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The Language Teacher Task-Based Learning: What Kind of Adventure?

Task is a goal-oriented activity with a clear purpose. Task cycle and language focus create four optimum conditions for language acquisition. Tasks can be used as the central component of a three part framework: "pre-task," "task cycle," and "language focus"

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The Language Teacher Task-Based Learning: What Kind of Adventure?

Task is a goal-oriented activity with a clear purpose. Task cycle and language focus create four optimum conditions for language acquisition. Tasks can be used as the central component of a three part framework: "pre-task," "task cycle," and "language focus"

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The Language Teacher


Task-Based Learning: What Kind
of Adventure?

Jane Willis
Aston University, UK

"Task-based learning is like an adventure--learners surprise you by


coming up with all kinds of things..." "... exploring language in this way
opens up whole new vistas...." These were comments made by teachers at
the end of a recent workshop on using a task-based approach to language
teaching.

Classroom adventures, though often exciting and rewarding, entail


elements of risk that can make things quite scary for the teacher. I want to
show here how this risk can be minimised by principled use of a task-based
learning framework, and then propose a taxonomy to help teachers generate
tasks that will prove fulfilling and challenging but not too risky.

What is a Task?

By task, I mean a goal-oriented activity with a clear purpose. Doing a


communication task involves achieving an outcome, creating a final
product that can be appreciated by other. Examples include compiling a list
of reasons, features, or things that need doing under particular
circumstances; comparing two pictures and/or texts to find the differences;
and solving a problem or designing a brochure.

Tasks can be used as the central component of a three part framework:


"pre-task," "task cycle," and "language focus." These components have
been carefully designed to create four optimum conditions for language
acquisition, and thus provide rich learning opportunities to suit different
types of learners. Figure 1 outlines the roles of the teacher and learners
during a task-based learning (TBL) lesson. Note especially the degree of
teacher control, and the opportunities for learner language use.

Figure 1: Task-Based Learning Framework

Components of a TBL Framework


PRE-TASK PHASE
INtrODUCTION TO TOPIC AND TASK
Teacher explores the topic with the class, highlights useful words and
phrases, and helps learners understand task instructions and prepare.
Learners may hear a recording of others doing a similar task, or read
part of a text as a lead in to a task.
TASK CYCLE
TASK PLANNING REPORT

Students do the task, Students prepare to Some groups present


in pairs or small report to the whole their reports to the class,
groups. Teacher class (orally or in or exchange written
monitors from a writing) how they did reports, and compare
distance, encouraging the task, what they results. Teacher acts as
all attempts at decided or discovered. a chairperson, and then
communication, not Since the report stage comments on the
correcting. Since this is public, students will content of the reports.
situation has a naturally want to be
"private" feel, students accurate, so the
feel free to teacher stands by to
experiment. Mistakes give language advice.
don't matter.
Learners may now hear a recording of others doing a similar task and
compare how they all did it. Or they may read a text similar in some
way to the one they have written themselves, or related in topic to the
task they have done.
LANGUAGE FOCUS
ANALYSIS
PRACTICE
Students examine and then discuss
Teacher conducts practice of new
specific features of the text or
words, phrases, and patterns
transcript of the recording. They
occurring in the data, either during
can enter new words, phrases and
or after the Analysis.
patterns in vocabulary books.
Sometime after completing this sequence, learners may benefit from
doing a similar task with a different partner.

Conditions for Learning


Learners get exposure at the pre-task stage, and a chance to recall things
they know. The task cycle gives them speaking and writing exposure with
opportunities for students to learn from each other.

The task cycle also gives students opportunities to use whatever language
they have, both in private (where mistakes, hesitations, and approximate
renderings do not matter so long as the meaning is clear) and in public
(where there is a built-in desire to strive for accuracy of form and meaning,
so as not to lose face).

Motivation (short term) is provided mainly by the need to achieve the


objectives of the task and to report back on it. Success in doing this can
increase longer term motivation. Motivation to listen to fluent speakers
doing the task is strong too, because in attempting the task, learners will
notice gaps in their own language, and will listen carefully to hear how
fluent speakers express themselves.

A focus on form is beneficial in two phases in the framework. The planning


stage between the private task and the public report promotes close
attention to language form. As learners strive for accuracy, they try to
organise their reports clearly and check words and patterns they are not
sure of. In the final component, language analysis activities also provide a
focus on form through consciousness-raising processes. Learners notice
and reflect on language features, recycle the task language, go back over
the text or recording and investigate new items, and practise pronouncing
useful phrases.

