The Task Cycle

The Task Cycle

Taskstage

Planningstage

Reportstage

Reasons for aReport stage

Writingin the

Task cycle

ESL andone-to-one:Task cycle

adaptations

The task stage

• They do the task in pairs or in small groups.

TEACHER SHOULD:• Make sure ss are clear about the objectives, and

that they are doing the right task.• Monitor, though not so actively. Stand back. Let

ss get on with the task on their own. Observe from a slight distance.

• Help only as a last resort.• Encourages all ss to take part.• Comment positively and briefly about content,

and about the way some ss did the task (noticed while monitoring)

• Act as a time-keeper (set time limits, short preferably).

Student’s roles Teacher’s roles

The task stage

• They do the task in pairs or in small groups.

TEACHER SHOULD NOT:

• Teach.• Interfere, in order to help by correcting or

suggesting better ways of doing the task. (Help out only if there is a major communication breakdown).

• Pay much attention to errors of form.

Student’s roles Teacher’s roles

Reasons for a Report stage

• The task helps the learner develop both fluency in the target language and strategies for communication, but, to some extent, at the expense of grammatical accuracy.• Because the Report stage, meant for an audience, constitutes a

natural stimulus for ss to use accurate language, they try to:- avoid making mistakes;- organise clearly their message; and- use appropriate language for specific situations or circumstances.

The Planning stage

• They prepare the report (orally, in writing, audio or video) about the task: what they did, how they did it, what they found.

TEACHER SHOULD:

• Tell ss what the purpose of the report is, the kind of information they have to pay attention to, and what they will do with that information.

• Inform ss about the audience (in case it is not the same group), the form the report should take, the resources they can use, how long the presentation should be (time limit for oral presentations, or number of words/lines/paragraphs for written reports).

• Act as a language adviser (give feedback, help ss to correct, rephrase, rehearse and/or draft the written report).

Student’s roles Teacher’s roles

The Planning stage

• They prepare the report (orally, in writing, audio or video) about the task: what they did, how they did it, what they found.

TEACHER SHOULD:• Re-assign roles when some ss tend to do all the

work.• Wait until s/he is asked for help (ss learn best

when they work out things by themselves).• Help ss shape their meanings and express more

exactly what they want to say.• Suggest ways to improve work at a general level

(alternative wordings).• Explore options together.• Teach how to use resources, such as the use of

dictionnaires.• Signal only the most important errors/mistakes,

and encourage peer help/correction.• Provide ss with samples (of previous ss’ work)

of what they are expected to do.

Student’s roles Teacher’s roles

Purposes for reports• Listing: Ss hear other teams’ lists and complement their own ones. They

can vote on the most complete one.• Ordering & sorting: Ss can justify their priorities to persuade each other.• Comparing: Ss can compare which teams have done the task in the same

way, or have things in common with them. They may also find out who agree/disagree with them, and why.• Problem solving: Ss can compare and list strategies for solving a problem,

justify or evaluate solutions, recommend a solution, or vote on the best solution to a problem.• Experience sharing: Ss can note interesting points for later review,

classification/comparison; they can write questions for the speaker, or ask questions as a memory challenge to other ss. They can also select one experience to summarize or react to in writing.• Creative: Ss can express their opinions about other teams’ reports.

The Report stage

• They report the task (orally, in writing, audio or video) to the whole class.

TEACHER SHOULD:• Be encouraging.• Act as a chairperson:- Set the purpose for listening to the report:

what ss will do with the information.- Introduce the presentations.- Nominate who speaks next.- Keep time. Presentations should last no more

than two minutes. Stop the presentations when they have become repetitive and no different information would be added by the remaining teams.

Student’s roles Teacher’s roles

The Report stage

• They report the task (orally, in writing, audio or video) to the whole class.

TEACHER SHOULD:

• Give feedback mainly on content but also on form. Take notes/notice of weak áreas: expressions, phrases, patterns that need to be clarified/corrected.

• Be careful when giving feedback: handle it tactfully and positively. Give examples of good expressions used by ss.

• Allow peer correction by pausing or leaving a blank where the error/mistake is, so that ss can complete with the right word/phrase.

Student’s roles Teacher’s roles

The Report stage

• They report the task (orally, in writing, audio or video) to the whole class.

TEACHER SHOULD:

• Consider the possibility of sticking the ss’ writings on the classroom walls so that they can walk around and read each other’s work (for written reports).

• Sum up the presentations at the end. React first positively to the content, either by asking questions (Who was the st who…?) or by praising ss’ reports (What an interesting story!). Focus and comment on the things ss are doing right or on areas in which they show improvement.

Student’s roles Teacher’s roles

The Report stage

• They report the task (orally, in writing, audio or video) to the whole class.

TEACHER SHOULD:

• Have ss write their own views on their performance: what they think they have learned, how they think they have benefited.

• End the report stage by acknowledging ss’ efforts and by showing genuine interest in what they have done, said, or written.

Student’s roles Teacher’s roles

Writing in the Task cycleThe status of writing

• Ordinary people barely write more than personal letters or fill out forms.• FL/SL students write mainly for examination purposes, rather than for

real communication.• A few people write as part of their jobs.• Higher education ss in the target language need to write for academic

purposes (academic writing).

Writing in the Task cycleThe need for writing

• Higher education ss in FL/SL would benefit of tasks especially designed to meet their needs.• Writing is in itself a learning process. It helps people get their ideas clear, and

create new ones.• Writing in a SL/FL requires a restructuring of language forms, thus forcing the

learners to be aware of their current grammatical knowledge and trying to improve it.• Writing is essential in the TB approach. Ss need to write for several purposes,

such as private notes to help them remember what was said or read; for drafting and writing for the report stage.

Writing in the Task cycleWriting in the TBL• Sometimes the end product of the task is a written document, such as a letter, a

story ending, a list of recommendations, etc.• The end product is introduced in the pre-task stage (orally or in writing), discussed

as an integral part of the task stage, drafted collaboratively at the planning stage, and polished for the report stage.• The planning stage for a written report should be longer than that needed for an

oral presentation. The same is true for a video-recording.• To make writing more meaningful and motivating, ss could write for different

audiences (for other classes in or outside the school, in different media such as e-mails, blogs, etc. • Some meaningful projects that could be worked in a TB class are: guide-books to the

town/city, brochures about local activities, school newspapers/magazines, brief history of school/town, letters, surveys, diaries, etc.

Writing in the Task cycleMain stages in the writing process• Think what to say, or what not to say (brainstorming).• Jot down ideas.• Write out roughly to get more ideas.• Discard ideas not so relevant for the task.• Organize the ideas.• Write a draft and have somebody to make comments on it (feedback).

Think about layout and format, and use a word processor to make it look professional.• Write the final draft, and read it to check omissions and spelling

mistakes.

ESL and one-to-one:Task cycle adaptations

• The type of task influence the nature of the cycle. Writing tasks or audio/video-recorded reports usually take longer planning stages than oral presentations.• The teaching situation can also affect the task cycle. For instance the report

stage can be omitted at first with beginners.• SL ss, who already have a lot of practice in the target language, may need

more time for the planning and reporting stages.• In one-to-one classes, reports can be written/recorded for the teacher, for

other one-to-one ss (who could meet occasionally), or for an audience in mind.• The teacher should give a positive overall appraisal at first, and then

read/listen to the report again in order to give detailed feedback. Comment on positive aspects, and signal areas for improvement. Then ss can edit their work again.