Teaching English through a Bilingual/ Multilingual Approach Using Total Physical Response (TPR) to Enhance Academic Achievement and English Listening and Speaking Skills

Abstract

The objectives of this study were: 1) to design English instruction through a bilingual/multilingual approach using the Total Physical Response (TPR) method to promote students' listening and speaking skills; 2) to compare students' vocabulary achievement before and after receiving instruction based on the bilingual/multilingual TPR approach; and 3) to assess students' English listening and speaking skills after learning through the TPR method. The research instruments included bilingual/multilingual English lesson plans incorporating the TPR method and a pre-test and post-test consisting of 10 multiple-choice items with a total score of 10 points. The data were analyzed using percentage, mean, standard deviation, and dependent t-test The findings revealed that: 1) The instructional design enabled students to perform according to their abilities, share knowledge and understanding, and participate in learning activities that were aligned with their daily lives. This led to meaningful learning experiences and enhanced their ability to recall various command sentences effectively. 2) The average pre-test score was = 0.97 with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.90, while the post-test score increased significantly to  = 9.35 with a standard deviation of 0.73. 3) All 34 students (100%) achieved the minimum listening-speaking proficiency benchmark of 70%, indicating a high level of success in developing English oral communication skills through the TPR approach.