TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE FOR ADULT LEARNERS: REAWAKENING THE INNER CHILD TO FIGHT FATIGUE AND APATHY

Abstract

Total Physical Response (TPR) has long been considered a methodology of teaching and learning suited only to young children and/or adolescents, but there has been little research done on the use of TPR with adults despite the growing body of evidence that it has cognitive and emotional benefits. This article examines the application of TPR with adult English language learners who have very low levels of motivation due to the workplace demands placed upon them and cognitive fatigue from their daily work activities as well as their emotional barriers  to learning English. The authors refer to Asher's Trace Theory, the neurobiological research regarding stress and memory, and Jungian concepts regarding the inner child Archetype to assert that TPR provides a scientifically valid way to address adult learners who exhibit apathy towards learning. There is evidence that TPR decreases levels of Cortisol and encourages levels of Dopamine via Kinesthetic activities and through providing a non-performance-based "subliminally receptive" phase before performing the learned language/vocabulary; therefore, TPR provides an emotionally safe alternative to "suffering" with performance-related anxiety. The authors conclude the article with practical suggestions for the implementation of TPR in a dignified manner with adults, including using fingers for seated activities, creating command sequences relevant to the adult learner's job, telling narrative stories about the target language being learned, and allowing the adult learners to lead the instruction.