Flexible Application of TPR in College English Vocabulary Teaching――Take Words o

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Abstract： Proposed by James Asher， Total Physical Response focuses on coordination of speech and action. It is viewed most suitable for children andbeginners. Through analyzing words of a sample text， this paper aims to explore flexible application of tpr.

Key words： TPR， college english vocabulary teaching， flexible application

中图分类号：G623.31

1. Introduction

1.1 Essence of TPR

TPR mainly draws on three aspects：

1. There exists a specific innate bio-program for language， which defines an optimal path for first and second language development.

2. Brain lateralization defines different learning functions in the left-and right-brain hemispheres.

3. Stress intervenes between the act of learning and what is to be learned； the lower the stress， the greater the learning. （Richards&Rodgers， 2001： 74）

Asher further argues that if we accompany language with physical action， we can accelerate process oflanguage learning.

1.2 Benefit and Scarcity of TPR

Benefit of TPR is “Instant understanding of the target language， regardless of academic aptitude， High Speed Long-term retention， Stress-free” （Asher， 2003）.

Other scholars think that TPR is mechanized tolearners and it is teacher-centered which makes students have little time to comprehend utterance （Ma Junming， 2002：17）. TPR is not that suitable for those who have certain acquisition of second language.

2. Flexible Application of TPR

2.1 Analysis of Vocabulary

There are 16 noun， 8 verb， 5 adj and 1 adv in total 30 words. Noun takes half of the words. It looks different from Asher’s point because he views verbs and verbs in imperatives as central linguistic motif （Richards&Rodgers， 2001： 73）. However， TPR application to non-verbs is possible only if we design physical activities delicately. If we divide words under the standard of whether it can be enforced by physical activity， we can find some words are indirectly enforceable. Real object （like cane， brand）， abv or adj that are related to physical action， mood or physical state （like poisonous， pregnant） can be enforced with TPR indirectly.

The reason why we hold such argument is that TPR can not just be viewed as verb-centered and many words can be enforced in physical activities indirectly.

2.2 Flexible Application

Some methods can be enforced to flexible application of TPR：

First， use more description.

T： Everybody knows there is a chair and I grab it. And now point at a student. What did I do just now？

S： You are grabbing a chair.

T： Then drag the chair. What did I do just now？

S： 你拖着椅子到了门口.

T：So what I did is dragging the chair.

Second， use the real object.

T： Point at the brand on your coat. What’s this？

S： 耐克.

T： And 耐克is ？

S： 一个品牌.

T： So everyone point at your own 牌子 and speak after me. This is a brand.

Third， use physical activities to indirectly teach adjectives

T： Here is a bottle of unknown drink. Drink it and pretend to be poisoned. What happened just now？

S： 你好像喝了有毒的东西.

T； Good， so 有毒的 is called poisonous.

Fourth， use facial expression to teach adjectives related to mood or physical state.

3. Conclusion

Since proposed， many scholars think TPR are more suitable for children andbeginners. They then argue that it’s not suitable for the people who have certain level of language acquisition. However， the truth that TPR stays at lexical level makes it a useful method to teach vocabulary. The only barrier is how to enforce complicated words in the context of college English. With flexible application of TPR in college English vocabulary teaching， TPR has broadened its field of application.

Reference：

[1] Asher， J. 1977. Learning Another Language through Actions： The Complete Teacher’s Guide Book. Los Gatos， Calif.：Sky Oak Productions. （2nd ed.1982.）

[2] Jack C. Richards； Theodoer S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching， 2nd edition. Cambridge language university press 2001.

[3] Asher， James J. （2003）. Learning Another Language through Actions （6th edition）. Los Gatos， CA： Sky Oaks Productions， Inc.

[4] 马俊明. 对TPR的一些反思 [J]. 基础教育外语教学研究，2002，（9）：17