Presentation-practice-production
Activity 8
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One of the most common methodologies involves teachers presenting a grammatical pattern, having students practise the pattern in mechanical written or oral activities, and then practising it again in freer, conversation-like activities (eg pair work tasks and role plays). Do you use an approach like this? Why do you think this approach is so popular? Click on 'Commentary' for feedback. |
Another FOFS methodology related to ALM is Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP). Essentially, PPP is a British offshoot of ALM, although it is deductive rather than inductive. Unlike ALM, PPP is not related to any established psychological theory such as behaviourism. PPP is based on practical pedagogy rather than any specific learning theory, and for Skehan (1998: 94) 'is still probably the commonest teaching approach when judged on a world-wide basis'. At the Presentation stage, learners are presented with a rule. They practise this intensively in highly controlled activities at the Practice stage, and then move on to slightly more meaning-focused practice in the Production stage.
The success of PPP is, for Skehan (1998: 94), due to the fact that 'communicative approaches have probably had only a marginal impact on the range of teachers operating in many school systems', and he notes that PPP has had 'an excellent relationship with teacher training and teachers' feelings of professionalism' (Skehan, 1998: 94).
Despite the fact that PPP 'generates clear and tangible goals [and] precise syllabuses', it is, he maintains, 'essentially a discredited, meaning-impoverished methodology' (Skehan, 1998: 94).
