AN EXPERIMENT WAS DEVISED TO TEST ASHER'S HYPOTHESIS OF A TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE, WHICH STATES THAT LISTENING COMPREHENSION FOR A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CAN BE ACCELERATED IF STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO EMIT A RESPONSE WITH THE ENTIRE BODY. THE SUBJECTS WERE 88 COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO HAD NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF JAPANESE, NO FLUENCY IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH, AND WHO WERE NOT LANGUAGE MAJORS IN COLLEGE. THE 67 WHO COMPLETED THE TRAINING WERE HOMOGENEOUS IN LANGUAGE-LEARNING ABILITY, AS EVIDENCED BY TESTS GIVEN BEFORE THE STUDY. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS INSTRUCTED THAT A VOICE ON A TAPE WOULD GIVE A COMMAND IN JAPANESE. WHEN THE SUBJECTS HEARD THE UTTERANCE, THEY WERE TO IMITATE THE ACTIONS OF THE INSTRUCTOR IN THE CLASSROOM. THE THREE CONTROL GROUPS LISTENED TO THE SAME COMMANDS BUT RESPONDED BY (1) WATCHING THE INSTRUCTOR, (2) LISTENING TO AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION, AND (3) READING AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION. THE RETENTION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP TENDED TO BE HIGH AND SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN THAT OF THE CONTROL GROUPS. THE RESULTS ALSO INDICATED THAT THIS STRATEGY PERMITS THE STUDENT TO HAVE EXTREMELY HIGH LISTENING COMPREHENSION FOR NOVEL UTTERANCES, WHICH HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. THIS ARTICLE IS PUBLISHED IN THE "INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF APPLIED LINGUSITICS," VOLUME 3, NUMBER 4, 1965. (KL)