A framework for TASK BASED LEARNING Chapter 2-Aspects of tasks

2.1 Defining tasks: tasks are always activities where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome. 2.1.1 Goals and outcomes: One job of the course designer and teacher is to select topics and tasks that will motivate learners, engage their attention, present a suitable degree of intellectual and linguistic challenge and promote their language development as efficiently as possible. All the tasks illustrated have a specified objective that must be achieved, often in a given time. hey are !goal"oriented!. he emphasis is on understanding and conveying meanings in order to complete the task successfully. #hile learners are doing tasks, they are using language in a meaningful way. All tasks should have an outcome. he outcome can be further built on at a later stage in the task cycle. $t is the challenge of achieving the outcome that makes %& a motivating procedure in the classroom. An e'ample of an activity that lacks an outcome would be to show students a picture and say Write four sentences describing the picture. Say them to your partner. 2.1.2 Meaning before form: An important feature of %& is that learners are free to choose whatever language forms they wish to convey what they mean, in order to fulfil, as well as they can, the task goals. As the need arises, words and phrases ac(uired previously but as yet unused will often spring to mind. $f the need to communicate is strongly felt, learners will find a way of getting round words or forms they do not yet know or cannot remember. he teacher can monitor from a distance, and, especially in a monolingual class, should encourage all attempts to communicate in the target language. %ut this is not the time for advice or correction. &earners need to feel free to e'periment with language on their own, and to take risks. $n later stages of the task framework accuracy does matter, but it is not so important at the task stage. &earners need to regard their errors in a positive way, to treat them as a normal part of learning. $f their message is understood, then they have been reasonably successful. All learners need to e'periment and make errors. &anguage then, is the vehicle for attaining task goals, but the emphasis is on meaning and communication, not on producing language forms correctly. 2.1.3 Tasks and skills practice: )ome approaches to language teaching talk in terms of four separate skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. )kills lessons are principally designed to improve one single skill and often supplement grammar teaching. eachers following a task"based cycle naturally foster combinations of skills depending upon the task. he skills form an integral part of the process of achieving the task goals* they are not being practised singly. he task objectives ensure there is always a purpose for any reading and note"taking just as there is always an audience for the speaking and writing. +arrying out a task demands meaningful interaction of some kind. $f you are aware of your learners current or future language needs, you can select or adapt tasks that help them to practise relevant skills.

2.2 Varieties of task: si' main types of tasks that could be adapted for use with almost any topic. 2.2.1 Si types of task: 1!"isting: &isting may seem unimaginative, but in practice, listing tasks tend to generate a lot of talk as learners e'plain their ideas. he process involved are: brainstorming, in which learners draw on their own knowledge and e'perience either as a class or in pairs,groups, fact"finding, in which learners find things out by asking each other or other people and referring to books, etc. he outcome would be the completed list, or possibly a draft mind map. 2! #rdering and sorting: hese tasks involve four main processes: se(uencing items, actions or events in a logical or chronological order, ranking items according to personal values or specified criteria, categorising items in given groups or grouping them under given headings and classifying items in different ways, where the categories themselves are not given. 3! $omparing: hese tasks involve comparing information of a similar nature but from different sources or versions in order to identify common points and,or differences. he processes involved are: matching to identify specific points and relate them to each other, finding similarities and things in common and finding differences. %! &roblem sol'ing: -roblem solving tasks make demands upon people.s intellectual and reasoning powers, and, though challenging, they are engaging and often satisfying to solve. he processes and time scale will vary enormously depending on the type and comple'ity of the problem. (! Sharing personal e periences: hese tasks encourage learners to talk more freely about themselves and share their e'periences with others. he resulting interaction is closer to casual social conversation in that it is not so directly goal"oriented as in other tasks. /or that very reason these open tasks may be more difficult to get going in the classroom. )! $reati'e tasks: hese are often called projects and involve pairs or groups of learners in some kind of freer creative work. hey also tend to have more stages than other tasks, and can involve combinations of task types: listing, ordering and sorting, comparing and problem solving. 2.2.2 $losed and open tasks: +losed tasks are ones that are highly structured and have very specific goals, for e'ample, *ork in pairs to find se'en differences bet*een these t*o pictures and *rite them do*n in note form. Time limit: t*o minutes. hese instructions are very precise and the information is restricted. here is only one possible outcome, and one way of achieving it. 0ost comparing tasks are like this. Open tasks are ones that are more loosely structured, with a less specific goal, for e'ample, comparing memories of childhood journeys, or e'changing anecdotes on a theme. Other types of task come midway between closed and open. &ogic problems usually have a specific goal and one answer or outcome, but learners have different ways of getting there.

