How to implement Task-based language Teaching.doc

how to implement task-based language teaching with go for it?abstract to meet the requirement of times , the state educational department has promulgated and pushed the new criterion of english course . the new criterion of english course advocates task-based teaching approach . task-based textbooks have published . how will our teachers implement task-based language teaching in this case? in this thesis, the writer will talk about his own viewpoints about it .key words the new criterion of english course task-based language teaching realistic and authentic student-centered interaction cooperation assessment. introductionwith the global economic integration, its more obvious that foreign languages have great effect upon all the aspects of human life. therefore its the essential demand for the civilian competence in the new century to learn and grasp a foreign language. its based on the case and the requirements of our nations educational guideline that the state earnestly advocates and pushes the new criterion of english course in order to pay great attention to foster the innovative spirit and practical ability of the students. the reform of the curriculum standard aims at fostering their innovative spirit and practical ability, forming the effective study strategies and establishing the basis for their sustainable development ,which is not merely the logical jumping-off of english teaching and quality standard but also its eternal end-result. the new criterion of english course not only represents the developing trend of foreign language teaching in modern times, but coagulates the latest achievement in the research on. foreign language teaching in our country . it advocates the learning-centered education, the token of which is task-based language teaching. this kind of educational notion lays importance on learning and meeting the real demands of the students. its supreme aim is to train the students as clear and effective communicators, self-guiding life-long learners, creative problem-solvers, responsible and participant citizens, cooperative and excellent workers and integrative thinkers full of information. last september we began to use the new english course go for it , which is edited by peoples educational press and thomson learning. it adopts task-based language teaching mode. but how can we implement task-based language teaching with the new english course ? .theory of task-based language teachingas an english teacher , you should fully learn about the theory of task-based language teaching made if you want to implement it in your teaching process.2.1 the role of tblaa task-based approach aims to provide learners with a natural context for language useas learners work to complete a task，they have abundant opportunity to interactsuch interaction is thought to facilitate language acquisition as learners have to work to understand each other and to express their own meaningby so doing，they have to check to see if they have comprehended correctly and，at times， they have to seek clarificationby interacting with others，they get to listen to language which may be beyond their present ability，but which may be assimilated into their knowledge of the target language for use at a later timeas candlin and murphy（1987：1）note，“the central purpose we are concerned with is language learning，and task present this in the form of a problem-solving negotiation between knowledge that the learner holds and new knowledge” 2.2 the definition of task.task-based language teaching approach is a significant language teaching mode that foreign language teaching researchers put forward in the 1980s. now its been widely used in foreign language teaching in the world. what is task? the english linguist willis thinks task is an activity in which target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (task) in order to achieve an outcome.2.3 task-based learning framework.task-based learning framework has three phases : pretask, task cycle and post-task.pretask: the pre-task phase has two basic functions: 1) to introduce and create interest in doing a task on the chosen topic, 2) to activate topic-related words, phrases and target sentences that will be useful in carrying out the task and in the real world. a third, optional function is the inclusion of an enabling task to help students communicate as smoothly as possible during the task cycle. task cycle: the task cycle consists of the task(s) plus planning and report phases in which students present spoken or written reports of the work done in the task(s). during the task phase, students work in pairs or groups and use whatever linguistic resources they possess to achieve the goals of the task. then, to avoid the risk of developing fluency at the expense of accuracy, they work with the teacher to improve their language while planning their reports of the task. before or during the task cycle, the teacher can expose students to language in use by having them listen to a recording of other people doing the task, or by having them read a text related to the task topic. post-task:the final phase in the framework, the language focus, provides an opportunity for form-focused work. in this phase, some of the specific features of the language, which occurred naturally during the task, are identified and analyzed. among the possible starting points for analysis activities are functions, syntax, words or parts of words, categories of meaning or use, and phonological features. following the analysis activities, this phase may also contain a practice stage in which the teacher conducts practice of the new word, phrases, or patterns which occurred in the analysis activities, the task text, or the report phase. . suggestionsso what should our teachers do in implementing task-based language teaching with go for it ? through one-year experence, the writer has got to realise in the teaching process our teachers should notice the following points:3.1. creating more realistic and authentic situationsit means, firstly, tasks designing should give the students authentic, linguistic data and the relationship between linguistic form and communicative function. these should be clear to the students.the linguists think realistic and authenic situations benefit the students language aquisition. but the traditional teaching methods neglect real world situations and fail to cultivate student spontaneity. artificial conventions and mechanical question andanswer sequences fall short of the flexible, spontaneous kind of communicative interaction which is required for performing a task within the context of situations relevant to the real world. such classroom teaching forces the students to talk about things which are not of their own choosing nor based on their actual needs. instead, they are provided with a rigid set of guided structures in isolation. taught in this way, students frequently fail when they are faced with the need to produce the language related to a specific situation. by practicing the language items “in a vacuum ”, students are actually encouraged to learn about the language rather than use the language actively.so simulation techniques seem to be a better alternative, as they seek to place students in a situation where they are asked to take on different role and to accomplish their specific tasks, including problem solving, they offer opportunities of students to practice using the language in the right place at the right time as appropriately as possible .the strength of a simulation is that it presents an opportunities for authentic and spontaneous communication because students are placed in realistic and authentic situation. by simulating the physical circumstances of certain situations, students can have opportunities to use and practice the sort of language, particularly the vocabulary that is related to that situation. in addition, they can express what they want to say whenever the situation calls for it. more necessary relevant language will be elicited and students are trained to deal with the unpredictable nature of linguistic communication.a problem which could arise if we use simulations in teaching is the chaos cased