Warmest Greetings to

My Dear Fellow Teachers

Warm Greetings

from

Chen Lin

While there are three people, there must be one who can be my teacher.

---Confucius

TASK-BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING

The Task-Based Approach to Language Learning

Chen Lin

Requirements for FL Teachers

As foreign language teachers, we should be armed with the basic theories and practice in Applied Linguistics and Foreign Language Learning Methodology, particularly their latest developments in our own context.

Approach, Method and Technique

Language teaching is usually discussed in terms of three related aspects: Approach, Method and Technique.

Different theories about the nature of language and how languages are learned (the approach) imply different ways about teaching and learning a language (the method), and different methods make use of different kinds of classroom activity (the technique).

Approach

An approach (路子，途径） is the perception, essential concept and basic guiding principle about how languages are taught and learned. In other words, it is the theory, philosophy and principles underlying a particular set of teaching practices.

There have been the following approaches:

The aural-oral approach The natural approach The cognitive code approach The functional-notional approach

The communicative approach The task-based approach

Method

There have been the following methods: The grammar-translation method The direct method The audiolingual method The sentence-pattern method The situational method The total physical response method The immersion method

Techniques Teaching techniques include:

playing games, singing songs, acting, tongue twister, reciting dialogues, filling in blanks, multiple choice,

matching of words with pictures, cloze test, sentence making, translating, etc.

drills, role play, pair work, group discussion, retelling, etc.

Task-based Language Learning

The theoretical basis of TBLL: 1. Language is for communication 2. Language is for conveying interpersonal

meaning 3. Language is for doing things with it 3. Language exists in contexts

The pedagogical principle of TBLL:

Learning by doing Doing in learning Learning for doing Learning in interacting

The Features of TBLL: 1. Learning a language by doing things with it 2. The situations should be as real as possible 3. Language activities should always be

integrated with culture 4. Language activities should be for expressing

ideas instead of parroting things 5. There should not be an identical answer to a

question or identical outcome of an activity 6. Student-centered, not teacher-centered 7. Students are encouraged to use language

creatively 8. Activities of different skills should be

integrated

Tasks & Exercises

Exercises are mainly for: 1. Checking the command of language knowledge 2. Reviewing and consolidating language knowledge 3. Drilling on language forms 4. Working on separate words or sentences without

a context 5. Working for separate language skills 6. Working in rather mechanical drills, such as filling

blanks, matching, choosing the right answer, translating separate sentences, checking answers, locating the right sound, etc.

7. Arriving at one unified answer for the question

Tasks are mainly for: 1. Arousing students’ interest 2. Doing things 3. Communicating ideas 4. Conveying information 5. Solving problems 6. Working in context 7. Involving more than one language

knowledge or skill 8. Analyzing, discussing, negotiating 9. Working in pairs or groups 10. Allowing different end-products

Kinds of Tasks

Language learning tasks & Real Life (Real world) Tasks

What is the Real World?

The student him/herself His/Her family members and home His/Her teachers and classmates The school, the campus The community, the neighbourhood The city, its parks, museums, libraries, etc The country, its neighbouring countries The World, the nations, their histories,

cultures The universe

Examples of Real World tasks: 1. Decorating the classroom with slogans

in English 2. Writing simple captions for pictures for

classroom decoration 3. Writing a notice to parents 4. Mock healthcare check & mock census 5. Mock food price survey; mock court trial 6. Write a report about a sport match 7. Make a shopping list for a class party 8. Prepare a wall newspaper for the class 9. Make a survey of mistakes in the city’s

English signage and prepare a report

Examples of Language Learning Tasks:

1. Act out a sketch in the textbook 2. Listen to a talk and write out what you

agree and don’t agree 3. Look at the pictures in the textbook and

write captions 4. Teacher puts four hats on the table and

have students say how they are different (style, color, size, for man or woman, for young or old, etc.)

5. Students look at pictures of two persons and say how they are similar or different

A Notice

Sometimes it is difficult to make a distinction between a Language Learning Task and a Real Life Task. In any case, the more creativity ability is required, the better is the activity.

