REFERENCE:
Duan, Y. (2021). The Application of Total Physical Response Method (TPR) in
Preschool Children's English Teaching. Theory and Practice in Language Studies,
11(10), 1323-1333.
REFLECTION:
Part 1: Study Summary
In her research, Yujing Duan (2021) looked at the employment of the Total Physical
Response (TPR) method in teaching English to preschoolers in China. This research
aimed at exploring how feasible and effective TPR application is to teaching young
English learners (Duan, 2021). Conducted at an English training institution in
Luoyang, Henan Province, the study investigated six children including two boys and
four girls, who are all at the initial stage of learning English and selected through
intentional sampling.
The research methods were empirical and quantitative, involving a four-month
teaching experiment (from September to December 2019). According to the author,
those children were learning English under the TPR method twice a week. Their 90
minute sessions took place mainly on weekends. Duan evaluated their learning
outcomes by administering pre-tests and post-tests, and doing interviews and
observations. There were two rounds of assessment: The first one was conducted in
early September while the second happened in late December. There were five steps
in this experiment: Pre-interview, Pre-test, TPR Teaching Experiment, Post-test, and
Post-interview.
The researcher followed the regulations of the Ministry of Education of the People’s
Republic of China strictly (Ministry of Education, PRC., 2012), thereby
implementing a TPR principle-based curriculum, integrating physical actions and
commands in language teaching. After her observations and comparison of children’s
1
behaviors in varied sessions, the author analyzed learners’ engagement,
comprehension, and overall performance.
Duan’s findings indicated the advantages of the TPR method in helping young
children to rapid English acquisition through movement, improving long-term
memory through the action-language link, and reducing pressure in the learning
environment. However, according to the author, this TPR approach had its own
limitations, including its appropriateness to concrete vocabulary teaching and learner
level and features. Indeed, TPR was suitable for beginners who learned tangible and
physical objects. When teaching abstract concepts in broader contexts or to higher
level learners, this method became less effective. Besides, when students get too
energetic, teachers may have trouble managing the classroom environment. No matter
what challenges, preschoolers responded positively and desired to learn under this
approach in their next English lessons.
Part 2: My Reflection and Teaching Application
First of all, I was impressed by the thoughtful adaptation of the method to be suitable
for young English learners in this research. The first thing that came to my mind when
reading an article involving teaching English to children was that they needed a lot of
fun in their classes. This study actually indicated how complicated it could be to
organize a language class and conduct research on this approach. The researcher
pointed out that educators in general had to put a lot of effort into having such a well-
structured, research-based method instead of simply putting in a bunch of playful
games and activities. This study proved that TPR is not just about fun, but the true
effectiveness. It is now clearer to me that beginners who have little English knowledge
can improve their comprehension and language use after a short period of time. Later
on, my future classes will be dedicated with more time and preparation. Anything that
happens in my lesson should be purposeful. For example, I will have anticipated
possible situations and proposed solutions to unexpected scenarios, and come up with
specific objectives for each task that I put in my lesson plan.
2
Besides, it was so wise and strategic of Duan to foresee parents’ reaction and ask for
their permission towards their kids’ involvement in a linguistic study. Honestly, I had
never thought of parental consent until I read Duan’s article. In particular, prior to
conducting interviews or lessons, the researcher had explained the study’s objectives,
duration, and ethical considerations to not only the kids’ teachers but also parents.
Being so transparent and thoughtful, Duan showed her sincerity and respect for the
preschoolers and their families, as well as profession towards the teachers, which I
admire a lot. In the future, if I have a chance to do research on children, I will
definitely think about the whole picture and attempt to cover such small details. Being
a good teacher and researcher is not just about doing things step by step, but being
sensitive and strategic at the same time. Participants and their families are both
leading factors for ethics and sense of trust while conducting an experimental study.
Another major finding of Duan that I find useful is that TPR should be applied to
beginners when teaching simple concepts. I am well-aware that the other learners may
find TPR boring or ineffective to learn abstract knowledge, however, I will invest my
own time to find a way to make TPR possible for advanced level learners even when
they learn about professional topics. It may be hard and requires lots of effort, but it is
worth trying for the interest of learners and the development of language education.