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Rodgers’ 2001:106 statement “…suggestopedia that appear effective and that harmonize with other successful techniques in the language teaching
inventory”. That is why Suggestopedia is a suitable model which can be adapted based on children’s characteristics.
5. Total Physical Response
According to Richards and Rodgers 2001:73 Total Physical Response is a language teaching method built around the coordination of
speech and action; it attempts to teach language through physical motor activity. Furthermore, Asher sees three processes as central:
a. Children develop listening competence before they develop the ability to speak.
b. Children’s ability in listening comprehension is acquired because
children are required to respond physically to spoken language in the form of parental commands.
c. Once a foundation in listening comprehension has been established, speech evolves naturally and effortlessly out of it.
As we know that children need various activities which can avoid them from boredom, and the researcher sees that by using Total Physical
Response TPR as one of the alternatives; students will be challenged to do the activities presented. Furthermore, Curtain and Pesola 1988:65
state that “James Asher 1986 developed his Total Physical Response TPR to language teaching as a response to the different tasks performed
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by the left and right hemispheres of the brain”. Richards and Rodgers 2001:77 describe Total Physical Response as follows:
Materials and realia play an increasing role, however, in later learning stages. For absolute beginners, lessons may not require the use of
materials, since the teacher’s voice, actions, and gestures may be a sufficient basis for classroom activities. Later, the teacher may use
common classroom objects, such as books, pens, cup, furniture.
In addition, Larsen- Freeman 2000:115 states that “vocabulary and
grammatical structures
are emphasized
over other
language areas…teachers will know immediately whether or not students
understand by observing students’ actions” and according to Silver, B. Adelman, and E. Price 2003:2 the reasons of using Total Physical are:
a. Students need to be involved in a situation where oral language meaning is immediately perceived and understood.
b. Students’ silence as supposed to oral production is permitted and
encouraged as a learning tool while they can watch the effect of language on the actions of others.
c. Students’ comprehension is demonstrated by successfully
completing tasks cued by oral language. Moreover Shearon 2008:1 points out that Total Physical Response
TPR allows students to react to language without thinking too much, facilitates long term retention, and reduces students’ anxiety and stress.
Additionally, Larsen-Freeman 2000:112- 114 states that “language
learning is more effective when it is fun and one of the main reasons TPR
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was developed was to reduce the stress people feel when studying foreign languages”.
Sharon 2008:2 describes that there are some fundamental notions behind Total Physical Response TPR, and that notions are:
a. Childhood language acquisition theories Children are exposed to huge amounts of language input before
speaking. Language learners can also benefit from following this “natural” progression from comprehension to production, instead
of the more normal situation where learners are asked to produce instantly.
b. The right brain left brain divide When language is taught by lecturing or explaining, the cynical left
brain is targeted and the information is kept in short term memory if at all. It is soon forgotten as it
never becomes “real” to the student.
When language is taught actively through movement, the right brain “believes” the information and retains it, in the same way that
skills such as swimming or riding a bicycle are remembered long term.
c. Lowering stress and the affective effect Students learn more when they are relaxed. This is because the
affective filter, a mental barrier between the students and the information, is raised when students are nervous or uncomfortable.
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When the affective filter is high, learners find it harder to understand, process, and remember information. TPR helps reduce
the affective filter because it is less threatening than traditional language activities. Students do not have to produce language.
Mistakes are unimportant and easily and painlessly corrected by the teacher. Language is remembered easily and long-term.
Furthermore, Larsen-Freeman 2000: 111 has clearly stated that: Meaning in the target language can often be conveyed through actions.
Memory is activated through learner response. Beginning foreign language instruction should address the right hemisphere of the brain,
the part which controls nonverbal behavior. The target language should be presented in clunks, not just word by word.
When Total Physical Response was used in this level joint construction, the researcher found that it couldn’t work independently. It
needed synchronization from the other methods. This is in accordance with Richards and Rodgers’ 2001:79 statement;
Asher stressed that Total Physical Response should be used in association with other methods and techniques. Indeed, practitioners of
TPR typically follow this recommendation, suggesting that for many teachers TPR represents a useful set of techniques and is compatible
with other approaches to teaching.
Based on the explanation above Total Physical Response TPR can be a break for teachers and students, a refreshingly different style of teaching
and skilful use of Total Physical Response TPR allows us to drill target language rep
eatedly without losing the students’ interest.
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D. Comprehensive Teaching Technique CTT Steps
