Language learning principles are generally sorted into three sub-groupings: Cognitive Principles, Affective Principals and Linguistic Principles. Principles are seen as theory derived from research, to which teachers need to match classroom practices. Here are some brief summaries of the principles that fall into each grouping:
Cognitive Principles
• Automaticity: Subconcious processing of language with peripheral attention to language forms;
• Meaningful Learning: This can be contrasted to Rote Learning, and is thought to lead to better long term retention;
• Anticipation of Rewards: Learners are driven to act by the anticipation of rewards, tangible or intangible;
• Intrinsic Motivation: The most potent learning "rewards" are intrinsically motivated within the learner;
• Strategic Investment: The time and learning strategies learners invest into the language learning process.
Affective Principles
• Language Ego: Learning a new language involves developing a new mode of thinking - a new language "ego";
• Self-Confidence: Success in learning something can be equated to the belief in learners that they can learn it;
• Risk-Taking: Taking risks and experimenting "beyond" what is certain creates better long-term retention;
• Language-Culture Connection: Learning a language also involves learning about cultural values and thinking.
Linguistic Principles
• Native Language Effect: A learner's native language creates both facilitating and interfering effects on learning;
• Interlanguage: At least some of the learner's development in a new language can be seen as systematic;
• Communicative Competence: Fluency and use are just as important as accuracy and usage - instruction needs to be aimed at organizational, pragmatic and strategic competence as well as psychomotor skills.
Methodology
The study of pedagogical practices in general (including theoretical underpinnings and related research). Whatever considerations are involved in "how to teach" are methodological.
Approach
Theoretical positions and beliefs about the nature of language, the nature of language learning, and the applicability of both to pedagogical settings.
Method
A generalized set of classroom specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives. Methods tend to be primarily concerned with teacher and student roles and behaviors and secondarily with such features as linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials. They are almost aways thought of as being broadly applicable to a variety of audiences in a variety of contexts.
Curriculum/Syllabus
Designs for carrying out a particular language program. Features include a primary concern with the specification of linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials to meet the needs of a designated group of learners in a defined context.
Technique
Any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or devices used in the language classroom for realizing lesson objectives.
GRAMMAR TRANSLATION METHOD
Key Features
According to Prator and Celce-Murcia (1979:3), the key features of the Grammar Translation Method are as follows:
(1) Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language.
(2) Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.
(3) Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given.
(4) Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form
and inflection of words.
(5) Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early.
(6) Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in in grammatical
analysis.
(7) Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language
into the mother tongue.
(8) Little or no attention is given to pronunciation.
Typical Techniques
Diane Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:13) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with the Grammar Translation Method. The listing here is in summary form only.
(1) Translation of a Literary Passage
(Translating target language to native language)
(2) Reading Comprehension Questions
(Finding information in a passage, making inferences and relating to personal experience)
(3) Antonyms/Synonyms
(Finding antonyms and synonyms for words or sets of words).
(4) Cognates
(Learning spelling/sound patterns that correspond between L1 and the target language)
(5) Deductive Application of Rule
(Understanding grammar rules and their exceptions, then applying them to new examples)
(6) Fill-in-the-blanks
(Filling in gaps in sentences with new words or items of a particular grammar type).
(7) Memorization
(Memorizing vocabulary lists, grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms)
(8) Use Words in Sentences
(Students create sentences to illustrate they know the meaning and use of new words)
(9) Composition
(Students write about a topic using the target language)
DIRECT METHOD
Towards the end of the late 1800s, a revolution in language teaching philosophy took place that is seen by many as the dawn of modern foreign language teaching. Teachers, frustrated by the limits of the Grammar Translation Method in terms of its inability to create communicative competence in students, began to experiment with new ways of teaching language. Basically, teachers began attempting to teach foreign languages in a way that was more similar to first language acquisition. It incorporated techniques designed to address all the areas that the Grammar Translation did not - namely oral communication, more spontaneous use of the language, and developing the ability to think in the target language. Perhaps in an almost reflexive action, the method also moved as far away as possible from various techniques typical of the Grammar Translation Method - for instance using L1 as the language of instruction, memorizing grammatical rules and lots of translation between L1 and the target language.