by poor organization .to avoid this, we should first of all make sure that all the students have fully understood the situation and what is expected of them before they start the performance of their tasks. teacher should not create a situation which is too difficult for learners to cope with before they are used to this kind of activity .a solution for better classroom management is to begin with pair work rather than group work because chinese students are shy by nature.3.2. classroom changing from teacher-centered into students-centered.the focus of classrooms should be shifted from teachers to students. but the present teaching in china is just the opposite. the class is mainly teach-centered. teachers do most of the talking and always have the whole class under their strict control by lecturing, questioning, correcting students and often supplying correct answers to the exercises. in such classroom, the teacher is obviously the most authoritative person. students always act according to what the teacher wants them to accomplish and not what they themselves want to accomplish.in fact, teachers role of such teaching has encouraged students to depend too much on teachers without thinking independently. so, if students have understood the text they are reading, they do not have the courage to speak out when they are called. for they fear that they may not be right .as a result, teachercentered teaching method has actually lessened the opportunities for students to analyze and judge things for themselves, and has possibly encouraged their laziness in thinking. too much of this will harm students initiatives and reduce their enthusiasm in study. so, we suggest that the class should be studentscentered. this approach allows students to be themselves and requires teachers to play a secondary role, teachers should try to keep focus on the students and not on themselves and encourage students to communicate among themselves. teachers are expected to “lead from behind ”, so to speak, acting more as advisers and frequently participating in the interactions if possible.teachers should provide more opportunities for students to judge and analyze things, and in this way they can be encouraged to be independent of teachers and consequently be more and more autonomous in their learning as the courage goes on. with the teacher subordinating his teaching behavior to the learning needs of his students, students will no longer feel inferior. thus, unnecessary tension and barriers between teachers and students will be broken down leading to a positive attitude toward learning. the proposed teachers role in the classroom is significant not only for classroom methodological reasons, but also, as we shall see, for its effect on human relationships within the classroom. the relationship will contribute favorably to effective learning.3.3. more use of language than analysis.a task-based approach may be a better substitute of the grammar- translation method for it is possible to base teaching directly on the events, rather than on samples of language.but the grammar-translation method has a great impact on the formation of studentsstudy habit; for example, students learn to focus -their attention on every word instead of on the meaning of the paragraph or the whole text. because too many exercise in grammar analysis have interfered with the students reasoning power and students have formed a habit of delving too deeply into the minutiae in their learning. this not only hinders the cultivation as well as the development of strategies for communicative competence, but also has an adverse effect on their future enhancement of english proficiency in the sense that learners own interactive abilities are underdeveloped. they are losers when they faced with opportunities to use the language for a welldefined communicative purpose.in contrast to the grammar-translation method, in task-based activities , students are forced to grope and find and sometimes even invent the language necessary for the completion of the task , they may make mistakes when they are doing the task , but finally they learn how to communicate from a more active tasks while they are performing the tasks in pairs or in groups , students are encouraged to develop fluency as they have a real need to communicate in order to complete the tasks .given the fact that the tasks set are difficult enough to be challenging and at the same time seem attainable through trial and error , students self-esteem can be promoted . besides, teaching can be related to students actual language needs as they emerge in the course of students performance. the students can therefore be taught to learn those language skills required by the real need for communication.3.4. carrying out activities to improve the students ability to english application.task-based language teaching aims to get the students not only to learn english by using it but also learn for using. in classroom teaching, it lets students complete different kinds of realistic and authentic tasks with english further trains the students ability to english application. most of the tasks are completed by pair work or group work. so pair work and group work are necessary in task-based language teaching.by pair work and group work, students have more time to use the new language, this helps prevent borement and provides a lot of practice in a short amount of time. students can choose their own partners. student pairs may be seated side by side or across from each other. as the pairs work, the teacher moves around the classroom checking their progress and offering assistance as needed. some pairs can be had to perform their conversations for the whole class. this provides further oral practice as well as opportunity for other students to ask questions about specific language points. sometimes students are asked to work in small groups. this allows them to talk more informally and it also fosters a sense of cooperation in the classroom. in large classes, you can have groups report back to each other or perform conversations for each other. .afterward, you can conduct a summary review by inviting group leaders to tell the answers their groups arrives at or by having several members of each group perform a conversation for the whole class.pair work and group work also provide benefits for both more fluent and less fluent students. in mixed-level pairs or groups, the more advanced learners help the less advanced learners while at the same time getting a valuable review of their own. in same-level pairs or groups, the less advanced students complete the activities and practise the language at their own pace, asking each other and the teacher questions as needed. at the same time, the more advanced students can move ahead as quickly as they wish. some may wish to challenge each other with new vocabulary and create original dialogues using key grammar and vocabulary items. the teacher can assign some optional activities to more fluent students , while working with the less advanced groups who need more attention. so pair work and group work make both the more advanced students and the less advanced students improve their english application.3.5. scientific assessment teaching assessment is the important competence of tbla , to be exact, curriculum assessment should contain the evaluations towards students, teachers and the school, the first of which is the most important, the character of evaluation lies in obtaining the feedback of teaching, monitoring the teaching quality, revising and guiding our teaching. its evaluative target is to stress on the human based idea, facilitate the all-round development of the educatees, promote the teachers to improve their teaching, accelerate the development of english teaching. such evaluative modes make teaching more scientific and humanistic in the past we used to neglect the formative assessment and pay more attention to the summative assessment, in the result, this harmed the students interest, their english achievement became poorer and poorer, the formative assessment is an important component and impulsing factor of teaching the task of which is to carry on assessment of the students in the cou