Timed Integrated Writing Task Practice

Timed Integrated Writing Task Practice (05/29)

In the first speech, the traditional method of developing speaking skills, named PPP, is explained while the second speech sets forth more modern pedagogical strategy, AAA, contrasting with the first technique.

The first stage of PPP is "presentation". During presentation, teachers introduce their language goals and specific language data to the students. After their instruction on the language points, teachers provide pre-fabricated situations that usually consist of dialogues, pictures, or even video clips. At the end of the first stage, teachers show how the language aspects introduced earlier are connected to these situations.

Following "presentation" is "practice" stage. In this second phase of PPP, students are asked to perform various language activities such as drills, gap fills, and cloze tests through which students begin to internalize the language forms appeared in the previous stage. Teachers administer these activities in the way that the learners are prevented from making errors.

The last stage of the traditional method is "production". It is to provide students with opportunities to actually make use of what they have learned with more freedom. For many decades, PPP has been the most prevalent method of teaching speaking skills to learners. The speaker pointed out that he was tarined with this method back in 1990s and felt that it worked pretty well with structuring lesson plans. In reality, however, it is not without limitations.

In order to overcome the limitations of PPP, a more eclectic, informed, and modern method of teaching speaking skills, namely AAA was introduced. This new method begins with "awareness" stage. This first stage may appear to be similar to that of PPP. But there lies a fundamental difference between these two first stages in that "presentation" requires constructing situations that suit the language aspects to be taught, while "awareness" begins with actual conversation and various language aspects are drawn from this situation afterwards.

"Awareness" stage is followed by "appropriation". "Appropriation" is somewhat similar to "practice" and "production" combined together. Students begin this stage with controlled language practice activities like drills and move on to more open, freer ones such as role play and drama skits.

The new method ends with "autonomy" stage, which is not usually part of official classroom activities. It is natural manifestation of taught language knowledge. In this last phase, teachers observe students' speech at large and see how the previous activities have helped them improve their spoken English.