Welcome to your fourth lesson. In our last session, we explored the "big ideas" behind English teaching—the major approaches like CLT and TBL. We saw how the focus has shifted from the rigid rules of Grammar-Translation to the communicative purpose of language. Now, we move from the philosophical "why" to the practical "how."
This lesson focuses on the architectural blueprints of a language lesson. Your goal is to prepare for a certification like CELTA, where a deep understanding of lesson structure is non-negotiable. Therefore, today you will learn to explain the Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP) and Test-Teach-Test (TTT) lesson frameworks. These are two of the most common and essential patterns you will use to design and deliver effective lessons, whether online or face-to-face.
What is a Lesson Framework?
Think of a teaching "approach" like Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as a design philosophy—it tells you that communication should be the goal. A "framework," on the other hand, is the specific floor plan for a single lesson that brings that philosophy to life. It's the sequence of stages that carries the teacher and learners from the start of the lesson to the end.
There are several established frameworks. PPP and TTT are typically used for teaching "systems"—that is, grammar, vocabulary, or functional language. The image below provides an excellent overview of where these frameworks fit within the larger landscape of lesson types.
As you can see, PPP and TTT are core frameworks for when the primary goal of your lesson is to teach a specific piece of language. Let's examine each one in detail.
The Classic Structure: Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP)
The PPP framework is perhaps the most traditional and intuitive structure for a language lesson. It operates on a simple, logical principle: the teacher presents new language, the students practice it in a controlled way, and then they try to use it more freely and creatively.
It's a deductive approach, meaning the teacher gives the rule or example first, and the students then work from that general rule to specific examples.
Here is a simple visualization of the stages:
To see how this works in detail, we'll turn to a video from Jo Gakonga, a highly respected CELTA trainer. She walks through a complete example of a PPP lesson teaching the grammar point "used to."
CELTA - Different approaches to teaching language -PPP to TBL
This video, "CELTA - Different approaches to teaching language," provides a clear, step-by-step demonstration of a PPP lesson.
Watch the first major section of the video, which is dedicated to PPP. As you watch, observe how the lesson moves from being highly teacher-controlled to more learner-centered. Presentation Stage: Notice how the teacher uses a picture to set a context, then explicitly clarifies the meaning, form, and pronunciation (often called 'MFP') of "used to." This is the core of the 'Presentation' stage. Practice Stage: The video shows a controlled practice activity (a gap-fill). The key here is that there are "right" answers, and the goal is for students to manipulate the form accurately. Production Stage: Finally, students are asked to do a freer, more communicative task: talking about their own lives. Here, the goal is not just accuracy, but fluency and personalization.
The Pros and Cons of PPP
PPP is straightforward, easy to plan, and provides a strong sense of security for both novice teachers and lower-level learners. However, it has its critics. To understand the nuances of using PPP effectively, which is vital for your certification, let's continue with the same video.
CELTA - Different approaches to teaching language -PPP to TBL
The same video also provides a balanced critique of the PPP framework.
Please watch the section from what's good and bad about PPP. Pay close attention to two key criticisms: The "grammar McNuggets" idea: PPP can present language as isolated, bite-sized chunks, which doesn't reflect the messy, organic reality of language acquisition. The narrow focus and potentially "forced" practice contexts. This critical perspective is crucial for developing the principled approach to teaching that courses like CELTA look for.
The most common mistake teachers make with PPP is poor time management. The real learning—the difficult work of using language communicatively—happens in the Production stage. If the Presentation and Practice stages take up too much time, the most valuable part of the lesson is lost. A successful PPP lesson treats the first two 'P's as a warm-up for the main event: Production.
The Diagnostic Approach: Test-Teach-Test (TTT)
TTT flips the PPP model on its head. Instead of assuming learners know nothing about the target language, TTT starts by assuming they might already have some knowledge. It is a more diagnostic and learner-responsive framework.
The logic is: first, I'll test to see what you know; then, I'll teach you only what you need; finally, you can test yourself again to see the improvement.
Let's break down the stages with an excellent article from Jo Gakonga's ELT-Training website, which is geared specifically towards CELTA candidates like you.
Mastering Test Teach Test on CELTA | ELT-Training | Jo Gakonga
This article explains the TTT framework, its underlying assumptions, and how each stage functions.
Please read the following sections from the article's transcript: First, read the introduction that contrasts the core assumptions of PPP and TTT. Next, focus on the First Test stage. Read from the heading "The first Test" to understand its diagnostic purpose. The teacher's job here is not to teach, but to listen and gather data on student errors and successes. Then, read about the Teach stage. The key insight in this section, "The next step is the Teach," is that you should only teach what the students showed they needed in the first stage. This requires flexibility. Finally, read about the Final Test. This section, "Stage 3 is the final Test," explains that this isn't just more practice; it's a chance for students (and the teacher) to see the progress made since the first test.
Comparing the Frameworks: Which One When?
So, which framework is better? As the article you just read concludes, "Neither is better. They solve different problems." The skill of a professional teacher lies in choosing the right tool for the job.
Use Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP) when:
- You are teaching lower-level learners who need a lot of structure and support.
- The target language is completely new to the learners.
- The language point is relatively simple and can be explained clearly (e.g., the form of the past simple for regular verbs).
Use Test-Teach-Test (TTT) when:
- You are teaching intermediate or higher-level learners who have likely encountered the language before but may not use it accurately or confidently.
- You are revising or recycling language from a previous lesson.
- You are not sure what your students already know and want to avoid wasting time teaching them things they've mastered.
Your one year of teaching experience will be a great asset here. You've likely found yourself in situations where you explained a grammar point only to find your students already knew it. That's a perfect scenario for a TTT approach. Conversely, when introducing a completely new concept, you probably used a structure very similar to PPP. Now, you have the terminology and theoretical understanding to make these choices deliberately.
Conclusion
In this lesson, we have moved from broad teaching philosophies to the concrete structures that shape a daily lesson plan.
Key Takeaways:
- Lesson frameworks are the sequence of stages that provide a logical flow for a lesson.
- Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP) is a deductive framework (teacher presents, students practice) ideal for new language and lower levels. Its stages are Presentation (context, MFP), Practice (controlled, accuracy-focused), and Production (freer, fluency-focused).
- Test-Teach-Test (TTT) is a diagnostic framework (students try, teacher helps, students try again) ideal for revision and with learners who have some prior knowledge. Its stages are a diagnostic Test, a responsive Teach, and a final Test to measure progress.
- The choice between PPP and TTT is a professional decision based on the learners' level, their existing knowledge, and the lesson's aims.
Next Lesson Preview:
Your choice of framework is heavily influenced by your students' abilities. But how do we describe and measure those abilities in a standardized way? In our next lesson, we will address this by exploring the CEFR levels (A1–C2). You will learn to describe the typical competencies of learners at each stage, which will empower you to better plan lessons, select materials, and choose the most appropriate teaching framework for any group you encounter.