Total Physical Response and ESL

I'm often asked how I can teach beginner ESL students English if I can't speak their language. I tell them about TPR (Total Physical Response). This is a great method to teach beginner ESL students.

TPR for teaching ESL involves the teacher using his or her body to teach English. A simple example would be walking into a classroom and saying "good morning," and using body language to let the ESL students know to also say "good morning."

If I wanted to teach ESL students what "stand up" means, I would stand up and say stand up at the same time.

In short, in TPR the ESL teacher uses his or her body and/or props and the target language at the same time.

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