Task leading to task: priming and
preparation for TBL
Jane Willis
www.willis-elt.co.uk
Honorary Visiting Fellow, Aston University,
UK
OUTLINE
Clarifying terms and setting the scene
A sample task sequence
Types of Priming and Preparation tasks
Workshop: in twos or threes select a topic and
brainstorm your own mini-tasks
Choose one or two and write them on a slip of paper to
pass on and hand in
Report back
Final words
Possible topics and sample target tasks
In pairs or threes, choose one or two
School canteen: survey & recommendations
Families: family trees - more boys/girls?
Family life: reach a concensus on family values
Class trip: plan a day away (+ aims & budget)
Parking at work / college: problems and solutions
Daily journeys: the shortest/longest/best/worst?
Volcanoes and volcanic eruptions: negative and
positive outcomes (+case studies – Key Stage 3)
Other …
You will – in the process of planning a task
sequence after this workshop - need to adapt
and fine-tune the target task to suit your own
learners.
Meanwhile - how do priming and preparation
activities fit in to the larger framework of TBL?
Using tasks to promote language development
Tasks are most effective when used flexibly within a
coherent Framework:
Priming & Preparation
(exploring topic, useful words & phrases)
Task Cycle
Task(s) >> Planning >> Report of outcome
Form focus
Analysis of familiar texts and practice of forms
Priming
Aims:
To facilitate participation in main / target tasks
To activate prior knowledge and engage learners
PRIMING activities are usually teacher-led:
- exploring topic, assembling useful words and
phrases
- explaining / demonstrating target task and
clarifying outcomes and goals,
Note: Some priming can be done in the previous lesson
so learners can prepare outside class.
Preparation
Aims:
To let learners think of their own ideas / strategies
To help learners prepare the language they may need.
PREPARATION activities are mainly done by
learners and often involve texts (chosen by teacher)
- Reading a short text or set of statements to
complete a mini-task, e.g. agree / disagree
- Using a given web-site to research an aspect of a
topic and prepare a list of key facts or a quiz
- Listing useful words, phrases and expressions
Canteens
a possible task sequence
Introduce topic and task – useful teacher talk
Teacher tells class 3 things they remember about school meals
and compare their canteen / cafeteria with the pictures.
True/false game with pictures.
‘What about your school / college canteen / cafeteria?’
Ask ‘Either / or’ or ‘Who had ….’ questions (minimal response)
Mini-task: What can learners remember? Good memories?
Not so good?
Plan, then report to class or other pairs
Explain target task: survey and recommendations
Sample text for canteen task
I went to school over 40 years ago so I am sure that school
dinners now are very different.
We sat on tables of 8 people, with the youngest (11 years old) at
one end and the oldest (18) at the other end. The main meal
was brought to the table by the kitchen staff in large serving
dishes. The oldest person then divided the food into 8
portions. But if they liked that particular meal they took
more than their fair share and the youngest got less.
The youngest on the table had to collect the dirty plates and
cutlery and take them back to the kitchen.
The pudding was served in the same way. We all had our
favourites – mine was Bread and Butter pudding
The chief cook was a nice and very large lady called Gertie
Hardcastle.
Neil
Preparation
mini-tasks for Canteen Survey
Read about other people’s experience of canteens and compare.
List the aspects of the present facilities you want to investigate.
Brainstorm and order questions you might use for a survey.
List the people each group might interview and organise the
survey.
------------------------------------If you were running the canteen what would you do? List 3
priorities.
Brainstorm problems your catering staff might be facing.
Over to you – with help from the next slides
Decide on your target task, write it at top of a half sheet
of paper
2 mins
Brainstorm one or two mini tasks for listing, classifying,
comparing
3 mins for each type
Write the best ones on your half sheet of paper 3 mins
At the bottom, write ‘Suitable for …. (a teaching context)
and your names (optional).
1 min
TIME – KEEPER - LISTEN FOR THE BELL!
Possible topics and sample target tasks
In pairs or threes, choose one or two
School canteen: survey & recommendations
Families: family trees - more boys/girls?
