Total Physical Response…

…for early language development.

Hello all. Welcome to the 181st edition of TEPS Weekly!

In Class 1A, Rakhi ma’am is teaching the words ‘stand’, ‘jump’, ‘clap’ and ‘sit’. She has a very clear instructional routine:

	Teacher:	Students:
1	writes the words on the board.	copy the words into their notebook.
2	reads the words aloud.	repeat the words after the teacher.
3	spells each word aloud.	repeat the spellings after the teacher.

Once done, Rakhi ma’am moves onto the next activity.

In Class 1C, Saha ma’am is teaching the same set of words. She has a very different but an equally clear instructional routine:

	Teacher:	Students:
1	says, ‘Stand!’ and stands up at the same time.	listen and watch.
2	says, ‘Stand!’ again and stands up at the same time.	listen, watch and stand up.
3	says, ‘Stand!’	listen and stand up.
4	repeat steps 1-3 for the words ‘jump’, ‘clap’ and ‘sit’.
5	calls out the words in a random order.	listen and do the action.

Both classes follow a clear routine, with students participating. So, what is the key difference between the two routines? 

In Class 1A, students copy and repeat the new words. In Class 1C, students connect each word to its meaning through an action, as part of an approach called Total Physical Response (TPR).

What is Total Physical Response?

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a language teaching approach that connects spoken language with physical movement. Students first listen to a word or instruction and respond with an action, helping them understand meaning before they are expected to speak.

Think about how parents talk to young children: they gesture and say things like “Come here” or “Give me the ball”, and children often respond with an action long before they can say the words themselves. Dr. James J. Asher, a professor of psychology, noticed this pattern and suggested that learning a new language can begin in much the same way. In TPR, students first listen and show that they understand through movement, without being pushed to speak straight away. This keeps the experience low-stress and gives spoken language time to develop more naturally.

What makes TPR work is that a student receives the new language in several ways at once: auditory input when they hear the word or instruction, visual input when they watch the teacher model it, and kinesthetic input when they perform the action themselves. These different experiences become linked together in a schema in long-term memory. So later, when a student hears “clap”, they can draw not only on the sound of the word, but also on the memory of seeing someone clap and of clapping themselves. Because the word is stored with several connected experiences, it is more deeply embedded than a word that has only been read or repeated aloud.

How can we plan a TPR routine?

TPR works best when the language can be heard and connected to a physical response. It is especially useful in the early stages of language learning for:

• building foundational vocabulary

• developing listening comprehension

• internalising simple grammar and sentence structures 

It is not well suited to language that is highly abstract or cannot easily be represented through actions, like extended speaking and conversations, reading fluency, advanced grammar, abstract vocabulary, and writing sentences and paragraphs. 

The TPR routine remains the same across all relevant language areas, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1: TPR Routine for Vocabulary

Learning outcome: Students will be able to perform a physical action to represent the meaning of familiar action words such as stand, jump, clap and sit.

1. SAY + SHOW
Teacher: Says, “Jump!” and jumps at the same time.	Students: Watch and listen.
2. SAY + DO TOGETHER
Teacher: Says, “Jump!” again and jumps with the class.	Students: Say nothing; jump with the teacher.
3. SAY → STUDENTS DO
Teacher: Says, “Jump!” without moving.	Students: Hear the word and jump independently.
4. ADD MORE WORDS
Teacher + Students: Repeat the sequence with stand, clap and sit.
5. MIX + CHECK
Teacher: Calls out the four words in a changing, random order.	Students: Listen and perform the correct action.
6. STUDENTS LEAD
Teacher: Invites a student to call out one of the familiar words.	Students: One student says the word; classmates perform the action.

Example 2: TPR Routine for Grammar

Learning outcome: Students will be able to respond correctly to simple sentences using prepositions of place: on, under and in. 

1. SAY + SHOW
Teacher: Says, “Put the pencil on the book,” while placing a pencil on a book.	Students: Watch and listen.
2. SAY + DO TOGETHER
Teacher: Repeats the instruction and performs the action with the class.	Students: Place their pencils on their books.
3. SAY → STUDENTS DO
Teacher: Gives the same instruction without demonstrating it.	Students: Listen and place the pencil correctly.
4. ADD NEW PATTERNS
Teacher + Students: Repeat the sequence with “Put the pencil under the book” and “Put the pencil in the bag” in the same way.
5. MIX + CHECK
Teacher: Mixes the three instructions: on, under, in.	Students: Listen to the whole sentence and choose the correct position.
6. STUDENTS LEAD
Teacher: Invites students to give one of the familiar instructions.	Students: Give an instruction or respond to a classmate's instruction.

Example 3: TPR Routine for Listening Comprehension

Learning outcome: Students listen to and correctly follow familiar one-step and two-step oral instructions in English. 

1. SAY + SHOW
Teacher: Says, “Pick up your pencil and hold it up high,” while modelling the instruction.	Students: Watch and listen.
2. SAY + DO TOGETHER
Teacher: Repeats the instruction and performs both actions with the class.	Students: Pick up and hold their pencils up high with the teacher.
3. SAY → STUDENTS DO
Teacher: Gives the same instruction without demonstrating it.	Students: Listen and carry out both actions independently.
4. ADD NEW INSTRUCTIONS
Teacher + Students: Repeat the sequence with “Open your book and point to the picture” in the same way.
5. MIX + CHECK
Teacher: Gives different familiar instructions: “Show me your pencil.” “Open your book and point to the picture.” “Put your pencil in your bag.”	Students: Listen to the whole instruction and carry out the correct action or actions.
6. STUDENTS LEAD
Teacher: Invites students to give one of the familiar one-step or two-step instructions.	Students: Give an instruction or follow a classmate’s instruction.

How does TPR work in bilingual classrooms?

In many Indian classrooms, students may speak different home languages, while the teacher is teaching in English or another school language. Translanguaging means using a student’s home language as a bridge to help them understand the new language. In TPR, the teacher can do this at the SAY + SHOW stage: for example, “Khade ho jao – Stand up!” while standing up. Then, in DO TOGETHER and DO ALONE, she can slowly remove the home-language words and say only “Stand up!”. If students get stuck, the teacher can briefly bring the familiar language back, then remove it again once they understand.

TPR helps children learn language by listening, watching and responding through movement before they are expected to speak or read. A simple routine moves from SAY + SHOW → SAY + DO TOGETHER → SAY → STUDENTS DO → ADD NEW PATTERNS → MIX + CHECK → STUDENTS LEAD, with support reduced gradually as children become more confident.

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Edition: 5.36