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PPU and ECRIF Understanding their uses, differences, and how they overlap Overview ECRIF and PPU are two different but related frameworks. ECRIF is an articulation or description of the learning process - anyone’s process of learning anything. PPU, on the other hand, is a teac hing framework – framework – aa teacher’s lesson framework intended to structure and support students’ students’ learning. In thinking about teaching and learning, learning , ECRIF names or identifies the learners’ process, and PPU is a teac her’s way of planning for and and organizing a learning opportunity. opportunity. The PPU framework serves the learning process; ECRIF is the process of learning that the teaching framework serves. In brief:
PPU is a framework that describes how a teacher can structure a lesson. It is mostly used in planning the stages of a lesson. ECRIF describes the learning process and what students go through as they learn during a lesson or series of lessons. lessons. It can be used during the planning of a lesson, provides a basis for assessing learning during a lesson, and can be used to guide and focus reflection on individual student learning.
Contents Documents 1. Chart comparing the two 2.
Course book Materials (Lesson on Rejoinders f rom Conversation Strategies by David and Peggy Kehe. Pro Lingua Associates.
3.
Sample lesson explained in terms of ECRIF and PPU
4.
Sample reflection using ECRIF
5. A discussion of Pros and Cons of each
Tasks As you read, think think about how each framework can affect you and participants in teaching. How would you use/adapt these materials if you were to teach a lesson on rejoinders? What do you think the pros and cons of using ECRIF and PPU might be for participants on a course? How might the ECRIF framework help par ticipants in reflection and feedback? What other Pro or Cons would you add to the l ist?
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1. Chart Comparing PPU and ECRIF PPU Presentation: This is a stage in which the teacher assures that the learners have been exposed to the target information. Questions a teacher may think about in designing and implementing the presentation stage: How will I present the target language? What will the context be? What activities or questions will I use to guide them to demonstrating what they already know, and/or to awareness and understanding? Will I present the language through a text? A brainstorming session?
ECRIF
Encounter: This is when the learner becomes aware of the target information. We can see learners encountering when they show that they are becoming aware of something new. Students may say/think: “What’s this? What d oes this mean? How do you pronounce this? When is it okay to use this? How do I make that structure?
Teachers need to think about how the students will encounter the target language. Questions a teacher might ask include: In what context will they encounter it? What will they be doing while encountering it? Ex. Will they be involved in a communicative speaking or writing task? (Note how the ‘F’ in ECRIF can loop back here much like a Test -TeachTest lesson) Will they be peer teaching through brainstorming? Where will the target language come from (ex. the teacher, a text, another student?)
The teacher also asks: What will I be doing? How will I assess whether or not the learners have encountered the target material? Clarify: This is a stage when the learners themselves are asking questions about what is the correct meaning, form or use of the target l anguage. Students may say/think: “Oh… I see. Is this right? Can I say…? Can you say it again? ” The teacher asks: How will students clarify the meaning, form, and use of the target language? How I know this is happening or has happened? (Note that it is the students that clarify not the teacher. The teacher may
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use examples, explanations, descriptions, scenarios, drawings etc. to help students clarify but it is the students who need to understand for themselves and their learning process is best served when they are active in figuring out the meaning, form, and use of the target language. Teachers can use techniques such as c hecking questions to assess if Ss have clarified. ) Practice This is the stage when the teacher designs activities for learners to practice the target language. Ideally teachers help learners move from slower to faster production, from having to t hink more about what is being produced to its being more spontaneous, from isolated chunks of language to integrated language. Teachers use a variety of individual, pair and small group work activities to give learners ample opportunities to practice the target language. A teacher thinks: What activities will provide practice of the target language? How will I set up activities that help the students practice the target language? In what order should I do the activities?
Use This is the stage in which teachers design or select a task in which the learners are using the language in a meaningful, independent and interactive way. The teacher is able to assess students’ learning by watching learners in the task.
Remember This is the stage when learners are focused on memorizing the specific target language. They are focused mostly on the language bits and their meaning, form and/or use. Students may say/think: “What was that again? The teacher asks: How will students begin to move key elements about the target language into their long-term memory so they can recall it? Internalize This is the stage when learners are able to remember the language bits enough that they can begin to use them more naturally in broader, more varied contexts. The teacher asks: How will students begin to make associations between the target language and their own experiences? How will they personalize it and begin using it to express their own ideas? Fluent Use This is the stage when learners are able to use the language bits automatically in a real and meaningful way without thinking too much about them. The teacher asks: How will the students use the target language for communicative purposes with ease?
A teacher thinks: How will I set up activities that help the students use the target language for communicative purposes?
