An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 02
Chapter 1
Introduction
David Nunan talking about Defining Task-based Language
Teaching (videoscript)
"In this lesson, I want to build on some of the ideas introduced in
Lesson 1. I’ll start out by looking in greater detail at the concept of communicative language teaching, and outline the relationship between communicative language teaching and task-based learning. I will then look at several definitions of 'task', and I will draw a distinction between out-of-class, or target tasks, and inclass or pedagogical tasks. I’ll also discuss the differences between pedagogical tasks and linguistic exercises. Then, in the final part of the lesson, I’ll look very briefly at the issue of whether a focus on grammar has any place in the task-based classroom."
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Describe the relationship between communicative language teaching and task-based language teaching

Distinguish between target tasks , pedagogical tasks , communicative activities and linguistic exercises

Differentiate between ' strong ' and ' weak ' interpretations of task-based language teaching

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 02
Chapter 2
Communicative Language Teaching and Task-based Learning
In Lesson 1, we touched on communicative language teaching without discussing it in depth.
However, at this point, we need to consider it in more detail as it provides an overarching philosophy and rationale for task-based language teaching.
The basic principle underlying communicative language teaching is that language is a tool or a resource for communicating, rather than an academic body of knowledge to be mastered. This view of language has major implications for all aspects of the curriculum, including how syllabuses and courses are developed, what teachers and learners do in the classroom, and how learners are assessed. We will look at all of these issues in this course.
The idea that language is a tool for communication rather than lists of sounds, words and grammar items to be memorized also has another important implication for language teaching.
In traditional pedagogy, all learners are fed the same linguistic diet. Items are taught because they are 'there' in the language. However, if language is a tool for communication, then the material that learners are required to master should reflect the purposes for which they are learning the language.
A student who plans to do graduate study in England should not have to follow the same course as a person planning to be a tourist in Australia.
This insight led to the development of a special branch of ELT known as English for Specific
Purposes (ESP), and its course design has become an important aspect of the field. In ESP, the starting point for syllabus design has to be a detailed analysis of learner needs.
Sandra Savignon (1993), one of the first proponents of communicative language teaching, described the birth of this needs-based approach and its implications in the following way:
In Europe, during the 1970s, the language needs of a rapidly increasing group of immigrants ... led to the ... development of a syllabus for learners based on functional-notional concepts of language use and … language ability was described ... in terms of what learners should be able to do with the language (van Ek, 1975).
Communicative language teaching, then, is a broad philosophical orientation towards language, language learning, and language use. It has led to numerous pedagogical applications, including task-based language teaching.
A basic distinction, then, exists between communicative language teaching and task-based language teaching. Communicative language teaching is a philosophy or orientation. Task-based language teaching represents a body of principles and procedures for making communicative language teaching work in the classroom.

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 02
Chapter 3
Defining 'Task' and Related Concepts
In this part of the lesson, I want to define task and a number of other related concepts.
One of the first applied linguists to identify 'task' as a central element in designing language programs was Mike Long. Long (1985: 89) suggests that a task is:
A piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward.
Thus examples of tasks include painting a fence, dressing a child, filling out a form, buying a pair of shoes, making an airline reservation, borrowing a library book, taking a driving test, typing a letter, weighing a patient, sorting letters, taking a hotel reservation, writing a cheque, finding a street destination and helping someone across a road. In other words, by 'task' is meant the hundred and one things people do in everyday life, at work, at play, and in between.
[emphasis added]
Here Long is defining a target or real-world task . Target tasks are the things that people achieve through language in everyday life. Think about all of the things that you achieved through language in the last 24 hours. Perhaps you:
 checked when your favorite TV show started
 invited a friend for lunch
 asked for directions
In the next chapter we will consider the difference between target tasks and pedagogical tasks .

