Task Based Approach
[Link],
M.A & [Link] (Eng.), [Link].;[Link] & NET
Assistant Professor
Loyola College of Education,
Namchi
What is a task?
• Task is a piece of work that must be done,
especially one that is different or that must be
done regularly. Task is to give someone the
responsibility for doing something.
Longman English Dictionary
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• An activity which required learners to arrive
at an outcome from given information
through some process of thought and which
allowed teachers to control and regulate that
process was regarded as a task.
Prabhu, 1987
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• Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) method is derived
from the Communicative approach to language teaching.
Task, here, is the central unit of planning and teaching
the language items. According to TBLT, every task which
is based on communication through interaction in a face-
to-face mode, adds to language acquisition and
production through an exposure to language.
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Why do we use a Task Based Approach?
• Task can be easily related to students' real life language
needs.
• They create contexts that facilitate second language
acquisition.
• Task creates opportunities for focusing on form.
• Students are more likely to develop intrinsic motivation in a
task-based approach.
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Task based language teaching is an approach
which offers students opportunities to actively
engage in communication in order to achieve a
goal or complete a task. It seeks to develop
students' inter-language through providing a task
and then using language to solve it.
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• Task-based Learning (TBL) is an approach that
has roots in the Communicative Language
Teaching method, where the teaching process
is done entirely through communicative tasks.
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• In order to fully acquire language, it must have
real meaning by being used in natural contexts.
With Task-based Learning, teachers ask students
to complete purposeful tasks that elicit the use of
the target language. Assessment centers around
the general outcome of the task, rather than
meticulously picking apart each element of
speech.
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GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF TASK-BASED LEARNING
1. Relevant tasks
• Task-based Learning tasks can be categorized by
the type of mental processes used in the
activity, such as listing, comparing, problem-
solving, creative thinking, and sharing personal
experiences.
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2. Tasks are extremely varied, but all share several
common features
They must focus on meaning and
comprehension, rather than repetition and
recitation. There must be a clearly defined
outcome to determine the task’s effectiveness
and the student’s success.
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For example, the task could be to book a
transportation ticket over the phone. In this case,
the outcome would be to successfully book the
ticket. There must be a gap between teacher
instruction, student performance, and end analysis.
Lastly, it is highly effective if students are allowed to
choose and utilize the resources that they deem
necessary to complete the task.
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3. Students learn by interacting
• Sitting in a classroom and being lectured at
for an hour is not conducive to language
acquisition and production- nor is it good for
confidence and a sense of enjoyment! Each
student needs to be engaged and encouraged
to participate.
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4. Focus on using and eliciting authentic language
• So many textbooks and foreign language classes
center around memorizing and mimicking awkward
grammar patterns that aren’t typically used in real
life situations. The language that we use with
students and that we want to instill in them needs to
be genuine and viable in order for the experience to
be effective and useful for them.
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5. Errors are a natural part of the learning process
• While correcting them is important to a
certain degree. Praise students for task
successes instead of picking out each tiny
error. Errors can be fixed with time, but
confidence can be shattered in a second.
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7. Participation in and completion of tasks is
extremely motivational
• Tasks address real life needs and allow students to
use their bag of language tools to meet those needs.
Additionally, the use of tasks allows variation in the
classroom, omits boredom (if planned properly),
and encourages students to use a wide variety of
communication styles and techniques, such as
comparing and, debating
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8. Tasks provide two key processing elements that are
necessary for language learning: input and output
• Copying lines and reciting a song or poem are
incapable of meeting this criterion in their very
design. Incorporating opportunities for both input
and output into every task enable language learners
to practice negotiation, listening and re-defining,
rephrasing, and on-the-spot thinking- all things that
occur naturally in our lives on a daily basis.
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Characteristics of Task Based Approach
• Classroom activities in the TBLT are purposeful, need-based
and product-oriented.
• The learners have to arrive at certain solutions through
exchange of opinions collaboratively. This gives the learners
enough opportunity to listen to and speak the target
language.
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• A teacher in the TBLT has to be conscious about the
level of the learners while giving instruction for the
task.
• A teacher has to provide support in need of the
students for continuance of the process of thinking,
reasoning, justifying, problem-solving.
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• In the TBLT task is viewed as "an activity or a
goal that is carried out using language, such as
finding a solution to a puzzle, reading a map
and giving directions, making a telephone call,
writing a letter, or reading a set of
instructions, etc.
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• Learners are evaluated through their
performance in group/ pair activities on the
basis of an outcome, in terms of the amount
of language they have used. So, the major
focus is on meaning, not on the form.
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• A task has a clearly defined, non- linguist
outcome.
• A task has some kind of information gap,
reasoning gap and opinion gap.
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Procedural Stages
In TBLT, the lesson follows certain stages:
• Pre-task: where the teacher introduces the
topic and gives the students clear instructions
on what they will have to do at the task stage
and might help the students recall some
language that may be useful for the task.
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• Task: where the students complete a task in
pair or group using the language resources
that they have while the teacher monitors and
offers encouragement.
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• Planning: where the students prepare a short
oral or written report to tell the class what
happened during their task. They then
practise what they are going to say in their
groups. The teacher is there to clear up any
language problems they may have.
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• Report: where students report back to the
class orally or read the written report. The
teacher chooses the time when students will
present their reports and may give the
students some quick feedback on the content.
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• Analysis: where the teacher can highlight
relevant parts from the text for the students
to analyze, or can highlight the language the
students used during the report phase for
analysis.
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• Practice: where the teacher selects language
areas to practise based upon the needs of the
students and what emerged from the task and
report phases. The students practise activities
and make a note of useful language.
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• From these we can say that TBLT depends on
task in the classroom and all the tasks are
performed by students with occasional help of
the teacher. So it is a child-centric method.
Importance
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Advantages
• Useful for moving the focus of the learning process from the
teacher to the students.
• It allows for more meaningful communication.
• Students are not passive receivers of knowledge.
• It is intrinsically motivating.
• Students interaction is built in to the lesson, as they need to
communicate to complete the task.
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Disadvantages
• It can take longer time to plan
• Tasks have to be carefully planned to meet the correct criteria.
• It requires a high level of creativity and initiative on the part of the task
• It requires resources beyond the textbooks and related materials usually
found in language classroom.
• Students can avoid using target language to complete the task if the tasks
aren’t well designed, students aren’t motivated and students are feeling
lazy.
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