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2. Sample lesson explained in terms of ECRIF and PPU (Please refer to the copy of the unit on “Rejoinders” from Conversation Strategies by David and Peggy Kehe. Pro Lingua)
Stage Aim in terms of PPU
Warmer/Lead-in -To give Ss an opportunity for free discussion/use of language -To give Ss an oral interaction experience in which rejoinders would usually be used
Presentation:
Procedure/Steps for the STUDENTS: What exactly will the students be doing? Arrangement? Materials? Purpose?
Listen to the teacher/Think about their weekends. Discuss their weekend with a partner
Volunteer ideas to the whole class.
-To activate knowledge of and elicit rejoinders sts may already know and use -To present the concept of what a ‘rejoinder’ is
Presentation: Meaning -To present the meaning of rejoinders by categorizing them according to emotion.
Practice I -To do controlled practice
Procedure/Steps for TEACHER What will you be doing? What will you say? Ex. Instructions? Modeling? Checking? Monitoring?
Stage aim in terms of ECRIF
-Write on the board “So…How was your weekend? -Briefly get Ss thinking about their weekend. Ex. People, places, things, activities. -Ask Ss to chat about their weekends
Weekend Conversation
-Write “rejoinder” on w/b -Elicit by using a simple two line gapfill Ex. A. I went to a café last night. B. ____________ Who did you go with?
Conversation gap-fill
To give students a chance to fluently use vocabulary and grammar related to the topic and activities to come. Ss will also have an opportunity to fluently use rejoinders so that the T can see what they already k now. To give Ss a chance to encounter and clarify the meaning of new rejoinders as other Ss/T explain offer and explain them.
Match the list of example rejoinders to the correct feeling Adj. (Sad, Happy, Interested, or Surprised)
Additional aims -To make focus of lesson clear -Model the task — to match the example rejoinders to the correct feeling Adj. -Pass out the strips to each groups
Rejoinders List
-Read “Introductory Exercise” and fill in the blanks with the correct rejoinder
-Hand out exercise and ask 1 student to read directions aloud
Dialogue gap-fill
To help Ss encounter and clarify the meanings of more rejoinders such as those for surprise and sadness.
To help Ss clarify and remember
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working with the meaning of rejoinders as they choose which is appropriate as a response to events/feelings being expressed
-Check with a partner -Check as a whole class
-Check student understanding -Write TL on whiteboard
the meanings of all the rejoinders covered up to this point.
Present II: Pronunciation
-Identify which intonation arrow pattern goes with which emotion -Identify the correct emotion as T hums them. Ex. You sound sad, happy, interested, surprised
-Draws intonation arrow patterns, hums it and asks Ss which emotion it sounds like.
Intonation Boardwork
-Do humming/guessing activity in pairs.
-Monitors, corrects, and provides additional models
Intonation Pairwork
-in A/B pairs, Ss do “Step 1, Pair Practice”. Ss listen to a sentence and choose the appropriate rejoinder. -(Option) Ss say “You sound bored, interested, etc” -group correct
-Describe how Ss will complete the activity -Model sentence 1; write the two choices on the w/b (“That’s great!” and “That’s too bad”) and ask one student t o read aloud -Monitor
Listen and Choose rejoinder
-PW: complete the sentences in Step 3 with their own answers in writing -PW: take turns to read and respond using appropriate rejoinders
-Describe two steps: first, write. Then read to a partner and they give an appropriate rejoinder -Monitor
Personalized Sentences
-Write appropriate rejoinders to T’s sentences
Additional aims - To give Ss opportunity to personalize the activity -Erase TL from the W/B -Say 5 of my own made-up
-To present intonation patterns different emotions -To do controlled practice identifying which emotion is being expressed
Practice II -To do controlled practice with emotion intonation patterns by producing and identifying which emotion is being conveyed
Practice III -To give Ss controlled practice listening to a speaker and responding with appropriate rejoinder -To give controlled practice listening to and identifying what emotion their respondent’s reaction conveys
Practice IV -To give Ss freer practice responding with an appropriate rejoinder and appropriate intonation
Practice V -To give Ss freer practice
(Optional: Ss read the dialogue from the introductory exercise aloud focusing on using the correct intonation)
To give Ss a chance to encounter, clarify, and begin to remember the pronunciation of the rejoinders by linking them to auditory and visual intonation patterns. To give Ss a chance to clarify, remember, and begin to internalize the pronunciation of the rejoinders by linking them to intonation patterns. To help Ss clarify, remember, and internalize the intonation and meaning of rejoinders as they recognize the correct rejoinder.
