BOOK REVIEW: Fluency through TPR Storytelling

This was the first book I purchased when I was transitioning to a more storytelling/acquisition driven style of teaching. It is written by Blaine Ray and Contee Seely and has been referred to by many as ‘The Green Bible’.

It certainly is a thorough overview of TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling). There is a LOT in it and I found what worked for me was to read a section then trial it in the class before coming back to clarify or see what the next step or recommendation is. It is a great handbook to keep referring to.

Fluency through TPR Storytelling is a comprehensive, research based guide which shows step by step how to develop the foundational skills and build on the curriculum for beginning language students and intermediate learners. It is very practical and has examples of questioning techniques and possible class scenarios and dialogues. I have included a brief synopsis below.

The three pillars of a TPRS class

  1. Comprehensible- use language that the students can understand
  2. Repetition – For language to be acquired it needs lots of repetition. Narrow and deep is key
  3. Interest – keep the dialogue student centered to maximise buy in and maintain motivation

The Steps of TPRS

  1. Establish meaning – eg gestures, pictures, props, posters, direct translation
  2. Ask a story-asking a story requires a response. When the students answer a question there is evidence of comprehension
  3. Read and Discuss

Helpful Chapters

Student Rapport

Classroom Management

Personalization

Teaching Grammar as Meaning

How to Maintain High Interest and Optimal Pace

A Five Day Lesson Plan

Perhaps the most interesting chapter for me at the beginning of my journey of discovery was Chapter 20- Advantages of TPR Storytelling.

As I continued implementing TPRS into my classroom teaching I could see these benefits also:

  • The students acquire the grammar and the vocabulary. There is no drilling or ‘practicing’. The stories are simple and it is difficult to forget them.
  • They develop an ‘ear’ for what sounds right. Students self corrected seamlessly when they could ‘hear’ something didn’t sound right. (similar to first language acquisition)
  • Students were having fun making up silly, exaggerated and ridiculous stories. The humor lowered the ‘affective filter’ and helped develop a positive attitude towards learning a new language.
  • The lessons were really student centred so the content was interesting to the students’ lives.
  • Students use the language spontaneously and creatively
  • TPRS is “a systematic, entertaining, low stress way of internalizing pieces of a cognitive map of grammatical structures”.

Have you tried TPRS in your classroom?

I would love to know your thoughts.

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