Asher developed TPR as a result of his experiences observing young children learning their first language.
Asher saw that most of the interactions that young children experience with parents or other adults combine both verbal and physical aspects.
[1] Asher also observed that young children typically spend a long time listening to language before ever attempting to speak, and that they can understand and react to utterances that are much more complex than those they can produce themselves.
[2] From his experiences, Asher outlined three main hypotheses about learning second languages that are embodied in the TPR method.
Asher hypothesizes that speech develops naturally and spontaneously after learners internalize the target language through input, and that it should not be forced.
[2] In Asher's own words: A reasonable hypothesis is that the brain and the nervous system are biologically programmed to acquire language, either the first or the second in a particular sequence and in a particular mode.
He says that left-hemisphere learning should be avoided, and that the left hemisphere needs a great deal of experience of right-hemisphere-based input before natural speech can occur.
Methods in the comprehension approach emphasize the importance of listening to language development and do not require spoken output in the early stages of learning.
[6] While the majority of class time is spent on listening comprehension, the ultimate goal of the method is to develop oral fluency.
[11] The majority of class time in TPR lessons is spent with language-body conversations as Asher refers to it, in which the instructor gives commands using the imperative mood.
This is to help students differentiate the new words from those previously learned, and to facilitate integration with their existing language knowledge.
[10] Asher suggests that students can learn between 12 and 36 words for every hour of instruction, depending on their language level and class size.
As students progress in ability the teacher may begin to use objects found in the classroom such as furniture or books, and later may use word charts, pictures, and realia.
[13] There are a number of specialized TPR teaching products available, including student kits and storytelling materials developed by Asher and other authors.website www.tpr-world.com Asher conducted a large number of scientific studies to test and refine his hypotheses and the teaching practices in TPR.
[15] Research performed in Turkey in 2018 on TPR by Adnan Oflaz showed that using the method can significantly reduce anxiety in students.
Additionally, the nature of TPR places an unnaturally heavy emphasis on the use of the imperative mood, that is to say commands such as sit down and stand up.
[24] It should be clarified that TPRS, which stands for "Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling, is not directly associated with "Total Physical Response" (TPR) in spite of the similarity of their names.
Todd McKay conducted the first empirical study of the effectiveness of Total Physical Response (TPR) combined with storytelling.
In the comparative study with Asher, McKay found that children who were exposed to TPR Storytelling outperformed similar students trained using grammar-translation and ALM.