Total Physical Response: A Technique for Teaching all Skills in Spanish

Total Physical Response: A Technique for Teaching all Skills in Spanish

Eileen W Glisan Indiana University of Pennsylvania

ABSTRACT Research in foreign language learning continues to revealpositive effects of an initial listening period with a delay in oral production. Studies have shown that use of Asher’s “Total Physical Re- sp0nse”strateg.x through which students internalize meaning initially by physicdly responding to oral com- man& m d t s in better listening comprehension, speaking and reading performance. Llespite TPR’S acclaimed success, many teachers hesitate to adopt the entire method, because of the lack of explicit guidelines and materials for its use and because of the constraints of traditional language programs. This paper presents a strategy for utilizing an expanded version of TPR as one tool for teaching listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish. Ways are suggested to implement the technique within the language curriculum. Al- though examples are given for Spanish, the guidelines are applicable to any foreign language program.

Tell me and I will forget; Teach me and I will remember; Involve me and I will learn.

-Ancient Chinese Proverb

Introduction An issue which continues to be examined in foreign

language teaching is the effect of initially delaying oral production through a period of extensive listening. Re- search findings (Winitz and Reeds, 45; Asher, 3) have revealed that allotting a period of time for speech readiness can result in great benefits in terms of both linguistic and affective development.

Total Physical Response, a technique in which students respond physically to oral commands, presents an interesting, effective vehicle for applying this theory to the classroom. Yet why isn’t the tech-

Eileen W Glisan (Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh) is Assistant Pro- fessor of Spanish at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA.

nique a component of most language programs? Why are teachers interested in learning about TPR but hesi- tant to implement it in their classrooms? First, we must allow for the usual lag between dissemination of research findings and their actual application in terms of teaching approaches. Second, research findings have been quite thorough in describing the first several lessons of TPR, but they are less than clear in explaining subsequent procedures. Third, proponents have marketed TPR as a strategy for teaching listening comprehension which offers optimal use during the first few weeks of exposure to the language. Fourth, the average teacher feels uncertain about adopting such a heretofore “unorthodox” method and fitting it into a conventional language curriculum. Finally, explicit curricular guidelines and teaching materials for utilizing TPR remain to be developed.

The purpose of this paper is to present a strategy for using TPR as one technique for teaching not only listening, but also speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish. It presupposes a teaching methodology based on communicative or functional skill acquisition. A plan is suggested for its implementation within the language curriculum. Specific examples are provided for Spanish, although the guidelines can be applied to the teaching programs of any foreign language.

Research Implications Studies in Second Language Learning

Recent theories provide a basis for the Total Physical Response Method. Krashen’s extensive work with the Input Hypothesis and Monitor Model in second language learning/acquisition has had far-reaching claims for language teaching. According to his theories, learners “acquire” language by being exposed to large quantities of meaningful input. Acquisition provides the means for second-language fluency while

Foreign Language Annals, 19, No. 5 1986 419

420 FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS

conscious rule learning serves as a “monitor” in editing speech output (Krashen, 22,23; Krashen et al., 24). Applied to classroom instruction, these claims im- ply that teachers need to provide maximum opportunities for students to hear the target language in interesting real-life communicative contexts.

Much research has examined the learner’s role in at- tending to language input. Evidence suggests that learners participate in different types of communication at different times during the learning process. Burt and Dulay (8) maintain that learners begin with “one- way communication” by listening or reading the target language, progress to “partial two-way communication” by responding physically or orally in the native language, and finally arrive at “full two-way communication!’ This typology of learner interaction is similar to the three stages described in Krashen et al. (24) as “comprehension:’ “early speech:’ and “speech emergence!’ For Terrell (39), during these first two stages, learners “bind” or mentally associate a new word or form with meaning by reacting in a meaningful and physical manner.

