IMPLEMENTING A TASK-BASED APPROACH IN FLT
Mariya Neykova
Abstract
The Task-based approach to language teaching offers ample opportunities for adapting
classroom activities to the concrete needs of adult learners of English. Electronic learning
makes it possible for the student to choose the place, the pace and the time of learning. The
implementation of the task-based approach in e-learning makes language learning effective
and successful.
Key words
e-learning, language learning, task-based approach
The present paper focuses on the importance of implementing task-based approach in the
contemporary English language classroom. Combined with the use of modern
technologies, it helps teachers to increase learners’ motivation and to improve learners’
performance.
The following terms are used in the paper:
 task – “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,
and in which the intention is to convey meaning rather than to manipulate form.”
(Nunan 2006)
 integrated e-learning – “Integrated e-learning refers not only to Web-based
learning but also to using the Web for learning in such a way that it is effectively
embedded in a well-designed educational system [ … ] Integrated e-learning often
reflects elements from face-to-face learning, distance education, and where
appropriate forms of structured on-the-job training and practical work.” (Johems et
al. 2004:xi)
The task-based approach to foreign language learning offers the students opportunities to
do things they do in their everyday life using the target language they have already
mastered. The task is an activity that can be performed in real life outside the language
classroom. The fact that this is an authentic activity makes the whole procedure look
natural and the students are motivated to do the task in the target language. As a result,
students focus on meaning, not on language accuracy. They are free to use whatever
grammatical structures and vocabulary they wish to use and can use in order to achieve a
certain outcome. In the process of performing the task they might feel the need to learn
new structures and vocabulary but it is up to them to decide whether to do it or not.
Here is a brief review of what methodologists think about the relation between learning
grammar and using the target language in communicative situations. Some of them express
the view that language has to be acquired as a result of meaningful experience, of
involvement in communicative activities in which the learners use the language, rather
than as a result of mastering grammar. According to Allwright, if students do this, they are
bound to improve their performance in the foreign language:
“… we may conclude that if the ‘language teacher’s’ management activities
are directed exclusively at involving the learners in solving communication
problems in the target language, then language learning will take care of itself
…”
Allwright 1983:170
Task-based language learning was widely popularized by Prabhu. He defines a task as “an
activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome from given information through
some process of thought, and which allowed teachers to control and regulate that process”
(Prabhu 1987:24). In other words, the task is an activity in which learners use the foreign
language in order to achieve a specific result or reach a goal (e.g. problem-solving, sharing
information), using all the language they know, rather than confining themselves to
specific grammar constructs or vocabulary items. The activities are authentic and the focus
is on meaning, not on grammatical structures or accuracy.
Another methodologist, Willis, also stresses upon the communicative nature of tasks.
According to her, “tasks are always activities where the target language is used by the
learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome” (Willis
1996:23). Tasks are used as the main focus of the lesson in a supportive methodological
framework. She holds that the aim of tasks is “to create a real purpose for language use and
to provide a natural context for language study” (Willis 1996:1).
Nunan defines a task in the following way:
“My own definition is that 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, and in which the intention is to convey
meaning rather than to manipulate form. The task should also have a sense of
completeness, being able to stand alone as a communicative act in its own right
with a beginning, a middle and an end.”
Nunan 2006
The focus of the task is on meaning, it has a clearly defined structure and a sense of
completeness. Further on he points to the interrelation between meaning and form. The
attention of the language users is mainly focused on meaning but it is grammar that enables
them to express different communicative meanings.
The above definitions lay stress on two facts. The first fact is that the primary focus in the
language classroom activities is the task. The second one is that language is the instrument
which students use to complete that task. In this paper Nunan’s definition of task is used,
since it reflects all aspects of the nature and implementation of tasks in language learning.
The aim of classroom activities is to ensure that effective learning takes place. Willis
defines four conditions that have to be met in order to achieve this efficiency. Three of
them are essential (exposure, use and motivation) and one of them (instruction) is
desirable:
Willis 1996:11
Exposure to the target language might involve both listening and reading; it might be
conscious or largely subconscious. An essential point is that the quality of the exposure is
more important than the quantity. And quality here means that students should be
“exposed" to good pronunciation, a variety of types of language use (e.g. formal and
informal speech) and a range of different types of writing. Use of the target language is
considered essential for language development. Learners need opportunities to
communicate what they want to say and express what they feel or think, using the language
they have already mastered. The classroom context is also important – a positive,
supportive, low stress atmosphere encourages creativity and risk-taking. As a result,
learners are likely to acquire the target language faster and more efficiently. Success and
satisfaction are key factors in sustaining motivation to process the exposure and to use the
target language. The feeling of achievement can boost students’ confidence and encourage
them in their efforts to learn the foreign language. These three essential conditions for
language learning can be met outside the classroom. Instruction, the fourth condition for
effective learning, prevents students from fossilizing at the language level they have
already reached, by helping them to notice specific features of the target language, to
process grammatical and lexical patterns, to improve more rapidly and to continue
improving in the future (Willis 1996).
