just the grammatical structures.
Students may use either the first or second language. If they choose to respond in the
second language, their errors are not corrected unless communication is seriously impaired.
When this method is applied, the teacher utilizes realia, pictures, and students' previous
knowledge to make their speech comprehensible from the first day. (Krashen, 1982)
Natural Approach attempts to capture students' interest by using what Terrell terms
"Affective Acquisition Activities", adapted from Christensen, that encourage discussion of topics
of personal interest to the students (e.g. "Suppose you are a famous person, and there is a
newspaper article about you. Tell at least one thing about yourself which is mentioned in the
article..."). In the early stages of the Natural Approach, classroom discussion focuses on personal
information, the goal being to establish a group feeling. Later, students discuss their past
histories, and eventually they are able to talk about their hopes and plans for the future.
(Krashen, 1982).
5.1.6 Total Physical Response (TPR) (Harold Palmer, James Asher)This unique method was developed by James Asher, and is described in many of his
journal papers and his book (Asher, 1977). Total Physical Response, or TPR, consists basically
of obeying commands given by the instructor that involve an overt physical response. The
instructor, for example, says "stand up" and the class stands up.
The commands become more complex as the class progresses, and Asher claims that it
is quite possible to embed vast amounts of syntax into the form of a command. Students speak
only when they are "ready", which usually occurs at around 10 hours of instruction, and consists
of student commands. In the typical TPR class (as described by Asher, Kusudo, and de la Torre,
1974), the first few months (45 hours in this case) would consist of 70% listening comprehension
(obeying commands), 20% speaking, and 10% reading and writing.
The use of TPR insures the active participation of students, helps the teacher know
when utterances are understood, and also provides contexts to help students understand the
language they hear. Its content may not be always interesting and relevant for the students, but
should produce better results than the audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods.
TPR does not require a spoken response from students. Also, if implemented properly,
students always understand what is happening during TPR practice, resulting in increased
confidence and a lowering of the affective filter.
Short TPR activities, used judiciously and integrated with other activities can be both
highly motivating and linguistically purposeful. Careful choice of useful and communicative