TPR英语教学手册

Total Physical Response (TPR) A Curriculum for Adults © By Margaret Silver, Barbara Adelman and Elisabeth Price English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105 Total Physical Response: A Curriculum for Adults i August 8, 2003 English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105-3323 Margaret B. Silver/Barbara Adelman/Elisabeth Price Total Physical Response: A Curriculum for Adults ii August 8, 2003 English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105-3323 Margaret B. Silver/Barbara Adelman/Elisabeth Price table of contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 The “why” and “how” of tpr ................................................................................................. 1 How to teach using tpr .......................................................................................................... 3 tpr’s limitations..................................................................................................................... 3 1 TPR and the syllabus................................................................................................. 3 2 Class size .................................................................................................................. 3 3 How many new vocabulary items in one lesson? ....................................................... 3 4 Ask for/expect no oral participation........................................................................... 3 5 Using consistent imperatives ..................................................................................... 3 6 The lesson/steps 1, 2 and 3 ........................................................................................ 4 7 Getting ready: A. Set learning goals for teacher and students........................................................... 4 B. Memorize your script .......................................................................................... 4 C. Use your normal intonation, rhythm & stress....................................................... 4 8 Practice your first lesson in front of a mirror! ............................................................ 5 A. You say: .............................................................................................................. 5 B. You pantomime:.................................................................................................. 5 9 LESSON procedures (for each new language unit) .................................................... 5 A. model .................................................................................................................. 5 B. Say and Practice .................................................................................................. 5 C. Randomize the imperatives.................................................................................. 5 D. Individual response at random/evaluation ............................................................ 6 10 Predictability as a teaching tool ................................................................................. 6 11 Consistent modeling ................................................................................................. 7 12 One-step additions to the syllabus ............................................................................. 7 13 Maintain all steps in the teaching sequence................................................................ 7 14 Vocabulary choice..................................................................................................... 7 15 Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate, ..................................................................................... 7 Total Physical Response: A Curriculum for Adults iii August 8, 2003 English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105-3323 Margaret B. Silver/Barbara Adelman/Elisabeth Price 16 Problems and cures: A. Lack of an immediate student response......................................................... 7 B. Are you modeling and demonstrating sufficiently? ...................................... 8 C. Are you maintaining your pacing..................................................................... 8 D. Some students are parroting teacher aloud................................................... 8 E. Is your language “clean” of all commentary ................................................... 8 F. Are all the students focused? .......................................................................... 8 G. Is the lesson too long? ..................................................................................... 8 H. Is the lesson too short? .................................................................................... 8 I. Is the lesson too easy? .................................................................................... 8 J. Is the lesson too difficult?................................................................................. 8 K. “They’re bored!” Who’s bored? .................................................................... 8 L. Beginning students feel very insecure............................................................ 9 S C R I P T S: 1: The Room and numbers 1-10............................................................................... 10 2: Parts of the Body................................................................................................ 11 3: The Kitchen........................................................................................................ 12 4: Food................................................................................................................... 13 5: Tools.................................................................................................................. 14 6: Outdoors/Intersections........................................................................................ 14 7: Clothing ............................................................................................................. 15 8: U. S. Mail........................................................................................................... 15 9: Public transportation .......................................................................................... 16 10: Prepositions of motion...................................................................................... 