UNIT 16. PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES AND INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES

PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES AND INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES

The main focus of this Unit is show how each approach has to work in order to teach accurate. For that it is important to know that presentation techniques are ways used by the teacher in order to have their students focus on the meaning, use and form of the new language for the first time. And introductory activities are activities in which the teacher introduces a new lesson or teaching topic.

Here are the two common and different ways of presenting new language items.

Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP)

The teacher provides examples and grammar explanations.

The teacher works as a guide all the time so activities are controlled and with restricted practice.

Group work is very common and more appropriate for beginner students

Teacher-based Learning (TBL)

Is more students centered.

Students give their own examples.

Autonomous works better for intermediate and advanced students.

 Students have to find out how grammar works.

I have experienced both in my teaching experiences, the PPP for example I always used for explaining the passive voice, so I first introduce what the passive voice is about and then I provide examples of it, then I give some exercises to fill in or some choral drills I which students have to say the answer out loud. And finally, students were assigned to create similar examples as the previous provided. 

In the TBL I contextualize the topic by putting it in a real situation that shows the meaning I want students to learn, students have to work out the topic and some activities are done by them, then I discus with the students about the language they need in the task, finally they consolidate the new knowledge into tasks.

EXTRA USEFUL MATERIAL 

• Prator, C.H. and Celce-Murcia, M. 1979. An outline of language teaching approaches. In Celce-Murcia, M. and McIntosh, L. (Ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. New York: Newbury House.
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  Quist, G., 2000 “Language Teaching at University: A Clash of Cultures.” Language and Education 14.2: 123-139
  
  
  
  
   
  • Richards, Jack C and Nunan, D. (eds) 1990 Second language teacher education Cambridge : Cambridge University Press