任务型教学法(Task-based English teaching method)

任务型教学法(Task-basedEnglishteachingmethod)任务型教学法(Task-basedEnglishteachingmethod)IntroductionTask-basedlanguageteachingwasfirstinventedbyanEnglishlinguistAllwrightinthe1970s,popularizedabroadinthe1980s,andintroducedintoChinainthe1990s.Thepurposeofthisarticleistooutlinetheprinciplesthatunderlietask-basedlanguageteachingandtogiveexamplesofclassroomactivitieswithintheapproach.Task-basedlanguageteachingcanberegardedasoneparticulardevelopmentwithinthebroader“communicativeapproach”.Itiscurrentlymuchdiscussedinmanypartsoftheworldand,indeed,isrecommendedintheofficialcurriculumdocumentsofagrowingnumberofcountriesandregions.Thisarticlehasfivemainsections.Thefirstlooksatwhatismeantbytheterm“task”.Thesecondlooksatthecontinuumfrom“focusingonform”to“focusingonmeaning”withthecontinuumIhopetoilluminatethedistinctionoftenmadebetween“tasks”andotherkindsofactivity.Thecontinuumisdescribedandexploredinmoredetailinthethirdsection,whichprovidesarangeofexamplesfromdifferentpartsofit.Thefourthsectionpresentsaframeworkforlookingattasksintermsofhowtheycontributetothelinguistic,cognitiveandpersonalitydevelopmentofthestudents.Theconclusionsummarizessomeofthemainaimsandbenefitsoftask-basedlearningbymeansofamnemonicbaseontheword“task”itself.Whatistask?Differentteachersandwritersusedifferentdefinitionsoftheterm“task”,suchas:1❷p?apieceofclassroomworkwhichinvolveslearnersincomprehending,manipulating,producingorinterestinginthetargetlanguagewhiletheirattentionisprincipallyfocusedonthemeaningratherontheform.Thetaskshouldhaveasenseofcompleteness,beingalsotostandaloneasacommunicativeactinitsownright.(Nahan,1989,15)2❷p?anystructuredlanguagelearningendeavorwhichhasaparticularobjectiveappropriatecontents,aspecifiedworkingprocedure,andrangeofoutcomesforthosewhoundertakethetask.(BreenviaBrown,1994,83)3❷p?anactivitywhichisdesignedtohelpachieveaparticulargoal.Anumberofdimensionsoftasksinfluencetheiruseinlanguageteaching.(RichardsEtal,2000,468)Mostpeoplewouldprobablyagreeoncertainbasiccharacteristics:1❷pTasksareactivitiesinwhichstudentsworkpurposefullytowardsanobjective.2❷pTheobjectivemaybeonethatstudentshavesetforthemselvesoronewhichhasbeensetbytheteacher.3❷pTasksmaybecarriedoutincompetitionwithotheror(moreoften)incollaboration.4❷pTheymaybecarriedoutindividuallyor(moreoften)ingroups.5❷pTheoutcomemaybesomethingconcrete(e.g.areportorpresentation)orsomethingintangible(e.g.agreementorthesolutiontoaproblem).Themainareaofdisagreementrevolvesaroundtherelationshipbetweentasksandcommunication.Someteachersandwritersdonotseethisrelationshipascrucial.Theydefinealanguagelearningtaskasincludingalmostanythingthatstudentsareasked(orchoose)todointheclassroom,includingformallearningactivitiessuchasgrammarexercisesandcontrolledpracticeactivities,providedtheobjectiveoftheactivityisrelatedtolearningthelanguage.Withinthisbroaddefinition,somewritersdistinguishsubcategoriessuchascommunicationtasksandenablingtasksaccordingtotheextenttowhichtheyinvolvecommunicationorfocusonform.Manyotherteachersandwritersuseamorerestricteddefinition.Theyexcludeactivitieswherethelearnersfocusonformalaspectsofthelanguage(suchasgrammar,pronunciationorvocabulary)andreservetheterm“task”foractivitiesinwhichpurposeisrelatedtothecommunicationofmeanings.Willis(1996,p.23)isonewriterwhoadoptsthisdefinition.Inthisbooktasksarealwaysactivitieswherethetargetlanguageisusedbythelearnerforacommunicativepurpose(goal)inordertoachieveanoutcome.Activitieswhichfocusuponandpracticespecificelementsofknowledge,skillsandstrategiesneededforthetaskarecalledexercises.ThesamedistinctionbetweentasksandexercisesissupportedbyEllisNunanandSkehan.Skehan,forexample,describesthecriteriaforataskasfollows:1❷pmeaningisprimary;2❷pthereissomecommunicationproblemtosolve;3^pthereissomesortofrelationshiptoreal-worldactivities;4^ptaskcompletionhassomepriority;5❷ptheassessmentofthetaskisintermsofoutcome.Thedefinitionreflectsthemethod'sinteractionbutwecan'tmakeaclear-cutdistinctionbetween“task”and“exercises”.Thiswillbediscussedinthenextsection.II❷qCommunication.TasksandExercises.Aswe'veseen,oneofthekeyfeaturesofacommunicativetaskisthatcentersfocusoncommunicatingmeaningsratherthanlearningorpracticingforms.Howeveritisnotusuallysimplyaquestionoflearningfocusingeitheronmeaningoronform.Moreoften,itisamatterofdegree.Forexample,therearesomeactivitiesinwhichthelearnermayfocusmainlyontheproductionofcertainformsthatarebeingpracticed,butheorshemastillbeusingtheseformstoconveymeaningstosomebody.Thiswouldbethecasein,forexample,this“Questionnairesurvey”activity,inwhichthestudentsneedstouse“canyou??”inordertofindclassmateswhocandocertainthings,suchas:whocanspeakthreelanguages/useacomputer/makecakes/rideabike/swim?Inthisactivity,althoughthestudentshaveacommunicativepurpose(tofindclassmateswithparticularskills)itisalsoclearthattheyarepracticingspecificforms.Atothertimes,theemphasisoncommunicatingmeaningsmayincreasebutstudentsmaystillpayattentiontotheformstheyareproducing(andwhichindeed,theymayjusthavebeentaught).Thismightbethecaseinthisroleplayifstudentsareaskedtoperformitshortlyafterlearninghowtomakeenquiriesandgiveinformationabouthotelaccommodation.Eachstudenthasoneofthefollowingrolecards:studentA:Youarriveatasmallhoteloneevening.Inthefoyer,youmeetthemanager(ess)and1.Askifthereisaroomvacant.2.Asktheprice,includingthebreakfast.3.Sayhowmanynightsyouwouldliketostay.4.Saywhattimeyouwouldliketohavebreakfast;studentB:Youarethemanager(ess)ofasmallhotelthatpridesonitselfonitsfriendly,homelyatmosphere.Youhaveasingleandadoubleroomvacantfortonight.Thepricesare:＄100forthesingleroom,＄160forthedoubleroom.Breakfastis＄15extraperperson.Forguestswithcars,thereisafreecarpark.Sinceitisimpossibletodrawacleardividinglinebetweenactivitieswherethefocusisonform(exercise)andactivitieswherethefocusisionmeaning(task),itisusefultothinkofacontinuumwithvaryingdegreesoffocusonformand/ormeaning.Activitiescanthenbeclassifiedaccordingtowheretheyliealongthiscontinuum.Thecontinuumisdividedintofivesections.FromsectionltosectionV,thecontentfromformstomeaningisbecomingstrongerandstronger.1.Non-communicativelearning.Focusingonthestructuresoflanguage,howtheyareformedandwhattheymean,e.g.throughexercise,“discovery”andawareness-raisingactivities.2.Pre-communicativelanguagepractice.Practicinglanguagewithsomeattentiontomeaningbutnotcommunicatingnewmessagestoothers,e.g.in“question-and-answer”practice.3.Communicativelanguagepractice.Practicinglanguageinacontextwhereitcommunicatesnewinformation,rmationgapactivitiesorpersonalizedquestions.4.Structuredcommunication.Usinglanguagetocommunicateinsituationswhereelicitpre-learntlanguagebutwithsomeunpredictability,e.g.instructuredrole-playandsimpleproblem-solving.5.Authenticcommunication.Usinglanguagetocommunicateinsituationswheremeaningsareunpredictable,e.g.increativerole-play,morecomplexproblem-solvinganddiscussion.Theactivitiesatthetopareobviously“exercises”.Thoseatthebottomareobviously“tasks”.Thoseinthemiddle(2-4)havefeaturesofboth.III.FromNon-CommunicativeLearningtoAuthenticCommunication.Thesectionwillelaborateonthepreviousonebygivingexamplesofactivitiesfromfivepartsofthecontinuumfrom“focusonform”to“focusonmeaning”.Inthetermsdiscussedabove,thiscorrespondsalsotoaprogressionfromclearlydefined‘exercises”toclearlydefined“tasks”.1.Non-CommunicativeLearning.Itisinthiscategorythatthereistheleastelementofcommunication.Here,forexample,studentsareinvolvedin“discovering”aruleofgrammaronthebasisofexamples.Intheexamplesbelow,lookcarefullyatthepositionoftheadverbs“always”,“often”,“sometimes”,“usually”,and“never”.Whataretherules?A.Weareusuallyhungrywhenwecomehome.Johnisalwayslate.Hisparentswereoftentiredintheevening.Ineversurewhetherthiswordiscorrect.B.IsometimesgotothecinemaonFridays.Wenevereatmuchinthemorning.Janeoftenarrivesatschoolearly.Theyalwayscomehomelateatnight.C.Theyhaveneverwrittentomeagain.Youcanalwayscomeandvisitme.Iwillneverknowwhyhedidit.Pathasoftenseenhimwithtwodogs.Thestudentsarethenrequiredtoapplythisruletoanewsetofexamples:Puttheadverbsintotherightplacesinthesentencebelow.A.Weplayfootballintheevening(often).Icancatchthefirstbusinthemorning(never).JackandJillareveryhappy(always).Theyvisitme(sometimes).YouwriteverygoodEnglish(usually).B.TheyhavebeentoJinan(often).Wedrinkteaforbreakfast(always).Youarecheerful(usually).Johncankeepasecret(never).Hehasrefusedtospeaktome(sometimes)Pre-CommunicativeLanguagePractice.Inthiscategorythefocusisstillonthepracticeofdiscreteitemsoflanguagebut,inordertoproducetheappropriateforms,thestudentshavetopayattentiontoaspectofmeaning.Inthefirstactivity,theyhavetofindoutwhatRichardandFiona“havetodo”andwhatthey“wouldliketodo”.Richard'sobligationsarecleaningfloors,washingwindowsandemptyingthebins.Hisdesiresaretogotoeveningschool,togetabetterjobandtomarryFiona.Fiona'sobligationsaretypingletters,answeringthetelephoneanddoingphotocopying.Herdesiresaretoearnmoremoney,totakeholidayabroadandtomarryherboss.Thebestknowntypeofactivitythatbelongstothiscategoryisthefamiliar“question-and-answerpractice”inwhichstudentshavetoanswer(andsometimesask)questionsaboutasituation,picture,ortopic.Theanswersarealreadyknownbutstudentshavetopayattentiontomeaninginordertoproducethem.Thequestionsareasfollows:Howmanystudentsarethereintheclass?Aretheremoreboysthangirls?WhoissittingnexttoJane?Whichlessonisthisnow?etc.CommunicativeLanguagePracticeThemaindifferencebetweenthiscategoryandthepreviousoneisthatthereisnowsomekindof“informationgap”,thatis,thelanguageconveysmeaningsthatwerenotpreviouslyknowntoeverybody.Thequestion-and-answerpracticejustdescribedwouldcomeintothisca