Language Analysis Activities

People have often been under the impression that task-based learning
means "forget the grammar." As we have discussed above, this would not
be a wise move.

The aim of analysis activities is to encourage learners to investigate


language for themselves, and to form and test their own hypotheses about
how language works. In the task-based cycle, the language data comes
from the texts or transcripts of recordings used in the task cycle, or from
samples of language they have read or heard in earlier lessons. Having
already processed these texts and recordings for meaning, students will get
far more out of their study of language form.

Analysis activities can be followed by quick bursts of oral or written


practice, or dictionary reference work (see Willis & Willis, 1996 for
specific ideas). Finally, students need time to note down useful words,
phrases, and patterns into a language notebook. Regular revision of these
will help vocabulary acquisition.

Assessing the Risks


So what risks are there for the teacher? The pre-task stage is normally
teacher-led: little risk of chaos here. Although learners are free to interact
in pairs and groups in the task cycle, there is a firm agenda for them to
follow, such as the achievement of the task goal. A (shortish) time limit for
each phase helps, too. The pressure from the prospect of reporting in public
ensures learner engagement at the interim planning stage. At the beginning
and end of each phase, the teacher assumes full control.

The language focus component does need careful preparation: Whatever


analysis activity is set needs to be done by the teacher beforehand to iron
out problems. More examples can then be found in dictionaries or grammar
books. Sometimes teachers worry that they may not know the answers to
incidental language queries that learners have--there are always some! But
learners can be encouraged to explore these further on their own, or in
pairs, or together with the teacher, with the help of dictionaries, computer
databases, or concordance lines, and then report on them in the next lesson.

Designing Tasks to Promote Language Use

Any topic or theme can give rise to different types of tasks, which can be
generated with the help of the typology shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Typology for TBL Task Design

ORDERING,
SORTIN
G,
CLASSI
FYING
COMPARING,
LISTING MATCH
ING
YOUR TOPIC
e.g., cats

CREATIVE
PROBLEM
TASKS,
SOLVIN
PROJEC
G
T WORK
SHARING
PERSON
AL
EXPERI
ENCES,
ANECD
OTE
TELLIN
G
Each type involves different cognitive processes. The top three types
increase in cognitive complexity from left to right, but are generally
cognitively less challenging than the three at the bottom. These may
involve more complex cognitive operations or combinations of simpler task
types.

For example, taking the topic "cats," a listing task might be: List three
reasons why people think cats make good pets. A comparing task might be
to compare cats and dogs as pets. A problem-solving task could be to think
of three low budget solutions to the problem of looking after a cat when the
family is absent. An experience sharing or anecdote telling task could
involve sharing stories about cats.

It is always a good idea to record two or three pairs of fluent speakers


doing (and reporting) the tasks, so that you can choose the best recording,
transcribe it, and use it in class to illustrate features of spontaneous and
planned language. Working with real data is exciting; there are always
discoveries to be made, and here the risk is reduced by having time to
prepare for what crops up in the recording.

Conclusions

TBL offers a change from the grammar practice routines through which
many learners have previously failed to learn to communicate. It
encourages learners to experiment with whatever English they can recall, to
try things out without fear of failure and public correction, and to take
active control of their own learning, both in and outside class.

For the teacher, the framework offers security and control. While it may be
true that TBL is an adventure, it can be undertaken within the safety of an
imaginatively designed playground.

References and Further Reading

For more on how people learn languages (in and out of classrooms):

Ellis, R. (1997). Second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University


Press.

Williams, J. (1995). Focus on form in communicative language teaching:


Research Findings and the classroom teacher. TESOL Journal, 4(4),12-16.

For more on applying a TBL approach, designing tasks, making recordings,


and dealing with typical problem situations:

Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Harlow,U.K.:


Longman Addison- Wesley.

For a fuller paper on the TBL framework, more on consciousness-raising


activities, and many examples of teacher innovations:

Willis, J., & Willis, D. (1996). (Eds.). Challenge and change in language
teaching. Oxford: Heinemann ELT.

Article copyright © 1998 by the author.


Document URL: http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/files/98/jul/willis.html
Last modified: July 14, 1998
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