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Total physical response in the language learning process of English as a second language in young learners in coordination with other teaching methods. (Master thesis)

Χλέτση, Ιωάννα/ Chletsi, Ioanna

English language teaching is an educational field of paramount importance in today’s global and multicultural world. There is a plethora of approaches and methods that are available for the English language teachers to apply in their classrooms. The Total Physical Response method, known as TPR, is one of them and it is often used for teaching young learners. The aim of the current research is to find out whether such a choice is actually effective for the young learners’ acquisition of English language and if this is the case, to show how exactly it can be implemented in the classroom. In order to measure TPR’s effectiveness, twelve studies were analyzed through the qualitative process of document analysis. The studies were chosen upon specific criteria and their content was categorized into the title, author, year, result and implications. The effectiveness was measured in terms of vocabulary and grammar acquisition and in relation to other methods. The results from the above analysis showed that in the vast majority of the twelve studies, TPR was found to be highly effective for English language learning among young learners. Only one study did not depict any difference in the effectiveness of TPR in relation to other methods. Based on the above finding, various ways to introduce TPR were discussed and special attention was given to the application of the TPR method to learn English in the context of Physical Education.