Research On The Application Of TPR Didactics To Teaching Chinese As A Foreign Language

Recently, more and more people are involved in the craze for learning Chinese. Chinese teaching ispopular around the globe with its strong potential. The author recommends TPR didactics in Chineseteaching through my investigation and my own practice. The full name of TPR is Total Physical Response,which was proposed by the psychologist James Asher at California San Jose State University in his bookLearning Another Language through Actions in the1960’s. It’s a kind of teaching method following theregulations of Second Language Acquisition advocating that language and behavior should be combinedtogether. In the course of operation, it means that the teacher makes oral expression in the target languagewith his body movements to explain or demonstrate; the students make corresponding after understandingthe relationship between teacher’s order and reactions that are expected.Firstly, this paper analyzes the origin, the current situation and the theoretical basis of TPR didactics.Secondly, it analyzes the particularity of teaching Chinese as a foreign language and the similarities ofsecond language teaching. Thirdly, it compares and analyzes the differences and similarities of Kid’sEnglish education and teaching Chinese as a foreign language in China to demonstrate the relation betweenTPR didactics and second language teaching and the feasibility of the application of TPR didactics toteaching Chinese as a foreign language in China. At last, it arrives at a conclusion that not only is TPRdidactics suitable for English teaching, but also is applicable to teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Weshould carry out reform and innovation on the basis of the reference when using TPR didactics in teachingChinese as a foreign language. If TPR didactics can be combined with other teaching methods to completethe teaching tasks in all aspects of phonetics, vocabulary and grammar, it will be a major breakthrough inteaching Chinese as a foreign language. In this study, the author adopts the methods of comparison, caseanalysis and experiments to prove the feasibility of TPR didactics when applied in teaching Chinese as aforeign language and also demonstrates how to make it in detail, aiming at improving foreign languageteaching quality and promoting the sustainable development of Chinese media industry.