THE PLACE OF TASKS IN THE LANGUAGE

CLASSROOMCHAPTER 8

TASKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

BASICALLY..........

A TASK is anything that learners are given to do (or choose to do) in the language classroom to further the process of language learning.

SPECIFIC INTERPRETATIONS OF TASKTeachers’ view of teaching-learning

processTeachers’ belief

about SLALanguage Teaching

approaches

Any activity that learners engage in to further the process of learning a language

A forum within which such meaningful

interaction between two or more participants can

take place

Procedural syllabus

an activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome through some process of thought, and which allowed teachers to control and regulate

TASK COMPONENTS (NUNAN, 1989)

Input data

activiities

Roles of teachers

goals

Roles of learners

A setting

TASK COMPONENTS (LAGUTKE AND THOMAS, 1991)

--THEME-CENTRED INTERACTION--All that the individual learners and the teacher bring to the

learning situationLearning take place within the

framework of the groupA dinamic element taking shape in an interactional process which mediates

learners’ interests, with the interests and preferences of

the teacher

I Dimensio

nWe

Dimension

Theme

GRADING TASKS AND TASK DIFFICULTY

NUNAN, 1989

Input

activity

Learners’

factorTask

Difficulty

INPUT

Grammatical complexity

Propositional density

Vocabulary usedThe genre, discourse structure,

sequencing of items

Explicitness of the information

Supporting pictures, tables etc.

Speed of listening text and Number of people involved

Length of the text

ACTIVITY

A piece of text

Sequencing pieces of the text

Transfering information to chart

Agreeing and disagreeing

aUsing the text as the basis of discussion

a

LEARNER FACTORS

confidence

motivation

Prior experience

Culture awareness

Capability and knowledge

PRABHU, 1987

Task Difficulty

The amount and type of information provided;

The amount of reasoning or cognitive operation needed

The precision neededThe learners’ knowledge of the world and familiarity with the purposes and constraints of

 the taskThe degree of abstractness of the concepts 

dealt with in the task.  

BRINDLEY, 1987

Task Difficulty

Relevance to the learner

ComplexityAmount of context provided and 

knowledge of the world requiredLinguistic demands

Accuracy required

Assistance given

Time available. 

It can be seen that different people have approached the question of task difficulty in a variety of ways. There is however, one further imortant influence on task difficulty that has recieved considerable attention, that is, the different kinds of interaction generated by different types of tasks.

INTERACTIONAL FEATURES OF TASKS different tasks produce different types of

interaction and output different factors affect the quality and quantity of

the communication generated The amount and type of negotiation

activity Participants

Interaction

In TaskAmount and

type of collaborationInformation exchange

Size of group

Familiarity with the task

Proficiency level

Language background

Learning style

A COGNITIVE PROCESSING APPROACH

Feuerstein’s cognitive map

a model that represents the significant factors involved

in the performance of any mental act. 

ELEMENTS OF FEUERSTEIN’S COGNITIVE MAP

The universe of Content

The modality or language Level of efficiency

The Cognitive operations

Phase of cognitive functions

Complexity

Level of abstraction

1

3

4

5

6

7

2

3 ASPECTS OF LEARNING PHASES 

Input

elaboration

output

Selecting, gathering, and taking in appropriate information

Processing and using the input in some way

Expressing meaning arising from the processing that has occured

LITZ’S DEVELOPMENT OF FEUERSTEIN’S THEORY

arousal, sensation, attention and perception

short- and long term memory, processing skills and executive s

ystemsthe execution of some kind of response or performance which may involve verbal, written, gestural, or figural communication

Input

elaboration

output

Instrumental enrichment

A series of some 400 cognitive tasks constructed by Feuerstein and his co-workers by means of the

cognitive map to teach the skills of thinking, problem-solving and learning-how-

to-learn

These range from the simple organisation of our thoughts, through orientation in time and space, making comparisons, categorisation, establishing logical relationships, through to inductive and deductive reasoning.

Specific aspects of cognitive functioning

THUS..... Instrumental enrichment tasks can be used to teach both language and thinking. Learners are then engaged in using the target language for a purpose to develop their thinking ability and it is through this that their language competence develops.

AN EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON TASKS  Tasks  can be seen as a manifestation or embodiment of the

theories of learning subscribed to by teachers and their perceptions of the whole spectrum of the teaching-learning process. 

Teachers will select tasks which reflect their beliefs about teaching and learning, including beliefs about such aspects as co-operation or competition, learners’ roles, learning style, independence, level of challenge and so on. 

The ways in which teachers mediate in their presentation of tasks is a crucial aspect of any debate on learning tasks. 

The learners make sense of the activities or experiences provided for them. 

A SUMMARY ABOUT TASKS   Tasks are seen as pivotal in the interaction between teachers and lear

ners.  They provide one of many routes through which teachers and learners

convey attitudes and messages about the learning process to each other, as well as providing a vehicle within which learning takes place. 

Besides, a consideration of the way in which tasks are presented, mediated, carried out and evaluated is also important. 

Even the most innovative and well-designed tasks can be used in a range of different ways. 

REFERENCE Williams, M.; and Burden, R.L. 1997. Psychology for Language Teachers: A Social Constructivist Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press