from: (1994). CAMPANA: SUZUKA International Forum 1, pp. 65-69.

An Introduction to an Innovative Approach to EFL Teaching

Hajime UMEDA
Suzuka International University

INTRODUCTION
　　In recent years, one of the most discussed topics in Japanese education has been the introduction of the "oral communication" curriculum into junior and senior high school English classrooms. In addition to the newly revised textbooks authorized by the Ministry of Education and used since April, 1994, an increaing number of American and other native English speaking teachers in the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program have joined Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) in teaching communicative English. Despite these changes, however, the training of JTEs at the university level has changed little, and the ability of JTEs to help junior and senior high school students develop communicative competence in spoken English remains minimal. Koike et al. (1985) observed that although many Japanese university students want to learn to communicate using English, their instructors follow traditional grammar translation methods or at best tend to emphasize rapid reading, finding main ideas in reading, and asking/answering questions in Japanese about the contents of textbooks. In order to meet the true needs of the students, it is extremely important that the teaching approach of Japanese university English professors be changed. In this paper, I would like to suggest one EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching approach through which Japanese adult learners of English could be taught more effectively. This approach, which is a combination of TPR (Total Physical Response) and the study of grammar, is intended for Japanese EFL students who have had little exposure to spoken English and should help them develop their communicative competence in the target language.

TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE AND ITS PRINCIPLES
　　What is TPR, and what are its principles? Asher (1969), the originator of TPR, claims that foreign language learning should be based on a model of first language learning. This model has three crucial points:

　　1. UNDERSTANDING SPOKEN LANGUAGE MUST PRECEDE SPEAKING.
Because children develop listening skills before acquiring spoken skills, Asher suggests the use of a series of commands to help develop listening skills among second or foreign language learners.
　　2. UNDERSTANDING IS DEVELOPED THROUGH BODY MOVEMENTS.
As children hear and understand the meaning of utterances, they try to follow the commands by moving their bodies. For example, when they hear "Throw the ball," they do so as an actual response to the command and learn the action in that movement. In other words, they understand the meaning of the commands through body movements. Asher believes that this principal is applicable to adult foreign language learning.
　　3. THE LISTENING PERIOD PRODUCES A READINESS TO SPEAK. DON'T ATTEMPT TO FORCE SPEAKING.
While the students are listening to and understanding utterances in the target language, there will be a period of time when they do not speak in the target language and after which they will automatically begin producing utterances in the target language.
SAMPLE LESSONS WITH TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE
　　As an example of a TPR lesson, the students listen to a command in the target language (in this case English) and immediately follow it with a physical action. For instance, four students sit on either side of the instructor who gives in English the command, "Stand up" and immediately stands up as he motions the students to stand up. Next, he says, "Sit down," motioning them to sit and immediately sitting down with them. He repeats these utterances until they respond with confidence after which he may add some new commands such as "walk," "jump," "squat," and "run." The training at first contains very brief one-word utterances, but Asher (1969) says that within thirty minutes, the morphological and syntactical complexity of the commands can be increased as follows:

　　Stand up and walk to the door.
　　Take your notebook and hand it to the teacher.

　　As lessons progress, it is possible to teach grammar implicitly using only TPR. Asher et al. (1974), for example, suggest the following command:

　　When Henry runs to the blackboard and draws a funny picture of Molly, Molly will throw her purse at Henry.

This command includes two basic grammar items to be taught, subordination (When Henry..... of Molly) and future tense (represented by will). Past tense can be taught as well:

　　Abner, run to the blackboard and draw a picture of Josephine.

After Abner has completed the action, the instructor could say:

　　Josephine, Abner drew a picture of you on the blackboard. Go to the board and erase it!

If the students respond to these commands correctly with physical action, it indicates that they have learned these grammatical rules unconsciously or implicitly.
　　TPR is applicable not only to conversation classes but to reading and writing classes as well. When teaching English reading, the instructor could write commands on the blackboard and upon comprehension, the students would take the required actions. In a writing class, the instructor could demonstrate actions, and the students could describe them in writing.

SOME ADVANTAGES OF TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE
　　Three favorable findings from the use of TPR were reported by Asher and Kunihara (1965). They found that TPR prevented students from forgetting what they had already learned, especially in regard to long and novel utterances. In other words, the use of TPR produces good retention in the students. Second, as Asher and Price (1967) observed, the retention of adult learners is better than that of child learners in the same TPR class. Finally, Asher et al. (1974) reported that TPR brings a significant positive transfer from listening to reading and writing skills.

SOME SHORTCOMINGS OF TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE
　　There are some problems with the TPR approach. First, it seems to be difficult for the instructor to teach abstract vocabulary and expressions using TPR. However, Asher, as a solution to this, suggested that the instructor use vocabulary cards on which abstract words are written. For example, if the instructor were teaching the abstract word, bright, he could ask his students to:

　　Pick up the bright card and bring it to me.

