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TPR/ALG methods | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Racer X Newbie United States Joined 4112 days ago 18 posts - 18 votes Studies: Portuguese | Message 1 of 11 10 September 2013 at 11:21am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I am an absolute newbie at language learning and came across some information on two methods that seem intriguing so I wanted to get some advice on them here. This post is mainly aimed at any here with experience with and/or knowledge of the TPR (Total Physical Response-by Prof James Asher) and ALG (Automatic Language Growth-by Dr. J. Marvin Brown). However, any and all feedback is welcome.
For information purposes, and to flesh out this query: ALG (Automatic Language Growth) is a methodology for language acquisition developed to replicate normal, first language development. Based on Stephen Krashen's Input Hypothesis, the central conceptual difference in practice between ALG and other natural programs is in the application of the belief that speaking occurs naturally given enough input. Therefore the program focuses almost entirely on offering understandable experience (happenings being the building blocks of language). The program does not focus on speaking, and encourages students NOT to speak, until words occur on their own. They advocate listening, observation for 500-800 hours in the target language. For more info, see Algworld.com. They also have a series of videos detailing the method on youtube: http://youtu.be/3Vg2Eh2LOSE Total physical response (TPR) is a language-teaching method developed by James Asher, a professor emeritus of psychology at San José State University. It is based on the coordination of language and physical movement. In TPR, instructors give commands to students in the target language, and students respond with whole-body actions. The method is an example of the comprehension approach to language teaching. Listening serves two purposes; it is both a means of understanding messages in the language being learned, and a means of learning the structure of the language itself. Grammar is not taught explicitly, but is induced from the language input. Here is a wiki link on TPR- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_physical_response Are there places where a learner can find teachers/tutors/programs that employ the ALG method to help one learn/acquire a language. I'm very interested in this method. Also, can anyone with experience using this method speak to its efficacy/deficiencies? Any and all input and feedback is much appreciated. Edited by Racer X on 11 September 2013 at 3:34am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4912 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 2 of 11 10 September 2013 at 8:21pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I've never heard of them, but always interested in learning something new. Could you explain what you mean?
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| Racer X Newbie United States Joined 4112 days ago 18 posts - 18 votes Studies: Portuguese | Message 3 of 11 11 September 2013 at 3:36am | IP Logged | ||||||||
Hey, I'm brand new here. Thanks for your reply- I just fleshed out my post so as to inform you and all who come across this more about TPR and ALG. So see what you think and I look forward to any feedback you or anyone else may have. Thanks for the heads up. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4912 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 4 of 11 11 September 2013 at 6:55pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Not knowing much about ALG, some of the things you have written raise alarm bells: adults are not children and do not learn like children do. And can any adult afford the time to? Children take 12,000-15,000 hours to learn their language.
Regarding input, I agree that a lot of input in the beginning stages is beneficial, but I couldn't imagine taking 500-800 hours! I'm sure the benefits would be immense, but who could take it? I've been studying French just over 2 years, and have probably totalled about 800 hours of study. I would never have stuck with it if I didn't have fun, and 800 hours of observation just sounds awful! Some people have justified the silent period again by referring to how children learn, stating that a baby is silent for a year, or 18 months, or even two years (the figures given vary). This, of course, is a complete crock. Infants begin to vocalise as soon as their vocal cords allow it, and they imitate the noises they hear around them constantly. If the experience of infants is to be our guide, then we should be parroting the sounds of our target language before doing anything else! I'm am sure that if the ALG people do it well, they will have marvellous results. The same is true, I am convinced, of just about any "method". Spending time with the language is what gets you to learn it, not the method you use. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6154 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 5 of 11 12 September 2013 at 11:29am | IP Logged | ||||||||
We have a similar method here. It's called Listening-Reading, and it has worked for a number of people. I think the principle is the same. Edited by DaraghM on 12 September 2013 at 11:31am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6442 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 6 of 11 12 September 2013 at 12:21pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Listening-reading is quite different. Listening-Reading focuses on enjoyable, comprehensible input. The comprehensibility is boosted significantly by the use of a parallel text, and you learn to understand quite a lot within some tens of hours, rather than hundreds. I've actively studied Slavic languages for around 120 hours (80 Polish, 40 Russian), and can kludge my way through texts and webpages in them quite often. I couldn't do that in German, a much closer language to English, after a similar number of hours of fairly good classroom study. Both methods focus on input first, but beyond that, they don't have much in common. Bootstrapping your Krashen-style "i+1" learning through physical cues is incredibly inefficient, though it works. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4912 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 7 of 11 12 September 2013 at 6:05pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
ALG also focuses on comprehensible input for those 500-800 hours. The difference with L/R however, is the use of parallel texts for comprehension: listening in one language while reading the other. There is nothing new about the idea of comprehensible input, by the way. The old direct method involved the teacher only talking in the target language, and ALG sounds a lot like the direct method, except that ALG has the student only observe for a long time. I imagine an ALG teacher would look a lot like professor Capretz on French in Action. He only speaks in French but somehow you know what he's talking about. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5133 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 8 of 11 12 September 2013 at 8:08pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Listening-Reading (LR) and ALG have almost nothing in common. There is no reading and strictly no use of translations in ALG. ALG is about observing (and taking part to some extent in) communication in the target language; there are usually two teachers interacting with each other and the students. It's completely different to LR. I've been to about 50 hours of ALG classes (at level 2 which is the 200-400 hour band out of 800) and found them usually entertaining and fun. I would have continued if I had been able to stay in Bangkok at that time. Edited by Bakunin on 12 September 2013 at 9:07pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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