PPP Lesson Model: Presentation, Practice, Production

Background

PPP grew out of British situational language teaching and spread through teacher training in the 1970s-80s. Because it suits step-by-step teaching of grammar and expressions, it is also the default frame for many Korean-as-a-foreign-language textbooks and lesson plans.

Three stages

• Presentation: show meaning and form in context, e.g. Korean "-(으)니까" (because) with a rainy-day umbrella scene.
• Practice: repetition, substitution and pair drills aimed at accuracy, moving from controlled to semi-controlled.
• Production: role plays, interviews and information-gap tasks for fluency.

Korean lesson plans

Korean lessons usually run warm-up, presentation, practice, use and wrap-up. Errors from the production stage are reviewed at the end, informed by error analysis.

Alternatives and critiques

Critics note that second language acquisition research does not support learning items in the order taught, and production can become token. Willis's task-based learning puts the task first and language focus later; Harmer's ESA (Engage, Study, Activate) allows flexible ordering. Teachers often blend them.

References

1. Harmer, J. (2015). The Practice of English Language Teaching (5th ed.). Pearson.
2. Scrivener, J. (2011). Learning Teaching (3rd ed.). Macmillan.
3. Willis, J. (1996). A Framework for Task-Based Learning. Longman.
4. Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.