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: David Nunan
Lesson 02
Chapter 4
Tasks and Related Concepts
Target tasks form the point of departure for task-based language teaching. When tasks are turned into learning opportunities, they become pedagogical tasks .
Here are two definitions of a pedagogical task.
Definition 1
A task is a workplan that requires learners to process language pragmatically in order to achieve an outcome that can be evaluated in terms of whether the correct or appropriate propositional content has been conveyed. To this end, it requires them to give primary attention to meaning and to make use of their own linguistic resources. (Ellis 2003: 16)
Definition 2
A task is a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on mobilizing their grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning...
The task should also have a sense of completeness, being able to stand alone... with a beginning, a middle and an end. (Nunan 2004: 4)
There are four principles to note from these definitions.

Meaning is primary

Grammar and form are not ignored (we’ll come back to this point)

The task is a complete unit

There is a systematic relationship between pedagogical tasks and target/real-world tasks
Here is an example of a pedagogical task which illustrates the above principles.
Go for it!
Second Edition Book 3 Page 96

Difference between pedagogical tasks and linguistic exercises
What, then, is the difference between a pedagogical task such as this and a linguistic exercise ? I would say that tasks have a principal focus on meaning, while exercises focus on the manipulation of form. Another key distinction is that tasks have a non-linguistic outcome while an exercise has a linguistic outcome. In the case of the task above, which exemplifies the function of ‘complaining’, the successful outcome would be the removal of the mess in the hallway. (We’ll look at this distinction in greater detail in Lesson 4. We’ll also look at communicative activities , which share some characteristics of tasks and some of exercises.)

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: David Nunan
Lesson 02
Chapter 5
'Strong' and 'Weak' Interpretations of Task-based Language Teaching
I want to finish this lesson by focusing briefly on a distinction that is sometimes drawn between a
' strong ' and a ' weak ' interpretation of task-based language teaching . (I am borrowing the terms
'strong' and 'weak' from Littlewood (1981) who first used them in relation to communicative language teaching.)
Strong interpretation
Those who favor a strong interpretation argue that the only thing necessary for successful language acquisition is an engagement in meaning-focused communicative tasks of the type already discussed. There is no need, they argue, for an explicit focus on form (grammar), and linguistic exercises are unnecessary.
Weak interpretation
Proponents of a weak interpretation of task-based language teaching argue that, while meaning is primary, the point of departure in courses should be an inventory of tasks. Form-focused (grammar) instruction has a supporting role. This is the view that I take, and I will set out the arguments in favor of a place for a focus on form in Lesson 10.
Next Steps
After you have finished this lesson, test your knowledge by taking a short, multiple-choice quiz .
To access the quiz, click quizzes at the top or bottom of any page in this classroom. Select the quiz that corresponds to the lesson you have just completed. Then click submit. Good luck!
After the quiz, please complete the short assignment that follows. This will allow you to practice what you have just learned. To access it, click assignments at the top or bottom of any page.
Choose the appropriate lesson and follow the directions listed there.
Also, visit the discussion area to converse with your colleagues about the topics covered in this lesson. To access it, click discussion at the top or bottom of any page. Choose the appropriate lesson and follow the directions. You will be able to post on the discussion board until the 'close date' listed. After that date, you can read the discussions but not post.

Glossary communicative activity : a classroom procedure that focuses on a single linguistic feature but that also involves a genuine exchange of information function : the things people do through language, for example, apologizing, complaining, requesting linguistic/language exercise : a classroom procedure designed to give learners controlled practice of a grammatical, lexical or phonological feature of the language needs-based approaches: approaches in which learners' communicative needs are taken as the starting point in designing courses pedagogical task : a piece of classroom work with 1) a non-linguistic outcome having a beginning, middle and end, and 2) a focus principally, although not necessarily exclusively, on meaning real-world task: see target task target task: communicative tasks carried out by individuals in everyday life outside of the classroom
Follow-up Reading
Ellis, R. 2000. Task-based Language Teaching and Learning.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chapter 1
Ellis summarizes several key definitions of task-based language teaching.
Savignon, S. 2001. Communicative language teaching for the Twenty-First Century in M. Celce-
Murcia (ed.) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.
Provides a detailed discussion of five key components of the communicative curriculum.
Willis, D. and J. Willis. 2001. Task-based language learning. In R. Carter and D. Nunan (eds.) The
Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Provides a sound basic introduction to task-based language teaching.
Bibliography
Allwright, D. 1981. What do we need teaching materials for? ELT Journal , 36, 1.
Ellis, R. 2003. Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Littlewood, W. 1981. Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Long, M.H. 1985. A role for instruction in second language acquisition. In K. Hyltenstam and M.
Pienemann (eds.) Modelling and Assessing Second Language Acquisition . Clevedon Avon:
Multilingual Matters.
Prabhu, N. 1987. Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Savignon, S. 1993. Communicative language teaching: the state of the art. van Ek, J. 1975. Systems Development in Adult Language Learning: The Threshold Level in a
European Unit Credit system for Modern language Learning by Adults. Strasbourg: Council of
Europe.

Lesson 02
Think of a group of learners with a specific purpose for learning English (for example, to study in an English-speaking country, to visit Canada as a tourist, etc.).
Using the chart below, make a list of the real-world or target tasks that they might need to be able to carry out.
Now make a list of the real-world or target tasks that your learners might need to carry out for their purpose of learning English. Use the chart below.
Real-world/target tasks of learners with a specific purpose for learning English
Their purpose for learning
English is:
Real-world/target tasks of your learners
Their purpose for learning
English is:
How are the lists similar or different?
Visit the discussion area to share your ideas with your colleagues.

Lesson 2 Quiz
2
This is a multiple-choice test. Please use your mouse to click the small round option button preceding the best answer to each question. Then, use the scroll bar on the right side of your screen to scroll down to the next question. Repeat as needed until you have answered all questions. Then, click the small gray 'Submit' button at the bottom of this page. Please click the button once only. Within 1-2 minutes, you will receive an evaluation of your answers.
Note: You can take this quiz as many times as you wish. Use the quizzes to test your knowledge of each lesson before you take your final exam. Your quiz scores do not have any impact on your eligibility for a completion letter. Your final exam score alone determines your eligibility to receive a completion letter. Because you only have one opportunity to take the final exam, we strongly recommend that you prepare for the final by doing as well as you can on these quizzes.
1. Communicative language teaching and task-based language teaching... are essentially the same. are different. Task-based language teaching is a 'strong' interpretation of communicative language teaching. are different. Task-based language teaching is a 'weak' interpretation of communicative language teaching. are different. Communicative language teaching is a broad philosophical approach while task-based language teaching is more methodological.
2. A course for someone planning to do graduate study in an English university and for someone who wants to be a tourist in an English speaking country will have... completely different content. largely similar content.

largely different content but with some overlaps. similar content but different teaching methods.
3. 'Needs-based' approaches to course design... gave rise to task-based language teaching. take lesson content from teacher needs. gave rise to communicative language teaching. take lesson content from learner needs.
4. Which of the following is a pedagogical task?
Role playing a conversation between a waiter and customer in a restaurant
Listening to a weather forecast on TV
Asking the teacher what time class finishes
Checking the newspaper for movie times
5. Which statement best describes the place of form in a 'weak' interpretation of task-based language teaching?
It is unnecessary to focus on form.
It is essential to focus on form before introducing tasks.
A focus on form plays an important supporting rule to communicative tasks.

A focus on form plays a small role in teaching.

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 03
Chapter 1
Introduction
David Nunan talking about Principles for Task-based
Language Teaching (videoscript)
"As we have already seen, task-based language teaching makes very different assumptions about the nature of language and language learning from traditional approaches. In this lesson, we will look at seven important principles underpinning the methodology. These are scaffolding, task dependency, recycling, active learning, the integration of form and function, reproductive and creative language use, and the place of reflective learning.
Where it's appropriate, I've illustrated the principles with some of my own teaching materials. These are designed to show you what the principles look like in practice."
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Describe the seven principles underlying task-based language teaching: scaffolding , task dependency , recycling , active learning , the integration of form and function , reproductive and creative language use , and the place of reflective learning

Identify examples of the above principles in teaching materials
Supporting task-based learning
Everything that happens in the classroom rests on assumptions about the nature of language and language learning. For example, grammar-translation exercises rest on the belief that a comparative analysis of the first and target language is the basis of second language learning.
Audiolingual drills are based on the assumption that learning is a process of habit formation.
Communicative language teaching rests on the belief that target communicative tasks should be the basis for classroom practice.
In this lesson, we will look at some of the assumptions and principles that underpin task-based language teaching.

