THEORIES ON TEACHING
AND LEARNING
TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING (TBLT)
THEORIES ON TEACHING
 BEHAVIOURISM
 COGNITIVISM
 CONSTRUCTIVISM
 HUMANISM
BEHAVIOURISM
 Audio Lingual
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cognitivism
 GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METHOD
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CONSTRUCTIVISM
 COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE APPROACH
- CONTENT-BASED APPROACH
- TASK-BASED APPROACH
- PARTICIPATORY APPROACH
COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE APPROACH
 As the correction of habitual approach and
Grammatical Approach as applied on
Behaviouristics and Cognitivistics Theories.
 Emphasizes communication and meaning,
focuses on the learning process than the
products.
 Activities that use language as a matter to
study, not just study the language.
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CONTENT-BASED
APPROACH
 Use content from other disciplines in language
teaching.
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TASK-BASED APPROACH
 Willis (1996) cited in Richards and Rogers
draws some principles:
* Activities that involve real communication
are essential for language learning.
* Activities that use language for carrying
out meaningful task
* Language that is meaningful to learner
supports the learning process
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What is a task?
1. A task is goal directed.
2. A task involves a primary focus on meaning.
3. The participants choose the linguistic
resources needed to complete the task.
4. A task has a clearly defined outcome.
Tasks and the four language skills
A common misunderstanding of task-based
instruction is that it necessarily involves oral
interaction.
But tasks can be designed to develop any of
the four language skills (listening, speaking,
reading and writing).
Many tasks are ‘integrative’ (i.e. involve more
than one skill).
Key Characteristics of TBLT (Swan
2005)
1. ‘Natural’ or ‘naturalistic’ language use
2. Learner-centred rather than teacher
controlled
3. Focus on form (intervention while retaining
‘naturalness’).
4. Tasks serve as the means for achieving
natural language use.
5. Traditional approaches are ineffective.
The organisation of task-based
lessons
- pre-task phase
- main task phase
- post-task phase
Options for the Pre-Task
Phase
The purpose of the pre-task phase is to prepare
students to perform the task in ways that will
promote acquisition.
Three approaches:
- motivational
- focus on cognitive demands
- focus on linguistic demands
Procedural Options for
the Pre-Task Phase
1. Supporting learners in performing a task
similar to the main task
2. Providing learners with a model of how the
task might be performed.
3. Engaging learners in non-task activities
designed to help them perform the task.
4. Providing learners with the opportunity to
plan how to perform the task.
Options for the Main
Task Phase
Two sets of options:
 Task-performance options (relating to
decisions taken prior to performance of the
task)
 Process options (relating to on-line decisions
taken during the performance of the task –
focus on form)
The Post-Task Phase
Three main options:
 Repeat performance
 Reflection on performance of the task
 Attention to form
Repeat Performance
Research shows that when learners repeat a
task their production improves in a number of
ways (e.g. complexity increases, propositions
are expressed more clearly, and they become
more fluent).
A repeat performance can be carried out
under the same conditions as the first
performance (i.e. in small groups or
individually) or the conditions can be
changed.
Reflecting on the Task
Performance
Students present an oral or written report:
- summarising the outcome of the task.
- reflecting on and evaluating their own performance of the
task.
- commenting on which aspect of language use (fluency,
complexity or accuracy) they gave primacy to
- discussing communication problems
- reporting what language they learned from the task
- suggesting how they might improve their performance of
the task.
Attention to Form
Options include:
- review of learner errors (‘proof listening’ –
Lynch)
- CR tasks
- Production practice
- Noticing activities (dictation; making a
transcript)
Some Problems and their Solutions
Pedagogical problems
Solutions
1. Students lack
Devise activities that
proficiency to
develop ability to
communicate in the L2 communicate
gradually.
2. Students unwilling
to speak English in
class.
Use small group work;
allow planning time;
learner training
3. Students develop
pidginized language
system
Select tasks that
demand fully
grammaticalized
language
Educational problems
Solutions
1. Emphasis on
‘knowledge’ learning
Review philosophy of
education.
2. Examination
system
Develop new more
communicative exams
3. Large classes
Use small group work;
develop tasks suited to
large classes.
Pedagogic problems
Problem
Solution
1. Teachers often believe that TBLT is not
possible with beginners.
Teachers need to understand that TBLT
involves input-based as well as out-put
based tasks and that it is possible to build
up proficiency initially through a series of
simple input-based tasks.
2. Students may be unwilling to risk
communicating ‘freely’.
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•
3. Students will resort to communicating in
their L1.
This is arguably not a problem; as
proficiency develops learners
automatically begin to use more of
the L2.
4. Teachers may not fully understand the
principles or TBLT or have the proficiency
to teach ‘communicatively’.
More effective teacher training.
Allow planning time
Learner-training.
Concluding comment
Advantages of taskbased teaching
1. Task-based teaching offers the opportunity
2.
3.
4.
5.
for ‘natural’ learning inside the classroom.
It emphasizes meaning over form but can
also cater for learning form.
It is intrinsically motivating.
It is compatible with a learner-centred
educational philosophy.
It can be used alongside a more traditional
approach.
6. It caters to the development of
communicative fluency while not
neglecting accuracy.
MAKE GROUP OF 3
 CHOOSE ONE OF THE PICTURES (ANIMALS)
PROVIDED BY TEACHER
 DISCUSS IN GROUP ABOUT THE
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE ANIMAL YOU HAVE
CHOSEN ( THE HABITAT, THE FOOD, THE
PHYSICAL APPEARENCES,
 PRESENT YOUR RESULT OF THE DISCUSSION
IN FRONT OF THE CLASS ( BOTH WRITTEN
AND ORALLY)
REFERENCES
 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers, 2003. Approaches
and Methods in
Language Teaching. Melbourne:
Cambridge University Press
 Diane Larsen Freeman, 2000. Techniques and Principles in
Language Teaching. New York: Oxford University Press
 http://en.wikipedia org/ task-based-language learning

 http://blogs.uniber.org/task-based learning technique:
 http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk
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