Advanced Methodology for TESOL1

1
Advanced Methodology for TESOL-1

• Session 4
• Task-based Language Teaching

2
Overview of tasks

• The use of tasks in language pedagogy has a long
  tradition, particularly in the communicative
  approach to language teaching.
• The term communicative activities has been
  gradually replaced by tasks (Bygate et al,
  2001).
• The early research efforts focused on
  investigating the potential of the task as a unit
  of organisation in syllabus design or language
  instruction.
• The interest in tasks then shifted to concentrate
  on the cognitive dimension of the task, and the
  identification of conditions that affect task
  performance, in order to inform pedagogy.

3
Task definitions

• In the literature, numerous definitions of tasks
  can be found.
• These definitions vary according to the
  theoretical basis on which they draw.
• Two main streams in approaching tasks can be
  defined
• The view of tasks from a pedagogical perspective,
  i.e. the task as a unit of analysis in syllabus
  design.
• The other regards the task as a context for the
  activation of key processes in language learning,
  i.e. research-based tasks.
• A brief summary of some of the definitions will
  be presented next

4
Long (1985)

• Long defines a target task using its everyday
  nontechnical meaning
• A piece of work undertaken for oneself or for
  others, freely or for some reward. Thus, examples
  of tasks include painting a face, dressing a
  child, filling out a form, buying a pair of
  shoes, making an airline reservation, borrowing a
  library book, taking a driving test, typing a
  letter, weighing a patient, sorting letters,
  taking a hotel reservation, writing a check,
  finding a street destination and helping someone
  across a road. In other words, by task is meant
  the hundred and one things people do in everyday
  life, at work, at play, and in between. Tasks are
  the things people will tell you they do if you
  ask them and they are not applied linguists
  (198589).
•  
• In this definition, task is broadly defined in
  plain terms. A task is not necessarily a language
  learning task for classroom use. For some tasks
  (e.g. painting a fence), one does not need to use
  language at all. The emphasis is on the tasks
  relationship to real-world activities.

5
Nunan 1989

• Another approach to task definition from the
  perspective of instructional design is Nunan's
  proposal of what he called 'communicative tasks'
  tasks that involve communicative language use
  in which the user's attention is focused on
  meaning rather than linguistic structure. He
  defines a communicative task as
• A piece of classroom work which involves
  learners in comprehending, manipulating,
  producing or interacting in the target language
  while their attention is principally focused on
  meaning rather than form (1989 10). He further
  argues that the task should have a sense of
  completeness, being able to stand alone as a
  communicative act in its own right.
•  
• This definition of communicative task is
  method-driven, as appears in the key words of the
  definition, such as comprehension, manipulation,
  production, interaction and attention to meaning
  rather than form (Kumaravadivelu, 1993). A key
  element of the communicative task is the primary
  focus on meaning, which is an essential
  characteristic of language learning and teaching
  tasks.

6
Willis 1996

• Willis defines a task as follows
• "Tasks are always activities where the target
  language is used by the learner for a
  communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve
  an outcome" (1996 23).
•  
• In this definition, the focus is on achieving an
  outcome, with the emphasis on meaning, not
  language. There is also clear indication of the
  learners role in using the language in a
  meaningful way to reach an outcome.

7
Skehan 1998

• There is another definition of the task in
  task-based approaches to language teaching.
  Skehan (1998) gives a useful definition of tasks
  within task-based instruction
• "A task is an activity in which
• - meaning is primary
• - there is some communication problem to solve
• - there is some sort of relationship to
  comparable real-world activities
• - task completion has some priority
• - the assessment of the task is in terms of
  outcome" (1998 95).
•  
• This definition incorporates most of the task
  features included in other definitions (Bygate et
  al., 2001). It emphasises meaning-oriented,
  problem-solving activities which have a
  real-world relationship. Learner performance is
  assessed in terms of task completion. This
  implies that the completeness of a task performed
  by the learner, not the quality of the learner's
  language per se, will be a major factor in
  assessing learner performance of a particular
  task.
• By this definition, Skehan rules out 'an activity
  that focuses on language itself' such as a
  transformation drill, or the consciousness-raising
  tasks described by Ellis (1997), and many of the
  tasks in Nunan (1989, 1996) which fall within the
  categories of tasks that Skehan describes as
  'structure-trapping' (Robinson 1998, 2000).

