Do you have any unique ideas for a Total Physical Response (TPR) activity?

Question

For my ESL (English as a Second Language) course, I'm supposed to think of an unique TPR activity that could be used with ESL students in any subject area. Any good ideas? Nothing too complicated...just something that I could demonstrate in class within a few minutes.

Answer 1

We did an activity in university with some friends: we took a box of cereal, milk, a bowl and a spoon to class. One of the group was indicated as a robot who would follow the instructions the class gave literally in order to serve a bowl of cereal and eat it. We had all the class divided into 4 groups and gave them 5 minutes to prepare their commands. They have to be extremely well written because the robot will follow the instructions word by word-this is where it is fun- if one group says pour the milk, the robot should do it without opening the gallon and even if they don't mention where you should pour it do it over the table!

Answer 2

not unique, just classic TPR Just think of three verbs that they will need in a class that can be acted out.
pick up
put down
show
Add some nouns:
the book
the pencil
the desk
or more specific nouns per subject area (the lab coat, the bunsen burner..)
Add some prepositions.

Come up with three statements.
Pick up the bunsen burner.
Give the boy the bunsen burner.
Put the bunsen burner under the chair.

You model. The students follow.
Delay modelling. (if the students can quickly do the action, you only do it for them to check themselves. If they cannot, you model.)
You rearrange for novel commands. (Pick up the boy. Put the boy under the bunsen burner)
Closed eye practice (hand tpr--used for actions that can be gestured as well as acted out.)
When they know the three you chose, add three more. mix up all six. Add adverbs if you want (slowly, quickly). Add like a/an (like an elephant, like Beyonce, like the teacher)

Start with you and two 'actors'. Trade off actors. Vary the group size (this row, this side, boys, girls, people with blue jeans, people with long hair)

Chain commands (students wait, you give three commands in a row and they try to do it.

three ring circus: Three students repeatedly do different actions, while you ask questions about them. Marcia is writing on the board, Inez is walking to the door, Yan is picking up the bunsen burner. Class, who is walking to the door? Is yan or Inez walking to the door. What did Yan pick up?

You can get oodles of receptive language very quickly with TPR. If you add the 'circling questions' of TPRS, you can start moving into more productive language.

statement.
yes/no question
either/or question
yes/no question that expects no
(three for one. That's right class, Yan is not writing on the board, Marcia is writing on the board)
W questions (who what where when why how, how much how many how often...as many as the students have the language to answer.
restate original statement.

More tpr information can be found in Learning Language through Action by James J. Asher and the TPR books by Garcia. (I think they're at skyoaks publications.) AT the tprstorytelling welbsite, if you go to the 2004 Las Vegas handouts, there is a handout for a session on classic TPR. (if not there, in one of the other years.)

Answer 3

TPR just needs to involve movement. You can do a cooking / eating lesson on foods. You can do a jump-rope rhyme about any subject area. You can do a "put the words in the right order" with sentence strips.

Probably the most fun TPR is to make up some sort of hand motions to coincide with whatever you are teaching. If it's math, make up a hand motion for "plus" and "equals" and do simple math activities with that. etc.

Answer 4

TPR...ESL...2parts.

1. cut out body parts and use them.
2. Quit the school you will work at cuz those kids are gonna kill you and the management doesnt care about you in the ESL biz.

Answer 5

Take you a paddle and just beat the hell out of all those little brats.
Could you video tape it and send me a copy, just beat them until they can't cry anymore.