2024 Unit 3. Teaching the language systems: the PPP lesson plan

Unit 3. Teaching the language systems: the PPP lesson plan

Learning Outcomes

After this unit, students will be able to...

1 Understand the main challenges of teaching lexis, grammar and function

2 Apply the PPP lesson design to teach new language items effectively, and specifically:

• Apply various presentation techniques to teach new language
• Devise techniques for checking understanding
• Offer meaningful practice and production of the target language

Language systems

Language skills

= Knowing about the language

= Doing something with the language

VS

Together, they are the building blocks of language, and what we need to teach and develop in our students...

Receptive skills: Listening and Reading

Language skills

Productive skills: Speaking and Writing

Refer to the Moodle document "English: What exactly are we teaching?

Language systems

Phonology Lexis Grammar Function Discourse

Textbook analysis 1

Your teacher will ask you to look at a textbook, on paper or online For a given unit, try to identify specific work on the different language systems, mainly lexis, grammar and function.

Your teacher will demo a mini-class After the demo...

1. Identify the objectives of the class. What was the target language taught?
2. How many stages did the demo have? What were they?
3. What techniques, strategies and resources did your teacher use?

I have a pet: stages

1 Lead-in

2 T review the names of some animals

3 T plays a song that includes the target language

4 T models sentence and isolates grammar point.

5 Coral/individual drills

6 Personalization of language

---> See lesson plan on Moodle

What language did we focus on?

Speaking

Listening

Reading

Grammar

Writing

Lexis

Phonology

Discourse

Function

Which are skills and which are systems?

Possible sequence

1. A lead-in or warm up
2. Initial exposure to the target language (optional)
3. Presentation / clarification of the target language:

• Meaning
• Pronunciation
• Form

4. Checking understanding of the TL 5. Practice tasks 6. Freer production

We will be working on all of these substages in relation to lexis, grammar and function

PPP: Introducing new language

Present Model and clarify the language

Practice Controlled oral practice, written exercises

Produce Personalize the language, use it in context, in a functional way

PPP and storytelling

• Stories provide a rich context for the target language

---> used for the lead in and initial exposure to the TL

Textbook analysis 2

Your teacher will ask you to look at a textbook, on paper or online For a given unit, try to identify examples of a PPP lesson design

PPP is not the only way!

• Test, teach, test
• Task-based instruction (pre-, while-, post-task)
• Engage-study-activate (ESA)
• Strong communicative language teaching (CLT) - little focus on form
• Content-based instruction

TEACHING LEXIS

Video analysis: teacher Johnny

Watch the following video of teacher Johnny. (1:20-6:00) Watch Johnny presenting new language- Write a learning outcome/objective for what you see- Identify any stages of the PPP sequence- What are the strengths of Johnny's teaching? Think of teacher talk, strategies, materials & resources... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnWuS8ibce8

TASK: Understanding lexis

Understanding what lexis entails will help us teach it better. Do the task "Describing language: lexis" from Cambridge TKT materials (paper or Moodle)

Selecting lexis

Semantic relationship:

• same location/event/situation
• Similar function

Example: Adjectives to describe people

Formal or phonological relationship:

• Pronunciation (homophones, rhymes)

Example: The big pig song

• Similarity (phrasal verbs with "get")

Presenting lexical items How would you present...

2 Frightened (adj)

1 To look after (phrasal verb)

4 Gloves (noun)

3 Climb (verb)

5 Laid-back (adj)

6 Cousin (noun)

7 Toast (noun)

Techniques for presenting/clarifying

Demonstration: visuals (e.g., in a story) realia, mime, TPR

What about using Spanish? (L1)

Explanation (linguistic): Definitions, antonyms/synonyms, examples, anecdotes/situations (situational presentation), inferring from context

What about using the L1?

Pros - It's fast - It can be very effective

Cons - Promotes laziness in students - Ss may see English as a subject only, not as a vehicle of communication

A possible use: restrict it to incidental language*. If possible, "sandwiching" it. *Incidental: unplanned (que surge), e.g. it comes up in a conversation, video, etc.

Lexis in story-based teaching

Open the story. "Funnybones" (unit 2). Find the pages on the park For a lexical set, "In the park..." a) Select 8-10 lexical items that could be taught or reviewed c) What presentation strategy would you use?

Lexical set - In the park

Target language: pond, swings, slide, (merry-go-rounds), path, court, bench, drinking fountain, lawn, playground, pic-nic table, bin... Additional language: play/be on the swing(s) throw sth in the bin sit on the bench Presentation strategy: demonstration with visuals

Review questions - lexis

Think about the following questions... When preparing a lesson on lexis, why is it useful to consider a) False friends and other cognates b) derivatives / word families c) collocations d) What presentation techniques do you remember? e) Should we use the L1 when presenting target lexis?

Attention to the form and pronunciation

If you expect production from the students, part of the presentation stage will involve highlighting aspects related to a) Pronunciation (difficult phonemes or word stress) b) Form (spelling, irregular grammar...) --> This will require you to analyze the target language beforehand

Task - Analyzing expected problems

Go back to the target language you demonstrated or explained before: frightened, climb...

