PPP vs TTT vs TBL: Choosing an ESL Lesson Framework

PPP, TTT and TBL are the three lesson frameworks most ESL teachers meet in TEFL training, and most teachers end up using all three. Each one orders the same ingredients (presenting language, practising it, using it) in a different way. Choosing the right one for a lesson makes planning faster and the lesson more effective. This guide explains how each works, gives a sample outline for each, and shows when to use which.

It covers the opening units of our Lesson Planning Masterclass.

PPP: Presentation, Practice, Production

How it works: The teacher presents new language, students practise it in controlled exercises, then use it more freely.

Sample outline (B1, past continuous vs past simple):

1. Lead-in (5 min): Show a picture of a street scene with an event happening. "What were people doing when it happened?"

2. Presentation (10 min): Elicit and highlight form and meaning on the board with a timeline. Concept questions: "Which action was longer?"

3. Controlled practice (10 min): Gap-fill and sentence matching.

4. Freer practice (10 min): Pairs tell a short story about an interruption in their own lives.

5. Production (15 min): Groups create and tell a story to the class.

6. Feedback (5 min): Review errors from production.

Strengths: Clear, predictable, easy for new teachers and lower levels. Works well for a specific grammar point or set of phrases.

Weaknesses: Can be teacher-heavy. Students may use the language accurately in practice and then not use it at all in production. Less suited to higher levels, who may already know the target language.

TTT: Test, Teach, Test

How it works: Students attempt a task first, the teacher teaches what the first attempt showed was missing, then students try again.

Sample outline (B1-B2, making requests politely):

1. Test 1 (10 min): Role play: ask a colleague to cover your shift. The teacher listens and notes language used.

2. Teach (15 min): Focus on gaps: softening phrases ("Would you mind...", "I was wondering if..."), intonation.

3. Practice (10 min): Short drill and matching task.

4. Test 2 (15 min): New role play with a different request. Students compare with their first attempt.

5. Feedback (5 min): Highlight improvement.

Strengths: Diagnostic: you teach what students actually need. Avoids reteaching what they know. Good for mixed and higher levels.

Weaknesses: Requires flexibility; you have to adapt on the spot to what the first test reveals. Can discourage weaker students if the first test is too hard.

TBL: Task-Based Learning

How it works: The lesson is built around a meaningful task. Language focus comes after the task, based on what students needed.

Sample outline (B1-C1, planning a team event):

1. Pre-task (10 min): Introduce the topic and task: plan a one-day team event with a set budget. Useful vocabulary as needed.

2. Task (15 min): Groups plan the event.

3. Planning (10 min): Groups prepare to present their plan to the class.

4. Report (10 min): Each group presents; the class votes.

5. Language focus (10 min): Teacher highlights useful language from the task and common errors, and students practise.

Strengths: Communicative and motivating. Students use language for a real purpose. Works well with adults and higher levels.

Weaknesses: Less control over which language appears. Lower-level students may struggle without enough support. Needs careful task design.

When to use which

New, specific grammar point for lower levels: PPP.

Mixed-level class, or you do not know the level yet: TTT.

Higher levels who know the grammar but do not use it: TTT or TBL.

Business or adult learners with real-world goals: TBL.

Short lessons with one clear target, such as a 25-minute online lesson: PPP or a short TTT.

Exam preparation focused on one task type: TBL or TTT.

In short: PPP for new and specific language at lower levels; TTT when you are not sure what students know; TBL when the goal is using English for a real task.

Frameworks for skills lessons

PPP, TTT and TBL are mostly used for language lessons. Reading and listening lessons usually follow a different pattern:

1. Pre-reading or pre-listening: Activate what students know about the topic and pre-teach a few essential words.

2. First read or listen for gist: One general question, such as "What is the main problem?".

3. Second read or listen for detail: Specific questions or a task.

4. Post-reading or post-listening: A speaking or writing task that uses the topic or language.

Writing lessons often follow a process: model text, analysis, planning, drafting, feedback, redrafting. Speaking lessons often look like TBL or TTT.

Frameworks in one-to-one lessons

In one-to-one teaching, TTT is often the most efficient, because you can see exactly what the learner can and cannot do in the first few minutes and teach only that. TBL works well when the learner brings a real task, such as an upcoming presentation. PPP is useful for a specific grammar point the learner asks for.

Combining frameworks

Many experienced teachers mix them. A TBL lesson can include a short PPP-style language focus; a PPP lesson can start with a quick test to see what students already know. What matters is that each lesson has a clear objective and that students spend most of the time using English.

How to choose quickly when planning

Ask three questions:

1. Do students already know this language? If not, PPP. If you are not sure, TTT.

2. Is the goal accuracy or fluency? Accuracy suggests PPP; fluency suggests TBL.

3. Is there a real-world task the learners need? If yes, build a TBL lesson around it.

For a fast planning method, see how to plan an ESL lesson in 20 minutes. For managing the class during the lesson, see classroom management strategies for ESL teachers, and for the demo lesson at interviews, see the 15-minute demo lesson.

Writing objectives that fit each framework

A good objective describes what students will be able to do by the end, not what activity they will do.

PPP: "By the end of the lesson, students will be able to use the past continuous and past simple to describe an interrupted action."

TTT: "By the end of the lesson, students will be able to make polite requests in a work context more confidently than at the start."

TBL: "By the end of the lesson, students will be able to plan and present a team event, negotiating choices within a budget."

Objectives like these also make the end-of-lesson review easy: ask students whether they can now do the thing.

Common mistakes

- Choosing PPP for everything because it is familiar.

- Running a TBL task with no language support for lower levels.

- In TTT, teaching everything instead of what the first test showed.

- Skipping the feedback stage in any framework.

- Writing objectives about activities ("Students will do a role play") instead of outcomes ("Students will be able to make polite requests").

Go further

Our Lesson Planning Masterclass covers PPP, TBL, objectives, lead-ins, practice stages, feedback and planning lessons for every skill, age group and setting, plus a 20-minute lesson plan template. The first lessons are free to preview.