Nunan’s Task-Based Language Teaching

Task-Based Instruction

Daniela Munca-Aftenev

TBI …• requires linguistic and

cognitive skills• focuses on both accuracy

and fluency• engages in real-time

language processing

One Step More …

FromQuestion-Answer

To

Task-based Activities

Task-Based Activities

Task-Based Activity

“The Most Interesting Person”

Steps …• Step 1

• List 10 words that associate with “interesting”

• Step 2• Describe the person in U.S./in Spain/in

France, etc.• Step 3

• Compare your answers with your partner• Step 4

• “Who is the most interesting person? And why?”

Criteria …• Identifying a desired outcome

• Describe the person• Breaking down the topic into subtopics

• 3-4 steps from easy to difficult• Creating concrete tasks

• From words to sentences• Building in linguistic support

• Vocabulary: adjectives

• Grammar: to be/like/…

Types• Listing• Ordering and sorting

• Sequencing/ranking• Categorizing/classifying

• Comparing similarities/differences• Problem solving

• Decision making• Information gap

• Sharing experiences • Describing/narrating

Participatory Structure

• Individual

• Intra-personal (private speech)

• Social

• Interpersonal

• Teacher-students

• Student-teacher/other students

• Student-student (group or pair-work)

Let’s create a TASK

• Age group / level

• Vocabulary / grammar focus

• Task

• Time / conditions / rules

• Presentation

• Evaluation

• Feedback

Incorporation of four skills plus culture

“Tasks” instead of “exercises”

TBLT should be

Authentic materials/pictures

Feedback

Lesson Planningusing TBLT

Robert J. DickeyKeimyung University, S. Korea

Purpose of the Lesson Plan• a clear working document, another

teacher could pick up it and use

• Coverage of subject matter• Comprehensive

• Organized

• Cohesion & Variety

• Inter-lesson consistency?

• Exploitation of materials

Pre-Planning (Harmer, 1983)

Lesson Development Framework1. Identify the specific

course & group of students to teach.

2. Identify the content to be utilized.

3. Identify why the students should care.

4. Identify the specific “leaning ojective.”

5. Develop/locate an exemplar text.

6. Design student responses to the text.

7. Students check their own work, and of their peers.

8. Groupwork.

9. Students create new stories / endings, and tell groupmates.

10.Testing.

What is a task?

Task = Doing for a purpose

Task-based - Nunan

• Syllabus is centered NOT on an ordered list of linguistic items but on a collection of tasks

• Distinction between• Real-world tasks

• Pedagogical tasks• Mobilizing grammatical knowledge in

order to express meaning

Pedagogical Task - Nunan

a piece of classroom work that involves the 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 to manipulate form.“

(Nunan, 2004, p.4).

1. Pre-Task stage• Motivation

• “Framing” the task• Inform what the learners will do• Nature of the outcome• Signposts along the way

• Preparation to perform the task• How much? (time)

Addressing Cognitive Load in Task

Students should understand that they have to “multi-task”

Preparation to Perform Task

• Similar Task• Teacher-led practice

• Observe a model (oral or written)

• Easier task, broken in parts

• “Task-designed to fail”

• Strategic Planning

2. Task (main) stage

a. Task Performance Options (planned before class)

b. Task Process Options (determined “live” inside the task event)

a. Task Performance Options

• Time limit?• Strictly enforced? Re-negotiated? More

time more accuracy? (Lang, Content)

• Access to data during the task?• How complex is the data?

• Can see notes or whole data, or nothing?

• Surprise? (change something)

• Pairs/Groups, moving around

b. Task Process Options

• Classroom participants must forget where they are and why they are there

• Classroom participants must believe in learn by doing rather than by studying

• Teacher monitors learners’ performance to impact future teaching and tasks

• Focus-on-Form classroom with teacher interaction in tasks (error-correction)

3. Post-task (stage)

• Repeat performance

• Reflecting on performance

• Individually or in groups

• Focus on Forms

• Consciousness-Raising

• Noticing

• Review of Errors (Explicit, Non-explicit)

• Production Practice activities/exercises

Task Input

• Data• “Text” (Written or Oral)

• Non-verbal materialsRealia, pictures, diagrams, tables,or other…

• Specific to the task (model) or less-specific

• Procedures• Consider “setting” (groups, etc)

Lesson Plan Phases

Robert J. DickeyKeimyung University

Daegu, S. Korea

PPP• Presentation

Lecture

• PracticeExercises, Drills

• ProductionControlled,

Substitutions

Presumption of “linear development”

PPP(+P?)

• PresentationLecture

• PracticeExercises, Drills

• ProductionControlled,

Substitutions

• Personalization?Not Traditional

XXX(+X)?• X – eXplain

• X – eXample

• X – eXercise

• X - eXamination

IDC

• Introduction(Less than 5 minutes)

• Development

• Consolidation

Test-Teach-Test• Pre-test (Do I need to teach this?)

• Eliciting – “Who knows this?”• “Mini-Task”• How well do they know this (comparison)?

• Teach(Method not specified)

• Post-Test (assess Learners & Lesson)

• Did they learn – Do I need to re-teach?

ESA (J. Harmer)

• Engage

teachers try to arouse the students’ interest

• Study

students focus on language / construction

• Activate

students use language as freely and as

communicatively as they can

mix the order

OHE (M. Lewis)

• Observe(read or listen to language) which will then provoke them to

• Hypothesizeabout how the language works before going on to

• Experiment

on the basis of that hypothesis

Features of a Lesson Plan• Aims

• Timing

• Stages (Phases)

• Motivations

• Teacher does

• Learners do

• Assumptions

• Classroom Setting

• Materials needed• Book/handouts• Visuals/realia• Audio/multimedia

• Classroom setting

• Number of learners

• Anticipated• Problems• Outcomes

Lesson Plan Features (TKT)

(A boring lesson?) TKT [book] (2005)

Lesson Planning Template

THANK YOU!!!