Increasing International Interest Requires a Quantum Leap in Methodologies for Learning World Languages

I hate languages...I'm just not good at them, they're not my thing." Why is it that so many students dislike their language classes and jump ship the second that they are no longer required to take a foreign language? According to research done by psychologist Dr. James J. Asher there is a 95% drop-out rate across the United States in traditional language classes. Many times, the only students who continue past the one or two required years of foreign language are those who go on to become teachers of the same language, and all too often they only perpetuate the cycle. Despite their pleas of ignorance, it is not the students' inability to learn and acquire languages that is to blame; rather, it is the teaching methods that cause their reluctance, discontent, and eventual abandonment. Traditional methods often have students sitting silently as they fill out grammar and verb conjugation worksheets or monotonously repeating phrases back to the teacher. Successful language training results in an ability to communicate in the real world. Instruction must provide meaningful contexts for communicating that are interesting enough to keep the attention of students and fun enough to keep them highly motivated. TPR (Total Physical Response), and its branch-off, TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling), are innovative methods that teach students language through body movements, commands, and stories -much like how we learned our first language as infants. MTSU has been on the forefront of research and development of TPRS for the past few years and has become a hub of information and communication for instructors eager to learn how to use it in their own classroom. This summer at the 'MTSU Summer Language Institute,' I had the opportunity to begin learning two different languages through TPR and TPRS. This Institute is an accelerated language acquisition program developed by my mentor, Dr. Shelley Thomas. Each session is a week-long intensive course. My article will give a brief history and background of TPR and TPRS, as well as my personal experience with the methods. I will also discuss how MTSU became involved, the unique and unprecedented work that is currently taking place at MTSU, and, finally, what is happening with TPR and TPRS on an international level.