Some experimentation suggests that students exposed to an initial “silent period:’ during which they respond without being forced to use the target language, perform better on both listening and speaking tasks than do students required to speak the language from the beginning (Winitz and Reeds, 45; Postovsky, 33,34; Gary, 17; Asher, 1,3). Linguistic input is paramount to comprehension, which not only precedes oral production but “appears to be the basic mechanism through which the rules of language are internalized” (Winitz, 44, p. 130). Research has shown that adults spend 40-50% of their communication time listening, 25-30070 speaking, 11-16’70 reading, and 9% writing (Rivers, 35). Input to trigger acquisition should contain some grammar and vocabulary items somewhat beyond (i + 1) the student’s production level (Krashen, 22). Some researchers, however, maintain that learners must be active conversational partners in order to internalize language input (Hatch, 18).

suggests that they acquire grammatical structures in a predictable order. Research dealing with the “Natural Order Hypothesis” has been done in English by Brown (7), Dulay and Burt (13), and Dulay, et al. (15), among others. Results of recent work by VanPatten (40) and VanPatten, et al. (41) have identified a series of stages experienced by learners of Spanish in their internalization of the copulas and gustar. Because the development of language skill may well be a natural process similar to that of first-language acquisition, teachers should provide ample opportunities for “real” linguistic and non-linguistic communication, should allow the various stages in speech production to occur, and should not be overly preoccupied with grammatical accuracy.

Much has been written recently about the shift in emphasis from overt grammar teaching to the development of functional proficiency. Information about this approach has by now been universally disseminated, with the development of the oral proficiency interview and curricular guidelines by ACTFL/ETS. Research in this area has evidenced the need for teachers to provide classroom opportunities for maximum linguistic input and authentic language use in all skill areas.

Many research findings have pointed to the impor- tance of affective variables in the language learning process; that is, student success may be related to motivation, anxiety, and self-confidence factors. Ac- cording to the Affective Filter hypothesis of Dulay and Burt (14), as well as Krashen (22), language learners ex- periencing anxiety or lack of motivation will have a filter or block which prevents them from internalizing input. Lambert (26) and others, through extensive research and borrowing from social psychology theory, found motivation and attitude toward learning a language to be very important for effective learning! Indeed, several teaching methodologies have been proposed during the past decade which claim to lessen students’ anxiety by creating a relaxed classroom at- mosphere. Such methods as Silent Way (Cattegno, 10);

Although more experimentation is needed to explain learner interaction more conclusively, it seems safe to

Suggestopedia (bzanov, 28) and Counseling Learn- ing (Curran, 11) attempt to tap into student in-

assume that “matching the type of communcative interaction with the learners’ level of language development maximizes students’ likelihood for success” (Burt and Dulay, 8, p. 43). These findings suggest that teachers should provide sequenced activities which take into account the language readiness factor and which facilitate progression from one learning stage to the next.

While it is apparent that learners experience stages in their development of speech readiness, evidence also

dividuality while removing psychic tensions and student limitations.*

TPR Studies The Total Physical Response, as developed by James

J. Asher over the past twenty years, is founded on the implications discussed above. This theory emphasizes comprehension through an initial listening period during which students connect speech utterances with meaningful contexts. As in first-language acquisition,

OCTOBER 1986 42 1

students first respond physically to oral commands and progress gradually to productive language use. Ex- perimental results show that TPR, which advocates an “acquisition-rich’’ environment (Asher, 3), increases student motivation and contributes to positive attitudes toward foreign language learning.

The significance of the imperative exercise was identified as early as 1925 by Harold E. and Dorothee Palmer, who much later advocated its use as part of an extensive listening period in order to foster successful language skills (31).

Much experimental data exist from Asher and others in support of TPR. In the first field test reported by Asher, adults between the ages of 30 and 60 received 32 hours of TPR training in German (1). Results indicated that these students had better listening comprehension skills than college students with 75 and 150 hours of German instruction, and further, that their listening ability had positive transfer to reading and speaking in German. Similar results oc- curred in using TPR to teach Japanese to college students (Kunihira and Asher, 25), as well as in teaching Russian to children and adults (Asher and Price, 5; Ingram, et al., 19). Data from a field test with college students learning Spanish revealed that, after 90 hours of training in listening to and producing commands, students performed beyond the 50th percentile rank for listening, speaking, reading, and writing on the Pimsleur Spanish Proficiency Tests (Form C) (Asher, et al., 6). Extensive documentation exists to support the benefits of TPR for children and adults acquiring French (Davies, 12); German (Swaf- fer and Woodruff, 38); Spanish (Kalivoda, et al., 20); English as a Second Language (Asher, 2); and even sign language (Murphy, 29).3 Other findings indicate that TPR can facilitate grammatical understanding (Schessler, 36; Cabello, 9).