The appearance of the "Direct Method" thus coincided with a new school of thinking that dictated that all foreign language teaching should occur in the target language only, with no translation and an emphasis on linking meaning to the language being learned. The method became very popular during the first quarter of the 20th century, especially in private language schools in Europe where highly motivated students could study new languages and not need to travel far in order to try them out and apply them communicatively. One of the most famous advocates of the Direct Method was the German Charles Berlitz, whose schools and Berlitz Method are now world-renowned.
Still, the Direct Method was not without its problems. As Brown (1994:56) points out, "(it) did not take well in public education where the constraints of budget, classroom size, time, and teacher background made such a method difficult to use." By the late 1920s, the method was starting to go into decline and there was even a return to the Grammar Translation Method, which guaranteed more in the way of scholastic language learning orientated around reading and grammar skills. But the Direct Method continues to enjoy a popular following in private language school circles, and it was one of the foundations upon which the well-known "Audiolingual Method" expanded from starting half way through the 20th century.
Objectives
The basic premise of the Direct Method is that students will learn to communicate in the target language, partly by learning how to think in that language and by not involving L1 in the language learning process whatsoever. Objectives include teaching the students how to use the language spontaneously and orally, linking meaning with the target language through the use of realia, pictures or pantomime (Larsen-Freeman 1986:24). There is to be a direct connection between concepts and the language to be learned.
Key Features
Richards and Rodgers (1986:9-10) summarize the key features of the Direct Method thus:
(1) Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the target language.
(2) Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught.
(3) Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully traded progression organized around
question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes.
(4) Grammar is taught inductively.
(5) New teaching points are taught through modeling and practice.
(6) Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures; abstract vocabulary
is taught by association of ideas.
(7) Both speech and listening comprehension are taught.
(8) Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.
Typical Techniques
Diane Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:26-27) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with the Direct Method. The listing here is in summary form only.
(1) Reading Aloud
(Reading sections of passages, plays or dialogs out loud)
(2) Question and Answer Exercise
(Asking questions in the target language and having students answer in full sentences)
(3) Student Self-Correction
(Teacher facilitates opportunities for students to self correct using follow-up questions, tone, etc)
(4) Conversation Practice
(Teacher asks students and students ask students questions using the target language)
(5) Fill-in-the-blank Exercise
(Items use target language only and inductive rather than explicit grammar rules)
(6) Dictation
(Teacher reads passage aloud various amount of times at various tempos, students writing down
what they hear)
(7) Paragraph Writing
(Students write paragraphs in their own words using the target language and various models)
AUDIO LINGUAL METHOD
Objectives
Just as with the Direct Method that preceded it, the overall goal of the Audiolingual Method was to create communicative competence in learners. However, it was thought that the most effective way to do this was for students to "overlearn" the language being studied through extensive repetition and a variety of elaborate drills. The idea was to project the linguistic patterns of the language (based on the studies of structural linguists) into the minds of the learners in a way that made responses automatic and "habitual". To this end it was held that the language "habits" of the first language would constantly interfere, and the only way to overcome ths problem was to facilitate the learning of a new set of "habits" appropriate linguistically to the language being studied.
Key Features
Here is a summary of the key features of the Audiolingual Method, taken from Brown (1994:57) and adapted from Prator and Celce-Murcia (1979).
(1) New material is presented in dialog form.
(2) There is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases, and overlearning.
(3) Structures are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a time.
(4) Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills.
(5) There is little or no grammatical explanation. Grammar is taught by inductive analogy rather than
deductive explanation.
(6) Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context.
(7) There is much use of tapes, language labs, and visual aids.
(8) Great importance is attached to pronunciation.
(9) Very little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted.
(10) Successful responses are immediately reinforced.
(11) There is great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances.
(12) There is a tendency to manipulate language and disregard content.
Typical Techniques
Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:45-47) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with the Audiolingual Method. The listing here is in summary form only.
