On the Implications of Task—based Approach for English Teaching

武安娇

【Abstract】With the further development of globalization， more professionals with a good command of English are needed. This situation proposes new challenge for the traditional way of teaching. Many educators are engaged in exploring more feasible approaches in second language teaching， among which the Task-based Language Teaching is very prominent. This paper is mainly about the implications that the author gained from Task-based Language Teaching （TBLT）.

【Key words】Task-based Language Teaching； task； advantages； implications

1. Introduction

With in-depth development of global economy and technology， more people with proficient English are needed in every field of social construction， which puts forward new challenge for the traditional way of teaching. This situation also urges a large quantity of experts to explore and study more effective approaches. TBLT （Task-based Language Teaching） is one of them.

2. Advantages of TBLT

TBLT refers to an approach based on the use of tasks as the core in language teaching， which has many advantages： （1）TBLT offers students the opportunity for the natural use of target language in the classroom. （2）Students motivation and interest will be aroused. （3）Students language proficiency and communicative ability will be both improved. （4）It is helpful to cultivate the students creativity and the spirit of cooperation. （5）It would improve the students comprehensive ability. （6）It activates the peer learning of the students.

3. The implications for English teaching

Firstly， before I do some intensive reading and study about this method， I have very vague ideas about the difference between exercises and tasks. Now， I can tell the difference between them. Number one： Tasks are activities that pay more attention to meaning-focused language use. In contrast， exercises are activities that call for mainly form-focused language use. For example， the activity “a dangerous moment”， if the teacher invites the student A to give an account of the horrified situation to his/her partner and student B propose any questions he/she wants to ask. That will be a task. But if the students are required to read a story — “a dangerous moment” and then finish the T or F questions， that kind of design is only an exercise. Because the former emphasizes the actual use of the language and the output of students， while the latter only show much concern on the comprehension of specific content — language forms. Number two： Task has a nonlinguistic outcome， while exercise has a linguistic outcome. Take the activity of “listening to a weather forecast” as an example， if the teacher designs the task like that： the student will listen to a passage and then answer questions afterwards， the linguistic outcome will be got undoubtedly. While if the activity which is created like this： the students firstly listen to a weather forecast， then predict the maximum temperature for the next two days and decide what to wear. For this activity， I truly believe that not only the language ability but also other cognitive abilities， such as reasoning， logic， judgment and deduction will be used by the learners. No doubt， this is a task.

Secondly， this approach reminds me that I should always bear in mind that the students are the main body of learning and teachers wouldnt act as a controller， presenter， but a selector， designer， facilitator， participator and director. The success of language learning， to great extent， is not determined by teaching materials， teaching method and grammar presenting， but more probably to be decided by the interaction between the learners through doing things and completing tasks. Therefore， the teacher should spare no efforts to maximize their production of language. In the first place， teachers are supposed to change the students psychology towards TBLT. Influenced by traditional methodology which is still prevalent nowadays in China for a long time， a great number of students have formed the bad habit of learning. To be precise， they formed the habit of depending on teachers. In their mind， the teachers will present the content that is assigned to learn and all they should do is to follow the teachers procedures and complete each step according to the teachers instructions， even the good students. With the time pass by， students tend to lack the spirit of studying the knowledge spontaneously and the enthusiasm of exploring for unsettled problems. They may accept the idea that the teacher is the centre of the classroom and the resource of new information. That sort of idea should be transformed to the students is the master of their own learning. The transformation calls on much hard working of the teachers， which clarify my orientation in the future career.

Thirdly， I consider TBLT propose the higher demand for the teachers， especially for designing tasks. The “authentic” and meaningful tasks designed by the teacher are the torches to light up the students passion and interest， which prompt the students to learn actively. So how to select and sequence tasks to achieve goal is very decisive and crucial. Some principles I should follow are authenticity principle， form-function principle， task dependency principle， learning by doing and Scaffolding principle. The authenticity principle tells me that tasks should be combined with students personal experience and social life. In the teaching process， it is very important to create real communicative context close to students real life so that students can be actively involved in the tasks. Task dependency principle makes me realize that tasks should be designed in the order from the simplest to the most complex. Each task is just like a rung on the ladder， and the appropriate design would activate students to make gradual progress and reach the higher communicative level. The principle of form-function incites me that in designing a task， the teacher should pay special attention to combine the language form with language function. The tasks in every step should have a definite guiding purpose on the basis of learning language form. From “Learning by doing principle” and Scaffolding principle， I am aware that the teacher should guide students to use and learn language by joining activities and enjoy the happiness of success through accomplishing certain tasks. Another reflection I got is that much concern and support should be given to students in language teaching. Language learning is a gradually developing process in which sufficient help provided by teacher is significant for students progress. Therefore， the task of the teacher is to create any kind of condition in which learning can take place.

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