2.1.1. TPR -Total (and minimal) Physical Response

The method I described in connection with the floor plan of your house falls into a broad category of activities which are called Total Physical Response (Asher 1982; Silvers 1985 ). In the case of the floor plan, the physical response was merely to point at the bathroom when the LRP said “Where is the bathroom?” There was nothing very “ total” about that response. But people still call it TPR. The original idea was that the more you put your whole body into responding, the better you learned. That may make sense. Learning a language means learning to relate patterns of words to aspects of experience. So if the LRP said “jump”, and you jumped six inches, the “experience” side of the equation might be less than if you jumped two feet.

Personally, I wouldn't make a big deal of that in general. (As a matter of fact, I would change the meaning of the abbreviation TPR to stand for, “Tune in, Process, Respond”. That is, as the LRP tells you something, you tune in to what she said, figure out what it means, and demonstrate to her that you understood her by responding appropriately.) However, for training your LRP on the first day, it may be good to do total TPR. In order to help your LRP get the hang of things, you can begin with simple commands that involve a gross physical response (in the best sense of the word gross). These include things like stand up, sit down, walk, run, stop, go back, turn around, clap, talk, be quiet, go to sleep, wake up, eat, drink. In some cases you will mime the activity (as with sleep). In other cases you will perform it literally (as with sit down).

Here's some homework: Come up with an additional fifty simple instructions you might use for TPR at this point. You need to start learning to prepare for language sessions. So start.

I SAW THAT. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!