Task based language teaching

Task-Based Language Teaching

CONTENT

• DEFINITION OF TBLT• DEFINITION OF TASKS• TYPES OF TASKS• CHARACTERISTICS OF TBLT• METHODOLOGY• ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

OF TBLT• DEMONSTRATION• REFERENCES

WHAT DOES TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING (TBLT) MEAN?

• Is related to Communicative Language Teaching (CLT).• Some researchers (Kumaravadivelu, 2006) argue that TBLT is significantly different than CLT but some (Ellis, 2003) thinks that TBLT is at the very core of CLT.This pedagogy puts the use of TASKS at the core of language teaching. (Brown, 2007)

WHAT TASKS?

Task is defined by Skehan (1998) as an activity in which:• meaning is of the utmost importance;there is some communicative problem to solve;• there is relationship to real-world activities;• task completion has some priority; andthe assessment of task is in terms of outcome.

OR SIMPLY PUT…

“A TASK IS AN ACTIVITY WHICH REQUIRES LEARNERS TO USE LANGUAGE

(PEDAGOGICAL TASKS), WITH EMPHASIS ON MEANING, TO ATTAIN AN OBJECTIVE

(TARGET TASKS)” (BYGATE, SKEHAN, & SWAIN, 2011)

TYPES OF TASKS IN TBLT

1. Target tasks• Which students must achieve

beyond the classroom.• Much more specific and more

explicitly related to classroom instruction.

• Specifies a context.

TYPES OF TASKS IN TBLT 2. Pedagogical tasks• Form the nucleus of the classroom activity• Include series of techniques to ultimately

teach students to perform the target task.• Involve students in some form of

simulation of the target task.• Distinguished by their specific goals that

point beyond the language classroom to the target task.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TBLT• Tasks ultimately points learners to the application

of language in real-life situations.• Tasks are not heavily guided by the need for

correct grammatical and structural aspects of the language.

• Tasks specifically contribute to communicative goals.

• Their objectives are well specified so that you can at some later point accurately determine the success of a task over another.

• Tasks engage learners, at some level, in genuine problem-solving activity.

HOW DO WE PERFORM IT?

1. Perform needs analysis. “I want to be able to talk to foreign

visitors in English.”2. Specify learning goals and objectives. Goal type: Communicative.3. Create tasks. Simulations in classroom.4. Develop and enable integrating skills. Language exercises, communicative

activities.

A FRAMEWORK OF TBLT

ADVANTAGES OF TBLT

• useful for moving the focus of the learning process from the teacher to the student.

• gives the student a different way of understanding language as a tool instead of as a specific goal.

• can bring teaching from abstract knowledge to real world application.

• A Task is helpful in meeting the immediate needs of the learners and provides a framework for creating classes, interesting and able to address to the students needs.

DISADVANTAGES OF TBLT • There is no acquisition of new grammar or

vocabulary features• Everything is left to the teacher• Not all students are or will be motivated by TBLT• Some students need more guidance and will not

or cannot `notice´ language forms (grammar) or other elements of accuracy

• Students typically translate and use a lot of their L1 rather than the target language in completing the tasks.

(Broady, 2006)

SIMPLE IN-CLASS DEMONSTRATION

• EXAMPLES OF REAL-WORLD TASKS• Visiting the doctor• Making a telephone call• Asking for street directions

SIMPLE IN-CLASS DEMONSTRATION

• Om came at 2.• He wants to break up with you.• No discussion. Made up his mind. • He gave his promise ring. • Don’t contact him ever again.

WHAT DO WE THINK ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF

TBLT FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING METHODOLOGY?

REFERENCES

• Teaching by Principles, An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy [Book] / auth. Brown H. Douglas. - New York : Pearson Education, 2007. - Vol. III.

• Nunan, D. 1999. Second Language Teaching and Learning. Boston: Heinle / Thomson Learning

Task based language teaching

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