The Task-based Learning

Style of Teaching
Reporters: Bal- ut, Ruth
Puaben, PhilGrace
Background
• Origins in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
• Was popularized by N. Prabhu
– He notice that his students could learn language
just as easily as a non-linguistic problem as when
they were concentrating on linguistic question
• Educators adopted task-based language teaching for
variety of reasons
– Attempt to make language in the classroom truly
communicative, In which the students has a
direct connection to real-life situations.
Let’s Define what
is TASK
Definition of TASK
• Long(1985) Is a piece of work undertaken for oneself
or for others, freely or for some reward.
Example:
painting, dressing a child, filling out a form,
buying pair of shoes , making an airline reservation,
borrowing a library book, taking a driving test etc…
Definition of TASK
• Richards, Plant and Webner(1986) task is an activity
or action which is concerned out as the result of
processing or understanding the language.
Definition of TASK ( target task )

• Nunan(1989) refers to the uses of language in the

world beyond the classroom.
Definition of TASK ( Pedagogical )
• Nunan(1989) A 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 the
manipulate form.
Definition of TASK
• Peter Skehan(1998) suggest 5 defining criteria on
how to define task.
– 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 outcomes.
• Martin Bygate(2001) task is an activity which
requires learners to use language, with emphasis
on meaning, to attain an objective, and that the
central challenge language teaching is to develop
learner communicative language ability through
pedagogical intervention with task accomplished.
What is Task-based
Language Teaching?
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)
• also known as Task-Based Instruction (TBI).
• Method of instruction in the field of the
language acquisition.
• focuses on the use of authentic language and
on asking students to do meaningful tasks
using the target language.
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)
• This method encourages meaningful communication
and is student-centered.
• An approach based on the use of task as the core unit
of planning and instruction in language teaching.
• Assessment is the primarily based on task outcome
(ie: appropriate completion of task) rather than simply
accuracy of the language forms.
• This make TBLT specially popular for the developing
target language fluency and students confidence.
• Naturally engage in on day-to-day basis: real world
tasks.
Examples of tasks
• visiting a doctor • solving a problem
• conducting an interview • sharing information or
• calling customer service experiences
for help • Role-playing
• Playing a game
4 Main characteristics of a task (Rod Ellis)

1. Task involves a primary focus on

(pragmatic) meaning.
2. Task has a clearly defined, non-linguistic
outcome.
3. The participants choose the linguistic resources needed
to complete the task

4. Task has some kind of ‘gap’ (Prabhu identified the three

main types as information gap, reasoning gap, and
opinion gap)
Three main types of task
1. Information-gap
2. Reasoning-gap
3. Opinion-gap
Information-gap Activity
• Involves a transfer of given information from
one person to another, or from one place to
another decoding and encoding of one
information from or into language.
Information-gap Activity
• Example:
completing a tabular representation with
information available in a given piece of text. The
activity often involves selection of relevant information,
and the learners may have to meet criteria of
completeness and correctness in making the transfer.
Reasoning-gap Activity
• Involves deriving some new information from
given information through processes of
inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or
perception of relationships or patterns.
Reasoning-gap Activity
• Example:
working out a teacher’s timetables. Another is
deciding what course of action is the best(the
cheapest or quickest) for a given purpose and within
given constraints .
Opinion-gap Activity
• Involves identifying and articulating a
personal preference, feeling, or attitude
in response to given situation.
Opinion-gap Activity
• Example:
– Debate/discussion about politics or social issues.
• You might require them to speak or write for a certain
amount words or time and you might ask them to use
certain constructions.
Steps for successful
Task-based teaching
activity
-Jane Willis
Start with Pre-task Activity
The teacher introduces topic and task, and helps the
students to understand the theme and the
objectives of the task.
examples of activities: brainstorming, personal
experience, read the text, think vocabulary etc.
 Task Cycle
Task
– It is done by the students. The teacher walks
monitoring and encouraging them.
Planning
– In this stage the students prepares the next step
(report). They make a draft of what they want to
say or write.
Report
• The teacher ask the students to report to the whole
class what they did in the task.

Post task listening

• The students listen to a recording of a fluent speakers
doing the same task, and compare the ways in which
they did the task themselves.
Focusing on Language
•ANALYSIS
•PRACTICING
GOALS
• Open to the students the possibility of planning and
monitoring their own learning.
• To develop student’s confidence in speaking
• To encourage student to negotiate information
between each other
• To engage students in language use to make
transactions, to socialize and even for enjoyment.
Type of Students

possibly less
academic  
Learner Roles Teacher Roles
• Group participant
• Monitor • Selector and sequencer
• Risk-taker and innovator  of tasks
• Preparing learners for
tasks
• Consciousness-raising
Suggestions for teaching
• use in conjunction with other styles not as a style on
its own
• useful as a way of planning and preparing lessons
Thank you for
Listening