Today there is a growing need for adapting the learning context to the higher expectations
of the learners. The above conditions for effective language learning can be met when
students work both in a traditional learning context and in integrated e-learning
environment. Contemporary language learners expect the language learning context to
reflect the most recent developments in social life and communication, and electronic
learning is an important part of that process. Integrated e-learning provides the learning
context which stimulates students to become autonomous and to take responsibility for
their own learning. The freedom of choice over the place, the pace and the time of learning
helps students to control their workload and design their own learning programme.
E-learning can be applied at all levels of language proficiency and with all age groups, but
it is especially important for adult language learners because it involves elements from
face-to-face learning and distance education, which makes it indispensable for those adults
who have to work and study at the same time. E-learning provides the dynamic interactive
learning environment that can stimulate the development of strategies and particularly the
inner need for life-long learning.
E-learning platforms function in most universities today and they can provide the
appropriate learning context for task-based activities of various types and complexity. In a
foreign language course for university students, an example of that type of task can be a
forum in which students share their views on topics of their choice with the rest of the
group. The task can be performed in four stages:
1. First stage - each student offers a discussion topic.
2. Second stage - as a host of a presentation discussion, each student is responsible for
managing his or her discussion – that is responding to questions, encouraging comments,
etc. All of them participate in their fellow students’ presentation discussions. The task is
carried out on an e-learning platform, which gives students the opportunity to do it where
and when it is convenient for them.
3. Third stage - each student summarizes the discussion on his or her topic - opinions,
comments, questions, ideas, etc., and presents the summary orally in class.
4. Fourth stage - the teacher gives feedback on the whole activity and that is the time when
grammatical and lexical patterns can be discussed.
On the one hand, the fact that the students can choose a topic for discussion is stimulating,
because they feel free to present their views on something they find interesting and
motivating and they are free to select the sources of information they consider reliable. On
the other hand, this requires a great deal of responsibility on their part, because they have
to select the right arguments, in order to succeed in convincing their fellow students that
this issue is worth discussing. So, throughout the whole process the students have to use
the target language in a meaningful way – searching for information and conveying their
own ideas, which is an example of “learning by doing”.
The main focus of the above activity is laid on meaning and fluency, not on form or
structures. Accuracy receives proper attention during the feedback stage. The task is
complete in itself, it has a clear structure and objectives.
The task is authentic since it reflects a real life method of communication and sharing
opinions – namely, participation in a forum discussion, the only difference being that it is
performed in the target language, not in the students’ mother tongue. The students are free
to use the target language the way they use their own language in everyday life situations.
The supportive, low stress atmosphere also contributes to their success. That way the
students are motivated to develop their ability to do things in the target language.
The topics that students upload for discussion might range from topics of general interest
to topical issues. Both kinds of topics can be interesting and motivating, but when students
choose a topical issue, the discussion naturally reflects the debates going on in society at
that moment and the students can use some arguments and ideas from real life discussions,
the only difference being that this time they have to express themselves in the target
language.
In conclusion, it should be pointed out that the value of the Task-based approach lies in its
potential to stimulate language learners to use the target language in real life
communicative situations. Integrated e-learning provides the dynamic interactive learning
environment that language learners need in order to take responsibility for their own
learning, thus becoming autonomous learners and forming their own learning styles, which
is an important prerequisite for life-long learning.
Bibliography:
1. Allwright 1983: Allwright, R., Language Learning through Communication Practice. In:
Brumfit, C. J. and Johnson, K. (eds.), The Communicative Approach To Language
Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. Jochems et al. (eds.) 2004: Jochems, W., Merriёnboer, J. and Koper, R., (eds.). Integrated
E-learning. Implications for Pedagogy, Technology and Organization. London:
RoutledgeFalmer
3. Nunan 2006: Nunan, D., Task-based language teaching in the Asia context: Defining 'task'.
Asian EFL Journal, September 2006, Volume 8, Issue 3, article 1, http://www.asian-efljournal.com/Sept_06_dn.php
4. Prabhu 1987: Prabhu, N .S. Second language pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
5. Willis 1996: Willis, J. A Framework for Task-Based Learning. Harlow: Longman