Embodied and Visual Vocabulary Learning with Very Young EFL Learners: A Qualitative Micro-Case of TPR-Supported Instruction

Abstract

Very young learners require vocabulary instruction that makes new words concrete, meaningful, and physically engaging. This qualitative micro-case examines how visual media and Total Physical Response (TPR) mediated vocabulary learning for two Indonesian children: one kindergarten learner and one second-grade elementary learner. Field notes from home-based learning sessions were reanalyzed thematically with attention to meaning construction, embodied response, attention, and learner-initiated interaction. The findings show that pictures and video scenes provided initial semantic hypotheses, while gesture and action allowed learners to test and demonstrate emerging meanings. Misinterpretations, such as identifying a shark's mouth rather than its teeth, became productive moments when visual ambiguity was followed by teacher prompting and physical response. TPR also generated short episodes of playful participation, although attention remained unstable. The study argues that visual input and embodied action are complementary forms of scaffolding rather than independent techniques, and that their value depends on contingent teacher mediation.