16 11: Parts of a car..................................................................................................... 16 12: Jobs and occupations ........................................................................................ 17 Index of vocabulary items................................................................................................... 18 Sample lesson plans............................................................................................................ 22 Sample lesson Plan form..................................................................................................... 22 TPR Class Progress Record ................................................................................................ 24 Total Physical Response: A Curriculum for Adults 1 August 8, 2003 English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105-3323 Margaret B. Silver/Barbara Adelman/Elisabeth Price Total Physical Response (or TPR) Introduction The method described here: Total Physical Response (TPR), is, like all tools, most effective when used correctly in the correct setting. Discard the notion of heading straight into the activities section. Instead, PLEASE take the time to read the directions first. The success of TPR instruction lies more in applying the method correctly than in the script of materials. The “Why” and “How” of TPR Dr. James J. Asher first described the TPR method in his book “Learning Another Language Through Actions”. He and other linguists observed the following characteristics about successful language learners: 1. Good language learners achieve fluency faster when they are immersed in activities that involve them in situational language use; 2. Good language learners often start their language learning with a period of silence as they watch the effect of language on others; 3. Good language learners show comprehension by successfully accomplishing language-generated tasks; 4. Good language learners focus on overall sentence meaning rather than a sentence’s grammatical parts; 5. Good language learners make faster progress when the language of instruction is consistent (though limited) on a daily basis, and 6. Good language learners make faster progress when the content involves language that is clearly usable or valuable outside the classroom. In commenting on the impact of a period of silence at the beginning of the learning cycle, Dr. Asher and others speculated that the improved fluency – or the ability to communicate so that native English speakers can easily understand - results from students having the chance to absorb the prosody or “music” of the target language without having to reproduce it orally at that time. In other words, listening and comprehension are the first steps in language learning. Total Physical Response: A Curriculum for Adults 2 August 8, 2003 English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105-3323 Margaret B. Silver/Barbara Adelman/Elisabeth Price These, then, are the strategies for good language learning: 1) students need to be involved in a situation where oral language meaning is immediately perceived and understood; 2) student silence (as opposed to oral production) is permitted and encouraged as a learning tool while they can watch the effect of language on the actions of others; 3) student comprehension is demonstrated by successfully completing tasks cued by oral language; and 4) students can focus on overall meaning rather than grammar. These key teaching/learning strategies are built into this method and into this script. The current script provides the structure and organization to include the other valuable instructional strategies that Dr. Asher observed: 5) consistent language on a daily basis, and 6) content involving English that is clearly usable or valuable outside the classroom. And finally, this script’s primary focus is on adults: their interests, their needs and their environment. Students are much more focused in their learning when instruction involves the use of physical items – “realia” – to create meaning. “Manipulables” eliminate the possibility of ambiguity in meaning. However, depending on the availability of resources, the teacher may have to resort to Picture Dictionaries or similar resources. On the whole, this script uses topics for which a supply of realia is often readily available. However, if pictures must be used, we recommend they be as large as possible and mounted on some sturdy material so that they are the same pictures each lesson for consistency and can be stored without likelihood of damage. Total Physical Response: A Curriculum for Adults 3 August 8, 2003 English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105-3323 Margaret B. Silver/Barbara Adelman/Elisabeth Price HOW TO TEACH USING TPR: TPR’s LIMITATION: The TPR method described here is for use with adults who are complete ESL beginners only. If the student is able to spontaneously volunteer any English, he is going to find this script very limiting and is probably better in a class where he can continue to work on his oral production skills. 1. TPR and the syllabus. TPR is recommended as just one component in the syllabus for beginning adult students. Other syllabus components may include, for instance, numeracy, date and time recognition, writing, listening discrimination, picture stories etc. Every TPR lesson needs to include three steps: 1) teaching/learning; 2) practice or rehearsal and 3) testing or evaluation. 2. Class size: TPR works best with about 8 students. More than 10 students, and there will be too much unfocused time as each student waits for his turn during the individual demonstrations. Fewer than six and it becomes difficult to limit the number of new vocabulary items to a “learnable” number making the lesson top- heavy with vocabulary. If you do have more than 10 students, maybe you can use a volunteer. If so, be sure to provide training and a lesson plan record sheet to monitor progress. 3. How many new vocabulary items in one lesson? Nine new vocabulary items in one lesson is an average achievable goal. Some students can learn more, some less. The fourth step in the teaching/ review/ testing /evaluation procedures will soon tell you how many new vocabulary items your students can really master in one lesson. You may find that you can increase the number of vocabulary items for an ambitious class by moving into a different topic area. You may need fewer vocabulary items for a slower class. 