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 03
Chapter 2
Seven Principles for Task-based Language Teaching
In order for task-based language teaching to be effectively implemented in the classroom, it is important to activate a number of key principles. These are scaffolding , task dependency , recycling , active learning , integration of form and function , reproductive and creative language use , and the place of reflective learning .
Seven principles
Scaffolding
Task dependency
Recycling
Active learning a supporting framework linking and building one task to another reintroducing language items acquiring language through using it
Integration of form and function showing the relationship between form and meaning
Reproductive and creative language use graduating from copying language to creating language by oneself
The place of reflective learning asking "why are we doing this" to provide insight into the learning process
Principle 1: Scaffolding
A 'scaffold' is a supporting framework. An important function of the classroom is that it should provide a supporting framework within which learning can take place. Scaffolded learning can take many forms. For example, you might pre-teach some key vocabulary items needed during a listening or reading lesson. Alternatively, you might do some brainstorming to remind learners of what they already know of a topic before a lesson on that topic.
Scaffolding is particularly important in task-based language teaching because learners may encounter holistic 'chunks' of language, some of which may be beyond their proficiency level. The scaffolded learning will provide the learners with reassurance and support, and will build confidence and enhance motivation.
The following task is an example of scaffolding. It occurs at the beginning of a listening lesson in which students will identify personal qualities necessary for particular occupations. The task provides a context for the lesson and pre-teaches some of the key adjectives that the learners will encounter in the lesson.

Listen In Second Edition Book 2 Page 82

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 03
Chapter 3
Seven Principles for Task-based Language Teaching (continued)
Principle 2: Task dependency
Within a lesson, tasks should be linked together so that succeeding tasks build on and exploit the ones before. Through this principle, learners are led step-by-step through the learning process. A task-based lesson should lead the learners to the point where they can do something new with the language they are learning.
Here is an example of a follow-up task that builds on the one you just studied.
Listen In Second Edition Book 2 Page 83
Within the task-dependency framework, a number of other principles are in operation. One of these is the receptive-to-productive principle. At the beginning of the instructional cycle, learners should spend a greater proportion of time engaged in receptive tasks (listening and reading) than in productive tasks (speaking and writing). Later in the cycle the proportion changes, and learners spend more time in productive work. In the following task, learners are required to produce language that they encountered receptively earlier in the lesson.
Principle 3: Recycling
The analytical approach is based on the assumption that learning is not an all-or-nothing process – that learning is piecemeal and inherently unstable (Nunan, 1999).

If it is accepted that learners will not achieve 100% mastery the first time they encounter a particular piece of language, then it follows that they need to be reintroduced to these items over a period of time.
This recycling allows learners to encounter target language items in a range of different contexts. In this way they will see how a particular item functions in conjunction with other closely related items in a linguistic 'jigsaw puzzle'. They will also see how it functions in relation to different content areas.
For example, they will come to see how 'expressing likes and dislikes' and 'yes/no questions with do/does' function in a range of content areas, from the world of entertainment to the world of food.
Principle 4: Active learning
Fundamental to task-based teaching is the idea that learners acquire language through using it. In
Lesson 1 Approaches to Language Curriculum Development , we looked briefly at the concept of experiential learning. A key principle behind this concept is that learners learn best through doing .
When applied to language teaching, this suggests that most class time should be devoted to opportunities for learners to use the language rather than listening to the teacher talk. These opportunities can range from practicing memorized dialogues to completing a table or chart based on some listening input.
The key point, however, is that the learner (not the teacher) is doing the work. This is not to suggest that there is no place at all for teacher explanation but that teacher-focused work should not dominate class time.

