1. Chapter Nine
Task-based Language Teaching
(Task-based Approach , Task-based Learning, or Task-based Instruction)

2. Contents 1. What is a task? 2. What is TBLT? 3. Main features
4. TBLT and CLT
5. Teaching procedures
6. Disadvantages
7. Proper attitudes to it

3. Bygate, Skehan & Swain (2001)
1. What is a “task” ?
A task is an activity which requires learners to use language , with emphasis on meaning , to attain an objective.
Bygate, Skehan & Swain (2001)
Tasks are activities where the target language is used by the learner for communicative purpose in order to achieve an outcome.
Jane Willis(1996)
学习者为着某种交际目的而使用目的语并能获得某种结果的一种活动。

4. 人们在学习、理解、体会语言之后所开展的活动。
A task is an activity or action which is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language ( i.e.as a response).
(Richards, Platt and Weber 1986:289)
任务：
人们在学习、理解、体会语言之后所开展的活动。

5. Different kinds of tasks:
drawing a map while listening to a tape
looking at a set of pictures and
deciding what should be done
completing a banking application

6. responding to a party invitation
listening to a weather forecast and deciding what to wear
exchanging name cards
responding to a party invitation
describing a photograph of one’s family

7. We can define a “task” from the following aspects:
1.A task is goal-directed.
2.A task involves a primary focus on meaning.
3.The participants choose the linguistic resources needed to complete the task.
4.A task has a clearly defined outcome.
—Rod Ellis

8. 1. Meaning is primary. （意义是首要的）。
2.There is a communicative problem to be solved. （有某个交际问题需要解决。）
3.There is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities.（任务具有在现实生活中有发生的可能性。）
4.Task completion has some priority.（完成任务是首要考虑。）
5.The assessment of the task is in terms of outcomes. （根据任务的结果评估任务的执行情况。）
——Skehan（1998）

9. Goal: Exchanging personal information
Input: Questionnaire on sleeping habits
Activity: 1) Reading questionnaire
2) Asking and answering
questions about sleeping habits
Teacher role: Monitor and facilitator
to specify what is regarded as
successful completion of the task
Learner role: Conversational partner
Setting: Classroom / pair work
—转引自张琳琳（2004）

10. practice of assigned form
What are differences between tasks and exercises?
exercises
tasks
focus
form
meaning
situation
no situation
real-life situation
outcome
correct form
accomplishment of task
language
practice of assigned form
choice of form and content
error
delayed correction
immediate correction

11. 5). Here are some activities adopted in the present text books
5) .Here are some activities adopted in the present text books. Please check if they are tasks.
Activity 1: Listen to Alexis and Joe.
Number the pictures[1-3]
Activity 2: Listen again. Fill in the blanks
with the correct verbs from the box.
——Go for it, 8B P5

12. Activity 3:On a piece of paper, write about your life in ten years
Activity 3:On a piece of paper, write about your life in ten years. Don’t write your name on the paper. Put all the students’ paper together. Take turns reading the papers, Then guess who wrote them.
——Go for it, 8B P6
Activity 4: Read the letter to Aunt Chen’s column and then write some advice.
——Go for it, 8B P15

13. Activity 5: Look at the pictures. Listen
and check what Lingling can do.
—New Standard English 7A P8
Activity 7: Look at the pictures and
complete the sentences.
—New Standard English 7A P12
Activity 6: Listen and choose the correct
picture.
—New Standard English 7A P14

14. TBLT 2. What is TBLT? doing things with(by) language Involvement
learning by doing
TBLT
Inquiry
learning for using
learning by using
Induction
learning then using
Incorporation
Four dimensions of teaching and learning tasks represented by the “four eyes” :Involvement (参与), Inquiry (探究), Induction(归纳), Incorporation (整合).

15. Definition:
Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) refers to an approach based on the use of tasks as the core unit of instruction in language.

16. 任务型教学就是以具体的任务为学习动力或动机，以完成任务的过程为学习的过程，以展示任务成果的方式（而不是以测试的分数）来体现教学的成就。
—陈 琳 王 蔷 程晓堂（2002： ）

17. 所谓任务型语言教学，其核心思想就是要模拟人们在社会、学校生活中人们运用语言所从事的各类活动，把语言教学与学习者在今后的日常生活中的语言应用结合起来。
—转引自张琳琳（2004）
the features of Task-based Language Teaching

18. 3.It is intrinsically (本质上) motivating.
1.TBLT offers the opportunity for “natural” learning inside the classroom.
2.It emphasizes meaning over form but can also cater for learning form.
3.It is intrinsically (本质上) motivating.
4.It is compatible （一致） with a learner-centered educational philosophy.
5.It can be used alongside a more traditional approach.
—Rod Ellis