The students would obey and check the meaning of bright in the dictionary afterwards.
　　Second, there are inevitably those students who do not trust the TPR approach. There might be cases when they doubt this new method and refuse to move when commanded by the instructor. This is very likely to happen since TPR is totally different from the ordinary teaching methods with which students are familiar. One can not expect TPR to be effective with students who have no motivation to study the target language through actions. This, however, is not a problem with TPR itself, but of students' attitudes toward learning using unorthodox methods.
　　Third, the instructor should have well-thought out lesson plans whenever he uses the TPR approach in the classroom. TPR also demands patience and flexibility in case the students cannot follow the commands in the correct way, repeatedly performing the wrong actions.

TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE COMBINED WITH A STUDY OF GRAMMAR
　　We have observed that TPR is a totally new and effective approach to foreign language learning through performing actions following commands. To make this approach more effective in developing the students' communicative competence, it is recommended that TPR lessons be immediately followed by grammar lessons. In this approach, grammar is taught explicitly rather than implicitly. This could be called The Combined Approach. What is important at this point is that TPR should be the core in this new approach. If an instructional hour is sixty minutes, it is recommended that at least two-thirds of the class be reserved for TPR and that the rest of the class be spent explaining the grammar which the students have just learned implicitly in the TPR part of the lesson.
　　There are some previous studies which have proven the effectiveness of the combination of two teaching approaches in foreign language learning. Lozanov (1978) reported that a mixture of two different teaching methods works well with his Suggestopedia lessons. After students listen to a taped dialogue with music, the instructor assigns the students some postsession activities which contain a very traditional way of translating the text. Moreover, Wolfe and James (1982) concluded that it is feasible to teach a class using a combination of implicit (in this case TPR) and explicit (in this case grammar lessons) methodology.

WHY IS THE COMBINED APPROACH ESPECIALLY EFFECTIVE FOR JAPANESE EFL LEARNERS?
　　There are several reasons why The Combined Approach is especially effective for developing Japanese students' communicative competence. First, the students learn grammar as a supplemental tool in the process of acquiring communicative English skills. Students very often tend to treat the study of grammar as a boring and useless part of language learning. Some strongly believe that it is a waste of time and useful only for the Japanese university entrance examinations. The Combined Approach might help them realize that the study of grammar could help them gain more effective communicative competence. Second, by studying grammar, students could also learn the correct spelling and pronunciation of each word that they have been exposed to aurally in the TPR part of the lesson. Moreover, students do not have to speak until they are ready to produce target language utterances. Krashen et al. (1982) observed that students should not be asked to produce any target language utterances during at least the first ten hours or so of TPR instruction. This contributes greatly to relieving studentsﾕ stress. Young (1994) suggests that the instructor provide the students with the stress free environment necessary for learning the target language comfortably. Since most Japanese students are very shy and hesitant to speak in front of their classmates, this particular aspect of TPR would be a great advantage for them.

CONCLUSION
　　Language is a medium for communication, and foreign language learning is meaningless unless students can acquire communicative competence. Although Japanese university students have studied English for at least six years, very few of them have confidence in their spoken English. Many freshman students are interested in speaking English, and considering their present situation, The Combined Approach can be used to effectively develop students' communicative competence, thus stimulating their desire to speak English.


References

Asher, J. J. (1969). "The Total Physical Response Approach to Second Language Learning." Modern Language Journal 53.

Asher, J. J. and Ben S. Price. (1967). "The Learning Strategy of the Total Physical Response: Some Age Differences." Child Development 38.

Asher, J. J. and Shirou Kunihara. (1965). "The Strategy of the Total Physical Response: an Application to Learning Japanese." International Review of Applied Linguistics 3.

Asher, J. J. et al. (1974). "Learning a Second Language through Commands: the Second Field Test." Modern Language Journal 58.

Koike, I. et al. (1985). General Survey of English Language Teaching at Colleges and Universities in Japan: Students' View. Tokyo: Japan Association of College English Teachers.

Krashen, S. et al. (1982). Language Two. New York: Oxford University Press.

Lafayette, R. (1985). "The Basics of Total Physical Response," based on James J. Asher (1982). Learning Another Language Through Actions: The Complete Teacher's Guidebook. Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.

Lozanov, G. (1978). Suggestology and Suggestopedia: Theory and Practice. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Terrell, T. D. (1982). "A Natural Approach," in Robert W. Blair (ed.): Innovative Approaches to Language Teaching. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers, Inc.

Wolfe, D. E. and G. Jones. (1982). "Integrating Total Physical Response Strategy in a Level I Spanish Class." Foreign Language Annals 14.

Young, R. (1994). "What's Behind 'The Silent Way' ----- An Introduction to the Theory, Part I: How Do We Learn?" The Language Teacher 7.


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