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 03
Chapter 4
Seven Principles for Task-based Language Teaching (continued)
Principle 5: Integration
This principle is somewhat controversial. It is disputed by some proponents of a 'strong' interpretation of task-based language teaching. (To review 'strong' and 'weak' interpretations, please revisit Lesson 2.) It argues that language teaching should show learners the relationship between form and meaning.
As we saw in Lesson 1 Approaches to Language Curriculum Development , in synthetic approaches the linguistic elements (the grammatical, lexical and phonological components) are taught separately and one-by-one. The problem for the learners is learning how to put these various elements together for effective communication.
When communicative language teaching emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, some language specialists argued that a focus on form was unnecessary and that all learners needed were opportunities to communicate in the language.
This led to a split between proponents of form-based instruction and proponents of meaning-based instruction . Proponents of meaning-based instruction argue that, while a mastery of grammar is fundamental for effective communication, this can be achieved by the learners subconsciously, and an explicit focus on form is unnecessary for language acquisition.
However, proponents of a 'weak' interpretation of task-based language teaching (and I would count myself among them) have argued that the challenge for language teachers is to show learners the systematic relationships between grammatical form and communicative meaning.
Principle 6: Reproduction to creation
Reproductive language work requires learners to reproduce language models provided by the teacher, the textbook or audio. These tasks are designed to give learners initial mastery of target language items. The following extract exemplifies reproductive language work.
Expressions Book 1 Page 24
While such practice provides a basis for language development, it doesn't go far enough. Learners should be encouraged to move from reproductive to creative language use. In creative tasks,

learners recombine familiar elements in novel ways. This principle can be deployed with students at intermediate levels and above as well as with beginners if the process is carefully sequenced. The task below shows how learners can move from reproductive dialogue practice to creative language use.
Expressions Book 3 Page 29
Principle 7: Reflection
In task-based language teaching, the focus is not only on language but also on the learning process
(Reid, 1995; Christison 2003). Learners should be given opportunities to look back on what they have learned and think about how well they are doing.
This is particularly important for learners who have done most of their learning in 'traditional' classrooms. For such learners, task-based language teaching can be mystifying and even alienating, leading them to ask 'Why are we doing this?' Adding a reflective element to teaching can help learners see the rationale for the new approach.
(We will look at the learning process in greater detail in Lesson 9 Learning Styles and Strategies .)

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 03
Chapter 5
Summary
In this lesson, I have introduced seven key principles underpinning task-based language teaching.
Although these principles are not exhaustive, they encapsulate the main keys to the successful deployment of task-based language teaching.
In the next lesson, we will see how the principles are realized in practice.
Next Steps
After you have finished this lesson, test your knowledge by taking a short, multiple-choice quiz .
To access the quiz, click quizzes at the top or bottom of any page in this classroom. Select the quiz that corresponds to the lesson you have just completed. Then click submit. Good luck!
After the quiz, please complete the short assignment that follows. This will allow you to practice what you have just learned. To access it, click assignments at the top or bottom of any page.
Choose the appropriate lesson and follow the directions listed there.
Also, visit the discussion area to converse with your colleagues about the topics covered in this lesson. To access it, click discussion at the top or bottom of any page. Choose the appropriate lesson and follow the directions. You will be able to post on the discussion board until the 'close date' listed. After that date, you can read the discussions but not post.

