The PPP & ESA

teaching methods

Camila Roldán - Practice II - 2014

P
• The first stage, 'Presentation‘, is where the teacher firstly finds
out how much of the target language (for example
the grammar or vocabulary to be taught) the students know. This
is called "eliciting.“
• The teacher will then present the language structure, usually on a
board. 
• The students are generally expected to listen during this part of
the lesson and their opportunities to speak are limited.
• In the second part of the lesson, the students are given
controlled practice of the target language.

• This could be in the form of oral exercises, targeted at

individual students, or in the form of worksheets during early
stages.

• Again, this part of the lesson is very teacher-led. Often more

than one activity is given, each one allowing the students
progressively more freedom to produce the language
themselves.
• The third part of the lesson is where the students start to

produce language more freely. 

• For example, they might be given role play situations to devise

and act out, they may have free writing exercises, or there
may be other opportunities to produce the language they have
been working on.
1. Firstly, the amount of teacher talking time is disproportionately high
compared to the amount of student talking time, certainly in the first
part of the lesson.

2. It encourages accuracy over fluency, and this is not always the

desired outcome of a course.

3. Thirdly, it does not allow for recap, or movement between the

different stages. This is where the ESA method is often preferred
now.
ESA
The ESA teaching method
• It allows for much more flexibility, and lessons often move
between the different stages. 

• However, the same basic structure is given, with the need for
presentation of some kind before any practice is given. 

• In the ESA method, there is more emphasis on student-led

grammar discovery, eliciting the grammar from students rather
than giving a detailed (and often boring!) teacher-led
presentation. 

• The final stage, with free practice, is the same as the last
stage of PPP.
• Teachers try to arouse the students interest, thus
involving their emotions. This could be done by
using realia, pictures, objects, posters, cartoons,
audios, videos, stories, games, etc.

• Study activities are those where the students are

asked to focus in on language and how it is
constructed. They range from the study and
practice of a single sound to an investigation of
how a writer achieves a particular effect in a long
text.

• This refers to activities which are designed to get

the students using language as freely and
communicatively as they can. The objective is
not to focus on language construction and/or
practice specific bits of language, but for
students to use all language which may be
appropriate for a given situation or topic.
 • According to Jeremy Harmer, ESA builds flexibility through 3
lesson procedures:

 Straight arrow lessons  Boomerang lessons

This consists of the teacher

following the sequence: Engage,
Study and Activate. This is the
best format for the teacher who
 Patchwork lessons
knows the students needs.