Previously I wrote a blog on the importance of context. When reading the book While we're on the topic by Bill Vanpatten I realized how TPRS is related to context and why TPRS is such a valuable contribution to real communicative language teaching.  

In his book Bill Vanpatten describes what communication is. This definition of communication comes from Sandra J. Savignon:

Communication is the expression, interpretation, and sometimes negotiation of meaning in a given context. What is more, communication is also purposeful.

The author then elaborates on each element of this definition. HArriving at the part where he describes context, a light bulb appeared over my head (not literally ...). He writes that the context in a classroom, consisting of the setting (the classroom, the furniture, the materials) and participants (students, teacher) actually never changes. The context of the teaching is the same, it never changes. While in the real world the context is different all the time.

Now I know what you're thinking (for I was thinking the same thing): the context does change, because in the text books you have dialogues and texts in different contexts: at home, in school, in a shop, on the beach, etc. Perfect for working different communicative tasks.  

But let's be honest: how long does that context exist in your lesson? Hardly longer than a couple of minutes. Are you really immersing your students in this context for communicative language teaching?My answer: no.

TPRS, that well known activity in which you create a story together with your students, is for me a way to really change the context (settings and participants) to work towards communicative tasks. The pre-teaching of the necessary new target structures (TPR, Picture Talk and Video Chat, for example), asking suggestions for the story, reading the story, maybe visualising the story doing Reader's Theatre, all the processing and retrieval activities around the (target structures of the) story, PQA: all of these activities around the story, the context, last in total several lessons. For several hours I immerse myself and my students in this context, in this story. 

Then I start all over again creating another story. So with TPRS you can change the context in your lessons, really working towards communicative language teaching and learning.