LiteratuuronderzoekTask Based Language Teaching

http://de.slideshare.net/hulyagulek1993/task-based-language-teaching-tblt?related=1

A task is any activity that learners engage in the process of learning a language - Williams and Burden, 1997

A task is a range of learning activities from simple and brief exercises to more complex and lengthy activities such a group problem-solving or simulations and decision-making - Breen, 1987

An activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome from given information through some process of thought and which allowed teachers to control and regulate that process was regarded as a task - Prabhu, 1987

What is Task Based Language Teaching?

TBLT is an approach which offers students opportunities to actively engage in communication in order to achieve a goal or complete a task. TBLT seeks to develop students' interlanguage through providing a task and then using language to solve it.

Instead of a language structure or function to be learnt, students are presented with a task they have to perform or a problem they have to solve.

Why do we use a task-based approach? Task can be easily related to students' real-life language needs They create contexts that facilitate second language acquisition Tasks create opportunities for focusing on form Students are more likely to develop intrinsic motivation in a task-based approach A task-based approach enables teachers to see if students are developing the ability to

communicate in the target language

Principles - Making errors is natural and is considered as a part of the process in acquiring the target

language - Exposure to comprehensible input is crucial- Learning tasks facilitating learners to engage in interactions are essential - Learners need to be encouraged to produce the target language as producing the target

language facilitates learning - Focus on form is necessary - Language learning tasks should be varied to cater for the needs for both extrovert and

introvert learners - Learning tasks should encourage learners to attend to both meaning and form and be varied

in order to accommodate learners with different learning strategy preferences - Priyana, 2006

Objectives To facilitate students' language learning by engaging them in a variety of tasks that have a

clear outcome - Larsen-Freeman, 2001

To give learners confidence in trying out whatever language they know To give learners experience of spontaneous interaction To give learners the chance to benefit from noticing how others express similar meanings To give learners chances for negotiating turns to speak To engage learners in using language purposefully and cooperatively To make learners participate in a complete interaction, not just one-off sentences To give learners chances to try out communication strategies To develop learners' confidence that they can achieve communicative goals

- Willis, 1996

Types of learning and teaching activities : 1) Jigsaw Tasks 2) Information-gap Tasks 3) Problem-solving Tasks4) Decision-making Tasks5) Opinion exchange Tasks

Learners roles : Group participant Monitor Risk-taker and innovator

Teacher roles : Selector and sequencer of tasks Preparing learners for tasks Consciousness-raising

The framework for TBL instruction : Pre-task Task cycle Post-task

Pre-task- Use materials such as pictures/texts/songs to lead into the topic- Brainstorming, comparing ideas, sharing experiences - Provide elicit vocabulary - Provide a model - exploit a role-play- Do a similar task- Allow the students time to plan

Task cycle- Pair work and small group work - versus the whole class- Introduce a surprise element- Set a time for completing the task- Vary the number of participants- Tell students they will have to present a report to the whole class

Post-task- Students give a report- Repeat the task - e.g. students switch groups - Consciousness-raising activities - Students listen to a recording or watch a clip of fluent speakers doing the same task, and

compare their tasks with theirs - Teacher gives feedback and evaluates the success of the task

Pre-task Introduction to topic and task :Teachers explores the topic with the class, highlights useful words and phrases, helps students understand task instructions and prepare.

Task cycle Task :Students do the task - in pairs or in small groups.Planning :Students prepare to report to the whole class - how they did the task, what they decided or discovered.Report :Some groups present their reports to the class, or exchange written reports and compare results.

Advantages of TBLT : Students will have a much more varied exposure to language with TBLT Students are free to use whatever vocabulary and grammar they know, rather than just the

target language of the lesson TBLT helps students pay close attention to the relationship between form and meaning TBLT allows meaningful communication Encourages students to be more ambitious in the language they use Students will be exposed to a whole range of lexical phrases, collocations and patterns as

well as language forms

Task-Based Language Teaching - David Nunan, 2004

target tasks refer to uses of language in the world beyond the classroom pedagogical tasks refer to uses of language that occur in the classroom p.1

Learners are free to use a range of language structures to achieve task outcomes - the forms are not specified in advance. p.4

Macrofunctions of language : We use it to exchange goods and services We use it to socialise with others We use it for enjoyment

p.19

p.25

Seven principles for task-based language teaching :1) Scaffolding

Lessons and materials should provide supporting frameworks within which the learning takes place. At the beginning of the learning process, learners should not be expected to produce language that has not been introduced either explicitly or implicitly.

The 'art' of TBLT is knowing when to remove the scaffolding. If the scaffolding is removed prematurely, the learning process will 'collapse'. If it is maintained too long, the learners will not develop the independence required for autonomous language use. p.35

2) Task dependency Within a lesson, one task should grow out of, and build upon, the ones that have gone before.

Within the task-dependency framework, a number of other principles are in operation. One of these is the receptive-to-productive principle. Here, at the beginning of the instructional cycle, learners spend greater proportion of time engaged in receptive (listening and reading) tasks than in productive (speaking and writing) tasks. Later in the cycle, the proportion changes, and learners spend more time in productive work. p.36

3) Recycling Recycling language maximises opportunities for learning and activates the 'organic' learning principle.

If it is accepted that learners will not achieve one hundred per cent mastery the first time they encounter a particular linguistic item, then it follows that they need to be reintroduced to that item over a period of time. This recycling allows learners to encounter target language items in a range of different environments, both linguistic and experiential. p.36

4) Active learning Learners learn best by actively using the language they are learning.

A key principle of experiential learning is that learners learn best through doing - through actively constructing their own knowledge rather than having it transmitted to them by the teacher. When applied to language teaching, this suggests that most class time should be devoted to opportunities for learners to use the language. p.36

5) Integration Learners should be taught in ways that make clear the relationships between linguistic form, communicative function and semantic meaning. p.37

6) Reproduction to creation Learners should be encouraged to move from reproductive to creative language use.

In reproductive tasks, learner reproduce language models provided by the teacher or the textbook. These tasks are designed to give learners mastery of form, meaning and function, and are intended to provide a basis for creative tasks. In creative tasks, learners are recombining familiar elements in novel ways. p.37

7) ReflectionLearners should be given opportunities to reflect on what they have learned and how well they are doing.

p.41

p.48/49

'Authenticity' in this context refers to the use of spoken and written material that has been produced for purposes of communication not for purposes of language teaching. p.49

p.51

Task types Information-gap activity Reasoning-gap activity Opinion-gap activity

Questions and answers Dialogues and role plays Matching activities Communication strategies

Pictures and picture stories Puzzles and problems Discussions and decisions

p.57/58

A key issue for TBLT is whether the tasks themselves should be focused or unfocused. A focused task in one in which a particular structure is required in order for a task to be completed. An unfocused task is one in which the learners are able to use any linguistic resources at their disposal in order to complete the task. p.94While a particular form may not be essential for the successful completion of a task, certain forms could be expected to arise quite naturally in the course of the task. p.95