In addition to research examining TPR and skill acquisition, many studies have documented student at- trition rates, student attitudes, and student evaluation of faculty. Swaffer and Woodruff‘s experiment with college students learning German showed that 78% of the first-semester TPR students chose to continue their study of German, while only 55% of the “traditional- ly” taught students elected to continue (38). Ex- perimentation also reveals that TPR students report increased interest in the target language and rate their teachers’ effectiveness much higher (Asher, 4).

What psycholinguistic phenomena account for why TPR works? Evidence from first-language acquisition studies indicate that infants acquire language by “con- structing reality” through motor responses such as touching, crawling, and crying (Piaget, 32). Like in-

fants, students also begin to map language structure onto meaning, that is, to internalize language, by responding physically to stimuli. Research in brain lateralization indicates that the left hemisphere is responsible for language production, while the right hemisphere enables physical responses to occur. This suggests that infants use their right hemisphere to “decode” speech until the left brain is ready to orally produce language. The aim of the TPR strategy is to activate the right brain and give the left brain an op- portunity to become ready for language production. In addition to TPR, other right-hemisphere teaching strategies have been formulated, such as the Winitz- Reed comprehension strategy (46) and the Nord Sens- it Cell Model (30), both of which make use of pictures during the listening period.

TPR Programs and Materials TPR programs have been reported in elementary

schools, high schools, and universities in Delaware, Texas, California, and Tennessee. The many projects undertaken by James J. Asher and Berty Segal in California have been widely publicized (Vetter, 42).

Graduate students at the University of Tennessee recently developed a TPR program (“FLEX”) for local kindergarten and first-grade students; the results have been so favorable that the program may be expanded (Wiley, 43). In the Loara Elementary School in Ana- heim, CA, TPR is utilized along with the “Language Experience Approach:’ in which students express thoughts through action and the sensory channels (Elenbaas, 16). The results of a German TPR program at the University of Texas proved more favorable than those of the nonTPR classes (Woodruff, 48). Vetter (42) has described a program which combines TPR, the Natural Approach, and English for Special Purposes: the “High Intensity Language flrlining” (HILT) focuses on the communicative functions (content and area-sp cific) which students need to succeed in the language Similarly, Kestelman and Maiztegui (21) have reported the “HILT-plus Program in Spanish for Educators!’

Many materials for teaching TPR lessons have become available during the past few years. Asher has developed some twenty lesson plans and student picture kits for teaching vocabulary and grammar. Lesson plans and guidelines are available for English, Spanish, French, and German.4 The materials developed at present, however, provide limited guidelines for implementing TPR lessons in a traditional language curriculum.

TPR as a Strategy within the Curriculum Although the research has shown the positive results

to be gained by utilizing TPR, many teachers consider


it unfeasible to adopt the entire method at all levels of language. Moreover, TPR cannot easily be used to teach the abstract, and the exact techniques for pre- senting reading and writing are still unclear.

Indeed, recent research has advocated the implementation of an “active” listening period as an element of the language methodology. Nord (30) previously established a four-phase listening period to include TPR activities and semantic decoding practice. Wipf (47) has proposed the challenging of learners to progress more rapidly in listening and reading, since native language receptive skills surpass those of the generative skills. In the comprehension-based Spanish program of Long, et al. (27), students acquire understanding through listening exercises and thematic visuals. In Terrell’s “pre- textbook comprehension stag< beginning Spanish students internalize meaning through three to fifteen hours of extended listening activity (39). Although the development of these techniques has contributed a great deal to the teaching of effective listening comprehension, the well-defined use of TPR and guide- ines for curricular modification have been lacking.

Variations of TPR can easily be adopted for use in a proficiency-based curriculum. TPR in this context means the response by students to various types of oral stimuli, not only to commands, during a pre-production stage. These responses include organizing classroom realia, drawing pictures, and silently interacting with classmates. Several pedagogical principles must first be established:

1) Language should be presented as real communication in meaningful, interesting contexts.

2) A maximum amount of comprehensible target-language input should be provided in the classroom.

3) Opportunities for comprehension should be provided before production is expected.