Glossary active learning : learning by using language (rather than, say, memorizing a set of grammar rules) creative language use : this occurs when learners are involved in tasks that require them to recombine familiar language patterns and elements in novel ways form-based instruction: an approach to language teaching based on the belief that mastery of grammar is fundamental for communication integration of form and function: a principle that argues that language teaching should show learners the relationship between form and meaning meaning-based instruction: an approach to language teaching based on the belief that an explicit focus on form is unnecessary for language acquisition productive tasks: speaking and writing tasks receptive tasks: listening and reading tasks recycling: the principle of reintroducing language items over a period of time to allow learners to encounter them in a range of different contexts reproductive language use : language produced by learners as they imitate or manipulate models provided by a teacher, textbook, or audio reflective learning tasks : tasks that require learners to think about the learning process and how well they are doing within that process scaffolding : tasks and activities that support the learning process (for example, pre-teaching vocabulary or grammar items that are required for task completion) task dependency : a linked sequence of tasks in which succeeding tasks draw on and are dependent upon those that come before
Follow-up Reading
Nunan, D. 2004. Task-Based Language Teaching . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chapter 2.
Summarizes the seven principles described in this lesson.
Bibliography
Christison, M.A. 2003. Learning styles and strategies. in D. Nunan (ed.) Practical English Language
Teaching. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Nunan, D 1995. Atlas.
Boston: Thomson Heinle
Nunan, D 1999. Second Language Teaching and Learning. Boston MA: Thomson Heinle.
Nunan, D. 2003. Listen In. Second Edition. Boston: Thomson Heinle
Reid, J. (ed.) 1995. Learning Styles in the ESL/EFL Classroom . Boston MA: Thomson Heinle.

Lesson 03
As students should reflect on their learning process, teachers should also reflect on their attitudes towards language teaching.
Take some time and think about the seven principles of task-based language teaching.
1). What are your feelings about these principles?
2). Do you currently incorporate these principles into your classroom?
3). If not, are you more likely to now?
Seven Principles
Scaffolding
Task dependency
Recycling
Active learning
Integration of form and function
Reproductive and creative language use
The place of reflective learning
Share your ideas with a colleague or visit the discussion area to discuss this topic with your fellow teachers.

Lesson 3 Quiz
3
This is a multiple-choice test. Please use your mouse to click the small round option button preceding the best answer to each question. Then, use the scroll bar on the right side of your screen to scroll down to the next question. Repeat as needed until you have answered all questions. Then, click the small gray 'Submit' button at the bottom of this page. Please click the button once only. Within 1-2 minutes, you will receive an evaluation of your answers.
Note: You can take this quiz as many times as you wish. Use the quizzes to test your knowledge of each lesson before you take your final exam. Your quiz scores do not have any impact on your eligibility for a completion letter. Your final exam score alone determines your eligibility to receive a completion letter. Because you only have one opportunity to take the final exam, we strongly recommend that you prepare for the final by doing as well as you can on these quizzes.
1. Task dependency... occurs when a task builds on the one that comes before. requires receptive tasks to come before pedagogical tasks. means the teacher is dependant on the task. means the task is dependant on the teacher.
2. Recycling is important because... learners never pay attention the first time. learning happens step-by-step. it shows how yes/no questions function in a range of contexts. grammar rules are constantly changing.

3. Active learning is based on the notion that... most teachers can't teach. learners learn best through doing. learners should memorize dialogues. there is little place for teacher input in the classroom.
4. In this course's view of task-based language teaching,... it is only necessary to teach form. it is only necessary to teach functions. either form or function can be taught. form and function should be integrated.
5. Reflective learning... was never a feature of traditional classrooms. helps learners see the reason for particular tasks. does not involve language use. is a mystery and a waste of time to many learners.

