Copyright 1999 by Northern Arizona University. TPR-S strategies utilize vocabulary first taught using TPR by incorporating it into stories that students hear, watch, act out, retell, revise, read, write, and rewrite.
Subsequent stories introduce additional vocabulary in meaningful contexts.
I am grateful to my former student Valeri Marsh for the opportunity to examine TPR-S training materials and strategies and for her input into this article. Asher recommended that beginners be allowed a silent period in which they learn to recognize a large number of words without being expected to say them. About 150 words are presented in the first five or six weeks, and at least three new terms per lesson can be expected to become part of a learner's active vocabulary during any lesson, even though they may not say them until later. Commands are usually addressed first to the entire class, then to small groups, and finally to individuals. Since the students are not required to speak, they are spared the stress of trying to produce unfamiliar sounds and the consequent fear of making mistakes.