The PPP Approach to Language Teaching:( Presentation,Practice,Production)

The "Three Ps" approach to Language Teaching is the most common modern methodology
employed by professional schools around the world. It is a strong feature of the renowned
CELTA certification and other TEFL qualifications offered especially in the United Kingdom.
While this approach is generally geared toward adult learners, most of the principles
involved are also essential to lessons for children (click on the "Young Learners" link above
for more information). It is very important to understand what "Presentation", "Practice"
and "Production" really are, and how they work in combination to create effective
communicative language learning.
Presentation is the beginning or introduction to learning language, and Production is the
culmination of the learning process, where a learner has become a "user" of the language as
opposed to a "student" of the language. Practice is the process that facilitates progress from
the initial stage through to the final one.

To explain the process in brief, the beginning of a lesson involves the introduction of the
new language in a conceptual way in combination with some kind of real (or at least
"realistic feeling") situation. When this is understood, the students are provided with a
linguistic "model" to apply to the concept they have recognized. With this "model" in mind,
the students practice the new language by means of various "controlled" activities. After
sufficient practice, the students move into some kind of "productive" activity, where a
situation calls for the language to be used naturally without correction or control.
In general, for communicative language learning to be most effective, the three stages need
to occur and they must flow easily from one stage to the next.
PRESENTATION
This is the first (and perhaps most crucial) stage to the language learning process, as it
usually has a profound influence on the stages that follow and governs whether those stages
are effective or not.
Presentation involves the building of a situation requiring natural and logical use of the new
language. When the "situation" is recognized and understood by the students, they will
then start instinctively building a conceptual understanding of the meaning behind the new
language, and why it will be
relevant and useful to them. When the situation surrounding the new language and the
conceptual meaning of it has been achieved, the new language should be introduced by
means of a linguistic "model". It is this model that the students will go on to practice and
hopefully achieve naturally without help during a productive activity.
For obvious reasons, it is naturally easier to "present" new language to ESL students (who
are learning English as a Second Language in an English speaking environment) than it is to
EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students, who hear little or no English outside of the
classroom. EFL teachers in particular need to work hard to build "realistic" feeling situations
requiring the new language. If the "situation" appears totally unreal or even farcical to the
students, so too will the language they are learning.
An important aspect of introducing the situation requiring and concept underlying new
language is to build them up using whatever English the students have already learned or
have some access to. At lower levels, pictures and body language are typical ways of
presenting new language. As students progress, dialogues and text can also be used.
There are a variety of ways in which new language items may be presented but most
Presentations should have at least some of the following features: meaningful, memorable
and realistic examples; logical connection; context; clear models; sufficient meaningful
repetition; "staging" and "fixing"; briefness and recycling.
PRACTICE:
The Practice stage is the best known to teachers irrespective of their training or teaching
objectives. However, it is a stage that is often "over-done" or used ineffectively, either
because Presentation was poor (or lacking altogether) or it is not seen and used as a natural
step toward Production. It is the important middle stage to communicative language
teaching, but exactly that - the "middle" stage.
It is important that practice activities are appropriate to the language being learned and the
level and competence of the students. Essentially Practice is the testing procedure for
accuracy, and the frequency procedure for familiarity with the language. It is also a remedial
stage. A good way to summarize effective Practice is to see it as repetition leading to
competence and accuracy in terms of Phonology and Syntax.
Practice activities need to be clear and understandable - they should also be directed toward
promoting a considerable degree of confidence in the students. In general, a carefully laid
out practice activity that looks "attractive" to the eye will generate the students' motivation.
They need to be challenged, but they should also feel that the activity is "within their reach".

