Lesson shapes

In recent years a debate has developed over which approaches to structuring and
planning and implementing lessons are more effective. There are two main approaches to
teaching grammar. These are the deductive and the inductive approach.

 A deductive approach is when the rule is presented and the language is produced based
on the rule. (The teacher gives the rule.)

 An inductive approach is when the rule is inferred through some form of guided discovery.
(The teacher gives the students a means to discover the rule for themselves.)

In other words, the former is more teacher centred and the latter more learner centred.
Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. Some teachers believe that
the deductive approach is time-saving and allows more time for practising the language
items thus making it an effective approach with lower level students. The inductive
approach, on the other hand, is often seen as more beneficial to students who already
have a base in the language as it encourages them to work things out for themselves
based on their existing knowledge.

During an initial teacher training course, most teachers become familiar with the PPP
paradigm.

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.

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.

A Task-Based Approach

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.

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
 What kind of activity is a task?
Willis and Willis (2007:12-14) offer the following criteria in the form of questions.

‘The more confidently you can answer yes to each of these questions, the more task-like
the activity.

1. Will the activity engage learners' interest?

2. Is there a primary focus on meaning?
3. Is there a goal or an outcome?
4. Is success judged in terms of outcome?
5. Is completion a priority?
6. Does the activity relate to real world activities?'

Here is an example of an activity designed for an adult class. Which of the questions a) to
f) might you answer with a fairly confident Yes? How task-like do you think it would be, and
why?

Think of the busiest day you have had recently. Work in pairs.

Tell your partner all the things you did.

 Decide which of you had the busiest day, then tell the class about it.

 Decide who in the whole class had the most hectic day (and say why.)

 Finally, from memory, write a list of the things one person did on their busiest day, and,
without revealing their name, read it out to the class (or display it on the wall) to see how
many people can remember whose day it was.

Generally, adults enjoy talking about how busy they are/have been, so this would score a
Yes for a), b) and f). The first goal is to compare their busiest days. The natural completion
point for each learner is the end of their day - and the final outcome - the selection of the
busiest person is also clear, so we can answer Yes quite confidently to the other
questions. The final writing activity sets up an engaging memory challenge game with a
clear outcome - to identify the person written about.

The activity would count as a task, and generates several kinds of genuine meaning-
focused interaction amongst learners and teacher.

How can you upgrade a less task-like activity?

This activity comes at the end of a unit focusing on the language of past time:
 Work in pairs. Talk about your grandparents.

 Tell each other what you know about their past lives.

 Use the phrases and patterns from the box above.

Think about this activity and apply the questions a) to f) above. Which questions would you
answer with a Yes, and which would be Not sure or No? How could you adapt it to make
it more task-like and get more Yes answers?

Commentary

 You might answer Yes to a) and f) with some degree of confidence. We do, in real life,
occasionally talk about our grandparents and our memories of them. If the topic
‘Grandparents' does not engage all learners, let them choose instead an elderly person
they knew well.

 For b), the answer would probably be No, because the final instruction (Use the phrases
and patterns from the box above) shows that this activity is intended largely to practise
these particular ways of expressing past time presented earlier in the unit. Co-operative
learners will be trying to make sentences about their grandparents not simply to give
information but primarily to show mastery of the new forms. This is unlike natural language
use. To make it more task-like, we could delete the final instruction, and do this activity
early on in the unit, so learners are focusing more on meanings i.e. sharing their memories
of their grandparents in a natural way rather than trying to incorporate particular language
forms. Then the answer to b) would be Yes.

 For c), d) and e) the answers are also likely to be No; there is no goal or purpose given for
talking about grandparents and learners have no way of knowing when they have said
enough to complete the activity, or whether indeed they have succeeded or not. Some
learners might end up saying very little.

Adding a goal or outcome to make a task the activity a purpose and make the outcome
more specific so that learners know when they have completed the task. If learners are
clear what the outcome should be, and know the number of things to list or describe, they
are more likely to engage with the task, speak with more confidence and know when they
have completed it. Successful task achievement will greatly increase their satisfaction and
motivation. When, after completing the task cycle, they look more closely at language
forms used by others doing similar tasks, they will already be familiar with the contexts and
have experienced the need for some of those forms.
 Test, Teach, Test (TTT)

Test, teach, test (TTT) is an approach to teaching where learners first complete a task or
activity without help from the teacher. Then, based on the problems seen, the teacher
plans and presents the target language. Then the learners do another task to practise the
new language.

Example
The learners, who have not studied phrasal verbs, are given a text and asked to find
examples. They are able to do this but not to deduce meaning. The teacher plans a lesson
to help learners develop this, and then asks them to do a similar activity.

In the classroom
TTT is a useful approach as it enables teachers to identify the specific needs of learners
concerning a language area and address this need suitably. It can be particularly useful at
intermediate levels and above, where learners may have seen language before, but have
specific problems with it, and also in mixed level classes to help identify objectives for
each individual.

Guided Discovery

Guided Discovery, also known as an inductive approach, is a technique where a teacher

provides examples of a language item and helps the learners to find the rules themselves.

Example
The learners are shown a problem page containing various examples of the second
conditional 'If I were you,…..'. They identify the structure and then the rules for making it.

In the classroom
Guided discovery is regarded by many teachers as an important tool. It encourages
independence, makes learning more memorable, and if analysis is done in groups is a
meaningful communicative task. It is important, however, to understand that some learners
are resistant to this approach.

The way we clarify vocabulary and grammar needs to be inductive. We should not be
telling students a rule, giving examples of use, then getting students to practice it. Quite
the opposite. We aim to present new language items in context (not isolated), focus on the
meaning first and get students to notice what the rules are. Concept checking questions
can be used to see if they understand the meaning, then move on to how to form the
language items, etc. Guided Discovery tasks are a way of making this whole inductive
process more student driven. Rather than the teacher introducing everything themselves,
they can give students tasks to complete individually or in collaboration, and let the
learners explore the target language. Obviously, the teacher can intervene at any point
when students don’t understand, but students have a lot of freedom to work things out on
their own. GD tasks usually lead in to controlled practice and freer practice activities as
normal.

What’s so good about Guided Discovery?

 These types of activity are student-centred, so the learners often invest a lot more in them.
How can these activities benefit us, the teachers?

A) less teacher-centred lessons means a bit less pressure on you in SOME ways. You’re
not preaching at the front of the class, eyes aren’t on you as much. Giving students more
investment in an activity can give you a bit more thinking time – if things go to plan that is.

B) You will require other teaching skills if you use a guided discovery worksheet. Maybe
you will need to micro-teach (maybe teach to a small group within the class). You will need
to monitor carefully to check students are on task. You might need to learn when to take
control back as the teacher.

Which approach?

Conclusion

When teaching grammar, there are several factors we need to take into consideration and
the following are some of the questions we should ask ourselves:

 How useful and relevant is the language?

 What other language do my students need to know in order to learn the new structure
effectively?

 What problems might my students face when learning the new language?

 How can I make the lesson fun, meaningful and memorable?

It is also important to note that using the PPP model does not necessarily exclude using a
more inductive approach since some form of learner-centred guided discovery could be
built into the presentation stage, after presenting the language in context the students are
given a worksheet with a series of analysis questions to do in pairs.

Further reading

Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical Guide for Teachers. Penny Ur, Cambridge
Handbooks for Language Teachers 1988
Grammar Games and Activities for Teachers. Peter Watcyn Jones, Penguin Books 1995
How to Teach English. Jeremy Harmer, Longman 1998
How to Teach Grammar. Scott Thornbury, Longman 1999