4) For each function5 to be taught (with its in- herent grammar and vocabulary), students should be exposed to a minimum of two fifteen- minute listening experiences (including some reading) before oral production is elicited.

5 ) In order for students to internalize the meaning of new language forms, these initial listening experiences should allow students to respond in some way (TPR) to oral stimuli.

6) Grammar should be taught indirectly for the purpose of developing communicative skill.

7) Error-free speech should not be given un- due emphasis, especially before comprehension is achieved.

8) The teaching of every function should in-

clude activities for listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

Listening Periods The two listening periods are designed to help stu-

dents internalize meaning in stages. The first 15-minute listening experience could be pmvided two class periods prior to language production. procedures characteristic of the first listening period (LPI) are the following:

LP1 1) Teacher provides oral input in the target

language; students do not see written correspondences.

2) Meaning is conveyed through action/ gestures by the teacher, as well as via pictures and realia.

3) Students respond to oral stimuli in various ways: physically acting out stimuli; identifying/ organizing realia or pictures; responding in English.

The second 15-minute listening experience could occur one class period preceding language production. The following activities are done in the second listening period:

LP2 1) Teacher provides oral input in the target

language, again conveying meaning through action/gestures.

2) Students again demonstrate comprehension by responding physically to oral stimuli.

3) Students do oral listening exercises in the target language, which may be multiple choice, yes/no questions, or true/false statements.

4) Teacher presents language in written form to give students reading practice; exercises and activities are done, such as skimming/scanning, vocabulary matching, and physical responses to written stimuli.

For the activities in which students react with ‘‘total physical responses:’ the following systematic phases are suggested:

1) Teacher gives oral stimuli several times

2) Small group of students (4-6) acts out oral

3) The same small group of students acts out

4) Individual students from the group

5 ) Individual students from the entire class

and demonstrates action;

stimuli with teacher;

stimuli without teacher;

physically respond to stimuli;

physically respond to stimulL6

OCTOBER 1986 423

TPR and Language Functions The following is a list, by no means exhaustive, of

TPR activities which are effective for practice of many language functions and context~.~ Many grammatical structures (as listed beIow in parentheses) can be “taught” indirectly by means of each activity’s practice

1) Drawing pictures, maps, portraits, floor plans: Functions:

Indicating locations, conditions, (ser, estar, prepositions) Identifying and describing people, places, things (adjectives, past participles used as adjectives)

2) Charting directions on maps: Functions:

Getting around in the city (command forms) Reporting action impersonally (passive with ser) Vocabulary internalization: road signs, names of business establishments

3) Setting table with food items or using pictures on blackboard:

Functions: Indicating locations (prepositions) Vocabulary internalization (culture): foods, meals, eating utensils

4) Organizing pictures/photos in order of occurrence in a story:

Functions: Talking about what happens (present, imperfect, preterite, perfect tenses, future, conditional, subjunctive, progressive, subject pronouns) Telling time (ser with time expressions) Expressing time relationshim (subiunctive after adverbial conjunctions)

5 ) Organizing realia or pictures in semantic groups:

Vocabulary internalization: adjectives, stores, medicines, travel terms (lodging, transportation, travel agency, etc), banking, diversion activities, occupations, education, animals, mail, and many more

6) Taking inventory of items in class, school, home and making lists

Functions:

Functions:

Vocabulary internalization Expressing likes and dislikes (gustar, definite articles) Indicating ownership (possessive forms)

7) Passing objects around among classmates: Functions:

Referring to people and things (object pronouns) Making comparisons (comparatives and super- latives)

8) Looking for hidden objects/people with specific characteristics in room:

Functions: Indicating purposes, uses, destinations (para, personal a) Describing things (adjective agreement) Indicating the presence and absence of things (indefinite and negative words) Expressing indefinite and unknown things (subjunctive)

Functions: 9) Making foodkrafts by following instructions:

Giving advice or orders (commands, object pronouns, demonstratives) Expressing uses for things (noun + delpara) Expressing wisheshequests (subjunctive)

10) Acting out actions or skits individually or using doll or puppet:

Functions: Describing how we get ready for the day (reflexive verbs and pronouns) Expressing physical and emotional needs (tener expressions) Expressing feelings (subjunctive after expressions of emotions) Expressing cultural gestures

