Irma Nydia Villanueva Rivera

• A wide range of methods can be found in the language teaching literature that subscribe, not with a prior analysis of the language, but with an analysis of the communicative needs of the learner.

• These include content-based instruction (Brinton, 2003), project-based pedagogy (Ribe and Vidal 1993, Rudolph), and task-based language teaching (Nunan, 2004).

• These methods all share one thing in common – the starting point for designing materials and courses is something other than an inventory of sounds, words and grammar.

Task-based Language Learning (TBLL)

known as Task-based Language Teaching

(TBLT) or Task-based Instruction (TBI)

TBLT is an approach to teaching a second/foreign language that seeks to engage learners in interactionally authentic language use by having

them perform a series of tasks.

It aims to both enable learners (1) to acquire new linguistic knowledge and (2) to proceduralize their existing knowledge.

The learning process is seen as a set of communicative tasks

that are directly linked to curricular goals.

Task-based learning is an overall approach to language learning that views the tasks that learners do as central to the learning process.

• Creating engaging classroom activities that enable students participate actively and

meaningfully in tasks that are age, brain, proficiency level-compatible.

These descriptions are recognized internationally, and have been developed by the American

Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

Role of the Teacher •Cooperate, listen and respond to students needs•Decide what tasks to work on•Decide when to try a new task•Correct and keep feedback•What specific things did the students do?•Help students monitoreach other

Role of the Student

•Work individually or with the groups equally

•Gather and organize information

•Present results to others

students and/or Instructor

•Analysis of his/her perfor-

mance with Instructor

A task is an activity where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome.

• A task is a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on mobilizing their grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning, and in which the intention is to convey meaning rather than to manipulate form.

Will the activity engage learners interest?

Is there a primary focus on meaning?

Is there a goal or an outcome? Is success judged in terms of

outcome? Is completion a priority? Does the activity relate to real world

activities?

Gebhard (1996) list of authentic materials

1. Authentic Listening/ Viewing Materials- TV commercials, quiz shows, cartoons, news clips, comedy shows, movies, soap operas, professionally audio- taped short stories and novels, radio ads, songs, documentaries, and sales pitches.

2. Authentic Visual Materials- slides, photographs, paintings, children’s artwork, stick-figure drawings, wordless street signs, silhouettes, pictures from magazines, ink blots, postcard pictures, wordless picture books, stamps, and X-rays.

3. Authentic Printed Materials- newspaper articles, movie advertisements, astrology columns, sports reports, obituary columns, , lyrics to songs, restaurant menus, street signs, cereal boxes, candy wrappers, tourist information brochures, university catalogs, telephone books, maps, TV guides, comic books, greeting cards, grocery coupons, pins with messages, and bus schedules.

4. Realia*- coins and currency, folded paper, wall clocks, phones, Halloween masks, dolls, and puppets, to name a few.

*realia: concrete objects and the paraphernalia of everyday life which are used in the classroom to illustrate and teach vocabulary or to serve as an aid to facilitate language acquisition and production.

• Using authentic materials has several advantages. According to Brinton (1991), authentic materials and media can reinforce for students the direct relationship between the language classroom and the outside world.

• Gebhard (1996) sees authentic materials as a way to contextualize language learning.

1. Activities using cultural objectsActivities involving the direct use and handling of products of a culture (such as postcards, photographs, symbols, and images in song lyrics) can be very effective in the classroom.

2. Listening / Viewing ActivitiesMany creative approaches for using video in the classroom are given by Stempleski and Tomalin (1990). One idea is through silent viewing of video clips to let students consider what is going on and guess what the speakers are doing and saying. Another approach would be for students to watch the beginning only of a video clip, and then they must predict what will happen next.

3. Interactive simulationsAnother approach would be to set up a simulation of some real-world scenarios in which students familiarize themselves with the details through interaction with authentic materials. Then the students have to play a certain role in the scenario and communicate with others in a realistic manner while attempting to accomplish certain tasks.

(Authentic Task-based Materials: Bringing the Real World Into the Classroom by Gail K. Oura)

• The primary focus of classroom activity is the task and language is the instrument which the students use to complete it. The task is an activity in which students use language to achieve a specific outcome. The activity reflects real life and learners focus on meaning, they are free to use any language they want. Playing a game, solving a problem or sharing information or experiences, can all be considered as relevant and authentic tasks.

• The tasks will generate their own language and create an opportunity for language acquisition (Krashen*). If we can take the focus away from form and structures we can develop our student’s ability to do things in English. That is not to say that there will be no attention paid to accuracy, work on language is included in each task and feedback and language focus have their places in the lesson plans.

*Krashen, S. (1996). The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition

in the Classroom. Prentice Hall

Most of the task-based lessons in this section are what Scrivener classifies as authentic and follow the task structure proposed by Willis and Willis.

Each task will be organized in the following way:

1.Pre-task activity an introduction to topic and task

2.Task cycle: Task > Planning > Report3. Language Focus and Feedback

1. It gives learners confidence in trying out whatever language they know

2. It gives learners experience of spontaneous interaction

3. It gives learners a chance to benefit from noticing how others express similar meanings

4. It gives learners chances for negotiating turns to speak

5. It engages learners in using language purposefully and cooperatively

6. It makes learners participate in a complete interaction, not just one-off sentences […] it is likely that discourse skills such as these can only be gained through interaction.

7. It gives learners chances to try out communication strategies

8. It helps learners gradually gain confidence

Created by Irma Nydia Villanueva-RiveraSpanish Teacher, Puerto Rico Department of Education

spanishteacherpr@yahoo.com

http://irmavillanuevarivera.wordpress.com

http://lenguajelenguayhabla.blogspot.com