Minggu, 11 April 2010

TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE

James Asher’s Total Physical Response (TPR), is the one we will examine in detail here in order to see how the principles of the Comprehension Approach are put into practice. On the basis of his research, Asher reasoned that the fastest, least stressful way to achieve understanding of any target language is follow directions uttered by the instructor.
Total physical response (TPR) is a method developed by Dr. James J. Asher, a professor emeritus of psychology at San José State University, to aid learning second languages. The method relies on the assumption that when learning a second or additional language, language is internalized through a process of code breaking similar to first language development and that the process allows for a long period of listening and developing comprehension prior to production. Students respond to commands that require physical movement. TPR is primarily intended for ESL/EAL teachers, although the method is used in teaching other languages as well. The method became popular in the 1970s and attracted the attention or allegiance of some teachers, but it has not received generalized support from mainstream educators.
TPR is based on the premise that the human brain has a biological program for acquiring any natural language on earth - including the sign language of the deaf. The process is visible when we observe how infants internalize their first language.
The secret is a unique "conversation" between the parent and infant. For example, the first conversation is a parent saying, "Look at daddy. Look at daddy." The infant's face turns in the direction of the voice and daddy exclaims, "She's looking at me! She's looking at me!" Dr. Asher calls this "a language-body conversation" because the parent speaks and the infant answers with a physical response such as looking, smiling, laughing, turning, walking, reaching, grasping, holding, sitting, running, and so forth.
Notice that these "conversations" continue for many months before the child utters anything more intelligible than "mommy" or "daddy." Although the infant is not yet speaking, the child is imprinting a linguistic map of how the language works. Silently, the child is internalizing the patterns and sounds of the target language.
When the child has decoded enough of the target language, speaking appears spontaneously. The infant's speech will not be perfect, but gradually, the child's utterances will approximate more and more that of a native speaker.
Children and adults experience the thrill of immediate understanding when you apply this powerful concept in your classroom. To discover how to do it step-by-step, take a look through our TPR catalog of Books, Games, Teacher Kits, Student Kits, and Video Demonstrations.

Jumat, 02 April 2010

Community Language Learning

Community language learning (CLL) is an approach in which students work together to develop what aspects of a language they would like to learn. The teacher acts as a counselor and a paraphrase, while the learner acts as a collaborator, although sometimes this role can be changed. The Community Language Learning Method takes its principles from the more general Counseling-Learning approach developed by Charles A. Curran. Curran believed that a way to deal with the fears of students is for to teachers to become ‘Language Counselors.’ A language counselor does not mean someone trained in psychology; it means someone who is a skillful under stander of the struggle students’ face as they attempt to internalize another language. The teacher who can ‘understand’ can indicate his acceptance of the student. By understanding students’ fears and being sensitive to them, he can help students overcome their negative feelings and turn them into positive energy to further their learning.