My TPRS Story | How I Got into TPRS Storytelling

[@camillaglattly5101]

This is a wonderful video! I so appreciate the time and care you put into posting it. I had a similar experience as a language teacher, slowly shifting to TPRS after seeing a presentation at a national conference. The participants were SO enthusiastic about the method and about teaching. The energy was infectious. I started with a song, that was really a story. I attended many trainings, some about the method and some where I was the language student learning stories in languages that were new to me. In each training, I was able to read and understand an entire story after only a few hours of TPRS. It changed my career and created a more positive and productive experience for my students.

[@Emuallim]

Thank you Camilla for taking the time to make this post. I'm glad to hear that you are shifting to TPRS. I did the same when I was starting out. I simply added short stories to my lessons and asked a few questions before switching back to grammar drills in every lesson. Eventually I completely got rid off grammar based approach and went all in with TPRS and I have never gone back to that old method again since then. Your story about learning a completely new language in just a few hours sounds very interesting so could you please make a 3 - 5 minute video titled "How I learned a new language in X hours" ? You don't have to be in the video if you are camera shy. You could simply take some images or short clips from the event and use them to make a video. It would inspire more teachers to make the shift like you did

[@camillaglattly5101]

@@Emuallim Hello again! Once I established a TPRS classroom, the grammar based textbooks just collected dust. I'm not actually shifting to TPRS these days--I retired in 2019. But, I used TPRS successfully for about 20 years. I can't imagine using anything else. I used TPRS with middle schoolers. A few months into TPRS, I had a conference with a parent who was working on her Ph. D in Education. She said, "I need to know what you are doing with my daughter." I was a little surprised. She clarified that her daughter had taken two years of Spanish in their previous state. She told me that her daughter had learned more language (French) after two months than she had learned in two years of Spanish. I knew then that I would never go back to the way I had been teaching. In high school, I used it with my 1st through 3rd year students. My 4th through 6th year students were in the I.B. program. By 4th year, most students could read with ease and understood the grammar concepts that I then began to cover. When I would ask them about correct sentence structures, they would tell me that they knew which ones were correct because they "sounded right." That's really how people learn grammar--through comprehensible input. I'm not really prepared to make a video. The courses I took were through my school district, done by teachers who were trained in TPRS and in the summer at Blaine Ray workshops: some done by Mr. Ray himself, some by his son and others by trainers from his organization. The Swedish workshop, done by a Spanish teacher who spoke Swedish fluently, was four days. We covered pedagogy and were taught Swedish using TPRS. I jokingly told a colleague that with all of that success in Swedish, people were going to want to go to Sweden. Sure enough, a group of teachers planned a trip together. Side bar . . . during the pandemic, I was hired to teach on line for a local high school. Their teacher took early retirement in lieu of on-line learning. The technology was rather new and I didn't like their textbook. So, I wrote them a story about a boy at their high school who was stuck at home. He had a chance encounter that enabled him to travel as if no pandemic existed. I published a new chapter each week and tried to tie in things from their textbook. I couldn't do the live questioning parts of TPRS, but tried to make it student centered and personal. I published the chapters and uploaded audio files so that they could hear the store read to them. All of the other assignments were content based things I found on line. It worked out well and students told me that they thought they were learning more with a story method. Keep up the enthusiasm. I really wish more teachers used this method. It builds fluency and offers success, as well as a positive group experience that students need.

[@Emuallim]

Wow, I'm literally honored to have a TPRS legend here :) The "wow" moments: - I used TPRS successfully for about 20 years. I can't imagine using anything else - She told me that her daughter had learned more language (French) after two months than she had learned in two years of Spanish - When I would ask them about correct sentence structures, they would tell me that they knew which ones were correct because they "sounded right." That's really how people learn grammar--through comprehensible input - We covered pedagogy and were taught Swedish using TPRS. I jokingly told a colleague that with all of that success in Swedish (in only 4 days), people were going to want to go to Sweden. Sure enough, a group of teachers planned a trip together. - So, I wrote them a story about a boy at their high school who was stuck at home. He had a chance encounter that enabled him to travel as if no pandemic existed. It worked out well and students told me that they thought they were learning more with a story method. I was wondering you could share with me the story about the boy who was stuck at home during pandemic. Also, if you could go back (20 years) in time, what would you do differently? What things (TPRS strategies and techniques) worked out well and what didn't? What 5-10 tips would you give someone who is just starting out with TPRS? Thank you so much for taking the time make this comment.