11) Silent interaction with classmates: matching questions to answers, occupations to persons, stores to items sold

Functions: Getting information (asking questions) Vocabulary internalization

12) Filling in phone messages, charts, time schedules, advertisements based on oral input:

Vocabulary internalization Functions:

13) Selecting pictures to describe oral language: Functions:

Speculating about present and past (future and conditional) Indicating doubt and denial (subjunctive after expression of uncertainty)

TPR and Speaking, Reading, Writing After the second listening period, students begin

speaking by narrating orally the stimuli to which they had attended. Students describe activities done in class, using the grammar and vocabulary practiced. The TPR scenarios provide the basis for initial speaking practice. Students then respond to a progression of oral questions: yes-no questions; questions with one-word answers; completion-type statements; personal questions; questions to classmates; interviews


with teacher/classmates. Other oral communicative activities can also be done, such as role plays, mini de- bates, and small-group discussion. Subsequent oral work can include recombinations of other structures and vocabulary for review as well as presentation of more abstract concepts. Since the TPR practice results in a good understanding of the concrete, acquisition of the abstract should not be difficult. As early as the second listening period, students can

begin reading by responding physically to written stimuli. They can develop reading strategies quite early by responding to written language which contains some unfamiliar structures and which recombines other forms previously learned. After they have pro- gressed to speaking, students can do more extensive reading activities, such as: identifying main ideas from a passage; selecting specific pieces of information; summarizing reading; giving opinions of statements or articles; guessing meaning in context.

Writing can also be done very early by means of guided writing exercises which progress to more creative writing. Students begin by describing in written form the TPR activities done in class. Oral interviews done with classmates as well as personal stories can also be reported. Writing assignments can become increasingly complex as other structures and vocabulary are included in the activities; for example, students might be asked to explain which classroom physical activities they like or dislike, which activities will be done tomorrow, or even which activities they would do if they were the teacher. A daily log, in which class activities and other experiences are reported, is another effective exercise in developing writing skill.

Because of time constraints, allowing more time for the listening phase and TPR activities must entail teaching less grammar at the beginning level. Al- though more research is needed in this area, the author’s personal experience has shown that more effective learning results when students know well a small core of the most important, high-frequency structures. Indeed, including the TPR component in the lesson presentation is not only a useful tool for ef- fecting meaning internalization, but is also an excellent strategy for beginning speaking, reading, and writing.

Sample Lesson Outline: “HOW We Get Ready for the Day”

The following plan is designed to teach students how to discuss their personal daily routines, par- ticularly their morning preparations, Although students probably would have been exposed to telling time and describing people (with ser, ator, tener) prior to this lesson, practice of those functions does not

necessarily have to precede the lesson. The sample function presented here would appropriately be followed by a lesson on describing daily activities, in which students would learn to discuss their day, even- ing, and weekend schedules and activities.

Since the lesson is proficiency-based, a variety of verb forms, pronouns, and vocabulary is practiced indirectly throughout the sequenced function-oriented activities. TWO listening periods, in which students “bind” meaning, precede speaking, reading, and writing activities.

Function: Description of Personal Daily Routine Context: Narration about Personal Activities in Pre-

sent time Grammar/Vocabulary Subsumed:

+ time expression 1 despertarse levantarse baiiarse/ducharse lavarse 10s dientes afeitarse las piernadla cara peinarse sacarse el pel0 rizarse el pel0 maquillarse ponerse + articles of clothing desayunar con su familia recoger sus libros salir de su casa esperar el autob6s caminar a la escuela asistir a una clase

I. LPI: 1. Teacher demonstrates the morning routine of

Maria Elena, the class doll, manipulating the doll to respond to oral descriptions. The use of realia further clarifies the meaning. (This activity can be preceded by a description of Maria Elena and a brief discussion: LCbmo es ella? LDe dbnde es? $uiintos aiios tiene? LDonde estudia? etc)

Oral Stimuli:

Maria Elena se despierta a las siete. (alarm clock sounds and indicates time) Se levanta a las siete y diez. (clock) Se ducha por diez minutos. (clock, soap) Se afeita las piernas. (shaver) Se lava 10s dientes con Aim. (tube of toothpaste, toothbrush) Se peina. (comb) Se seca el pelo. (hairdryer) Se riza el pelo. (curling iron) Se maquilla. (bottle of makeup)

OCTOBER 1986 425

Se pone una falda negra y una blusa blanca. (other articles of clothing possible) Desayuna con su familia. (coffee cup, breakfast roll) Recoge sus libros. Sale de la casa. Espera el autobus. (bus stop sign) Asiste a la clase de ingles.