(1) Dialog Memorization
(Students memorize an opening dialog using mimicry and applied role-playing)
(2) Backward Build-up (Expansion Drill)
(Teacher breaks a line into several parts, students repeat each part starting at the end of the
sentence and "expanding" backwards through the sentence, adding each part in sequence)
(3) Repitition Drill
(Students repeat teacher's model as quickly and accurately as possible)
(4) Chain Drill
(Students ask and answer each other one-by-one in a circular chain around the classroom )
(5) Single Slot Substitution Drill
(Teacher states a line from the dialog, then uses a word or a phrase as a "cue" that students, when
repeating the line, must substitute into the sentence in the correct place)
(6) Multiple-slot Substitution Drill
(Same as the Single Slot drill, except that there are multiple cues to be substituted into the line)
(7) Transformation Drill
(Teacher provides a sentence that must be turned into something else, for example a question to be
turned into a statement, an active sentence to be turned into a negative statement, etc)
(8) Question-and-answer Drill
(Students should answer or ask questions very quickly)
(9) Use of Minimal Pairs
(Using contrastive analysis, teacher selects a pair of words that sound identical except for a single
sound that typically poses difficulty for the learners - students are to pronounce and differentiate the
two words)
(10) Complete the Dialog
(Selected words are erased from a line in the dialog - students must find and insert)
(11) Grammar Games
(Various games designed to practice a grammar point in context, using lots of repetition)
COMMUNITY LANGUAGE LEARNING
Objectives
The Community Language Learning method does not just attempt to teach students how to use another language communicatively, it also tries to encourage the students to take increasingly more responsibility for their own learning, and to "learn about their learning", so to speak. Learning in a nondefensive manner is considered to be very important, with teacher and student regarding each other as a "whole person" where intellect and ability are not separated from feelings. The initial struggles with learning the new language are addressed by creating an environment of mutual support, trust and understanding between both learner-clients and the teacher-councelor.
Key Features
The Community Language Learning method involves some of the following features:
(1) Students are to be considered as "learner-clients" and the teacher as a "teacher-councelor".
(2) A relationship of mutual trust and support is considered essential to the learning process.
(3) Students are permitted to use their native language, and are provided with translations from the
teacher which they then attempt to apply.
(4) Grammar and vocabulary are taught inductively.
(5) "Chunks" of target language produced by the students are recorded and later listened to - they
are also transcribed with native language equivalents to become texts the students work with.
(6) Students apply the target language independently and without translation when they feel inclined/
confident enough to do so.
(7) Students are encouraged to express not only how they feel about the language, but how they feel
about the learning process, to which the teacher expresses empathy and understanding.
(8) A variety of activities can be included (for example, focusing on a particular grammar or
pronunciation point, or creating new sentences based on the recordings/transcripts).
Typical Techniques
Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:45-47) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with Community Language Learning. The listing here is in summary form only.
(1) Tape Recording Student Conversation
(Students choose what they want to say, and their target language production is recorded for later
listening/dissemination)
(2) Transcription
(Teacher produces a transcription of the tape-recorded conversation with translations in the mother
language - this is then used for follow up activities or analysis)
(3) Reflection on Experience
(Teacher takes time during or after various activities to allow students to express how they feel about
the language and the learning experience, and the teacher indicates empathy/understanding)
(4) Reflective Listening
(Students listen to their own voices on the tape in a relaxed and reflective environment)
(5) Human Computer
(Teacher is a "human computer" for the students to control - the teacher stating anything in the
target language the student wants to practice, giving them the opportunity to self correct)
(6) Small Group Tasks
(Students work in small groups to create new sentences using the transcript, afterwards sharing
them with the rest of the class)
SUGGESTOPEDIA
Objectives
The prime objective of Suggestopedia is to tap into more of students' mental potential to learn, in order to accelerate the process by which they learn to understand and use the target language for communication. Four factors considered essential in this process were the provision of a relaxed and comfortable learning enviroment, the use of soft Baroque music to help increase alpha brain waves and decrease blood pressure and heart rate, "desuggestion" in terms of the pyschological barriers learners place on their own learning potential, and "suggestibility" through the encouragement of learners assuming "child-like" and/or new roles and names in the target language.
