TPR

INTRODUCTION

teaching English, particularly at elementary schools in Indonesia

has totally been encouraged. This attempt is geared to familiarize pupils with

English at an early stage. Almost all elementary schools located in urban

areas in particular conduct English teaching. It has been 11 years that English

teaching is run since the Decree of Minister of Education and Culture

Number 060/U/1993 regarding English as a local content subject matter

starting from the fourth grade was issued (Suyanto, 2004).

As English teaching achieves its prominence at elementary schools,

English is taught commencing from the first grade. For this reason, English

teachers who are concerned with teaching children should be aware of the

nature of their psychology in addition to mastering all crucial components in

teaching them.

So far, English teachers have been experiencing difficulty in teaching

children since they are less sufficient especially in implementing appropriate teaching materials and methods. Thus, the selection of the two elements

should be on the basis of learners age.

To successfully conduct English teaching at elementary schools, teaching

materials and methods are well suited. For this reason, one method considered

one of the efforts to English teaching for children, should be introduced.

This method is known as Total Physical Reponse (TPR). Prior to discussing

such a method in detail, this paper star

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN

In learning language, children begin learning simple expressions.

Broadly speaking, children learn abstract rules of language from which they

listen, and even they also learn expressions that they have never heard before.

It is extremely important that teachers not only get children to learn

language, but they also encourage them to learn it positively.

Teaching of English for Children has been of particular concerns. For

this reason, in teaching children English, there are some characteristics of

whom presented by Scott and Lisbeth (1992).

Children aged 8-10 are mature enough;

They have a particular point of view;

They are able to describe the difference between facts and fictions;

They are curious of asking questions;

They believe in what is said and the real world to express and comprehend

meaning/message;

They have distinct opions about what they like and what they dislike;

They are open to what happens in the classroom and begin asking a

teacher s decision; and

They can cooperate with each other and learn from others.

In addition, Scott and Lisbeth (1992) say that children particularly aged

8 10 are competent mother tongue users. In this regard, they are aware of

basic linguistic rules of their mother tongue. At these ages, children can

grasp abstracts and symbols, generalize language, and systematize it.

Children are also capable of interpreting meaning without understanding

Widodo, Teaching Children 237

words separately, are competent in using language creatively, are frequently

fond of doing exploration and making a certain condition enjoyable; have

established imagination; and are fond of communicating (Halliwell, 1992).

In the context of teaching, most people assume that children learn a

foreign language in the same way that they learn their mother tongue.

Basically, children are potential in acquiring and learning a foreign

language, and even they learn it more quickly than those who are learning

the foreign language after puberty (McLaughlin, 1978). On the contrary,

children are less capable of absorbing or acquiring a foreign language

optimally (Long, 1990).

WHAT IS TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR)

TPR is one of the English teaching approaches and methods developed

by Dr. James J Asher. It has been applied for almost thirty years. This

method attempts to center attention to encouraging learners to listen and respond

to the spoken target language commands of their teachers. In other

words, TPR is a language teaching method built around the coordination of

speech and action; it attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity.

Asher's Total Physical Response is a "natural method" since Asher

views first and second language learning as parallel processes. He argues

that second language teaching and learning should reflect the naturalistic

processes of first language learning. For this reason, there are such three central

processes:

(a) before children develop the ability to speak, they develop listening competence.

At the early phases of first language acquisition, they are able to

comprehend complex utterances, which they hardly can spontaneously

produce or imitate. Asher takes into accounts that a learner may be making

a mental blueprint of the language that will make it possible to

produce spoken language later during this period of listening;

(b) children's ability in listening comprehension is acquired because children

need to respond physically to spoken language in the form of parental

commands; and

(c) when a foundation in listening comprehension has been established,

speech evolves naturally and effortlessly out of it.

238 BAHASA DAN SENI, Tahun 33, Nomor 2, Agustus 2005

Asher believes that it is crucial to base foreign language learning upon

how children learn their native language. In other words, TPR is designed

based upon the way that children learn their mother tongue. In this respect,

TPR considers that one learns best when he is actively involved and grasp

what he hears (Haynes, 2004; Larsen-Freeman, 1986; Linse, 2005).

CHARACTERISTICS OF TPR

Imperative drills are the prominent classroom activity in TPR. They are

typically geared to highlight physical actions and activity on the part of the

learners. In this sense, learners play main roles: a listener and a performer.

They listen attentively and respond physically to commands by the teacher.

Learners need to respond both individually and collectively; they have minor

influence on the content of learning inasmuch as content is determined by

the teacher. At the beginning of learning, learners are also expected to recognize

and respond to novel combinations of previously taught items. Such

novel utterances are recombinations of constituents the teacher has used directly

in training. For example, the teacher directs learners with 'Walk to the

table!' and 'Sit on the chair!' These are familiar to learners since they have

practiced responding to them. Furthermore, learners are also to produce

novel combinations of their own. Learners monitor and evaluate their own

progress. They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak (e.g.

when a sufficient basis in the language has been internalized).