Teacher repeats oral stimuli several times, changing the order and acting out responses with the doll.

2. While the teacher gives oral sentences, students act out responses with the doll. In large classes, two or three dolls might be used with students in groups. All students should be given the chance to respond. If it is not feasible to bring in realia, magazine pictures of items can be used.

11. LP2 1. Teacher repeats oral stimuli from LPl and

students again respond physically with the doll. 2. Teacher describes hidher own daily routine, us-

ing a similar format in the first person with the help of realia.

3. Teacher presents same oral stimuli with pictures: Marcos se afeita. El seGor Gomez sale de su casa. Berta se maquilla.

The third person plural verb forms can also easily be integrated: Los hermanos desayunan a las sietc. Ellas recogen sus libros.

Stimuli are repeated several times. Students respond by identifying the appropriate picture for each statement. 4. Students d o listening exercises:

a. Multiple choice: teacher gives 3 oral statements and then either mimes action, uses doll, or holds up a picture; students choose the correct verbal description (a, b, c).

b. True-False: students identify as true or false oral descriptions of physical actions/pictures. 5. Students see written forms and practice reading:

a. Students respond to written statements’ by miming actions or manipulating doll.

b. Matching: students match verb form to related vocabulary (e.g. Recoge-10s libros; sale-de la casa; se afeita-las piernas); verbs can also be matched to pictures of vocabulary items.

2. Students pretend to be the doll and narrate in first

3. Students respond to oral questions:

peina? iSe lava 10s dientes?

person.

a. Yes-no questions: iSe levanta ella? iSe

b. Questions with one-word answers: LA que hora se despierta? i c o n quienes desayuna?

4. Students describe their daily routines and answer personal questions.

5. Students interview each other. They need to be given examples of the “tu” verb forms.

During subsequent classes, students can practice narrating daily routines in present, progressive, and past time.

IV. Reading Phase:

as prepared by teacher and classmates.

as:

1. Students respond physically to written sentences,

2. Students do other types of reading activities, such

a. finding specific pieces of information in a chart or passage ( e g , LA qut hora se despierta?);

b. giving opinions of written statements (e.g., Yo prefiero levantarme temprano.-iEstAs de acuerdo?)

c. identifying most important ideas in a reading (e.g., How does Pedro’s daily schedule differ from yours?).

V. Writing Phase: 1. Students describe in written form the TPR ac-

tivities done in class. For example, one possible assignment is “Describe all activities which Maria Elena (the doll) did in class today!’

2. Students write descriptions while physical responses are being done in class.

3. Students report in written form oral interviews with classmates as well as personal accounts. Teacher can assign paragraphs in which students express activities in future, progressive, or past. For example, an effective assignment is: “Make a list of 8 activities you did yesterday morning. Then form sentences and com- bine them into a paragraph using the following transitional words: primero, segundo, entonces, antes de, despuh de, finalmente. ” 4. Students expand in written form results of oral

survey done with classmates, explaining times students wake up and go to bed, what they eat for breakfast, whether they prefer to shower in the morning or even- ing, what kind of toothpaste they prefer, etc.

I1 1. Speaking Phase:

by the doll.

TPR and Upper Levels of Language TPR can profitably be utilized in upper level

language classes to review grammatical functions and 1. Students narrate orally the actions as performed


vocabulary and to introduce more subtle structural concepts. The teacher can use the technique for strengthening listening comprehension skills and as a basis for speaking, reading, and writing practice. Assignments and activities can be made increasingly complex by using new vocabulary and more complex grammar. A continuous recombination of language elements and TPR activities throughout all levels will provide optimal opportunities for internalization of meaning to occur.

