TeflToday is a teacher-built AI platform offering 10 tools (8 premium + 2 free) for TEFL, TESOL, and ESL educators. It generates CEFR-aligned lesson plans, grades student writing with diagnostic feedback, and produces Cambridge exam practice materials. Created by Ian L. Evans, a British TEFL teacher with 20+ years of classroom experience.

How accurate is the AI Writing CEFR Grader compared with a human teacher?

The grader assesses writing against four rubric dimensions used by Cambridge examiners: Content, Organisation, Language control, and Task Achievement. It provides a CEFR level estimate with detailed error categorisation. However, it is a teaching support tool — not an official Cambridge or IELTS score. Teachers should use it alongside their own professional judgement, especially for borderline cases or high-stakes assessment.

What rubric categories does the CEFR Writing Grader use?

The CEFR Writing Grader evaluates four dimensions: (1) Content — how fully the writing addresses the task; (2) Organisation — paragraph structure, coherence, and linking devices; (3) Language — grammar range and accuracy, vocabulary precision, and collocation usage; (4) Task Achievement — appropriacy and register for the task type (essay, email, report, review). Each dimension receives specific feedback with examples from the student's text.

Do you store student writing? Is it used to train AI models?

Student writing submissions are processed in real time for grading and feedback only. They are not stored permanently, not used to train AI models, and not shared with third parties. TeflToday serves EU-based teachers and handles data in accordance with GDPR principles.

Which Cambridge exams and parts are supported?

TeflToday supports PET (B1 Preliminary), FCE (B2 First), CAE (C1 Advanced), and CPE (C2 Proficiency). Covered paper types include Use of English (Parts 1–4: multiple choice cloze, open cloze, word formation, key word transformations), Speaking prompts with structured assessment criteria, and Writing tasks with CEFR-graded feedback.

How much does TeflToday cost?

€6 for 30 days of full access to all 8 premium tools. No subscription, no auto-renewal, no credit card required to sign up. The English Level Test and C.I.P.R.E.S. C1 Grammar Tool are always free with no account needed.

What are the limitations of AI CEFR writing graders?

AI graders work best for identifying grammar errors, vocabulary range, and structural issues. They are less reliable for assessing creativity, cultural nuance, humour, and highly idiomatic expression. The CEFR level returned is an estimate based on rubric criteria, not an official certification. Teachers should treat AI feedback as a first pass and apply their own judgement for final grading decisions.

Can I export lesson plans and worksheets?

Lesson plans and grading feedback are generated as formatted text that can be copied, printed, or pasted into documents (Google Docs, Word, PDF). The platform is web-based and works on any device with a browser — no software installation required.

ELT Lesson Planning Frameworks: PPP vs TBL vs Test-Teach-Test

ELT Lesson Planning Frameworks: PPP, Task-Based, and Test-Teach-Test Models

Quick answer

ELT lesson-planning frameworks give a lesson its stage structure. PPP moves from controlled presentation to freer production and suits introducing new language; TBL centres an authentic task and suits fluency; Test-Teach-Test diagnoses first and teaches to the gap, suiting partly-known language.

Scope of this guide

This page compares the three lesson-planning frameworks most commonly taught on TEFL/TESOL courses and used in ELT: Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP), Task-Based Learning (TBL) and Test-Teach-Test (TTT). It sets out their stages, typical timings and the situations each one suits best.

Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP)

PPP moves from teacher-controlled to learner-controlled language. It is a reliable default for introducing a discrete new item (a grammar structure or set of vocabulary) because it builds accuracy first and gradually releases control.

PPP stages

Stage	Approx. time	Focus
Presentation	10–15 min	Teacher establishes meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language
Practice	15–20 min	Controlled/semi-controlled activities; accuracy
Production	15–20 min	Freer use of the language in a communicative task; fluency

Task-Based Learning (TBL)

In TBL the task comes first. Learners attempt a meaningful task, and language is drawn out and refined afterwards in a focus-on-form stage. It prioritises communication and is well-suited to learners who already have some language to deploy.

TBL stages (after Willis)

Stage	What happens	Role of language
Pre-task	Introduce topic and task; activate language	Priming, not pre-teaching everything
Task cycle	Learners do the task, plan and report	Language used to achieve a real outcome
Language focus	Analyse and practise language that arose	Form addressed in response to need

Test-Teach-Test (TTT)

Test-Teach-Test starts with a diagnostic “test” task that reveals what learners can already do. The teacher then teaches to the gap revealed, and a second task checks improvement. It is efficient when language is partly known and you do not want to spend time presenting what learners already have.

Framework selection at a glance

Framework	Best when…	Main risk
PPP	Introducing brand-new language	Can feel teacher-heavy; production stage may run short
TBL	Building fluency with language learners partly have	Weak classes may lack language to start the task
Test-Teach-Test	Language is partly known; you want to target gaps	First test can misfire if the task is unclear

Writing measurable stage aims

Whatever the framework, a strong plan states what learners will be able to do by the end, in observable terms. Prefer “by the end, learners will be better able to make polite requests using ‘Could you…?’ in a roleplay” over vague aims like “teach requests”.

Frameworks are tools, not rules. Experienced teachers mix stages — for example a task-based lesson with a short focus-on-form insert — according to the aim and the class in front of them.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main structural difference between PPP and Task-Based Learning?

In Presentation-Practice-Production the teacher presents target language first and learners practise it before producing it freely, so form leads and communication follows. In Task-Based Learning the meaningful task comes first: learners attempt it using whatever language they have, and form is analysed and practised afterwards in response to what they needed. PPP builds accuracy up front, whereas TBL foregrounds communication and treats language focus as a follow-up stage.

When is a Test-Teach-Test lesson structure more appropriate than PPP?

Test-Teach-Test is more appropriate when learners already know some of the target language and presenting it from scratch would waste time. The initial diagnostic task shows exactly what they can and cannot do, so teaching targets the real gap. PPP is a better fit when the language is genuinely new, because learners then need meaning, form and pronunciation established before they can practise it.

How should lesson stage aims be formulated to ensure measurable learning outcomes?

Stage aims should describe observable learner performance rather than teacher intentions. Instead of “teach the past simple”, write what learners will be able to do, in what context, with what language — for example “by the end, learners will be better able to narrate a past holiday using regular and irregular past simple verbs in a speaking task”. Framing aims this way makes it possible to judge, from what learners produce, whether the lesson succeeded.