In TPR, a teacher plays an active and direct role: the director of a stage

play in which the learners are the actors". It is the teacher who decides what

to teach, who models and presents the new materials, and who selects supporting

materials for classroom use. Therefore, the teacher ought to be well

prepared and well organized so that the lesson flows smoothly and predictably.

It is highly recommded to write down the exact utterances the teacher

will be using, especially the novel commands because the action is so fastmoving;

there is usually no time for you to create spontaneously". In this regard,

classroom interaction and turn taking is teacher rather than learner directed.

Pay attention to the example:

Teacher: Maria, pick up the box of rice and hand it to Miguel and

ask Miguel to read the price.

In giving feedback to learners, the teacher is required to follow the

example of parents giving feedback to their children. Similarly, the teacher

needs to tolerate fewer mistakes in speech; he has to avoid too much correction

in the early stages and is not required to interrupt to correct errors in that

this may inhibit learners to take an action or speak out.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TPR

TPR has some advantages and disadvantages. Its advantages include:

1) It is a lot of fun. Learners enjoy it, and this method can be a real stirrer in

the class. It lifts the pace and the mood;

2) It is very memorable. It does assist students to recognize phrases or

words;

3) It is good for kinaesthetic learners who are required to be active in the

class;

4) It can be used both in large or small classes. In this case, it is no matter to

have how many students you have as long as you are prepared to take the

lead, the learners will follow;

In addition to such advantages, TPR has disadvantages. Among them

are:

Students who are not used to such things might find it embarrassing. This

can be the case initially that if the teacher is prepared to perform the actions,

the students feel happier about copying. In addition, the students

are in a group and do not 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 even though it can successfully be applied at Intermediate

and Advanced levels. In this respect, it is essential to adapt the language,

accordingly. For example, when teaching 'ways of walking' (stumble,

stagger, and tiptoe) to an advanced class and cooking verbs to intermediate

students (whisk, stir, and grate), TPR can be employed;

It is not flexibly used to teach everything, and if used a lot, it would become

repetitive. This method is a fun way of changing the dynamics and

pace of a lesson used in conjunction with other methods and techniques.

To sum up, TPR should best be combined with others since it needs much

energy so that learners do not feel tired of learning language

THE APPLICATION OF TPR IN THE CLASSROOM

TPR can be used to teach and practise such many things as:

vocabulary connected with actions (smile, chop, headache, wriggle);

grammatival items, including 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 you eyes).

Story-telling

There is generally no basic text in a Total Physical Response course.

Materials and realia have a demanding role, yet in forthcoming learning

stages. In this case, the teacher's voice, actions, gestures, and common classroom

objects, such as books, pens, cups, and so on are great importance in

the learning-teaching process using TPR. The teacher may be required to use

pictures, realia, slides, and word charts to set an interactive activity.

According to Muhren (2003), the basic technique of TPR is simple.

Learners act out commands given by the teacher or their fellow pupils (at a

later stage). These commands, or series of commands, are simple at the beginning

(stand up, sit down) but after some time they may become more

complex (I want the boys to stand in a circle please). A TPR sequence can

be a chain of actions relating to a compound task (take pen and paper, sit

down, begin at the top of your paper, write down: Dear ...) or even contain a

story-line.

Most importantly, a teacher helps learners to be totally involved in TPR

activities so that they can act out what they have heard. There is no pressure

on them to speak the foreign language. Before any learner can commence to

speak out a foreign language spontaneously as well as creatively, she must

feel the inner readiness to do so. When learners are ready, they feel that the

words of the language-sound and meaning integrated and combined into

larger utterances -spring from within themselves. This inner readiness will

develop gradually but inevitably with prolonged exposure to the sound of

understood language and an active involvement in its meaning.

CONCLUSIONS

When TPR is applied in the classroom, a teacher is required to provide

a model. The model has three vital features: 1) grasping the spoken language

must come prior to speaking, 2) comprehension is developed through body

movement, and 3) the period of listening period helps a learner to be ready to

speak. Such a model does not force the learner to speak. It is also recommended

that TPR be applied for only short periods of time because the

learner will get tired of doing it.

The TPR method also emphazises two crucial elements: the use of

movement as a memory enhancer and imperatives as the only method of instruction

the teacher uses commands to direct the learners.

Most importantly, when applying such a method, the use of mother

tongue is deemphasized. If there are abstract words, a teacher is required to

write down them on the white/black boards without expressing those words.

The meaning of words is comprehended generally through an action.