Conclusion This article has presented a plan for implementing

the Total Physical Response technique into a proficiency-based foreign language program for Spanish and other languages. Research findings in support of an initial speaking period and the use of TPR were reviewed. The various phases of TPR with listening, speaking, reading, and writing practice were outlined together with a n outline for teaching students how to discuss their daily preparation routines. Included were suggestions for utilizing TPR in all levels of language as a basis for review and internalization of meaning and structure.

Future experimentation should examine the effect of teaching receptive skills via TPR before speaking and writing. Since the use of TPR is in essence still in its infancy, further research is also needed in developing innovative strategies for its implementation as well as curricular guidelines and teaching materials.

NOTES ‘For a description of these studies, see Arlene G. Muchnick

and David E. Wolfe “Attitudes and Motivations of American Students of Spanish!’ The Canadian Modern Language Review 38 (1982): 262-81.

?For detailed descriptions of these methods, see John W. Oller, Jr. and Patricia A. Richard-Amato, eds., Methods that Work. Rowley, MA: Newbury House, 1983.

’Complete explanations of these studies can be found in James J. Asher, Learning Another Language Through Ac- tions The Complete Teacher’s Guidebook. (Expanded Second Edition.) Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, Inc, 1982.

‘A complete list of materials is available from Sky Oaks Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 1102, Los Gatos, CA 95031.

5The term “function” here is used to refer to the oral communicative task being accomplished, e.g., expressing likes/ dislikes, getting information, expressing wishes/requests, etc.

5 e e Asher (3) for a thorough explanation of TPR lessons. ’The functions listed are taken from a recently published

proficiency-based textbook: James M. Hendrickson, Poco a Poco-Spanish for Proficiency. Boston, MA: Heinle and Heinle, 1986.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

1 1 .

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

REFERENCES Asher, James J. “Children’s First Language as a Model for Second Language Learning:’ Modern Language Journal 56 (1972): 133-39.

. Learning Another Language Through Actions: The Complete Teacher’s Guidebook. LQS Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, 1979.

. Learning Another Language Through Actions: The Complete Teacher’s Guidebook. (Ex- panded Second Edition.) Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, 1982.

. “Motivating Children and Adults to Ac- quire a Second Languagc 329-36 in John W. OiIer, Jr. and Patricia A. Richard-Amato, eds., Methods that Work. Rowley, MA: Newbury House, 1983.

and B.S. Price. “The Learning Strategy of the Total Physical Response: Some age differences? Child Development 38 (1967): 1219-27.

, J. Kusudo, and R. de la Torre. “Learning a Second Language Through Commands: The Second Field Test!’ The Modern Language Journal 58 (1974):

Brown, Roger A. A First Language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1973. Burt, Marina K. and Heidi C . Dulay. “Optimal Language Learning Environments:’ 38-48 in John W. Oller, Jr., and Patricia A. Richard-Amato, eds, Methods that Work. Rowley, M A Newbury House, 1983. Cabello, F. Total Physical Response in First Year Span- ish. Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, Inc., 1985. Cattegno, Caleb. Teaching Foreign Languages in School: The Silent Wuy. New York: Educational Solu- tions, Inc., 1972. Curran, Charles A. Counseling-Learning in Second Languages, Apple River, IL: Apple River Press, 1976. Davies, N.F. “Receptive versus Productive Skills in Foreign Language Learning:’ The Modern Language Journal 60 (1976): 440-43. Dulay, Heidi C., and Marina K. Burt. “Natural Se- quences in Child Second Language Acquisition? Language Learning 24 (1974): 37-53.

and . “Remarks on Creativi- ty in Second Language Acquisition:’ 95-126 in Marina K. Burt, Heidi C. Dulay, and Mary Finocchiaro, eds., Viewpoints on English as a Second Language. New York, NY: Regents, 1977.

, and Stephen D. Krashen. Language Two. New York, NY Oxford, 1982. Elenbaas, Carmen T. Putting Language Acquisition Theory to Practicein the Classroom, 1983 (ERIC ED 226 587). Gary, J.O. “Delayed Oral Practice in Initial Stages of Se- cond Language Learning:’ 89-95 in M. Burt and H. Dulay, eds., New Directions in Second Language Lear- ning, Teaching, and Bilingual Education. Washington, D C TESOL, 1975.

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OCTOBER 1986 427

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Documents

Total Physical Response: A Technique for Teaching all Skills in Spanish