A PPP and TBL are two approaches for learning.
A PPP lesson would
proceed in the following manner.
·
First, the teacher presents an item of language in a
clear context to get across its meaning. This could be done in a variety of
ways: through a text, a situation build, a dialogue etc.
·
Students are then asked to
complete a controlled practice stage, where
they may have to repeat target items through choral and individual drilling,
fill gaps or match halves of sentences. All of this practice demands that the
student uses the language correctly and helps them to become more comfortable
with it.
·
Finally, they move on to
the production stage, sometimes called the 'free practice' stage. Students are
given a communication task such as a role play and are expected to produce the target language and use
any other language that has already been learnt and is suitable for completing
it.
The problems with PPP
It all sounds quite logical but teachers who use this method will soon identify
problems with it:
·
Students can give the
impression that they are comfortable with the new language as they are
producing it accurately in the class. Often though a few lessons later,
students will either not be able to produce the language correctly or even
won't produce it at all.
·
Students will often produce
the language but overuse the target structure so that it sounds completely
unnatural.
·
Students may not produce
the target language during the free practice stage because they find they are
able to use existing language resources to complete the task.
A Task-based approach(TBL)
Task -based learning offers an alternative for language teachers. In a
task-based lesson the teacher doesn't pre-determine what language will be
studied, the lesson is based around the completion of a central task and the
language studied is determined by what happens as the students complete it. The
lesson follows certain stages.
Pre-task
The teacher introduces the topic and gives the students clear instructions on
what they will have to do at the task stage and might help the students to
recall some language that may be useful for the task. The pre-task stage can
also often include playing a recording of people doing the task. This gives the
students a clear model of what will be expected of them. The students can take
notes and spend time preparing for the task.
Task
The students complete a task in pairs or groups using the language resources
that they have as the teacher monitors and offers encouragement.
Planning
Students prepare a short oral or written report to tell the class what happened
during their task. They then practise what they are going to say in their
groups. Meanwhile the teacher is available for the students to ask for advice
to clear up any language questions they may have.
Report
Students then report back to the class orally or read the written report. The
teacher chooses the order of when students will present their reports and may
give the students some quick feedback on the content. At this stage the teacher
may also play a recording of others doing the same task for the students to
compare.
Analysis
The teacher then highlights relevant parts from the text of the recording for
the students to analyse. They may ask students to notice interesting features
within this text. The teacher can also highlight the language that the students
used during the report phase for analysis.
Practice
Finally, the teacher selects language areas to practise based upon the needs of
the students and what emerged from the task and report phases. The students
then do practice activities to increase their confidence and make a note of
useful language.
The
advantages of TBL
Task-based learning has some clear advantages
·
Unlike a PPP approach, the
students are free of language control. In all three stages they must use all
their language resources rather than just practising one pre-selected item.
·
A natural context is developed
from the students' experiences with the language that is personalised and
relevant to them. With PPP it is necessary to create contexts in which to
present the language and sometimes they can be very unnatural.
·
The students will have a
much more varied exposure to language with TBL. They will be exposed to a whole
range of lexical phrases, collocations and patterns as well as language forms.
·
The language explored
arises from the students' needs. This need dictates what will be covered in the
lesson rather than a decision made by the teacher or the coursebook.
·
It is a strong
communicative approach where students spend a lot of time communicating. PPP
lessons seem very teacher-centred by comparison. Just watch how much time the
students spend communicating during a task-based lesson.
·
It is enjoyable and
motivating.
Conclusion
PPP offers a very simplified approach to language learning. It is based upon
the idea that you can present language in neat little blocks, adding from one
lesson to the next. However, research shows us that we cannot predict or
guarantee what the students will learn and that ultimately a wide exposure to
language is the best way of ensuring that students will acquire it effectively.
Restricting their experience to single pieces of target language is unnatural.
For more information see 'A Framework for Task-Based Learning' by Jane
Wills, Longman; 'Doing Task-Based
Teaching' by Dave and Jane Willis, OUP 2007.
Also see www.willis-elt.co.uk
Richard
Frost, British Council, Turkey