Making a smooth transition from Presentation to Practice usually involves moving the
students from the Individual Drill stage into Pair Work (chain pair-work, closed pair-work and
open pair-work). Communicative practice then leads the way toward Production.
PRODUCTION:
The Production Stage is the most important stage of communicative language teaching.
Successful Production is a clear indication that the language learners have made the
transition from "students" of the key language to "users" of the language.
Generally Production involves creating a situation requiring the language that was
introduced in the Presentation Stage. That situation should result in the students
"producing" more personalized language. Production is highly dependent on the Practice
Stage, because if students do not have confidence in the language then they will naturally be
hesitant to independently "use" it.
One of the most important things to remember is that Production activities should not "tell"
students what to say. Whereas in Practice the students had most or all of the information
required, during Production they don't have the information and must think. Ideally it is
challenging in that it is representative of "real life" situations.
Creating and engaging in "Productive" classroom activities can require a certain level of
cognitive ability. Production activities for Young Learners in particular need to be carefully
thought out and prepared.
Some good examples of effective Production activities include situational role-plays,
debates, discussions, problem-solving, narratives, descriptions, quizzes and games.
Class Management:

7 Classroom Management Techniques For Secondary Teachers :

I had an English teacher in high school who had classroom management techniques down
pat. She could silence a class with the simple raising of an eyebrow. It wasn’t from fear—
this teacher rarely punished her students, and I can’t even recall ever hearing her raise her
voice. But she never needed to. Every kid in the room respected her and knew the
expectations she had for them when they walked through her door. Now as a teacher, I
know how challenging classroom management can be. I’m always looking for fresh
approaches to good classroom management. Here are seven I vow to try this year. Some
aren’t new, but they’re worth remembering and finding a fresh approach to work in your
classroom.
1. Make positive phone calls. It’s very easy to get into the habit of calling home to parents
when there is an issue to report. While these calls are necessary and worthwhile, calls
home for celebration are equally if not more important. Every parent wants to hear
positive news about their child, and this reinforcement almost always makes its way back
to the student. Try to make a positive call home every single day, even if it’s simply to
report on a nice comment a kid made in class. This means so much to parents and
students. Then I promise it will translate to their behavior in class.

2. Demonstrate the behavior you want to see. Early in the year I bring in another teacher or
administrator into my class to have a conversation with as students listen. It doesn’t
matter what the topic of conversation is, we are just very intentional about modeling class
norms in front of the students. We make eye contact while talking, do not interrupt each
other, keep our phones in our pockets, respectfully disagree at certain moments, and
show students what good discussion looks like. It’s one thing to tell students what
expectations are, but showing them has much more power.

3. Celebrate hard work. Have something for students to work toward at least once a
month. Maybe a donut party, game time, or even just a class period to rest. Whatever it is,
make it clear to students that it is a reward for hard work, and hard work is required to
achieve that reward. Celebrations are a great way to motivate. It’s also a great way to
encourage kids to stay off their cell phones!

4. Create group contracts. If students are doing group work, have them fill out group
contracts that contain expectations they have for each other in the group. For
instance: We will not be on phone during work time We will check in with group members
if absent from school We will hold each other accountable Encourage students sign off on
these agreements, and let them come up with a consequence for violating them. This will
empower students to take accountability into their own hands and manage themselves.
Students are much less apt to disappoint each other than their teacher, and this is
something teachers should leverage in their classroom.

5. Make class engaging. A bored student is often a misbehaving student. This is why
engaging curriculum is one of the strongest tools a teacher has in a well-managed
classroom. Strive to create authentic curriculum that engages kids, sparks wonder, and
requires hard work. Not everything needs to burst with excitement (not realistic), but the
more compelling you can make your class, the more engaged your students will be.

6. Give students the power. Create a list of norms with your students at the start the school
year. Lead them through a discussion of what the class should look like and what behavior
should be expected, and record their thoughts on a poster board that can be hung on the
wall for all to see. Then students create the rules and standards, and they can have
ownership over them.

7. Build relationships. There’s nothing new about this classroom management technique,
but it is hands down the most effective in any classroom. So if you haven’t been doing it,
bring it back and give it a fresh approach. When a student can trust their teacher and
know that they are cared for, they will also do their part. My English teacher with the
“eyebrow raise” did not threaten with her look, but was reminding us who and where we
were, and because of the respect we had for her, it was all that was needed to get us back
into learning mode. I may not have always cared about Language Arts in her class, but I did
care about her, and because of that I was able to learn some English.