TPRS肢体反应故事教学法（一）

TPRS（total Physical response storytelling, 肢体反应讲故事）应该是讲故事学英语的一个重要方法，它是由TPR发展而来的。先说一下TPR（肢体反应教学法）吧。

肢体反应教学法是由James Asher在1977年所提出。此教学强调儿童在第一语言学习的过程中皆有一个静默期 (silent period)，在静默期间儿童需经许多的听力训练；做听力练习的同时，伴随着的是肢体动作的配合，例如：抓、移动、注视、跳跃等。它同时强调语言的表达可经由动作，为此降低儿童学习语言所伴随的焦虑、恐惧。

在语言学习的静默期不要求孩子开口说英语，孩子只需要过对英语命令的执行来反映对英语的了解程度，TPR比较接近于母语的学习，在学习的初期只强调输入不要求输出。

(一) 肢体反应教学法的特色 综观各种英语教学法，Larsen-freeman (2000)认为肢体反应教学法几项特色：
1. 语意经由动作来传达，肢体动作的反应也能帮助学生记忆

2. 学生在开始学会说英文之前应先听懂得英文；当输入达到一定程度，他们将自然而然地开口说英语。 3. 学生能在一开始经由身体的移动与口令的配合，学会一分语言。
4. 在课室中，教师多使用命令句与祈使句。 如open the door. put this book on that table. 等等，孩子依据老师的指令做出相应的动作。

5. 能增进儿童信心，降低他们的学习焦虑。 6. 当学生刚开始学语言时，教师能容忍学生犯错误，并亲依口令做动作， 以不冒昧的态度来纠正学生。
7. 教师扮演指导者、领导者；学生则是扮演模仿者。

肢体反应教学法的五步骤是：
1. 学生模仿老师的动作。

2. 动作与语意产生连结，进而达到理解。
3. 学生做练习以达到熟练。

4. 教师读出与写出句子。
5. 教师再给新的命令句或祈使句。

肢体反应故事教学法（二）：什么是TPRS？

TPRS是加利福尼亚的一名西班牙语老师Blaine Ray在1990年提出的英语教学方法。因为孩子对常规教科书上的语言学习不感兴趣，Blaine使用TPR方法进行语言教学，通过TPR孩子可以象学习母语一样的学习外语。但是TPR所学的英语主要是命令句，如何教会孩子叙述事情或者描述事物呢？同时又要使孩子对外语的学习感兴趣，他想到了讲故事。把讲故事和角色扮演结合起来，提出了TPRS英语教学法。

TPR故事教学法(TPRS)之教学过程有最基本的三个步骤：

介绍与练习新字汇：教师使用TPR来教导新字汇，并使用新的命令句或祈使句。
在故事中使用新字汇：将新字汇加入简短故事中，使其赋予内容、情境等，帮助学生在语言上的习得。说故事时可使用辅助教材，例如：小道具、玩偶、幻灯片、大型的图解、当场人物示范等。故事的讲解要不断地重复并且一次比一次更加详尽，直到学生也能朗朗上口。
再次确认故事内容与增强语言习得：在这一阶段即是加深学生印象，使其能达到语言的习得阶段。运用的方法是介绍新的动词时态与型式。例如：原先已学过的动词时态为现在式 “he is hungry, he eats,” 那么教师便能在此阶段介绍第一人称单数或动词时态过去式 “ I am hungry, I eat” or “ he was hungry, he ate.”而此阶段最终的目的为增进学生对各单元内容的深入了解，并经由新字汇类项的介绍，加强过去所学。

The Seven Steps to Learning Through TPRS（TPRS七步法）
   The TPR Storytelling approach to teaching a foreign language occurs in seven steps. Involving not only teaching the words, but using them in a story, or mini situation using gestures, having students retell the story, and assessing the learning of the words before progressing on. Below the seven steps are explained further. Also included are technical and special tips to help in teaching TPRS.

STEP 1: Gesture

第一步：选择3-4个生字，老师用动作等解释生字的意思，再将生字用于词组中，必要时需要用母语解释生字和词组的意思

Technical hints:
Limit 2 minutes
3-4 words
Give meaning in English
Model, delay modeling, remove modeling
Novel phrases
Chain the words
Special hints:
Explain in English why the gesture represents the meaning
Provide students with an association or visualization
Assess a barometer student using translation

STEP 2: Personalize!

第二步：通过对生字和词组的提问，巩固学习效果。

Technical hints:
Ask questions using the new words. If a noun, ask if a student likes it. If a verb, ask if he does it. Show interest in the answer. Follow up with more questions. Ask the entire group about the first student. Invite reactions. Ask another student similar questions.
Special hints:
Look for confusion and use translation to clear it up.
Show interest and enthusiasm.
Tell a little story about a student.

STEP 3: Mini-Situation

Technical hints:
Use the information you got from #2 while you tell your PMS with actors.
Students answer questions and say "oh" or "ah" to statements.

Continually ask level-one and level-two type questions as students act out the story. Questions that have no answer yet produce BEP (Bizarre, exaggerated, personalized)
Make sure actor performs after teacher's statement and is in the space that represents the location of the story.
Special hints:
Teach to the eyes. Look at the audience, not the actors.
Enjoy the "sparkle" actors

STEP 4: Retell (Teacher)

Technical hints:
No actors
Teacher retells and takes the place of the actors.