19. 3. Main Features:
An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.强调通过交流来学会交际。
2. The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.将真实的语言材料引入学习的环境。

20. 3.Provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language, but also on the learning process itself.关注语言的本身，也关注学习的过程。
4. An enhancement of the learners’ own
personal experiences as important
contributing elements to classroom learning.
把学习者个人的经历作为课堂学习的重要因素。

21. 试图把课内的语言学习与社会的语言活动结合 起来。
5. An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom.
试图把课内的语言学习与社会的语言活动结合
起来。
( David Nunan 1991)

22. 4.What is the relationship between TBLT and CLT (similarities and differences)?
Task-based Language Teaching is, in fact, a further development of Communicative Language Teaching. It shares the same beliefs, such as language should be learned as close as possible to how it is used in real life. However, it has stressed the importance to combine form-focused teaching with communication-focused teaching.

23. 5.Teaching procedures
Three phases in a task-based lesson:
1.Pre-task phase;
2.While (Main, During) -task phase;
3.Post-task phase

24. Willis’ model for task-based instruction (Willis, 1996:127)
Pre-task
Introduce to topic and task
Task cycle
Task
Planning
Report
Language focus
Analysis
Practice
Long 1991

25. Pre-task phase: Three purposes:
--to serve to introduce new language that learners can use while performing the task;
--to mobilize (动员) existing linguistic resources;
--to ease processing load.

26. Some options: Allow the students time to plan. Provide a model
Do a similar task
Pre-teach key linguistic items

27. On general cognitive demands of the task
对任务要求的总体感知
An emphasis on linguistic factors 关注语言因素
Supporting learners in performing a task similar to the task they will perform in the while-task phase of the lesson 让学生完成一些与中任务阶段类似的任务
Non-task preparation activities
--- brain storming 头脑风暴
--- mind map 思维图

28. While-task phase:
Some options:
Participatory structure 参与方式: Whole-class vs. small group work; individual or interaction
Set a time for completing the task.
Vary the number of participants.
Introduce a surprise element.
Tell students they will have to present a report to the whole class.
pair and group work are seen as central to task-based teaching; not all tasks are interactive

29. At this stage, learners are reminded that fluency is not the only goal during task completion, and that restructuring and accuracy also have importance
Task choice: the appropriate difficulty level.
Not too difficult
Not too easy

30. The post-task phase: Three major pedagogical goals:
-- to provide an opportunity for a repeat performance of the task（提供再做任务的机会）
-- to encourage reflection on how the task was performed（反思任务是怎样完成的）
-- to encourage attention to form（关注语言的形式）

31. Reviewing of learner errors反思错误
Consciousness-raising tasks语法意识
Production-practice activities操练活动
Noticing accuracy 注意语言的准确

32. Consciousness-raising tasks
There is an attempt to isolate a specific linguistic feature for focused attention 就某一语法现象单独讲解
The learners are provided with data that illustrate the targeted feature or an explicit rule describing or explaining the feature 给例子说明语法用法或对语法详细描述
The learners are expected to utilize intellectual effort to understand the targeted features 通过思考理解语法用法
Learners may be optionally required to verbalize a rule describing the grammatical structure 可以要求学生口头描述语法结构
To direct students to attend explicitly to a specific form they used incorrectly or failed to use at all in the main task 补充不足

33. Production-practice activities:
Repetition 重复活动
Substitution 替换练习
Gapped sentences 填空练习
Jumbled sentences 打乱的句子
Transformation drills 变换句型
Dialogues 对话

34. Reflecting on the task:
Present a report on how they did the task and what they decided or discovered – oral or written
Summary the outcome of the task
Reflect or evaluate of their own performance (fluency, accuracy)
Metacognitive strategies 元认知策略(planning, monitoring and adjusting)

35. 6.Do we have any difficulty in carrying out TBLT in the Chinese context? Disadvantages
a. Beginning with production, TBLT might weaken the input and language form practice.
b. It is very difficult for the designers to select, grade and sequence the tasks scientifically.
c. It neglects the differences between different cultures.

36. TBLT places a high demand on the teachers and classroom conditions (the teachers’ English proficiency; the big size of the class; the limited class time; the lack of language situation; the test-oriented language learning; the assessment system).

37. 7 . What’s our proper attitude toward TBLT?
We’d better acquire a compromise viewpoint. An eclectic method can be more workable and practical in the Chinese context. We should adapt TBLT to our concrete conditions. We cannot copy it mechanically. TBLT is not the only feasible way for the foreign language teaching in our country.
教学有法，但无定法！！！

38. Discussion
The similarities and differences between TBLT and CLT.