[@camillaglattly5101]

@@Emuallim Before taking my first teaching job, I enrolled in a Spanish language course at an area school to brush up on the language. (My French wasn't a concern.) It was a private school geared toward professionals. The methods were so much more creative than the ones I had learned in college. I couldn't believe how much I was learning. Also, I had Spanish in my head all of the time. I was returning home in the evening, greeting and having conversations with my cat in Spanish. So, when I started teaching and was given a textbook, I tried hard to use some of the immersion and creative techniques this school had used: stories, rhymes, music, games, puzzles, physical response to language. I used TPR (total physical response), but I found it limiting. It was very helpful in my English language classes, called ESL at the time. I couldn't translate all of the languages my students spoke, so TPR was helpful. But, it could only take meaning so far. TPRS was the perfect fit for me. I play with words and have a tendency to be playful when I teach. Sounds, rhymes and connections through cognates always helped me remember things. I'm a musician and have always learned best from hearing. Creating funny stories with my students was the key I had been missing. I used the TPRS books created by Blaine Ray and others. The key phrases were the core to my curriculum and I found the teacher books very helpful. The stories provided saved me a lot of time. They were typed and ready to read. As I got better at TPRS, I started making up my own story lines with my students' input. The Blaine Ray stories were not always a good match for me, nor my inner-city students (lot's of references to golf 🙂). I think this is a natural way to go about using TPRS--you need support at first and as you gain more confidence, you can easily make up completely different stories using the teacher guidelines that Blaine Ray offers. I don't think I would do much differently. Teachers need to figure out what works best for them, and as we all know, it can take some time to find your path. Be positive, empathetic to your students' needs and persistent as you work through your program. Stories are a powerful tool. Bon courage!

[@Emuallim]

Hello Camilla. Thank you so much for sharing your experience of learning and teaching Spanish using TPRS. I can relate to most of the things you said. Particularly, I found the Blaine Ray books helpful but to a certain extent as most of the stories were geared towards children, but my students were teenagers or adults. And that's why, just like you, I had to take what i could and make up completely different stories. Thank you for the advice you have given for the teachers. Hopefully, more teachers will read this comment in the future and learn from it. Bon courage!

[@ricardopalacios4063]

People like you are the most appreciated. Thanks a lot for you sharing.

[@Emuallim]

So nice of you! I appreciate that!

[@elianaponce8368]

Thanks for this video. I needed it to finally take the decision to use TPRS and CI in my lessons. It was clear and encouraging!

[@Emuallim]

Glad it was helpful! If you need any help or advice, don't hesitate to ask

[@JuttaJ]

Thanks for sharing your story. As a teacher like you, listening to you is making me feel happy and peaceful.

[@Emuallim]

So nice of you

[@olelokanaka]

Aloha my friend. I teach the Hawaiian language. I would like to know where I can read the document you show in your video at timestamp 8:56. I also tried your link. I can see the documents but cannot download them at all. Is there an updated link. I appreciate the work you put into making this very informational video. I am very interested in learning more about TPRS.

[@Emuallim]

I just updated the link. Here it is: www.tprsbooks.com/

[@ENGLISH_with_teacher_m]

Assalomu alaykum Teacher Waw😲😲 flabbergesting methods Thats one of the reality in between learners😊 may the force be with you Love, From your telegram channel's subscriber (ansora)😊

[@Emuallim]

Valeykum assalom Ansora. Thank you very much for your beautiful comment. I'm glad that you liked the video :)

[@LiaLiae]

Hello! Im just starting teaching with tprs and im so Happy and motivated, and also insecure :) thankfully the tprs community has people so generous like you sharing experiencies and resources :)

[@Emuallim]

That's awesome! Welcome to the community! Almost all the TPRS teachers are very friendly and helpful so if you need help with something, just ask. If i can't help you, i can tell you who you can contact for help :) Don't feel insecure b/c you're not alone)

[@gemmasans2862]

Thanks for this wonderful video. I really appreciate your time. It´s helpful knowing that there are other people that did the shift. I've just discovered TPRS doing research as to teach in better and useful way. I am an English teacher in Spain and I would like to start this year with my students. I´ll do the best I can but I feel a little bit anxious and insecure. My highschool uses text books so I don´t really know if this will be accepted. Could I ask you something? I'm very bad with technology and I would like to know if there´s a place to find some videostories, ppt stories, etc... to be used with teens. I am starting from 0 knowledge and I am a bit overwhelmed but I want to do it. Thanks for your time

[@Emuallim]

Hello @gemmasans2862, sorry for such a long delay. You can find pretty much everything you need at www.tprsbooks.com/free-resources/ but you need to create an account first to have access to the resources. If, however, your school doesn't allow you to use external resources during class, you can take a short text, any text, from your textbook and use TPRS circling to teach it and do it for 5-10 minutes every day. Start small and soon you will be able to teach an entire 60 minute class using only TPRS. Good luck! PS sorry for the delay.

