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Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching

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Agustín Berisso
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Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching

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Agustín Berisso
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Current communicative approaches

Procedure
The way in which task activities are designed into an instructional bloc
can be seen from the following example from Richards (1985). The
example comes from a language program that contained a core compo-
nent built around tasks. The program was an intensive conversation
course for Japanese college students studying on a summer program in
the United States. Needs analysis identified target tasks the students
needed to be able to carry out in English, including:
– basic social survival transactions
– face-to-face informal conversations
– telephone conversations
– interviews on the campus
– service encounters
A set of role-play activities was then developed focusing on situations
students would encounter in the community and transactions they would
have to carry out in English. The following format was developed for
each role-play task:
Pretask activities
1. Learners first take part in a preliminary activity that introduces the
topic, the situation, and the “script” that will subsequently appear in
the role-play task. Such activities are of various kinds, including brain-
storming, ranking exercises, and problem-solving tasks. The focus is
on thinking about a topic, generating vocabulary and related lan-
guage, and developing expectations about the topic. This activity
therefore prepares learners for the role-play task by establishing sche-
mata of different kinds.
2. Learners then read a dialogue on a related topic. This serves both to
model the kind of transaction the learner will have to perform in the
role-play task and to provide examples of the kind of language that
could be used to carry out such a transaction.
Task activity
3. Learners perform a role play. Students work in pairs with a task and
cues needed to negotiate the task.
Posttask activities
4. Learners then listen to recordings of native speakers performing the
same role-play task they have just practiced and compare differences
between the way they expressed particular functions and meanings
and the way native speakers performed.
Willis (1996: 56–57) recommends a similar sequence of activities:
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Task-Based Language Teaching

Pretask
Introduction to topic and task
– T helps Ss to understand the theme and objectives of the task, for
example, brainstorming ideas with the class, using pictures, mime, or
personal experience to introduce the topic.
– Ss may do a pretask, for example, topic-based odd-word-out games.
– T may highlight useful words and phrases, but would not preteach new
structures.
– Ss can be given preparation time to think about how to do the task.
– Ss can hear a recording of a parallel task being done (so long as this
does not give away the solution to the problem).
– If the task is based on a text, Ss read part of it.
The task cycle
Task
– The task is done by Ss (in pairs or groups) and gives Ss a chance to use
whatever language they already have to express themselves and say
whatever they want to say. This may be in response to reading a text or
hearing a recording.
– T walks round and monitors, encouraging in a supportive way every-
one’s attempts at communication in the target language.
– T helps Ss to formulate what they want to say, but will not intervene to
correct errors of form.
– The emphasis is on spontaneous, exploratory talk and confidence
building, within the privacy of the small group.
– Success in achieving the goals of the task helps Ss’ motivation.
Planning
– Planning prepares for the next stage, when Ss are asked to report
briefly to the whole class how they did the task and what the outcome
was.
– Ss draft and rehearse what they want to say or write.
– T goes round to advise students on language, suggesting phrases and
helping Ss to polish and correct their language.
– If the reports are in writing, T can encourage peer editing and use of
dictionaries.
– The emphasis is on clarity, organization, and accuracy, as appropriate
for a public presentation.
– Individual students often take this chance to ask questions about spe-
cific language items.
Report
– T asks some pairs to report briefly to the whole class so everyone can
compare findings, or begin a survey. (NB: There must be a purpose for
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Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016
Current communicative approaches

others to listen.) Sometimes only one or two groups report in full;


others comment and add extra points. The class may take notes.
– T chairs, comments on the content of their reports, rephrases perhaps,
but gives no overt public correction.
Posttask listening
– Ss listen to a recording of fluent speakers doing the same task, and
compare the ways in which they did the task themselves.
The language focus
Analysis
– T sets some language-focused tasks, based on the texts students have
read or on the transcripts of the recordings they have heard.
– Examples include the following:
Find words and phrases related to the title of the topic or text.
Read the transcript, find words ending in s or ’s, and say what the s
means.
Find all the verbs in the simple past form. Say which refer to past time
and which do not.
Underline and classify the questions in the transcript.
– T starts Ss off, then Ss continue, often in pairs.
– T goes round to help; Ss can ask individual questions.
– In plenary, T then reviews the analysis, possibly writing relevant lan-
guage up on the board in list form; Ss may make notes.
Practice
– T conducts practice activities as needed, based on the language analysis
work already on the board, or using examples from the text or
transcript.
– Practice activities can include:
choral repetition of the phrases identified and classified
memory challenge games based on partially erased examples or using
lists already on blackboard for progressive deletion
sentence completion (set by one team for another)
matching the past-tense verbs (jumbled) with the subject or objects
they had in the text
Kim’s game (in teams) with new words and phrases
dictionary reference words from text or transcript

Conclusion
Few would question the pedagogical value of employing tasks as a vehicle
for promoting communication and authentic language use in second lan-
guage classrooms, and depending on one’s definition of a task, tasks have
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Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016

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