The similarities and differences between PPP and TBL and how they impact upon bo

【Abstract】PPP and TBL are two common teaching methods in today’s EFL classroom， and these two methods have their own characteristics.By comparing and contrasting PPP and TBL， this essay will propose a view that TBL is a better method to motivate learners in language learning.

【Key words】PPP； TBL； teaching methods

1.Introduction

These days， many different teaching methodologies are applied in English Language Teaching.Teachers have a great numbers of ideas to use in the classroom.However， the time of a class is limited and precious， so teachers should compare and analyze the methodology that they use in the classroom.This essay first focuses on comparing and contrasting two teaching methods， which are PPP and TBL.PPP， according to Thomas （2013）， involves language being presented by the teacher a it in order to accomplish the task that has been set before them. （Larsen-Freeman & Anderson， 2011， p.150）.Then the essay will discuss how PPP and TBL impact upon tnd practiced and produced by the student.In contrast， Task-based Learning （TBL） is a methodology in which students acquire the language that need when they needeachers and learners.It will also look at the strengths and weakness of these two methodologies.

2.The similarities and differences between PPP and TBL

PPP and TBL， as two common teaching methodologies， share some similarities.Firstly， both PPP and TBL teaching methods can activate learners’ language knowledge.Specifically， at the last stage of presentation-practice-production method， “here the students are asked to use the new language in sentences of their own.” （Harmer， 2007， p.65）.Similarly， the teacher will set a task in TBL teaching， “the aim of the task was to encourage students to activate a range of language functions and structures...” （Nunan， 2004， p.21）.Thus， learners’ language knowledge can be activated by using language.Secondly， the context is given in the process of PPP teaching， as well as TBL teaching.In PPP procedure， “the teacher introduces a situation which contextualises the language to be taught.”（Harmer， 2007， p.64）.It means that at the beginning of the PPP teaching， the language is placed in clear situational contexts.This happens in the TBL procedure.Willis （1996） suggests that TBL includes three basic stages：the Pre-task， the Task cycle and the Language focus.It can be seen that the task runs through the TBL teaching process， and the learner has to think about the task in the specific context， so both PPP and TBL give the clear context to learners.

PPP， on the other hand， differs from TBL in significant aspects.According to Harmer （2007）， PPP is teacher-centered and fits uneasily with more humanistic and learner-centered framework.Clearly， the teacher controls the class and the learner is dependent on the teacher to new languages.Conversely， according to Brandon （2013）， TBL is a learner-centered methodology.Learners learn to discover features in language， and they can use language they learn from other lessons and sources.Another difference is that PPP focuses on accuracy while the focus of TBL approach is fluency.Harmer （2007） points out that the teacher corrects any mistakes he or she hears from the learner during PPP procedure.In contrast， in a lesson which use TBL method， “the focus of the lesson is the task， not the structure.”（Harmer， 2007， p.71）.Only when the task has clear outcomes will the teacher discuss the language that the learner uses.Plus， TBL method is more flexible than PPP method， so that the language expose in TBL is rich and varied.“The language comes out of what learners know/ can do / want to do， and out of the task.” （Willis， 1996， p.61）.PPP， conversely， is more controlled and only allows learners to use the language given by the teacher.The language expose， therefore， is limited.

3.The influence on teachers and learners

Turning to the issue that how PPP impacts teachers and learners， preparing a lesson with PPP method is easy for teachers， because the materials used for the lesson are ordered from simple to difficult.The framework of PPP is simple and allows teachers to control the pace of the lesson.It seems that PPP has no negative effect on teachers.As observed at the high school in China （2013）， learners may feel comfortable as they are producing the new language accurately in the class.But after a few lessons， learners will often not be able to produce the language correctly or even will not produce it at all.Besides that， it shows that there are other merits and demerits in PPP procedure.Harmer （2007） considers that PPP is extremely effective in a focus-on-form lesson， especially at lower levels.But he adds that PPP becomes less useful when the learner has already known a lot of language， and therefore may not meet the needs of the learner.Further more， PPP does not motivate learners， because it does not give opportunities to learners to work out the language form by themselves.

The TBL， however， impacts teachers and learners in different ways.It is not easy for teachers to choose a task that is appropriate to the level of learners and based on learners’ needs.In a word， TBL teachers face complex challenges.The greatest influence on learners is that their interests in learning a language is stimulated.They can control the communication and discover the language by themselves.That is also one of the advantages of TBL.“The goal of the task provide the main motivation； students generally want to achieve the task outcomes which involves them in playing games or solving a problem.” （Willis， 1996， p.60）.Larsen-Freeman & Anderson （2011） also demonstrate that students are motivated by doing tasks that related to the real world.Moreover， the skills required in TBL are integrated.Task refers to “activities involving any of the four language skills.” （Ellis， 2003， p.7）.In the process of completing the task， the four language skills， included listening， speaking， reading and writing skills， can be improved.However， Ellis （2003） attempts to analyze how complex is TBL for teachers and learners.It seems likely that the lesson structure is not suitable for low level learners and inexperienced teachers.

4.Conclusion

In conclusion， by comparing and contrasting， PPP and TBL share some similarities， but also the two methodologies differ from each other in significant aspects.In addition， both PPP and TBL have their strengths and weaknesses.PPP may be used more widely by English teachers， whereas it is challenging for teachers to manage the task-based class.Nevertheless， it turns out that TBL is more effective in encouraging learners to work together and acquire language through using it.Teachers can set up different task in TBL teaching in order to let learners improve the four skills， which are listening， reading， writing and speaking.Moreover， “task-based instruction can help to encourage students to use the target language actively and meaningfully.” （Larsen-Freeman & Anderson， 2011， p.160）.Since motivation is one of the vital aspects of education， TBL should be considered an effective method for language teaching and it should be increasingly used in schools.

Reference：

[1]Ellis，R.（2003）.Task-based Language Learning and Teaching.Oxford： Oxford University Press.

[2]Harmer，J.（2007）.The practice of English language teaching.Harlow： Longman.

[3]Larsen-Freeman，D.& Anderson，M.（2011）.Techniques & Principles in Language Teaching.Oxford： Oxford University Press.

[4]Nunan，D.（2004）.Task-Based Language Teaching.Cambridge University Press.

[5]Willis，J.（1996）.A flexible framework for task-based learning In J.Willis & D.Wills （Eds.），Challenge and Change in Language Teaching （pp.52-62）.Basingstoke ： Macmillan ELT.