Scribd
Upload
12 views

Week 2 Task Definition

Uploaded by

eraykocamaz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
12 views

Week 2 Task Definition

Uploaded by

eraykocamaz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 43

TASK-BASED

LANGUAGE
TEACHING
Definitions, considerations, and
frameworks
What is TBLT?

• The distinction between real-world and pedagogical tasks is needed.


A needs-based approach to content selection.

An emphasis on learning to communicate through


interaction in the target language.

The introduction of authentic texts into the


learning situation.

Benefits The provision of opportunities for learners to focus


not only on language but also on the learning
process itself.
An enhancement of the learner’s own personal
experiences as important contributing elements to
classroom learning.
The linking of classroom language learning with
language use outside the classroom.
Pedagogical Task Definitions

• Long (1985), Richards et al. 1986), Breen (1987)

From broad to specific development


Task characteristics (Skehan,
1998)

meaning is primary

learners are not given other people’s meaning to


regurgitate
there is a sort of relationship to comparable real-world
activities

task completion has some priority

task is assessed in terms of outcome


Ellis (2003:16)
A task is a workplan that requires learners to process language
pragmatically in order to achieve an outcome that can be evaluated in
terms of whether the correct or appropriate propositional content has
been conveyed. To this end, it requires them to give primary attention
to meaning and to make use of their own linguistic resources, although
the design of the task may predispose them to choose particular forms.
A task is intended to result in language use that bears a resemblance,
direct or indirect, to the way language is used in the real world. Like
other language activities, a task can engage productive or receptive,
and oral or written skills and also various cognitive processes.
What is ’curriculum’

• Curriculum vs. syllabus


What it
should
offer:
Elements of curriculum

• Curriculum as plan (prior to teaching)

• Curriculum as action (realities of classroom)

• Curriculum as outcome (what is learned)


After CLT;

• Teaching in the classroom is shaped by beliefs about language,


learning processes, and teaching methods. Language is seen as a
dynamic tool for creating meaning, and learning is no longer viewed
solely as habit formation. Cognitive processes and the social aspect of
learning are considered important.
Knowing That' vs. 'Knowing How':

• Traditionally, there was a distinction between 'knowing that'


(memorizing grammatical rules) and 'knowing how' (using language
effectively). Nowadays, both forms of knowledge are considered valid
goals in language pedagogy.
Varieties within CLT: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is not
a unitary approach but consists of a family of approaches, sometimes
with disagreements among them. It emphasizes language as a tool for
communication.

English for Specific Purposes (ESP): The understanding that


learners have diverse communicative needs led to the emergence of
ESP, which tailors language instruction to specific contexts and
purposes, such as tourism, air traffic control, or engineering.
CLT prompted a reevaluation of learning processes and syllabus design.
It's suggested that the destination (language proficiency) and the route
(learning process) should be seen as inseparable. Learners learn to
communicate by communicating.

There is now widespread acceptance that grammar plays a crucial role


in making meaning, although the extent to which it should be
embedded in the curriculum remains a topic of debate.
Distinctions

CLT is similar to TBLT in essence. What is the difference between them?

Synthetic or analytical approaches to syllabus design? What are they?


Experiential Learning
• Encourage the transformation of knowledge within the learner rather than the transmission of knowledge
from the teacher to the learner.

• Encourage learners to participate actively in small, collaborative groups (I see group and pair work as
important, although I recognize that there are many contexts where class size makes pair and group work
difficult).

• Embrace a holistic attitude towards subject matter rather than a static, atomistic, and hierarchical attitude.

• Emphasize process rather than product, learning how to learn, self-inquiry, social and communication skills.

• Encourage self-directed rather than teacher-directed learning.

• Promote intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation.


Policy and practice

In terms of policies of ministries around the world, TBLT has been


adopted in the educational philosophy. However; there is a discrepancy
between rhetoric and reality.

What is rhetoric? What is reality?


Learner Roles

• Learner-centeredness and autonomy

• Is it possible to embed learner-centered items in a subject-oriented


curriculum or syllabus?
A Framework
for TBLT
exchanging goods
and services
Michael (transactional)
Halliday’s socializing
microfunctio (interpersonal)
ns
enjoyment
(aesthetic)
Pedagogical tasks

REHEARSAL ACTIVATION
RATIONALE RATIONALE
• In the TBLT framework, form-focused work is presented as enabling skills, because they
are designed to develop skills and knowledge that will ultimately facilitate authentic
communication. In the framework, enabling skills are of two kinds: language exercises
and communicative activities.
A framework for TBLT
A risk for TBLT

• Tasks might be disconnected and scattered.

To avoid this,

1. task-chaining

2. thematic unity, or unity of micro/macro functions


Schema building

Pedagogical Controlled practice

sequence of Authentic listening practice

introducing Focus on linguistic elements

Freer practice
tasks: Introduction of the pedagogical
task
Key principles for TBLT

• Principle 1: Scaffolding

Lessons and materials should provide supporting frameworks within which the learning
takes place. At the beginning of the learning process, learners should not be expected to
produce language that has not been introduced either explicitly or implicitly.
Key principles for TBLT

• Principle 2: Task dependency

Within a lesson, one task should grow out of, and build upon, the ones that have gone
before.
Key principles for TBLT

• Principle 3: Recycling

Recycling language maximizes opportunities for learning and activates the ‘organic’
learning principle.
Key principles for TBLT

• Principle 4: Active learning

Learners learn best by actively using the language they are learning.
Key principles for TBLT

• Principle 5: Integration

Learners should be taught in ways that make clear the relationships between linguistic
form, communicative function, and semantic meaning.
Key principles for TBLT

• Principle 6: Reproduction to creation

Learners should be encouraged to move from reproductive to creative language use.


Key principles for TBLT

• Principle 7: Reflection

Learners should be given opportunities to reflect on what they have learned and how well
they are doing.
Components
of a task
Shavelson & Stern (1981)
Task in general educational contexts
• content

• materials

• activities

• goals

• students

• social community
Language context built upon previous
proposals:
Goals
Input

• Spoken, written, and visual data in the process of learning a language.

• What can be considered input?


Ways to
understand
specially
written
dialogues
Procedures

• What is done in the classroom and what students do with the input.

Authenticity issue is one discussion while the other is skill-using vs.


skill-getting.

• Task types used in the process:

dialogues, role plays, matching activities, communication strategies,


puzzles, discussions, etc.
Teacher
and
Learner
Roles
• What are the roles like in TBLT?
Settings
Conclusion

• Reflection questions:

Have you ever experienced a language learning setting similar to TBLT?

Do you think language classrooms in Türkiye are fit for TBLT?

What was the most interesting concept out of the things we have
discussed today?

You might also like