HANDOUT
TASK-BASED LEARNING
GROUP 6
Bui Luu Lan Anh
Dinh Tri Bao
Chau Thien Khanh My
Do Nguyen Gia Nghi
ABOUT TBL ● TBL stands for Task-based Learning.
● One of the most talked-about recent methods.
● “The realisation of CLT philosophy”.
● An approach to language learning that focuses on
authentic language and interactive tasks. Students need to
communicate to finish the task. Once the task is
completed, the teacher discusses the language used.
HISTORICAL ● TBL can be traced back to the “strong” Communicative
BACKGROUND Approach (teaching is done through communication).
● The Communicative Approach: grew out of
sociolinguistics in the 1970s - more communication than
grammar & vocabulary.
● “Weak” vs “Strong” Communicative Approach:
○ “Weak”: simply means adding more chances for
students to communicate.
○ “Strong”: students carry tasks that demand real-
life communication. From these tasks, students
learn what they need.
CHARACTERISTICS ● The meaning dimension is emphasized.
● Depending on the task, any of the four skills can be
utilized.
● No native language is used.
● Little attention is paid to grammar and vocabulary.
● Develop communication through interaction in the target
language.
● Introducing authentic texts into the learning situation.
● The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not
only on language but also on the learning process itself.
● Students will enhance their own experiences as crucial
elements contributing to learning.
● Attempt to link classroom language learning with
language activation outside the classroom.
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TEACHER- ● Teacher: input provider during the initial phase. He pays
STUDENT attention and makes notes during the task. He also
provides feedback.
INTERACTION ● Students: work closely together to accomplish the task.
STUDENT’S ● They are motivated by doing real-world-related tasks.
FEELINGS
TEACHER’S GOAL
● Facilitate students’ language learning by engaging them
in a variety of tasks that have a clear outcome
THE ROLES OF ● Teacher’s role:
TEACHERS AND ○ Based on students’ needs and level to choose a
task.
STUDENTS ○ Creates pre-task and task follow-up phases
○ Monitors the students’ performance
○ Intervenes (when necessary)
● Students’ role:
○ Communicate with their peers (friends/
classmates, etc) to complete a task
○ Use the language resources that they have as the
teacher monitors
TEACHER’S ● Correct students’ errors through recasts or modelling or
RESPONSE TO by giving brief grammar explanations.
STUDENTS’
ERRORS
LANGUAGE AREAS ● The meaning dimension of language is emphasized.
AND SKILLS ● Depending on the nature of the task, any of the four skills
can be utilized.
CHARACTERISTICS ● During pre-task phase, a teacher can introduce the
OF THE TEACHING/ language the students need to complete the task.
● The students can see the reason for doing the task and
LEARNING how it relates to possible situations outside the classroom.
PROCESS ● Students are actively engaged with the task.
● The teacher monitors the student's performance and
intervenes when necessary.
● A post-task phase takes place to reinforce students’
learning or to address any problems that may have arisen.
TECHNIQUES ● Information-gap Task
An information-gap activity, used previously in CLT and
now in TBLT, involves the exchange of information
among participants to complete a task. In the TBLT
lesson, students had to exchange information within their
groups to complete the schedule. Other examples might
be where one student is given a picture and describes the
picture for another student to draw, or where students
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draw each other’s family trees.
● Opinion-gap Task
An opinion-gap task requires that students express their
personal preferences, feelings, or attitudes to complete the
task. For instance, students might be given a social
problem, such as high unemployment, and be asked to
come up with a series of possible solutions, or they might
be asked to compose a letter of advice to a friend who has
sought their counsel about a dilemma.
● Reasoning-gap Task
A reasoning gap activity requires that students derive
some new information by inferring it from the
information they have already been given. For example,
students might be given a railroad schedule and asked to
work out the best route to get from one particular city to
another, or they might be asked to solve a riddle. Prabhu
(1987) feels that reasoning-gap tasks work best since
information-gap tasks often require a single-step transfer
of information, rather than sustained negotiation, and
opinion-gap tasks tend to be rather open-ended.
Reasoning-gap tasks, on the other hand, encourage a
more sustained engagement with meaning, though they
are still characterized by a somewhat predictable use of
language.
● Unfocused Tasks
Unfocused tasks are tasks designed to provide learners
with opportunities for communicating generally. In the
tasks students have to plan an itinerary for a train trip, is
an example. Students draw on their language resources to
fulfil the task.
● Focused Tasks
Focused tasks are tasks designed to provide opportunities
for communicating using some specific linguistic item,
typically a grammar structure. The task of trying to
identify the owner of a briefcase left in a taxi is an
example. As with all tasks, focused tasks should be
meaningful. For this reason, the target linguistic feature
of a focused task is ‘hidden’ (the learners are not told
explicitly what the feature is) (Ellis 2009). One other
distinction that Ellis (2009) makes is between input-
providing and output-prompting tasks.
● Input-providing Tasks
Input-providing tasks engage learners with the receptive
skills of listening and reading. We saw in the lesson in
this chapter that the students completed a schedule with
the content that the teacher provided.
Input-providing not only works on receptive skills but
also gives teachers an opportunity to introduce a new
language.
● Output-prompting Tasks
Output-prompting tasks stimulate the students to write or
speak meaningfully. In our lesson, there was an output-
prompting task when students had to share the
information on their cards so that their group members
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could complete a schedule
ADVANTAGES ● Students are at the centre of learning.
● Students are working on something that is personal and
relevant to them.
● Students gain practice in collaborating with others and
making group decisions.
● Students spend a lot of time communicating.
● Students take on responsibility for engaged learning.
● TBL is enjoyable, motivating, and a great place to start
for teachers thinking about incorporating more Project
Based Learning at their schools or classrooms.
DISADVANTAGES ● Task-based learning has very little focus on accuracy.
● The language required to complete a task and discuss. It
may be far above the level of many of the students, which
could make the class de-motivating.
● It is hard for the teacher to know exactly what language
areas to introduce before the task.
● If students use already known language to complete the
task, they are not learning anything new, just practicing.
CONCLUSION ● Task-based learning offers a change from the grammar
practice routines through which many learners have
previously failed to learn to communicate. It encourages
learners to experiment with whatever English they can
recall, to try things out without fear of failure and public
correction, and to take active control of their own
learning, both in and outside class. For the teacher, it may
be true that task-based language teaching is an adventure.
But, it is also an effective language instruction that is
worth trying.
● Task-based learning can also be used in content areas
well beyond language learning. In such instruction, the
learning “task” is viewed as a basic tool that teachers use
to guide students developing strategies for real-world
problems solving. Such an approach is broadly and
effective in science, social studies, and other disciplines,
including business, medical education, accounting, etc.
● By completing the task, learners are provided with a real
purpose for knowledge or strategy use and a natural
context for content study.