Why practice makes perfect sense

For those interested in the PPP research I’ve been doing, my more academic paper on this topic has just come out, in the journal: English Language Teaching Education and Development (ELTED). See here for a link to the open access article. The full title is ‘Why practice makes perfect sense: The past, present and future potential of the PPP paradigm in language teacher education’.

It briefly covers the history of PPP, but also looks in detail at the research evidence supporting PPP, also including the opinions, from survey/literature reviews of perhaps the most respected authorities in SLA research – Rod Ellis and Spada and Lightbown, all of whom conclude that there is no longer any evidence for rejecting PPP-type instruction. A model is also provided for effective use of PPP, drawing on notions of best practice from mainstream teaching, and the significantly more robust research it has to offer (Hattie, Black, and Wiliam, Marzano, etc.), consistent with the primary and secondary contexts in which the vast majority of English language teachers in the world work. I also analyse PPP’s durability, important links to skill learning theory, and a number of other paradigms in education as the table below shows (from the paper). As always, I caution that it is only one of many lesson shapes necessary in a healthy, balanced language learning diet. Enjoy reading!

My more historical paper for ELT Journal will be coming out in Advance Access in the next few weeks – watch this space.

 

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