Key Features
Here are some of the key features of Suggestopedia:
(1) Learning is facilitated in an environment that is as comfortable as possible, featuring soft
cushioned seating and dim lighting.
(2) "Peripheral" learning is encouraged through the presence in the learning environment of posters
and decorations featuring the target language and various grammatical information.
(3) The teacher assumes a role of complete authority and control in the classroom.
(4) Self-perceived and psychological barriers to learners' potential to learn are "desuggested".
(5) Students are encouraged to be child-like, take "mental trips with the teacher" and assume new
roles and names in the target language in order to become more "suggestible".
(6) Baroque music is played softly in the background to increase mental relaxation and potential to
take in and retain new material during the lesson.
(7) Students work from lengthy dialogs in the target language, with an accompanying translation into
the students' native language.
(8) Errors are tolerated, the emphasis being on content and not structure. Grammar and vocabulary
are presented and given treatment from the teacher, but not dwelt on.
(9) Homework is limited to students re-reading the dialog they are studying - once before they go to
sleep at night and once in the morning before they get up.
(10) Music, drama and "the Arts" are integrated into the learning process as often as possible.
Typical Techniques
Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:84-86) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with Suggestopedia. The listing here is in summary form only.
(1) Classroom Set-up
(Emphasis is placed on creating a physical environment that does not "feel" like a normal classroom,
and makes the students feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible)
(2) Peripheral Learning
(Students can absorb information "effortlessly" when it is perceived as part of the environment, rather
than the material "to be attended to")
(3) Positive Suggestion
(Teachers appeal to students' consciousness and subconscious in order to better orchestrate the
"suggestive" factors involved in the learning situation)
(4) Visualization
(Students are asked to close their eyes and visualize scenes and events, to help them relax, facilitate
positive suggestion and encourage creativity from the students)
(5) Choose a New Identity
(Students select a target language name and/or occupation that places them "inside" the language
language they are learning)
(6) Role-play
(Students pretend temporarily that they are somone else and perform a role using the target language)
(7) First Concert
(Teacher does a slow, dramatic reading of the dialog synchronized in intonation with classical music)
(8) Second Concert
(Students put aside their scripts and the teacher reads at normal speed according to the content, not
the accompanying pre-Classical or Baroque music - this typically ends the class for the day)
(9) Primary Activation
(Students "playfully" reread the target language out loud, as individuals or in groups)
(10) Secondary Activation
(Students engage in various activities designed to help the students learn the material and use it more
spontaneously - activities include singing, dancing, dramatizations and games - "communicative
intent" and not "form" being the focus)
TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE
Objectives
One of the primary objectives underlying Asher's TPR methodology was that learning needed to become more enjoyable and less stressful. Asher thought that a natural way to accomplish this was to recreate the natural way children learn their native language, most notably through facilitating an appropriate "listening" and "comprehension" period, and encourage learners to respond using right-brain motor skills rather than left-brain language "processing".
Key Features
Here are some of the key features of the Total Physical Response method:
(1) The teacher directs and students "act" in response - "The instructor is the director of a stage play
in which the students are the actors" (Asher, 1977:43).
(2) Listening and physical response skills are emphasized over oral production.
(3) The imperative mood is the most common language function employed, even well into advanced
levels. Interrogatives are also heavily used.
(4) Whenever possible, humor is injected into the lessons to make them more enjoyable for learners.
(5) Students are not required to speak until they feel naturally ready or confident enough to do so.
(6) Grammar and vocabulary are emphasized over other language areas. Spoken language is
emphasized over written language.
Typical Techniques
Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:118-120) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with TPR. The listing here is in summary form only.