The Role of teacher in TBLL

1. The designer of the tasks 2. The initiator of the tasks 3. The participant in the tasks 4. The negotiator in the tasks 5. The appraiser of the fulfillment of the tasks

Some advice for teachers when designing activities for a class or a textbook

1. Be sure that the activities are task-based instead of being mechanical language exercises 2. Language tasks are necessary but real world

tasks always arouse more interest and helpful 3. Set a definite aim for each task-based activity 4. Provide students with necessary reference

materials, or guide them in finding them

5. Give students some idea about the procedure for fulfilling the task

6. Define clearly the role of the student(s) 7. Define clearly the role of the teacher (or

parents) 8. Set the time for the fulfillment of the task 9. Set the form of the feedback 10. Set the standard and form of the

assessment of the performance

Examples of TasksFor Listening Skill 1. Listen to a story and answer questions 2. Listen to the descriptions of people in a picture and

point out who is who 3. Listen to the description of a person and try to

draw a picture of him(her) 4. Listen to the description of a room and try to draw

a picture of it 5. Listen to the recording of an argument and try to

write a report of it and give your own idea about the matter

6. Listen to the tape of a short story and make an oral report to the class about the content and give your ideas

For Speaking skill 1. Describe one of the students in the class 2. Teacher sets a question for a debate and lets two

students prepare for it (by themselves separately) and debate before the class the next day

2. Describe a job in an ad and offer interviews to applicants

3. Teacher provides the student with a map of the city and has him/her tell about the route to a certain destination and how to get there

4. Have a group of students act as members of a family and discuss about a family matter

5. Give a student a cartoon picture and have him/her describe it

6. A mock conference over a certain matter 7. A mock court trial

For Reading Skill 1. Have a student read the captions of pictures

and tell the class what they are about 2. Have a student read a short story, a

newspaper dispatch, an ad, etc. and report to the class

3. Make a student read the manual of an electrical or electronic apparatus and tell the class how to operate it

4. Read the biography or autobiography of a person and write a chronological table of his/her life

5. Put the scrambled paragraphs of a story in order

6. Fill in the blanks with the right words

For Writing Skill 1. Show the students the pictures of two persons

and have them write about their differences 2. Read to students a story and have them write

it out 3. Have students write out something after all

the previously mentioned activities for listening, speaking and reading

4. Provide a situation and have students write out their ideas

5. Write a report of a book or story 6. Provide part of a story and have the students

complete it 7. Have students write about topical matters

they read in the web

Remember: It is always ideal to combine the practice of two or more skills in one task-based activity.

Procedure of fulfilling a Task

Pre-Task : 1. The teacher sets the task 2. The teacher defines the aim of the task 3. The teacher provides necessary

information about the task 4. The teacher provides or reminds students

of necessary language (vocabulary and/or grammar)

5. The teacher allows students time to prepare for the execution of the task

During task: 1. Students fulfill the task by conscientiously

making use of their language knowledge and skills, the information in their command and their creative ability.

2. Students bring to best play their independent working ability and group cooperation.

3. Students make use of various resources, such as websites, libraries, newspapers, as well as human resources.

4. Students prepare for their report back. 5. Students report back orally and/or in

writing.

Post Task: 1. Students make their own evaluation of

their work 2. Classmates appraise the performance,

pointing out achievements and shortcomings

3. Teacher gives all-round appraisal of the work, from point of view of both task fulfillment and language use.

4. Teacher and students together set follow-up work to consolidate what has been learnt and to make up for what has not been achieved.

An Important Note

I. The TBLL Approach does not reject the effective elements of any of the other approaches or methods. Instead, TBLL is a reasonable development of all that is useful and effective in the other approaches and methods.

II. The success of the implementation of TBLL depends heavily on:

1. Teacher’s understanding and confidence in the effectiveness of the new approach

2. Teacher’s ability to adapt the approach to the situation which the students are in

3. Teacher’s command of the language

A Word for our Teachers

Therefore, each teacher should try and find his/her own way of implementing TBLL in his/her class(es). And this will take some time.

A Word for Textbook Writers

In our textbook compilation work we should always keep the three fundamental principles in mind:

One. Follow the basic approach in textbook writing: Theme—Function—Structure—Task

Two. The TBLL Three. Local Context

Thank you for your attention.All comments are welcome.