Republic of the Philippines

Naval State University

Naval, Biliran

MODULE
on
Students’ Tasks inside the Classroom

Submitted to

Ruth T. Sabonsolin, Ed.D.

In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Education-English Language Teaching

Submitted by

Mardine G. Villanueva, MAEd-ELT

April 15, 2017

 MODULE TITLE
STUDENTS’ TASKS INSIDE THE CLASSROOM

LEARNING OUTCOME
After successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

Apply different classroom tasks to enhance learning skills for intended

achievement and global competitiveness

GLOSSARY

Language the system of words or signs that people use to express

thoughts and feelings to each other

Objective a thing aimed at or sought; a goal

Reciprocal (of an agreement or obligation) bearing onor binding

each of two parties equally

Stereotype a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or

idea of a particular type of person or thing

Word Search a puzzle consisting of letters arranged in a grid,

containing several hidden words written in any direction.

Ws these are the questions:Who, What,

Where,When,Which

MODULE OVERVIEW
“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of
change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” Peter Drucker

This idea reflects on the main client of the teachers which is the student. Rather
than try to know what “to do to” learners, we work with them to deepen their existing
inherent motivation and knowledge. Seeing learners as unique and active, we emphasize
communication and respect, realizing that through understanding and sharing our
resources together we create greater energy for learning.
The teacher’s fundamental task is to get students engage in learning activities that
are likely to result in achieving outcomes. It is helpful to remember that what the student
does is actually more important what the teacher does.(Schuell,1986,p.429)

CONTENT

What is a TASK?

A task is (1) a classroom activity or exercise that has (a) an objective attainable
only by the interaction among participants, (b) a mechanism for structuring and
sequencing interaction, (c) a focus on meaning exchange;(2) a language learning
endeavour that requires learners to comprehend, manipulate, and/or produce the target
language as they perform some set of work plans. (Lee 2000:32)
 Students must learn to respond to the task demands imposed by their teachers,
and their ability to do so is influenced by certain task-related beliefs. So as English
teachers, we have to think that tasks are great! They don't have to be large, elaborately
planned things. Even more powerful, if they are simple and just about the teacher "getting
out of the way". It should all be about students having lots of time purposefully using the
English language.

So here are very simple tasks you can do with students. Keep it simple, just tell
them what you want them to do, give an amount of time for the task and then set them
off doing it.
Tasks for the English Language Classroom

1. Use small strips of paper and tape to label and name all things in
the classroom.

2. Each student create an alphabet card. Hang up at the front of

the classroom.

3. Make a poster with information about a country. Present it to

the class.

4. Teach a fellow student how to do something. Write out the steps beforehand then.
Explain.

5. Go around the class and say thank you to every classmate. Give a different reason
to each person. “Thank you for …..ing …”

6. Write 5 general knowledge questions on a piece of paper. Easy to hardest. Play

jeopardy asking your questions to classmates. Points: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

8. Write a yes/no question that you are interested in finding out from classmates. Walk
around the class and survey everyone. Report back to the class your findings.

9. Tell a joke in your native language. Then try and tell

the same joke in English. Can you?

10. Spell a word on the back of a friend. Can they

guess? Write a number? Can they say what it is?

11. Students sit back to back and telephone each other. Pretend you are ordering a pizza/
Reporting a missing person / Making a doctor’s appointment.

12. Describe a favorite movie. Give hints. Can others guess which movie it is?

13. Whisper some gossip in a classmate’s ear. Keep passing on the gossip. After, share
the gossip with the class. Is it the same as the gossip started?

14. Invite a family member or older friend to the class. Or interview a stranger. Prepare
questions before they visit.

15. Write a letter in English to the local government about an issue. Describe what you
want to change.
 16. Take a current news story. Answer the 5 Ws about
the story and explain each to the class.

17. Fold paper in half to make a booklet. Describe your

typical day / your favorite things on each page. Let your
classmates read your book.

18. Describe how to get from your home to school. Draw

a map to help you explain.
19. Write a card to a friend apologizing for something. Give it to them in class.

20. Show a short video or read a short story. Stop before the end. Students have to
predict the ending. Were they right?

21. Take a favorite English song. Student must rewrite the chorus with their own words
and then sing it for the class.

22. Daily class radio show. Each day to start the class interview one student at the front
of the class with a microphone. The audience can ask questions too!

23. Put on soft, relaxing music. Get students to imagine a scene. Have them draw their
scene and describe to others what they imagined.

24. Bring in the daily weather map fron the newspaper. Students take turns asking what
the weather is like in …….

25. DEAR. Drop Everything And Read. The teacher should also spend time reading.

26. Students make their own wordsearch. Switch and do a classmates and race to see
who can finish first.

27. Ask the teacher a personal question. The teacher can lie. If you guess a lie – the
class wins. If you are wrong, the teacher wins. You only get one try to call the lie.

28. Stereotypes. Finish sentences with “All (nationality) ……………” Discuss why this
is true or not.

29. Students are on vacation. Give them a postcard to write to a classmate. After they
finish and post, the teacher delivers it to the students.

30. Write a letter to God saying all the things you’d like
changed. Have a student be a messenger and tell the student
the things you want them to ask God to do.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF STUDENTS INSIDE THE CLASSROOM

EVALUATION

o Discussion Forum
o Essay Test

REFERENCES

Harmer, Jeremy The Practice of English Language Teaching, Fourth Edition, Longman, 2007

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/peterdruck165702.html?src=t_task

http://www.upm.ro/facultati_departamente/stiinte_litere/conferinte/situl_integrare_eur
opeana/Lucrari3/engleza/74_ANDREEA%20NAZNEAN2.pdf