Using Task—Based Approach to Teach Casual Conversation in EFL Context

Li Yijing

【摘要】：English as Foreign Language （EFL） teachers are required to carefully design tasks and take learners gender effect， personality influence into consideration as well. This article uses a task-based language teaching framework （TBLT） to analyze how casual conversations have been taught in an EFL junior high school context. It is a breakthrough for junior high school teachers to try the task-based language teaching approach and train students speaking abilities in using English.

【關键词】：EFL；casual conversation；task-based language teaching framework

1.Introduction

Spoken language is an area that has been largely under-described and under-theorized within linguistic science. In the past decade， the interest in casual conversation as the primary form of language use has increased dramatically. As a result， a growing interest in the study of casual conversation is leading to new teaching pedagogies in real teaching contexts （de Silva Joyce & Slade， 2000）.

Speaking task in spoken language teaching refers to activities where language learners interact orally in English for a communicative purpose in order to achieve an outcome （Willis， 1996）. This article will use Willis task-based language teaching framework （TBLT） which is composed of “pre-task”， “task cycle” and “language focus” to analyze how casual conversations have been taught in an EFL junior high school context. Through analyzing and exploring the features of teacher-pupil and pupil-pupil talk， this article aims to provide some suggestions of teaching causal conversation in huge classes of China.

The aim of task based language teaching is to develop a framework for transforming real-world tasks into pedagogical tasks. Task-based instruction for listening and speaking emphasize the importance of communication objectives between listeners and speakers （Goh， 2014）. Pedagogically， the teaching approach focus on training students communication abilities through interaction in the target language and aims to strengthen students oral ability when confront in daily dialogues （Nunan， 2006）.

2.Literature Review

Teachers are greatly encouraged to experiment with various methodologies when teaching casual conversations and to contribute to the development of pedagogic approaches （Crystal and Davy 1975）. When it comes to English language learning， native speakers can be very familiar with the structure of spoken language itself， and thus predict what the other person might express. It is not too hard for them to take their turns and continue the talk. EFL learners may find extremely hard to take a turn simply because insufficient language abilities or cultural differences. It is a distinct phenomenon that EFL students always have difficulties in opening a conversation， engaging in the talk or closing their participation when engaged in a conversation.

Richards （1990） points out two different choices at the level of a casual conversation teaching approach： teach conversation directly or indirectly. To be specific， the direct approach is about designing a conversation program based on skills and strategies that could be involved in fluent conversations. An indirect approach， on the other hand， is an approach that conversational competence is regarded as the product of engaging learners in conversational interactions or tasks.

3.Findings and Discussion

Influenced by Confucian values， Chinese students always keep quiet in classes and less likely to answer question bravely or challenge their teachers in public. Students are usually well disciplined though they are situated in a huge class. However， they are usually too shy to have eye contact with each other when doing a spoken conversation task. In most occasions， we cannot hear their responses clearly. Hence， teacher could use indirect way to point students mistake or help to raise learners consciousness such as repeating the question again and let the students realize that they need to reply the question in a different way.

Besides， Chinese students are always labeled as too shy to speak in front of class and some researchers use passive learners to describe them. It was been initially explained by two primary factors： insufficient language competence as well as cultural difference. The communications barriers refer to their English proficiency for academic speaking and oral presentation performance. Besides， foreign language classroom anxiety can largely reduce students behavior and their language proficiency. That also explained why these students always avoid eye contacts with the other speaker and give the audience a kind of feeling that they want to finish the task as soon as possible.

According to Willis task based language teaching cycle， it is suggested that pre-task planning should be introduced and expanded so that students can have a better understanding about the task itself. Input knowledge and examples of how to conduct a conversation are very important for lower level language learners. When they are doing the activity， teachers should correct their mistakes and direct students reflection on learning or improve learners awareness.

Finally， feedbacks and further suggestions should be provided in support of their performance. This teaching approach can be applied into a lot of junior high schools English language classes in rural areas of China. It is a breakthrough for junior high school teachers to try this task-based language teaching approach and train students speaking abilities in using English.

參考文献：

Crystal， D.， & Davy， D. （1975）. Advanced Conversational English （Vol. 1）. Longman Publishing Group.

de Silva Joyce， H.， & Slade， D. （2000）. The nature of casual conversation： implications for teaching. Teachers' voices， 6.

Nunan， D. （2006）. Task-based language teaching. Ernst Klett Sprachen.

Goh， C. C. M. （2014）. Second language listening comprehension： Process and pedagogy. Teaching English as a second or foreign language， 72-89.

Richards， J. C. （1990）. Conversationally speaking： approaches to the teaching of conversation. Richards， JC The Language Teaching Matrix， 67-86.

Willis， J. （1996）. A framework for task-based learning. Harlow， England： Longman.