Multimodal Analysis of Teacher Directives in Total Physical Response (TPR) Classrooms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/c83m9546Keywords:
Total Physical Response, Multimodal Discourse Analysis, Teacher Directives, Second Language AcquisitionAbstract
This paper conducts a multimodal analysis of teacher directives in Total Physical Response (TPR) classrooms, exploring how educators integrate linguistic, gestural, and visual resources to facilitate second language acquisition. Drawing on Kress and van Leeuwen’s Visual Grammar and multimodal discourse analysis frameworks, the study examines classroom observations and video-recorded data from TPR-based English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. The analysis reveals that teacher directives in TPR contexts are constructed through dynamic multimodal ensembles, where verbal instructions, iconic gestures, spatial positioning, and material artifacts work in synergy to enhance comprehension and learner engagement. The findings contribute to understanding the multimodal mechanisms of TPR pedagogy and offer implications for teacher training and instructional design in second language classrooms.
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