(1) Using Commands to Direct Behavior
(The use of commands requiring physical actions from the students in response is the major teaching
technique)
(2) Role Reversal
(Students direct the teacher and fellow learners)
(3) Action Sequence
(Teacher gives interconnected directions which create a sequence of actions [also called an
"operation"] - as students progress in proficiency, more and more commands are added to the
action sequence. Most everyday activities can be broken down into a sequence of actions)
NATURAL APPROACH
Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell developed the Natural Approach in the early eighties (Krashen and Terrell, 1983), based on Krashen's theories about second language acquisition. The approach shared a lot in common with Asher's Total Physical Response method in terms of advocating the need for a silent phase, waiting for spoken production to "emerge" of its own accord, and emphasizing the need to make learners as relaxed as possible during the learning process. Some important underlying principles are that there should be a lot of language "acquisition" as opposed to language "processing", and there needs to be a considerable amount of comprehensible input from the teacher. Meaning is considered as the essence of language and vocabulary (not grammar) is the heart of language.
As part of the Natural Approach, students listen to the teacher using the target language communicatively from the very beginning. It has certain similarities with the much earlier Direct Method, with the important exception that students are allowed to use their native language alongside the target language as part of the language learning process. In early stages, students are not corrected during oral production, as the teacher is focusing on meaning rather than form (unless the error is so drastic that it actually hinders meaning).
Communicative activities prevail throughout a language course employing the Natural Approach, focusing on a wide range of activities including games, roleplays, dialogs, group work and discussions. There are three generic stages identified in the approach: (1) Preproduction - developing listening skills; (2) Early Production - students struggle with the language and make many errors which are corrected based on content and not structure; (3) Extending Production - promoting fluency through a variety of more challenging activities.
Krashen's theories and the Natural approach have received plenty of criticism, particularly orientated around the recommendation of a silent period that is terminated when students feel ready to emerge into oral production, and the idea of comprehensible input. Critics point out that students will "emerge" at different times (or perhaps not at all!) and it is hard to determine which forms of language input will be "comprehensible" to the students. These factors can create a classroom that is essentially very difficult to manage unless the teacher is highly skilled. Still, this was the first attempt at creating an expansive and overall "approach" rather than a specific "method", and the Natural Approach led naturally into the generally accepted norm for effective language teaching
COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING
Basic Features of CLT
David Nunan (1991:279) lists five basic characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching:
(1) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.
(2) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
(3) The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on the language but also on
the learning process itself.
(4) An enhancement of the learner's own personal experiences as important contributing
elements to classroom learning.
(5) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the
classroom.
CLT Features at Length
Finnochiaro and Brumfit (1983:91-93) compiled this list of CLT features way back in 1983 as a means of comparing it to the Audiolingual Method. Below each feature in blue italics is the feature of ALM to which it was being compared.
(1) CLT: Meaning is paramount.
ALM: Attends to structure and form more than meaning.
(2) CLT: Dialogs, if used, center around communicative functions and are not normally memorized.
ALM: Demands more memorization of structure-based dialogs.
(3) CLT: Contextualization is a basic premise.
ALM: Language items are not necessarily contextualized.
(4) CLT: Language learning is learning to communicate.
ALM: Language Learning is learning structures, sounds or words.
(5) CLT: Effective communication is sought.
ALM: Mastery or "overlearning" is sought.
(6) CLT: Drilling may occur, but peripherially.
ALM: Drilling is a central technique.
(7) CLT: Comprehensible pronunciation is sought.
ALM: Native-speaker-like pronunciation is sought.
(8) CLT: Any device which helps the learners is accepted - varying according to their age,
interest, etc.
ALM: Grammatical explanation is avoided.
(9) CLT: Attempts to communicate may be encouraged from the very beginning.
ALM: Communicative activities only come after a long process of rigid drills and exrecises.
(10) CLT: Judicious use of native language is accepted where feasible.
ALM: The use of the students' native language is forbidden.
(11) CLT: Translation may be used where students need or benefit from it.
ALM: Translation is forbidden at early levels.
(12) CLT: Reading and writing can start from the first day, if desired.
ALM: Reading and writing are deferred until speech is mastered.
(13) CLT: The target linguistic system will be learned best through the process of struggling to
communicate.
ALM: The target linguistic system will be learned through the overt teaching of the patterns of
the system.
(14) CLT: Communicative competence is the desired goal.
ALM: Linguistic competence is the desired goal.
(15) CLT: Linguistic variation is a central concept in materials and methods.
ALM: Varieties of language are recognized but not emphasized.