Anticipate problems that students may have with the target language in terms of its meaning, pronunciation and form. How would you deal with these problems in class?

Hint! Use a dictionary to check pronunciation, word stress, count/uncount, etc.

Expected problem analysis

Note - This will be useful when writing your lesson plan!

Problems with meaning: Checking understanding

Younger learners: listen and do: point, TPR, picture dictation... How did Johhny do it?

Older learners/more abstract language: Concept questions which require simple answers

eg. So, can you buy books in a library? What do you do there? Can you drink freshwater? Where can you find it?

Using L1? Ask students for it

Review questions

1. Why is important to analyze target language when lesson planning? 2. What things should we look for? 3. How would you check understanding of the following a) Rooms in a house, e.g. living room, bedroom, etc. b) Adjectives of character: shy, stubborn, easy-going c) names of some common fruits

TEACHING GRAMMAR

Grammar is...

Verb tenses Ex: Present perfect: I have been to Paris. Sentence structure Ex: Comparison: She is quicker than him. Grammar words (words that have a function rather than a meaning) Ex: as/like; and/but; in/on/at

How would you present...

1 Present continuous to talk about plans, e.g. I'm seeing my best friend this weekend

2 Simple comparative/superlative sentences: She is –er than him; She is the –est, She is as ____ as him.

3 Prepositions of place: in, on, at

4 Linkers of addition: and, also, ...too.

5 Modal verbs of obligation: must, have to

6 There is / There are...+ some/any (Affirmative, negative, question)

Presenting grammar

- Rich, memorable context ex: Have you ever been to... ? (Present perfect)

- Clear, meaningful sentence models that you use to clarify the use - Present the oral form before the written form.

Tools for presenting grammar

See readings on Moodle 1.- Roth, "Teaching basic structures" (For very young learners) 2.- Seligson: "Presentation techniques that really work" (For older Primary learners)

Picture stories

Dialogue building

Stories

See sample chapter on Moodle

Explanation with diagrams / timelines

See an article on timelines here

Tables for clarification

Inductive or deductive?

Initial exposure + Grammar focus

Ace 4 (OUP)

Attention to pronunciation

Checking understanding: Concept questions

Example: I play tennis on weekends. If I play tennis on weekends... Did I play tennis last weekend? (Yes) Will I play next weekend? (Y) And the one after? (Y) Am I playing tennis now? (N) --> Useful article here

Inductive approach

Deductive approach

VS

Deductive approach

Specific activities and examples, functional lang

Generalization or rule

Inductive approach (guided discovery)

TEACHING FUNCTION

Relating function to lexis and grammar

Function

Lexis

Grammar

Asking for something Giving directions Offering something Introducing yourself

Relating function to lexis and grammar

Function

Lexis

Grammar

Asking for something Giving directions Offering something Introducing yourself

please, can, give turn, go along, walk, first, next, then like, objects to be offered name, professions, hello, hi

question form imperative form, prepositions of movement Conditional in a question (Would you like...?) Possessive pronouns (my, your); Present Simple

Focusing on function

Let's focus on the function and context, not necessarily on the grammar. This will make our lessons more communicative!

"Today we're going to learn how to talk about what happened yesterday, last weekend or last summer."

"Today we're going to learn the Past simple!"

vs.

We will ask you to focus on function as part of your lesson plan

Function in Funnybones

Function: Making suggestions Target language: What shall we do now? Let's....(frighten sb, go for a walk...) Extension: Why don't we...?

Textbook analysis

Look for grammar / functional presentation sequences in textbook pages at different levels. Find examples of a) presentation strategies: inductive or deductive? b) Practice tasks: oral and written

Practice of lexis, grammar and function

Younger learners: Lots of controlled speaking: drills, micro-dialogues, songs... Let's look at some common drills...(Video, Moodle)

Older learners Controlled speaking in pairs Drills Controlled writing: Gapfills, Matching tasks, sentence writing...

Oral practice

Written practice

Written practice

Focus on drills

Watch the video(s) on drills in Moodle - What is the purpose of drilling? - What drills are mentioned? - What variations can we add in to make drilling less monotonous?

Play

Play

Animal chant

Walk like a penguin,Fly like a bat,Run like a zebra,Stretch like a cat,Swim like a dolphin,Slide like a snake,Talk like a parrot,Count to eight …1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!(Surprise, OUP) or try this one

Matching: Repetition and Drilling

1 choral / individual repetition

a I like ________

2 chant

b long sentence

3 back chaining

c pronunciation

4 substitution

d song, poem

5 using a prompt

e Model syllable distribution

6 Finger-highlighting

f Memorize lexical items

g Gesture / phrase

Production

Younger learners: Production is hard with the youngest students, but they can certainly personalize the language (e.g., draw, show and tell)

Older learners Oral: Information gap tasks (more on this next year!): role-plays, presentations, drama... Extended writing: stories, emails, descriptions, posters...(focus on genre)

Examples: Draw a monster and tell me about him. List the toys you got for Christmas and tell your partner. Tell us about your family.

REVIEW: Let's play!!!