Patrick Moran, "A Framework for Language Teaching", The ESL Miscellany: A Cultural and Linguistic Inventory of American English.
FYI: I couldn't find a free online resource of the article, "A Framework for Language Teaching", in this book. So, If you are interested in this book, it is available at the bookstores.
Moran's research for a framework is based on the PPP English teaching method which is a traditional approach for language study. As he describes, the procedure has three stages: presentation stage, practice stage, and use (production) stage.
Students learn grammatical rules in the presentation stage, practice them in the practice stage, and use them in the production stage. Having knowledge of grammar and the ability to use it are two different things. Knowledge can practically be useful after students practice repeatedly. Considering the fact that Moran's article was published in 1981, we will see that a new type of methodology called TBLT (Task-Based-Language-Teaching) hadn't emerged yet when Moran was writing his article.
What is very interesting is that we can observe that the concept of TBLT is involved in his practice of the PPP method. While the PPP method puts emphasis on acquiring grammatical knowledge and accuracy, TBLT focuses on fluency and producing substantial content rather than the correctness of grammatical and lexical elements.
Some critics criticize that the PPP method encourages accuracy over fluency, but we can observe that Moran's method involves both elements. In fact, while Moran raises practical frameworks based on the PPP method, he also seeks students' free expression in the learning activities such as "role plays, student spiels, personal reactions, discussions, or games".
It is very interesting that his study shows the concept of TBLT before the emergence of the terminology for this method. Placing more value on fluency rather than accuracy, TBLT aims to encourage students' creative interaction. The PPP method and TBLT have both merits and demerits; however, Moran takes the merits from both: accuracy from the PPP method through the practice of grammatical elements, and then, fluency and creativity from TBLT through students' free expression.
