Enhancing Lessons Using Task-Based Language Teaching District 6 English Learner Summit June 6, 2008

Session Objectives  1. To gain an awareness of the Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach.  2. To identify areas of the curriculum where TBLT principles can be applied to lessons.  3. To practice enhancing lessons following the TBLT model.

Task-Based Language Teaching “TBLT is an approach which offers students material which they have to actively engage in the processing of in order to achieve a goal or complete a task. TBLT seeks to develop a students’ interlanguage through providing a task and using language to solve it.” Peter Skehan, A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning (1998) Show enhancement/extention

ELD Curriculum: Original IE! Lesson Enhanced TBLT Lesson The original lesson in Into English! is based on Communicative Language Teaching and a Theme-Based Approach which are important components in building English proficiency; however the enhanced lessons in the Practicum include Competency-Based Language Teaching and Task-Based Language Teaching which further support English learners to acquire English proficiency and increase academic achievement.

Adding Rigor to Into English! Second Language Strategies (Including Thinking Maps®) Alignment to ELD Standards A B C Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) ELD Portfolio Assessment Rigor has been added to the Into English! lessons in the following ways The IE! assessments have been aligned to the ELD standards and the portfolio system. Second language acquisition strategies have been added e.g Thinking Maps. The TBLT lesson has been used to enhance existing Into English! lessons. The current ELD Portfolio Assessment provides a second measure to monitor ELD progress.

TBLT Lesson Sequence TBLT Goals Set behavior and lesson objectives. Access prior knowledge and link to new comprehensible input. Use task-based activity to explicitly teach language forms & functions. Practice communicatively through structured oral and written tasks. HO TBLT HO Lesson sequence HO Self-evaluate and reflect. Practice acquired forms and functions outside the ELD block.

Applying TBLT Across the Curriculum

Tools to Use for Enhancing Lessons:

TBLT Elements to Add: Lesson Objectives (Language vs. Content) Thinking Maps® (consider 8 Thought Processes) ELD Strategies (Direct & Indirect) Student Talk Opportunities (Input/Output) Differentiation (consider ELD Levels) Additional Resources (materials, realia)

Lesson Objectives What are the language objectives of the lesson? Should be generated from content standards (ELD, ELA) Written in student-friendly language

Thinking Maps What thought process will students use in the lesson? Brainstorming, Prior Knowledge Classifying Describing Comparing/Contrasting Sequencing Cause & Effect Whole-Part Relationships Seeing Analogies

ELD Strategies Backward Buildup Corrective Recasting RASP What strategies can be incorporated into the lesson? Backward Buildup Corrective Recasting RASP Think-Pair-Share Pull Out & Talk/Write Vocalized Reading Visuals/Realia Communication Guides Sentence Starters Affective/Memory Strategies, etc. TPR Etc., etc., etc.

Student Talk Is there ample opportunity for student voice in the lesson? What differentiated questions will the teacher ask the students? (Input) What differentiated language forms will students use to answer those questions? (Output) How will the practice of these oral language forms transfer to student’s writing? Is there differentiation based on student’s ELD Levels? In what domains?

Differentiation Simple (B) Elaborated (EI, I) Complex (EA, A)

Let’s Enhance! 35- 40 minutes

Session Objectives  1. Did I gain an awareness of the Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach?  2. Did I identify areas of the curriculum where TBLT principles can be applied to lessons?  3. Did I practice enhancing lessons following the TBLT model?

Reflection/Next Steps What are the benefits of teachers learning how to enhance lessons and apply strategies beyond the ELD block? What was challenging/helpful in the lesson enhancement process? What steps could your school take in order to facilitate/support lesson enhancement?

Professional Readings Jack Richards and Theodore Rodgers (2001), Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, 2nd Ed. Rod Ellis (2003), Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching Peter Skehan (1998), A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning Kris van den Branden (2006), Task-Based Language Education: From Theory to Practice David Nunan (1989), Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom Dave & Jane Willis (2007), Doing Task-Based Teaching Rebecca Oxford (1990), Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know

Contact Information Lenore Medina Elementary ELD Expert (323) 278-3949 lenore.medina@lausd.net