Title: The use of total physical response (TPR) in teaching the daily routine
Author: Pischa Nawinchoktham (085-759669142)
As an English student college, I have done a microteaching in the Teacher of English for Student of Other Language or TESOL class. Among several approaches to teaching and learning a foreign language that I have learnt, Total Physical Response, or TPR, is the one that simulates the way children naturally acquire their mother tongue so I took this method for my microteaching. And the topic of my lesson is about the daily routine. According to Jame Asher’s (1996) the principles of this method are meaning in the target language can often be conveyed through actions, memory is activated through learner response, the target language should be offered in chunks, not just word by word, the students’ understanding should be developed before speaking, students can initially learn one part of the language rapidly by moving their bodies, the imperative sentence is a powerful linguistic device which the teacher can direct student behavior, students can learn through observing actions as well as by performing the actions themselves, correction should be carried out in an unobtrusive manner, students learn without anxiety and students will begin to speak when they are ready.
The objectives of the lesson are students should be able to listen and do the commands carefully, pronounce some difficult words correctly such as a soap, a t-shirt, a bread, a sunscreen, a hair dryer and a newspaper and use the daily routine sentence fluently. For my strengths on this microteaching performance, at first I presented the vocabularies which involve the topic through the real stuffs for example I was showing a hair dryer while I was saying a hair dryer then I commanded to a few students to point to the stuffs followed by my instructions. And when they understood, I introduced new commands by using the imperative sentences about the daily routines not too fast and to clarify the meaning I perform the actions with the students. Later I directed the students alone because the students’ action will tell me whether or not they understand. Moreover I didn’t encourage students to speak until they were ready. For my weaknesses on the microteaching performance, actually at the beginning of the class the teacher should greetings the students and checks the class attendance but I was a little bit nervous and I forgot to check it. And for my teaching, the use of command it should be clear but sometimes it was not as I can see from the wrong performance of the some students. And I cannot evaluate the students’ competence one by one because there were a lot of students in the class and the time was limited therefore I can only perceive the holistic measure through the whole class performance. Also, I got the feedback from my students that I should take the real stuffs in the middle of the class because they could not see them well because it is small and quite far from them.
The things that I should consider when I apply the TPR method are a well preparation, being a good teacher modeling, student participation, and a repetition for practice. Firstly, I have to select the vocabulary that I am going to teach. Gather any equipment, props or pictures I will need to illustrate the meaning of the words. Secondly, as I say the new vocabulary word for the students, use gestures, facial expressions, props or body movement to illustrate the meaning of the word clearly. Thirdly, I have to make sure that have all students perform the same gestures, facial expressions, use of props or body movement modeled by student volunteers or me because sometimes this method is not suit for their competencies. Lastly, I must review and practice words with students multiple times to ensure learning and recycle words regularly to make sure that students do not forget old words. In addition, I have to write down the words or phrases where all students can see it so that students can make the connection between oral and written words.
Becoming a better teacher is something all educators should be concerned with. Good teachers are effective classroom managers. So my plans to improve my teaching skills are about prepare lesson well, the right delivery, classroom management, being confident and innovation skills. Ensuring your cover the topics planned have appropriate examples, exercises, activities and home assignments ready and design the presentation flow. Try to organize which goes first and which next. Do not teach the students to memorize but teach them how to use it. McKeachie states that most students cannot stay focused throughout a lecture. After about 10 minutes their attention begins to drift so I will make a class like an active learning in class and give them a break when they feel tired to follow the material I present. Furthermore, I will manage my classroom rather than just teaching a class because effective teachers know how to organize the classroom, manage the curriculum and keep students on task with various management techniques. Moreover, I must have a strong mind when I stand before my students because students always ask unexpected questions and I should answer them confidently and carefully. Use the board or the other available teaching materials to write important keywords on board. And try showing visuals, live demos, lab visits etc. In addition, I should be able to use the innovation with the education for making a comfortable class and joyful class. When the teachers use the innovation such as real media, E-book, game or application in their teaching, it will be more fun and attract to the students’ interest well.
References
Asher, Jame. 1996. Learning Another Language through Actions The Complete Teacher’s Guiderbook. (5th edn. Los Gatos. CA: Sky Oaks Productions.
Krashen, Stephen, 1987. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Eaglewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Richards, Jack and Theodore Rodgers. 1986. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (Second Edition) Larsen, D., & Freeman. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press