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 04
Chapter 1
Introduction
Watching the video requires Quicktime.
Download the newest version for free. Click here .
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David Nunan talking about A Framework for Task-based
Language Teaching (videoscript)
"This lesson builds on the three that you have already completed.
The main purpose of the lesson is to look in greater detail at the different building blocks of a task-based lesson and how these fit together. So this lesson is basically about methodology, the practical aspects of what you can do in the classroom to make task-based language teaching work. Before I do that, however, I just want to look at some aspects of syllabus design from the perspective of task-based language teaching. At the end of the lesson, you should have a clear idea of the differences between tasks, exercises and activities."
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 describe how syllabuses are designed in task-based language teaching
 identify examples of rehearsal tasks , activation tasks , linguistic exercises and communicative activities
 describe the six-step procedure for designing lessons around a task framework
Syllabus design considerations
As we saw in Lesson 1 Approaches to Language Curriculum Development , analytical syllabuses
(which include task-based syllabuses) start with an analysis of the communicative needs of the learner and not with analysis of language. Analytical syllabuses identify the sounds, words and grammar that learners need to master only after needs have been identified. The first step for the syllabus designer, then, is to create an inventory of target tasks. These should reflect the kinds of things that the learner will one day want to do with language outside of the classroom.
One of the potential problems with a task-based syllabus is that it will consist of a random collection of tasks with nothing to tie them together through the macrofunctions , microfunctions and grammatical elements they express. (These concepts are taken from the language model developed by Michael Halliday called systemic-functional linguistics. See Halliday, 1985.)
Consider the following tasks:
1. Look at the map. You are at the hotel. Ask your partner for directions to the bank.
2. You are having a party. Tell your partner how to get from the school to your home.
On the surface, the tasks appear to be quite different. However, they are both underpinned by the same macrofunction (exchanging goods and services), the same microfunction (asking for and giving directions) and the same grammatical elements (wh-questions and imperatives).

Tasks Macrofunctions
Look at the map. You are at the hotel. Ask your partner for directions to the bank.
Exchanging goods and services
You are having a party. Tell your partner how to get from the school to your home.
Exchanging goods and services
Microfunctions Grammar
Asking for and giving directions
Wh-questions.
Yes/no questions
Imperatives
Asking for and giving directions
Wh-questions.
Yes/no questions
Imperatives

An Introduction to Task-Based Teaching
Your Instructor: Dr. David Nunan
Lesson 04
Chapter 2
A Task Framework
As we saw in the preceding lesson, the point of departure for task-based language teaching is realworld or target tasks. These are the hundred and one things we do with language in everyday life, from writing a poem, to reconfirming an airline reservation to exchanging personal information with a new acquaintance.
In order to create learning opportunities in the classroom, we must transform these real-world tasks into pedagogical tasks. Such tasks can be placed on a continuum from rehearsal tasks to activation tasks.
Rehearsal Tasks Activation Tasks
A rehearsal task bears a clear and obvious relationship to its corresponding real-world counterpart, as the following example shows.
Rehearsal tasks
Expressions Book 3 Page 93
This task has a rehearsal rationale. If someone were to visit my classroom and ask why the students were doing this task, my reply would be something along the lines of, "Well, I'm getting them, (in the security of the classroom), to rehearse leaving messages for a third person - something they're going to need to do outside the classroom when they're in an English speaking environment."
It is worth noting that the task has been transformed. It is not identical to the process in the world outside the classroom. Thus, although rehearsal tasks are similar to, they are not identical to target tasks.

Activation tasks
Not all tasks have such a clear and obvious relationship to the real-world. Many role plays, simulations, problem-solving tasks and information exchange tasks are designed to activate a range of language skills. These are what I call activation tasks . The following spot-the-difference task is a good example of such a task. To my knowledge, no-one would ever engage in such a task outside of the classroom.
Go for it!
Second Edition Book 1 Page 125
Go for it!
Second Edition Book 1 Page 127
In this task, students practice colors and numbers as well as prepositions, yes/no questions and existential statements ('There is / there are').

As we've seen, proponents of the 'strong' interpretation of task-based language teaching believe that communicative involvement in activation tasks is all that's required for successful second language acquisition. This 'strong' interpretation believes that language acquisition is a subconscious process in which the teaching of grammar is unnecessary. "Language is best taught when it is being used to transmit messages, not when it is explicitly taught for conscious learning."
(Krashen and Terrell, 1983: 55).
My own view is that language classrooms exist precisely to provide for learners the kinds of practice opportunities that do not exist outside the classroom. Therefore there is a place for a focus on form.
This view also seems to be supported by research. (Doughty and Williams 1998).