Teacher questions as in step 3, but gets more specific details, and may add to the story.

Provide 2 second grammar reminders throughout the retell.

Special hints:
Recycle at any time, but especially when response is weak.
Maintain the spacing and timing.
Spend plenty of time doing steps 3 and 4.

STEP 5: Reading

Technical hints:
Have students translate the PMS as you had originally written it.

Make sure that all students understand the entire story.
Repeat steps 5 and 6 with an extended reading or a chapter from a novel.
Special hints:
Make sure students understand all of the grammar involved in the story. Use translation so the grammar is tied to meaning, not to a grammar rule.

STEP 6: Discuss
Technical hints:
Discuss the reading. Relate the situation, the characters, and the plot to the students.

Ask if they have ever been in such a situation or known such a person.
Capitalize on all the cultural information provided in the story.
Special Hints:
Use the story to teach life lessons. Point out how a character develops or treats another person well. Teach students how to behave appropriately by using the characters as examples.

STEP 7: Assess

Technical hints
We always think the students know more than they actually do! For this reason we assess every two minutes all period long. Step 7 invites students to retell the PMS or the storyline from a reading.
Watch for hesitation, needing to look for the word before saying it, or for avoidance of a word or structure.
Special hints:
Hold top students to a high standard. Interrupt their retells to ask for more information or for more elaboration.

Teacher attitude must be supportive and encouraging.

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     What is TPRS?

TPRS is changing the way many teachers go about teaching a foreign language today. Through TPRS teachers are finding they can teach the language holistically without having to teach grammar rules. Grammatical accuracy is taught but not in the traditional way through verb conjugations. Language is learned by understanding messages in the target language. That means language is picked up through comprehensible input. Input is listening and reading that is understood by the learner. We ensure the class is totally comprehensible. Also it must be repetitive and interesting. We teach the class an interesting story that is invented as the teacher asks students repetitive questions.

Before teaching a story or even saying a sentence in the target language we need to establish meaning. We do that by translation or gesture. We mainly use translation since most gestures can have multiple interpretations and therefore the meaning isn’t clear. With translation, the students understand the meaning of the words being taught. Whenever we use a phrase or words students don’t understand, we have to establish meaning again usually by translating on the board.

Now students are ready for storytelling. Here we use the three phrases that are on the board to ask a story. We start out with a problem. A boy/girl needs or wants something. We start asking questions using the phrases. If the phrase is wants to have, we will start asking questions using wants to have. Does the boy want to have an elephant? (Students respond yes or no. The teacher says that is right, the boy wants to have an elephant.) Now the detail has been established. Does the boy want to have an elephant or a gorilla? Does the boy want to have a gorilla? Does the boy want to have an elephant? Who wants to have an elephant? What does the boy want to have? Does the boy want to have an elephant? With this last question we have completed the circle. That is we are back to where we started. This powerful circling technique is used in TPRS to get lots of repetitions. It makes the class interesting because the teacher can answer each question differently. The story develops as the teacher continues to ask more questions. Each new detail adds new interest to the developing story.

A story has 3 locations. Start at the first location and establish a problem. From add another character and other details. If the boy wants a tiger, you can ask for details about the tiger. Where is the tiger from? Is he big or little? What does the tiger do? Does the boy want a tiger from Kenya or Chile ? Does the boy want a small plastic tiger or a big yellow tiger? You could also have a girl who wants a small plastic gorilla from Tokyo . In your questions to the class you would compare the boy to the girl. Who wants a gorilla? What does the girl want? What does the boy want? Who wants a tiger? All of these questions establish details about the story. After you have established many details of the story you will then go to location two. There you will attempt to solve the problem but fail. Finally the story will move to the third location where the story is solved.

Next you will have your students translate and discuss the extended reading of the story. You will now continue going back and forth between storytelling and reading. These stories are found in Mini-Stories for Look, I Can Talk from our catalogue. There is also a Teacher’s Guide for Mini-stories for Look, I Can Talk available from our catalogue. You also can get level two materials. Order Mini-stories for Look, I Can Talk More and the accompanying teacher’s guide from our catalogue. After students have learned all of the mini-stories they will be ready for a chapter in the books Look, I Can Talk and Mini-stories for Look, I Can Talk. In level three there is now a new book that includes the PMS, mini-stories, extended readings and the chapter story all in one new book from our catalogue.

For supplemental reading there are level one and level two novels from our catalogue. These books are available in Spanish, French and German.

For more information you can order the book "Fluency through TPR Storytelling." This book has been out since 1997 and is now in its sixth edition. If you can't make it to a TPRS workshop, this book is the next best thing. The book will show you how to do TPRS at each level. You will learn tricks on making your class interesting as well as how to teach accuracy to your students. This is a great starter book and it is available from our catalogue.
We also have Videos and DVDs that show actual TPRS classrooms. Watch experienced teachers masterfully teach their classes with TPRS.

The only thing I remember from my junior high Spanish class is the songs. That doesn't happen with TPRS, but songs are still a great addition to our program. My colleague, Gale Mackey, has written songs that go along with the stories in book one and book two. These songs are available only in Spanish but are a great addition to any TPRS teacher. Your students will want to sing more after learning these songs. There is also a tape of irregular Spanish verbs. After your students have sung these songs a few times they will know the major irregular verbs in all the tenses of Spanish. Tapes and CDs can be ordered from our catalogue.