8
Bygate 1999

• From a research-based perspective, Bygate (1999)
  offers a useful definition as he defines tasks
  as
• "Bounded classroom activities in which learners
  use language communicatively to achieve an
  outcome, with the overall purpose of learning
  language" (1999 186).
•  
• By bounded is meant that the activities have a
  starting point, which is the input and an end,
  which is the outcome. The 'outcome' can be
  interpreted here as the purpose of the task,
  which is using the language communicatively. It
  can also be interpreted as the goal of the task,
  in terms of either task completion or promoting
  learners' language development. This broad
  definition is inclusive of most task
  characteristics with an emphasis on language
  development.

9
Bygate, Skehan, and Swain 2001

• Bygate, Skehan, and Swain (2001) propose a series
  of definitions of tasks with different emphases,
  which reflect the different uses of the task.
  They explain that "definitions of task will need
  to be different for the different purposes to
  which tasks are used" (Bygate et al., 2001 11).
  They first offer a 'basic, all-purpose
  definition'
• "A task is an activity which requires learners to
  use language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain
  an objective" (2001 11).

10
Bygate, Skehan, and Swain 2001

• Then, using a framework which Bygate et al.
  (2001) refer to as a "manner of working with
  tasks (pragmatic vs. research) and user groups
  and contexts (teachers, learners, assessment),"
  they provide six definitions to reflect the
  different purposes of tasks. For example, if the
  focus is on the learners and learning in the
  context of 'research', they suggest the following
  definition
• "A task is a focused, well-defined activity,
  relatable to learner choice or to learning
  processes, which requires learners to use
  language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an
  objective, and which elicits data which may be
  the basis for research" (2001 12).

11
Task features

• From the above definitions, a set of task
  features can be identified as follows
• Objective (Goal).
• Input Data.
• Procedures.
• Learner Role.
• Teacher Role.
• Setting.
• Real-World Relationship.

12
Task features

• Objectives or goals concern the intentions behind
  performing any task. These goals might be
  learning goals, such as developing learners
  skills, or they might be learners' goals that
  vary in orientation between 'achievement
  orientation' and 'survival orientation', as Breen
  (1987c) has suggested. The objective may be
  interpreted as the task outcome several
  definitions assert that tasks should have a clear
  outcome. The task outcome may also be interpreted
  as using the language. Task completion is
  considered to be a task objective according to
  Prabhu (1987). However, a distinction should be
  made between a task outcome and its goal. The
  goal of the task should address the pedagogical
  purpose of the task, e.g. development of speaking
  skills, whereas the outcome should address the
  specific result of a given task, e.g. describing
  the way to the library successfully.

13
Task features

• Input data concern materials used and information
  given to be used as material. They can be given
  either in linguistic, oral or written, or
  non-linguistic form. Examples of input data are
  texts, newspaper extracts, photographs, and audio
  and video recordings.
• Procedures concern the step-by-step procedures to
  be followed in order to complete a task. These
  include the way the input data are presented, the
  type of task, and task complexity.

14
Task features

• Learner role refers to the role of the learner
  implied by the task, from being receptive to an
  active role where he makes decisions regarding
  his learning and learning activities. Approaches
  differ as to the roles that learners play in a
  task-based approach. The learners' role is
  closely related to the teachers role, as there
  is some exchange of roles between them.
• Teacher role concerns the role of the teacher
  implied by the task, which differs according to
  the task orientation and goal, from full control
  of the learning process to only being an observer
  of this process. There might be an agreement
  among researchers that the teacher using a
  task-based approach needs to be more skilled than
  teachers using traditional approaches (Skehan,
  1996).