[@omarcosve]

AJ Hoge is the best, I came across with tprs because of him as well

[@Emuallim]

glad to hear that. are you teaching with tprs?

[@helbert.epbrazil7285]

There's a lot of good English teachers, but A.J Hoge is basically a genius!

[@Emuallim]

yes, He is a good teacher

[@TemurSolief]

thank you, Max

[@Emuallim]

you are welcome Timur

[@yeonjairah3315]

Thank you so much for sharing your precious teaching materials!

[@Emuallim]

You are so welcome!

[@Emuallim]

I hope you were able to download the files b/c some teachers had issues with it. If you need anything else, just ask, i'll do my best to help you.

[@busyrand]

Outstanding... I'd love to learn Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese this way...

[@Emuallim]

TPRS started with spanish so if you simply search "tprs spanish" you will get a ton of videos that can help you achieve your goal

[@Emuallim]

You can find pretty much everything you need at www.tprsbooks.com/free-resources/ but you need to create an account first to have access to the resources

[@panicroom25]

It was really helpful

[@RussianIntonation]

I'm making a channel for Russian language students and I also want to tell stories! I believe this is the best method, especially for people who are learning the language on their own. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@Emuallim]

It would be awesome if you did that. I know only one channel that uses TPRS to teach Russian but the russian used in stories is not easy for complete beginners. I wish someone made very simple russian TPRS videos.

[@olglish]

@@Emuallim I am going to made them!

[@Emuallim]

@@olglish let me know when its ready

[@Edu-Side]

omg, yep he is such a great coach and a little bit crazy too

[@olglish]

Can you tell me what is the comic book’s name you used in this presentation?

[@Emuallim]

It's titled L. A. Detective. It's a graded reader by oxford English. Here is a link to all the graded readers that I have personally used: archive.org/details/EnglishGradedReadersMegaCollection15.2.2012.part01

[@Emuallim]

Download "Important TPRS PDFs" here: shorturl.at/hBDP5

[@mei6312]

can you fix the link again?it doesn't work anymore 😭

[@meruyertyelyukenova3363]

Excellent material! Thanks a lot 😊

[@Emuallim]

Glad you liked it!

[@mohammedbouchedor4960]

Assalamu Alaikum...do you give online classes?

[@Emuallim]

Valeykum assalom brother. Yes, we could give it a try. You can contact me at @Muhiddinjv on telegram.

[@mohammedbouchedor4960]

@@Emuallim thanks brother...do you have an email?

[@Emuallim]

@@mohammedbouchedor4960 yes here it is: [e-mail] and you can contact me through telegram (@Muhiddinjv) as well

[@francoisfiset4894]

You speak good English.

[@Emuallim]

Thank you brother!

[@learningClassroom5]

You ielts video is really amazing 😀😁😀😀😁😁 Like who also want to say like me ......

[@Emuallim]

Thank you. Glad you liked it!

[@learningClassroom5]

Can anybody check my channel if you don't Mind

[@teacherfrank4735]

thank you for this

[@Emuallim]

You're very welcome!

[@paulocastelobsb]

I DOWNLOADED THE MATERIAL FROM THE LINK PARA IT IS EMPTY

[@Emuallim]

I just downloaded the file and all the pdfs are still there. Did you use this link > shorturl.at/hBDP5 If it doesn't work again, send me your email and I will email it you.

[@joniputr4]

Thanks🙏🏻

[@Emuallim]

You’re welcome 😊

[@mahjabeenmalik5306]

salam brother,i teach in US to young ones

[@Emuallim]

Salam brother. Good for you!

[@Galanoth]

Where is the links?

[@Emuallim]

Sorry here it is: shorturl.at/hBDP5

[@Galanoth]

@@Emuallim thanks but it gives error on my Phone. I'll check it on my computer today if it gives error or not.

[@Emuallim]

@@Galanoth you need to have rar file opener installed on your phone