TASK-BASED LEARNING Betty Lou Leaver, Ph.D.

Theory

Task-Based Instruction Tasks are activities in which authentic L2 is used by learners for a communicative purpose to achieve individual outcomes.

Characteristics of a Good Task Requires preparation (pre-task) Has an individualized outcome Uses authentic language Focuses on real-life activities & transferability Takes longer to complete than to prepare Uses higher-order thinking skills Integrates the four skills

Sample Tasks and TBI Lessons (“borrowed” from real teachers)

Topic: Educational System 1. Students research US university bulletins. 2. Students select a university to attend, using additional information from the Internet, interviews, research. 3. Students determine requirements and prepare an application. 4. Students research financial aid and fill out an application for aid. 5. Students design a similar booklet for their own university. (English teacher from Moldova)

Topic: Business 1. Students compare statistics on profitability, read newspaper interviews with restaurateurs, and determine the kind of restaurant they will open, based on feasibility and personal interests. 2. Students prepare an advertisement for their new restaurant; ads are posted on the wall of the class and students make a “pitch” to their classmates. (English teacher from Moldova)

Topic: Weather Pre-task schema development: brainstorm concepts, lexical items, phrases. Pre-reading exercises: match weather charts with written passages; compare American & Czech weather formats

Weather, cont’d Reading task: 1) Determine seasons from forecasts (in groups). 2) Share with the whole class and decide which group has the best forecast.

Weather, cont’d Listening task: Create a weather map, based on a European weather forecast. (Information collection device: fill out a chart of countries and weather conditions.)

Weather, cont’d Comprehension check: match weather symbols and corresponding words. Homework assignment: as a meteorologist , prepare a written long-range weather forecast for next week based on data from last year. (Czech teacher from the US)

Authentic Task Authentic Grammar Authentic activities are those that people actually do in real life. In real life, people do not calculate problems; they use algebra to calculate a lower electric bill. In real life, people do not fill in the blanks with imperative forms; they use the imperative in leaving assignments for others

Quiz: Task or Activity? Lesson on Food Memorize the names of foods Prepare a cookbook Survey students about their food likes Shop for recipe ingredients Read a recipe and identify ingredients Plan & hold a party Compare costs of ingredients at stores

Some Advantages of TBI Individualization & differentiation: Learner-centered: styles & strategies In-depth awareness of students’ proficiency through facilitation Individualized by need and interest Differentiated correction Self-confidence & self-esteem Rehearsal for life

Practice

Developing Tasks Grammar Select a grammar point that you will be teaching in the next week or two and prepare a task for introducing or for reinforcing/practicing/testing the grammar point.

Developing Tasks Notions and Functions Select a notion or function from your textbook and develop a task-based lesson to teach it.

Developing Tasks Intercultural Competence Select an upcoming cultural topic and prepare a task-based lesson for the topic, including lesson objective, identification of student schemata (or lack thereof) for warm-up, component activities, identification of authentic materials that will be needed, and method of “testing” (ascertaining that the objective has been met).

Developing Tasks Intercultural Competence Select an upcoming cultural topic and prepare a task-based lesson for the topic, including lesson objective, identification of student schemata (or lack thereof) for warm-up, component activities, identification of authentic materials that will be needed, and method of “testing” (ascertaining that the objective has been met).

Building Curricula Supplementing the Textbook How does your textbook introduce the language in the first hour of class? Is the lesson task-based, or does it use some other method or approach? Develop a task-based lesson to supplement the first hour, using authentic materials.

Building Curricula Adapting the Textbook How does your textbook introduce the language in the first hour of class? Is the lesson task-based, or does it use some other method or approach? Develop a task-based lesson to supplement the first hour, using unadapted authentic materials.

Building Curricula Using the Community How can you use the target language-speaking community for task-based projects? Develop project guidelines. How can you use the non-target language-speaking community for task-based projects? Develop project guidelines.

Questions?