An initial
presentation
phase (P1) in which the teacher highly controlsthe teaching/learning process. The materials in this phase contain all thetargeted linguistic items and structures in the unit. This presentation cantake a deductive or an inductive mode. In the former, theteacher/textbook models the target structure or lexical items and offersthe explanation behind the construction of such structures or themeaning of the words. In the latter, also called “discovery learning”,students themselves are provided by the teacher/materials with samplestructures and/or vocabulary contextualised in aural or written texts.Students have to induce the underlying rules and meanings.
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A
practice
phase (P2), which still reflects a high level of teacher controlin the sense that he/she checks his/her students’ correct understanding of the items presented in the first stage. These activities are aimed atachieving accuracy of forms so that fluency can be later achieved inproduction activities. The activities are aimed at achieving the linguistictargets presented in the initial phase (P1), following the models to whichthe learners must adjust. “Drills” (whose origins are to be found in the
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A crticial review of the Presentation-Practice-Production Model (PPP) in Foreign Language Teaching
Audiolingual Method) embody the most common type of practiceactivities –but by no means the only one.
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A
production
stage (P3), which aims at increasing fluency in linguisticuse, precisely through “autonomous and more creative activities”. Thestrategies for achieving such a goal are based on a freer use of thetargeted structures. The kind of activities in the production stage mayimply discussions, debates, role-plays, problem-solving activities,opinion and information gaps, etc.