To continue to clarify, remember, and internalize the meaning and intonation of rejoinders. The fact that it is more personalized puts an emphasis on internalizing. Also, they have to now produce rejoinders
Listen and respond To continue to clarify, remember,
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sentences relevant to our context, for example “There will be a test tomorrow.”
choosing and saying an appropriate rejoinder to the T’s statements
Use -To give Ss an opportunity to use rejoinders by choosing how to respond to what the speaker says using an appropriate rejoinder from their memory with appropriate intonation
-Jot down notes to be prepared for Step 4 -PW: standing, conversing about a recent travel experience -purpose: classroom conversation is most often seated, whereas real world conversation is most often not, so by standing Ss get a more realistic “feel” for an authentic situation
Additional aims -To model the final activity -Explain step 4; give time (5 minutes) to jot down notes -Model, “For Thanksgiving my wife and I went to Chicago.” “Yeah.” etc. -Monitor and note down errors for follow-up
and internalize the meaning and intonation of rejoinders. The fact that it is more personalized puts an emphasis on internalizing. Also, they have to now produce rejoinders rather than select them.
Travel Conversation -To give students a chance to fluently use some of the rejoinders as they talk about travel experiences.
Additional aims -To give sts time to create their own statements -To create a more authentic conversation encounter
3. Sample Reflection Using ECRIF terminology During the “Listen and Choose” stage, Won and Rapha el were partners. When Won said ‘That’s nice,’ Raphael said, ‘You sound bored.’ Won then tried it again and they hummed the intonation pattern again. I th ink Raphael’s comment helped Won clarify the intonation pattern for the ‘interested’ feeling I also noticed that when Raphael touched the paper with the intonation pattern and moved it as he spoke, it seemed to help Won clarify it and start to remember it. At the same time, I think that Raphael was able to further internalize the intonation pattern by firs t noticing the problem in Won’s pronunciation and also teaching it to him. During the same activity, I saw Jennifer and Hiroko working together. Jennifer has very natural intonation (she lived abroad for a while) and was able to respond very fluently and sometimes didn’t even look at the rejoinders and just responded. In fact, during the activity when Hiroko said ‘My father is a famous movie star,’ Jennifer responded by saying ‘No way!’ At this point, Hiroko encountered a new rejoinder. She then looked puzzled and asked Jennifer what the meaning was. Jennifer explained that it was the same as ‘ You’re kidding,’ which helped Hiroko clarify the meaning. A minute or two later, Jennifer called me over and asked me if ‘No way’ was okay to use with a teacher in sch ool. I explained that it might be a bit rude in a more formal situation because it was strong and meant that you don’t believe somebody. I think my explanation helpe d her clarify the usage for her a bit. She then continued by giving some situations and ask ing if she could say ‘No way’ in those cases. She seemed to be actively clarifying and perhaps even remembering/internalizingthrough the association with concrete experiences.
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4. Pros and Cons of using PPU and ECRIF with participants Possible Pros of PPU
Can provide a simple template for Ps to follow. When used in conjunction with the PPU pyramid (Moran) Can help Ps see that the presentation part of a lesson needs to be relatively short and that Ss can only learn so much new information at a time. As above Can help Ps see that the majority of the lesson needs to be the Ss working with the language Can help Ps understand the difference between a focus on accuracy (practice) and a focus on communication (use)
Possible Cons of PPU
Can convey the idea that the teacher needs to be ‘presenting’ as opposed to the students learning. Does not explicitly help Ps focus and reflect on what individual students were doing during the lesson. Can encourage teacher to focus on students as monolithic entity rather than individual learners. Can encourage teacher to focus on stages and activities rather than on students Ps may get the impression that learning happens in a linear way and in the same way for all students and feel frustrated when students don’t conform to their lesson plan. Teachers may get the impression that they must do the PPU steps in a particular order. Ex. Present everything first, then practice, then use as opposed to considering the students and the target language when staging the lesson and breaking the target language down into manageable chunks. Teachers may think learners “learn” in a single lesson
ECRIF Possible Pros of ECRIF
The above Pros for PPU (template, amount of information to be encountered and clarified, amount of time needed to remember/internalize, the need to have opportunities for fluency) Helps Ps focus on individual student behavior during the learning process. Can help Ps see that students learn in different ways and realize that it is their job to set up activities that can provide opportunities for learning. Can be used with any teaching framework (TBL, TTT, PPU, ARC) or with various approaches (TPR, Silent Way, Suggestopedia, Audio-lingual, etc). Aids in reflection by inviting Ps describe and interpret what individual Ss are doing with target language at any given point in the lesson. Provides a rationale for continuous noticing and assessment of learning and reflection-in-action For students Supports peer teaching and collaboration at all stages For students Helps ensure their active engagement in their own learning
Possible Cons of ECRIF
Can be frustrating for Ps who want to know the ‘right’ way to teach. Can be initially challenging for participants to understand the difference between the stages. Can be alarming for Ps to realize that students may doing many things at any given point in a lesson i.e. seem chaotic (this can also be a Pro!)
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