THE PPP APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TEACHING

Critically examine both the reasons for this in terms of second language acquisition

Critically examine both the reasons for this in terms of second language acquisition

Introduction

Presentation, Practice and Produce “has become the dominant model for 'communicative lessons'” Edwards in Willis and Willis (Eds.) (1996: 99). It involves presentation of a language point followed by practice of the point in a controlled manner, perhaps followed by freer practice, and then finally a production stage using the language point. It is usually known by the initials PPP. Ellis (1993) says 3 this approach is just “presentation, practice and further practice” (Ellis 1993: 4). He suggests also, that this approach is ineffective in achieving what it is intended to do. This is due to the controlled nature of the input that students receive. “We can do PPP until we are blue in the face, but it doesn't necessarily result in what PPP was designed to do. And yet there is, still, within language teaching, a commitment to trying to control not only input but actually what is learned” Ellis (1993: 4). These views are echoed by many others including Skehan, who writes: The underlying theory for a PPP approach has now been discredited. The belief that a precise focus on a particular form leads to learning and automization (that learners will learn what is taught in the order in which it is taught) no longer carries much credibility in linguistics or psychology PPP often teaches at the expense of real input. GT was criticised mainly because of the use of decontextualised sentences to exemplify a grammar point. Often these sentences were fabricated by the authors of textbooks. An example of a one of these sentences is taken from Ahn (1834) in Howatt (1984: 141) “I have received this horse from my friend”. The texts used in PPP are also often manufactured by writers and are far from real.

Background and Discussion

The goals of PPP and G-T are very different but they both teach by presenting a language point, be it grammar or function, and then proceed to practice it. This approach led to a great deal of criticism during the 1980s and the explicit teaching of grammar became taboo, at least in literature, if not actually in the classroom. PPP is however still very much alive and perhaps this is for much the same reasons that G-T was the method of choice for so long. “These reasons - secure teacher roles and teacher training, and clear accountability - go some way to explaining the persistence of what is essentially a discredited, meaning-impoverished methodology (White 1988)” Skehan (1998: 94). The alternatives will be discussed in the next sections.

Second Language Acquisition Research

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is a relatively new field of study; it has existed for little more than 30 years. In this time however, it has had considerable influence on the teaching of grammar. Krashen's (1985) Pp. 16 Input Hypothesis is an attempt to explain how a ...