(16) CLT: Sequencing is determined by any consideration of content function, or meaning which
maintains interest.
ALM: The sequence of units is determined solely on principles of linguistic complexity.
(17) CLT: Teachers help learners in any way that motivates them to work with the language.
ALM: The teacher controls the learners and prevents them from doing anything that conflicts with
the theory.
(18) CLT: Language is created by the individual often through trial and error.
ALM: "Language is habit" so error must be prevented at all costs.
(19) CLT: Fluency and acceptable language is the primary goal: accuracy is judged not in the
abstract but in context.
ALM: Accuracy, in terms of formal correctness, is a primary goal.
(20) CLT: Students are expected to interact with other people, either in the flesh, through pair and
group work, or in their writings.
ALM: Students are expected to interact with the language system, embodied in machines or
controlled materials.
(21) CLT: The teacher cannot know exactly what language the students will use.
ALM: The teacher is expected to specify the language that students are to use.
(22) CLT: Intrinsic motivation will spring from an interest in what is being communicated by the
language.
ALM: Intrinsic motivation will spring from an interest in the structure of the language.
TYPES OF LEARNING
Interactive Learning:
This concept goes right to the heart of communication itself, stressing the dual roles of "receiver" and "sender" in any communicative situation. Interaction creates the "negotiation between interlocutors" which in turn produces meaning (semantics). The concept of interactive learning necessarily entails that there will be a lot of pair and group work in the classroom, as well as genuine language input from the "real world" for meaningful communication.
Learner-centered Learning:
This kind of instruction involves the giving over of some "power" in the language learning process to the learners themselves. It also strives to allow for personal creativity and input from the students, as well as taking into account their learning needs and objectives.
Cooperative Learning:
This concept stresses the "team" like nature of the classroom and emphasizes cooperation as opposed to competition. Students share information and help, and achieve their learning goals as a group.
Content-based Learning:
This kind of learning joins language learning to content/subject matter and engages them both concurrently. Language is seen as a tool or medium for aquiring knowledge about other things, instantly proving its usefulness. An important factor in this kind of learning is that the content itself determines what language items need to be mastered, not the other way around. When students study math or science using English as the medium, they are more intrinsically motivated to learn more of the language.
Task-based Learning:
This concept equates the idea of a "learning task" to a language learning technique in itself. This could be a problem solving activity or a project, but the task has a clear objective, appropriate content, a working/application procedure, and a set range of outcomes
P P P APPROACH
PPP" (or the "3Ps") stands for Presentation, Practice and Production - a common approach to communicative language teaching that works through the progression of three sequential stages.
Presentation represents the introduction to a lesson, and necessarily requires the creation of a realistic (or realistic-feeling) "situation" requiring the target language to be learned. This can be achieved through using pictures, dialogs, imagination or actual "classroom situations". The teacher checks to see that the students understand the nature of the situation, then builds the "concept" underlying the language to be learned using small chunks of language that the students already know. Having understood the concept, students are then given the language "model" and angage in choral drills to learn statement, answer and question forms for the target language. This is a very teacher-orientated stage where error correction is important.
Practice usually begins with what is termed "mechanical practice" - open and closed pairwork. Students gradually move into more "communicative practice" involving procedures like information gap activities, dialog creation and controlled roleplays. Practice is seen as the frequency device to create familiarity and confidence with the new language, and a measuring stick for accuracy. The teacher still directs and corrects at this stage, but the classroom is beginning to become more learner-centered.
Production is seen as the culmination of the language learning process, whereby the learners have started to become independent users of the language rather than students of the language. The teacher's role here is to somehow facilitate a realistic situation or activity where the students instinctively feel the need to actively apply the language they have been practicing. The teacher does not correct or become involved unless students directly appeal to him/her to do so.
The PPP approach is relatively straight forward, and structured enough to be easily understood by both students and new or emerging teachers. It is a good place to start in terms of applying good communicative language teaching in the classroom. It has also been criticized considerably for the very characteristic that makes it the easiest method for 'beginner' teachers, that is, that it is far too teacher-orientated and over controlled
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