When I got connected to the Internet two years ago, one of greatest discoveries was Lists! And among the greatest lists, (with the exception of our ETNI, of course!) was FLTEACH--Foreign Language Teacher’s List. The volume of mail was tremendous, and often applied to teaching French and Spanish, but tucked into almost every batch of mail was one aspect or another of using TPRS--Total Physical Response Storytelling. And I was intrigued. . .
As a teacher-in-training, I first heard about TPR as a method developed by James J. Asher to teach oral English. All of us use this method at one time or another in our classes. TPR oral development led to an understanding that children learn reading and writing skills best when taught in a purposeful and meaningful context; which led to the development of language experience stories, where children participate, then retell or dictate the story to the teacher. The Children's Response: TPR and Beyond, Caroline Linse (USIA 1983). And eventually, people realized that not only children enjoy this method.
As I collected postings about TPRS from the list, filing them away in a remote e-mail file for later contemplation, I realized that a whole movement was taking place, primarily in America, in foreign language classrooms--teachers, schools and even some school districts were basing their entire curriculum on TPRS, or interpreting texts and other materials through TPRS methods.
Why don’t we hear about TPRS hear in Israel? When I wrote to Blaine Ray, Blaineray@aol.com; www.BlainerayTPRS one of the major developers of materials and training workshops on TPRS, he replied that he had never worked with Israeli teachers.
Ray stated that TPRS is a complete curriculum with which students learn easily and can remember vocabulary, and indeed the listing of materials that he provided includes a series of books, videos and tapes for TPR Storytelling in Spanish, English, French and German, as well as information of training conferences being conducted in the US this summer.
FLTEACH* lister reactions make interesting
reading. Many of those who begin to use TPRS use adjectives like “exciting”,
“interesting” and “thrilled” to describe their enthusiasm as teachers,
and that of their students. Some maintain that foreign language classes
are turned into a “playtime” where students learn vocabulary and grammar
easily through storytelling. Teachers generally claim excellent quiz and
test scores for TPRS material learned, as well as long-term retention.
Many claim that this method is the “answer” for low-level or weaker language
students, and many learning disabled students that previously have had
little success with other methods and materials.. *You
can find comprehensive information about FLTEACH - -including how to subscribe,
use its archives and resources, at http://www.cortland.edu/www/flteach/flteach.html
While some may claim that TPRS is a fad, many teachers feel that their students are making too much progress to revert to traditional methods. Those that try to introduce TPRS in a faculty that use more traditional methods report some success, especially when introducing the techniques gradually, and especially comparing achievement scores among classes that use different methods.
What does TPRS actually involve? Well,
you can only glean a limited amount from a computer chair: but the literature,
and teacher stories report:
1) learning to associate gestures with
vocabulary (some of the gestures are apparently adopted from American Sign
Language, while other are created by the teachers or the students)
6) Teachers create many variations on how to use these methods, combine them with texts, assign homework, and especially, how to assess student progress and mastery: they can act out a story, illustrate it, use mime, create a timeline, a computer game about the story, a comic book, write and sing a song about the story...the list is endless.
From the TPRS web page, www.tprstorytelling.com
There is a difference of opinion about whether attending conferences is necessary, or can training videos and materials suffice for introducing teachers to the method.
Not all teachers agree on the appropriate age for using TPRS, although there is unanimity that it is successful with younger children. Some believe that adults are impossible; and others say that teenagers are more difficult because they are self-conscious, but once they get moving, it is successful with teens as well.
One thing is certain: there are enough foreign language teachers out there who think that TPRS provides students with a natural sense of language and enables them to communicate in a meaningful way...and have fun!
Interested? Check
out Renee Wahl’s column and start surfing!
