Task based concepts to develop Speaking Skills

By Ivan Aguilar

Objetives

To identify principles of the task based learning.

To Identify types of gaps to promote speaking activities.

To apply the identified gaps into their classroom practice.

Getting back to roots

What is TBL?Task-based language learning is the method of language acquisition that involves doing familiar task using the target language. As these are familiar task there is a large range of possibilities; for example, visiting a doctor, conducting an interview, or calling customer service for help.

Wikipedia

Task based learning principles (Ellis)

A task involves a primary focus on (pragmatic) meaning.

A task has some kind of ‘gap’. The participants choose the linguistic

resources needed to complete the task.

A task has a clearly defined, non-linguistic outcome

Teaching framework1. Pre task

a. Introduce/motivateb. Clarify the outcomec. Provide some languaged. Model

2. Taska. Ss perform the taskb. T observes/counsels/intervenes

3. Reviewa. Ss present a final productb. Feedbackc. Language analysis

Types of tasks to develop speaking:GAPS

Types› Information gaps› Opinion gaps› Reasoning gaps

Information Gaps

Involves a transfer of given information from one person to another

Calls for the decoding or encoding of information from or into language.

Each member of the pair has a part of the total information (for example an incomplete picture) and attempts to convey it verbally to the other.

Information Gap Example

Opinion/Experience gaps

Involve identifying and articulating a personal preference, feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation

The activity may involve using factual information and formulating arguments to justify one’s opinion.

No objective procedure for demonstrating outcomes as right or wrong.

Opinion/Experience Gap

Example

Reasoning gaps

Involve deriving some new information from given information through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a perception of relationships or patterns.

The activity necessarily involves comprehending and conveying information, as in information-gap activity, but the information to be conveyed is not identical with that initially comprehended.

Reasoning Gap

Example

Summary: Principles

Focus on meaning

There’s a kind of gap

Non restricted linguistic resources

Clearly defined outcome

Task

Summary:Framework

Pre-task Task Post-

task

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