he more specific the goals, the easier it is for students to evaluate their success and the more likely they are to get involved with the task and work independently. $t is often the goal and outcome that provide the motivation for students to engage in the task, which then becomes for them a learning opportunity. asks with specific goals are good ways of encouraging students to interact in the target language in the language classroom. 2.2.3 Starting points for tasks: /ive possible starting points: "&ersonal kno*ledge and e perience: 0any tasks are based primarily on the learner.s personal and professional e'perience and knowledge of the world. #ith a group learning for a specific purpose (e.g. hotel reception skills) tasks can be based on their professional knowledge and e'perience. "&roblems: 1ere the starting point is normally the statement of the problem. )tudents are likely to engage better in the task and interact more confidently if they have had a few minutes individual thinking time before they come together to discuss possible solutions. "+isual stimuli: asks can be based on pictures, photographs, tables or graphs. -ictures can be used as a basis for !)pot the difference games2. )hort video se(uences, shown without the sound track with pauses every few seconds, can stimulate a lot of speculation and prediction. "Spoken and *ritten te ts: 3ecordings of spoken 4nglish, e'tracts from video recordings and reading te'ts can also make good task material. "$hildren,s acti'ities: Action games, miming and guessing, and even livelier playground games like hopscotch and ball games are all popular and effective with younger learners. $f the instructions are available only in the target language, and the necessary materials can only be obtained if they ask in the target language, such activities stimulate a natural need to understand and use it. !$ombinations of starting points: +ombinations of two or more starting points: te't and personal e'perience, for e'ample, are especially useful in some cases. he (uestionnaire format gives a clear step"by"step agenda to the task, thus making it easier to complete satisfactorily. Other tasks can be based on a combination of visual data (photographs, graphs and diagrams) and personal or professional e'perience, while problem"solving tasks are often based on a written te't, in combination with a map, chart or table of some kind. 2.3 Language use in tasks asks provide opportunities for free and meaningful use of the target language and thus fulfil one of the key conditions of learning. %ut what kind of language can we e'pect of learners doing tasks5 #hat are the differences between spontaneous spoken language and written language5 2.3.1 Spontaneous language: #hen speaking spontaneously we compose in real time and often resort to le'ical phrases, rather than building complete sentences word by word. $t follows that we should not e'pect students to speak in full sentences when doing tasks in small groups.

2.3.2 &lanned language: $t is vital that tasks should e'pose learners to spontaneous language in appropriate circumstances, and allow them to use it, since most will need to cope with it in real life. 1owever it is also vital to offer learners opportunities to !upgrade2 their task language to a version suitable for presenting in public and reflect on the changes that need to be made. $n private circumstances then, with one or two friends, you are likely to talk spontaneously, e'ploring ideas and ways of getting, your message across. 6our listeners will recall the content of what you say, but the way you said it is unlikely to stay in their minds" it is ephemeral. On the other hand, if you are speaking to a larger audience, or writing for someone other than a close friend or family member, it is natural to plan what you are going to say or write. &earners need opportunities to use the whole range of language between these two e'tremes. he three components of the task cycle cater for this need. 2.3.3 &redicting language forms: to predict some of the forms that may occur in closed tasks, in more open tasks, it is virtually impossible to do so. 0uch of the language used in closed tasks will be transactional in nature: aimed at getting things done, like borrowing, buying, or following instructions. )ome well" rehearsed formulae, e.g. $an - ha'e a./ What about the ./ 0ay be sufficient for learner.s basic needs, but most will want to do far more with language than this. 1owever the interactional side of closed tasks is rarely so predictable. $n real life, all kinds of social talk will occur, some relevant to the transaction, like discussing rules, and some (uite peripheral like gossip or personal anecdotes. his interactional language is nevertheless important for establishing social relations in and outside the classroom, and, as we said earlier should be encouraged. $t is better, therefore, to let learners do the task first, using their own linguistic resources, and then study the language that fluent or native speakers typically use in the task situation. he final part of the task framework builds on this principle.