Family life: reach a concensus on family values
Class trip: plan a day away (+ aims & budget)
Parking at work / college: problems and solutions
Daily journeys: the shortest/longest/best/worst?
Volcanoes and volcanic eruptions: negative and
positive outcomes (+case studies – Key Stage 3)
Other …
Priming tasks: type 1 – plan two for your topic
1 Listing - brainstorming – fact-finding
Teacher chats, recounts own experience, collects class
ideas, writes useful phrases on board, discusses,
extends
E.g.
- Talk about own family, then ask how many family words do
learners know in English? Make a list.
- Things to consider when planning a class trip / day away
- Good and bad places to park near work / college
- What do you already know about volcanoes? 2 minutes
Priming tasks: type 2 - plan two more
2 Classifying, ranking, ordering, mind-mapping etc
e.g.
- Make a mind-map with items from your list
- Sort into good or not so good?
- True / false?
- How many ways can you classify ….. ?
Meaning-focused teacher talk is excellent
exposure to language in use – so share your
experiences!
Priming tasks: type 3 Matching
Matching
e.g.
Matching pictures to captions or short texts or
recordings
Following a route on a map from directions
Text books have many priming tasks of this type.
From Priming to Preparation
3 Comparing
learners’ lists, classifications & ideas with:
-
each others’ ideas
visuals
recordings of fluent speakers doing same task
texts (pick out useful topic words and phrases)
e.g. Which picture is most like your canteen?
Differences?
Means of transport to work: advantages/disadvantages
Text-based tasks – before reading/hearing
Listing
Questions you would like answered in the text/recording,
Prediction task based on title / headline and first lines
Key points you think will be mentioned (predicting)
Classifying / ordering
General Knowledge: True / false statements to discuss
Narrative text: Ordering given phrases from the text to
make a story
Comparing results of above with other pairs
Reporting back
Write your 1 or 2 of your best mini-tasks on
your half sheet of paper
At the bottom, write ‘Suitable for …. (a
teaching context) and your name.
Pass it on and hand it in.
jane@willis-elt.co.uk
Tasks are to enhance language learning.
Optimum conditions for learning are Essential
Exposure to language in use
Using language to mean…
Motivation & Engagement
Beneficial
Focus on Form
Evaluate – how far does your task sequence
fulfill these condition?
Seven types of task:
use this to generate a set of three or four tasks
Listing
Matching
Ordering & Sorting
Comparing
Problem solving
TOPIC
(e.g. eating out in Spain, pets, volcanoes)
Sharing personal experiences
Projects and creative tasks
Task leading to task: priming and
preparation for TBL
jane@willis-elt.co.uk
www.willis-elt.co.uk
Doing Task-based Teaching OUP
A Framework for Task-based Learning ebook
Some books and articles on TBL
Edwards, C. and J. Willis (eds) 2005. Teachers Exploring Tasks in ELT.
Palgrave MacMillan. Prize winner - British Council ELT Innovations Awards
2006
Hobbs, J. 2011 Practical steps towards task-based teaching http://jaltpublications.org/proceedings/articles/1118-practical-steps-towards-task-basedteaching
Willis D. 2003. Rules, Patterns and Words: Grammar and Lexis in English
Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press
Willis, D. and Willis, J. 2007. Doing Task-based Teaching. Oxford University
Press
Willis, D. and Willis, J. 2010. ‘Six propositions in search of a methodology:
applying linguistics to task-based language teaching’ in S. Hunston & D.
Oakey (eds) Introducing Applied Linguistics: Concepts and Skills Routledge.
Willis, J. 1996. A framework for task-based learning. ebook edition 2012:
http://www.intrinsicbooks.co.uk/online/online.html
Willis, J. 2009. The TBL framework: the task cycle. In K.Van den Branden, M.
Bygate, J. Norris (eds) Task-based Language Teaching – a reader. John
Benjamin’s Publishing Company
Willis, J. 2011. ‘Concordances in the classroom: a D.I.Y. approach to
assembling and exploiting concordances of frequent words’ in Tomlinson,
B. (ed.) Material Development in Language Teaching. (Revised edition).
Cambridge: CUP