Exploring Total Physical Response (TPR) for Vocabulary Teaching in Primary Education: Evidence from Teachers in Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract

This study examines the pedagogical value and practical implementation of Total Physical Response (TPR) in primary-level English vocabulary instruction by integrating theoretical perspectives with empirical evidence from a mixed-methods investigation of teachers’ perceptions. Drawing on foundational work on TPR and recent research on embodied learning and teacher cognition, the study adopts a concurrent mixed-methods design in which quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 15 primary school English teachers in Hanoi, Vietnam. Questionnaire results indicate consistently high ratings across domains, including perceived instructional benefits, teacher confidence, classroom dynamics, implementation challenges, and professional development needs, suggesting that TPR is viewed as both highly effective and operationally demanding. Qualitative findings further elaborate these patterns by identifying three key themes: the role of TPR in reducing learner anxiety and enabling low-pressure participation, its contribution to sustaining engagement and attention through structured movement, and the practical constraints associated with classroom management, space, time, and limited professional training. The integration of findings supports a context-sensitive interpretation of TPR as a high-value yet resource-intensive approach whose effectiveness depends on instructional design and implementation conditions. Based on these insights, the study proposes a structured TPR lesson sequence that progresses from comprehension to production and highlights the importance of aligning assessment practices with embodied learning processes. While the findings are limited by their reliance on teacher self-report data within a single context, they offer pedagogically grounded implications for primary language teaching and identify directions for future research, including the need for classroom observation and direct measures of learner outcomes.