4. Ask for/expect no oral participation: If you do have a student with some very limited oral production skills in your class, he is probably going to want to recite along with you. You will need to persuade him to do it with his mouth only and not voice his sounds so that other class members listen only to native speaker modeling. Don’t encourage verbal responses from the students – only actions. After about 10 hours of instruction, some students may spontaneously start parroting the teacher. These students are telling you they are ready to move into a regular communication skills class. It is not considered appropriate to have students learn to speak the TPR script because imperatives are of limited use in most general communication environments. 5. Using consistent imperatives: The teacher uses the imperative form of the verb throughout (Point to … Walk to …Touch the etc.). Some teachers find this bare language uncouth and feel they must preface it with “please” or offer elaborate instructions or explanations, such as, “You see?” or “No, watch me again” or “Please do x not y”. We recommend the alternative of an international signal of friendliness to offset feelings of uncouthness, such as a smile. So, practice purging your language of commentary, names, injunctions and any language Total Physical Response: A Curriculum for Adults 4 August 8, 2003 English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105-3323 Margaret B. Silver/Barbara Adelman/Elisabeth Price other than that in the script. That’s easier than having to remember to say “Please” in front of every single imperative. 6. lesson steps/1, 2 and 3: • Step 1: Teaching/learning: The teacher needs to act out the action that demonstrates her imperatives clearly and consistently, that is, when the teacher says, “Point to the door” she needs to accompany her words by pointing to the door herself. She needs to point to the same door each time. The correct response from the student or students is the act of immediately pointing to the door. (This is the “Physical” response of “Total Physical Response”). • Step 2: Practice or rehearse. The teacher needs to use the words and the actions of the imperative consistently to establish understanding and student confidence in their mastery of this word-action communication system. As student competence becomes clear, however, the teacher needs to transition to using words WITHOUT actions. Be ready to put the action back in (thus returning to Stage 1 instruction) if any student shows uncertainty or confusion. • Step 3: Evaluate. Evaluation is the end-stage of the teaching/learning and practice-to-competence sequence. Here, the student functions in English without any support from the teacher’s gestures or the predictability of repetitive, known sequencing. The teacher will be able to see if the students can unhesitatingly demonstrate what has been taught and practiced. 7. Getting ready: Teachers need to prepare for a TPR lesson by doing the following: A. Set learning goals for teacher and students. What will your students know at the end of the lesson that they do not know at the beginning? To ensure student progress, write out (use the blank Lesson Plan form at the back of this handbook) or write down in a notebook your exact lesson language [so that you have a record of the vocabulary items your students have covered and/or need to review]. Are you going to use “point to” or “touch the” or “pick up” or …? Are you going to work on parts of the body, room items, tools or …? Will you use realia or pictures? If using pictures, how are you going to display the pictures so that ALL students can see the same pictures? All of these details need to be thought through and realia gathered, the script written and the support material (thumb tacks, scotch tape etc.) included. B. Memorize your script. Pacing is all-important in TPR and to maintain that pacing, you will not have time to look at your notes. You need to have the entire nine to twelve word script in memory so you can speak at your normal speaking speed and sustain your students’ attention and concentration. So, memorize your script. C. Use your normal intonation, rhythm and stress pattern. Using your normal speech pattern will help to establish the Total Physical Response: A Curriculum for Adults 5 August 8, 2003 English Language and Literacy Center, St. Louis, MO 63105-3323 Margaret B. Silver/Barbara Adelman/Elisabeth Price D. prosody or “music” of our language in the students’ heads. It is this unique “music” that creates much of our communication. Consider how important intonation is when we change meaning with a change in our intonation pattern while saying: “The POLICE are here?” The police are HERE?” “The police are here.” Stress and intonation are key factors in our communication. Help the students learn this by using your normal speaking speed and tone of voice. You can slow your delivery the first time through so that the students can clearly hear individual syllables, but after that you need to return to your normal speaking speed. The emphasis on normal speaking speed is critical in ensuring that students develop native speaker reflex response to your oral directions. What happens when you slow your speech down? When you slow down your delivery, you lose your natural intonation pattern, strain your voice, promote word-by-word translation and defeat the whole purpose of TPR, that is, near native speaker understanding. So, speak normally. 8. Practice your first lesson in front of a mirror! Remember that, during the lesson, you will not be able to explain what you want your students to do. After all, the reason they’re in a TPR class is because they have zero English. So, practice pantomiming the following. Make your actions explain what you want the students to do: “Watch. Listen. Do not speak.” Deliver your first three imperatives three times pointing as you do it each time. Maintain a consistent tone and speed. A. You say (For example): “Point to the table. Point to the chair. Point to the floor.” “Point to the table. Point to the chair. Point to the floor.” “Point to the table. Point to the chair. Point to the floor.” B. You pantomime: Next, pantomime that you want the students to copy you by pointing as you speak. You may have to run around the first time to show students how to point, but after that they are usually very happy to find that they just have to listen, copy your actions and not to speak. 9 Lesson procedures for each new language unit (One verb or verb phrase constitutes a complete new unit of information, whereas nouns may be introduced in groups of up to three at a time). A. Model: Say the three imperatives while modeling the action three