15
Task features

• Setting concerns the environment in which the
  task is to be implemented this could be the
  classroom or somewhere outside it. It also
  concerns the nature of performance required for
  the task to be undertaken, such as individual
  work, group work and pair work.
• Real-World relationship concerns the tasks
  resemblance to real-world activities outside the
  classroom. Some tasks, such as those of Long
  (1985) are real-world activities, e.g. painting a
  fence, giving a street direction, borrowing a
  library book. Other tasks, on the other hand, may
  not have such close relationship to real-world
  activities, but still have value as pedagogic
  tasks for classroom use, e.g. spot the
  difference, telling a story based on pictures,
  describing a picture for someone to draw, drawing
  a route on a map and others.

16
Task vs. Exercise
17
Task-based Instruction

• As an alternative to PPP, different approaches to
  using tasks have been proposed in the literature.
• Long and Crookes (1991) propose that what is
  important is that instruction (a) enables
  acquisitional processes to operate, particularly
  by allowing meaning to be negotiated, and (b)
  maintains a focus on meaning, as opposed to a
  focus on form.
• Next, two approaches are described, those
  developed by Willis (1996) and Skehan (1998).

18
Principles of Task-based Instruction
19
Task-based Framework

• Task-based approaches to language teaching all
  seem to have proposed a model comprising three
  phases for implementing a task-based lesson,
  although they differ in the detailed procedures
  followed in each phase.
• The first phase is the pre-task phase, which
  concerns the activities carried out prior to the
  performance of the actual task, as an
  introductory or preparation phase.
• The second is the during-task phase, which
  concerns the actual performance of the task and
  may involve other procedures.
• The third is the post-task phase, which
  concerns the activities carried out after the
  completion of the task.
• Next, I will present the procedures to be
  followed in each stage, as proposed by Willis
  (1996) and Skehan (1998).

20
Pre-task phase
21
During Task phase
22
Post-Task phase
23
Similarities

• The two frameworks seem to agree on the
  importance of pre-task activities that provides
  learners with exposure to actual language
  samples, so as to provide opportunities for a
  focus on form to be set in motion, and for
  noticing to occur (skehan, 1998 127).
• The second example of similarity of procedures
  between the two frameworks is the use of public
  performance after task completion and the
  language focus that underlies this option.

24
Differences

• The two frameworks differ strikingly in the way
  focus in form is allocatd.
• Skehan, from a psycholinguistic perspective,
  tries to address the aim of a balanced focus on
  form and meaning in his model, to ensure a
  balanced development of fluency, accuracy and
  complexity and to ensure longer-term language
  development. It can be seen in his model that
  focus on form is seized throughout the three
  phases of the framework.

25
Summary

• Overall then, the two frameworks share some
  qualities but are different in the procedures
  followed. Williss framework is well structured,
  systematic and consistent, with some links to SLA
  research. The second framework (Skehan, 1998) is
  a framework well-informed by theory and empirical
  research findings and open to further options.
• However, neither has been subject to systematic
  evaluative research.

26
References

• Al-Shumaimeri, Y. A. N. (2003). A study of
  classroom exposure to oral pedagogic tasks in
  relation to the motivation and performance of
  Saudi secondary learners of English in a context
  of potential curriculum reform. Unpublished
  Doctoral Thesis, University of Leeds, Leeds.
• Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based Language Learning
  and Teaching. Oxford OUP.
• Skehan, P. (1998) A Cognitive Approach to
  Language Learning. Oxford OUP.
• Willis, J. (1996) A Framework for Task-based
  Learning. London Longman.

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Assignment

• Find two students of the level you teach. Select
  a task from the selection available at the course
  website appropriate to their English level. You
  should get them do the task once, and then a
  similar version of the same task a second time
  after two weeks. You will need to taperecord and
  transcribe the performances (5-7 minutes
  maximum).
• 30 credits for this assignment.