Total Physical Response

James Asher (1977), the developer of Total Physical Response (TPR), actually began experimenting with TPR in the 1960s, but it was almost a decade before the method was widely discussed in professional circles. Today TPR, with its simplicity as its most appealing facet, is a household word among language teachers.

You will recall from earlier in this chapter that over a century ago Gouin designed his Series Method on the premise that a series of simple actions associated with language will be easily retained by learners. Much later, psychologist developed the "trace theory" of learning in which it was claimed that memory is increased if it is stimulated, or "traced," through association with motor activity.

Over the years, language teachers have intuitively recognized the value of associating language with physical activity. So while the idea of building a method of language teaching on the principle of psychomotor associations is not at all new, it was this very idea that Asher capitalized upon in developing TPR