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Methodologies for
Effective Writing
Instruction in EFL and ESL
Classrooms

Rahma Al-Mahrooqi
Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

Vijay Singh Thakur

Dhofar University, Oman

Adrian Roscoe
Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

A volume in the Advances in Educational

Technologies and Instructional Design (AETID)
Book Series
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Methodologies for effective writing instruction in EFL and ESL classrooms /

Rahma Al-Mahrooqi, Vijay Singh Thakur, and Adrian Roscoe, editor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4666-6619-1 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-1-4666-6620-7 (ebook) -- ISBN 978-1-4666-6622-1 (print & perpetual
access) 1. English language--Rhetoric--Study and teaching. 2. Report writing--Study and teaching. 3. English language--
Study and teaching--Foreign speakers. 4. Classroom management--Research. 5. Writing centers--Administration. I. Mah-
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 115

Chapter 8
Teaching and Learning to Write:
Using a Task-Based Approach
in an EFL Class

Abraham Panavelil Abraham

University of Nizwa, Oman

ABSTRACT
Teaching writing is one of the most challenging tasks an EFL teacher has to face, and students find
writing a difficult skill to develop. This chapter, however, focuses on Task-Based Language Teaching
(TBLT) as a successful tool for tackling this problem. It defines TBLT and examines its importance for
enhancing the writing skills of the EFL students, giving examples of tasks that have been successfully
tried out in the classroom. The chapter also examines the use of various strategies for increasing EFL
learners’ involvement in reading-to-writing activities.

INTRODUCTION based on their own ideas and they are afraid of

Writing is an important skill that can open up
a world of possibilities for any student. Even in
these days of the Internet and other technologies,
written communication in English is still an asset
for the aspiring student. But for a majority of our
students writing is a skill they find hard to acquire.
The major problems they face in writing are (1)
finding an apt word suitable for the topics, (2) using
appropriate tenses based on the situation, (3) using
correct spelling and punctuation, (4) organizing
ideas neatly and coherently in paragraphs.
Such difficulties place a heavy burden on stu-
dents, often causing them to lose interest in writ-
ing. They find it difficult to write a composition
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6619-1.ch008
making mistakes in grammar, usage, vocabulary
etc. However, one way to resolve this problem
is to use a TBLT approach in an EFL class as it
creates a free instructional environment in which
students and teacher work together and collaborate
in a relaxed atmosphere.
TASK-BASED LANGUAGE
TEACHING: AN APPROACH
Task-based language teaching is an approach rather
than a method which creates a natural context
for using the target language in the classroom. It
allows students to explore their ideas and choose

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their own words, and thus become active learners.
It also gives teachers an opportunity to develop
activities in the form of interesting tasks on familiar
subjects. The lesson is based on the completion
of a task and the language studied is determined
by what happens as the students proceed with the
work. It is an approach that offers students mate-
rial that they have to actively engage with in the
process of their learning, enabling them to explore
their ideas freely and use their own words without
worrying about mistakes in grammar, vocabulary
or other mechanical aspects of writing. When they
practice to write continually and complete their
tasks, they can build their vocabulary and improve
their handling of grammar, spelling, punctuation,
and useful expressions. The familiarity of the topic
and the enjoyment of the task are a solution to
students’ writing difficulties.
Different Views
TBLT is an outcome of the communicative ap-
proach and plays an important role in developing
communicative language competence. The goal
of language teaching is to develop what Hymes
(1972) called “communicative competence”
(p.272) and according to Johnson K. (1984) the
acquisition of communicative ability in a language
is an example of skill development (p.193). Rich-
ards (1986)) says that the two types of materials
used for communicative approaches to language
teaching are text-based and task-based (p.73).
This communicative approach later evolved
into a task-based language teaching method. Since
the publication of Jane Willis’ A Framework for
Task-Based Learning in 1996, the word ‘task’ has
been popular in ELT circles. Willis defines ‘task’
as “a goal-oriented activity in which learners use
language to achieve a real outcome” (p.53). Hence,
tasks are activities that require learners to arrive
at an outcome from given information through
a process of thought, and which allows teachers
to control and regulate that process. In TBLT,
assessment is primarily based on task outcomes
116

Teaching and Learning to Write
rather than on the correctness of language. Ac-
cording to Foster (1999), TBLT methodologies
“share a common idea, giving learners tasks to
transact, rather than items to learn and provides
an environment which best promotes the natural
language learning process”. (p. 69).
Skehan (2003) defines ‘task’ as an activity in
which meaning is primary (p.3), while according
to Nunan (2004), ‘task’ is a “piece of classroom
work which involves learners in comprehending,
producing or interacting in the target language
while their attention is principally focused on
meaning rather than form” (p.10). Prabhu (1987)
saw a task as “ an activity which required learners
to arrive at an outcome from given information
through some process of thought and which al-
lowed teachers to control and regulate that process”
(p. 24). Prabhu further stated that there are essen-
tially three types of tasks: filling an information
gap, where students use language to share, give
or gain a piece of information; filling a reason-
ing gap, where students use language to share
opinions; and problem-solving, where language
is used to solve a problem (p.34). Whatever the
focus of a particular task, students are asked to
perform it in response to topics that have been
assigned. This means a task can be anything that
motivates students to learn the target language.
Hence, in developing writing skills, teachers
should select tasks that will motivate learners,
engage their attention and promote their writing
skills as efficiently as possible.
Dave and Jane Willis (2007), in their book
Doing Task-based Teaching, listed seven kinds of
task that can be used in an EFL class to enhance
student writing skills:
• Listing: Brainstorming and/or fact find-
ing (qualities, priorities, things, features,
things to do, reasons)
• Ordering and Sorting: Sequencing, rank-
ing, classifying (sequencing story pictures,
ranking items according to cost, popular-
ity, negative or positive)

Teaching and Learning to Write
• Matching: Listening and writing, listening
and doing, matching phrases/description to
pictures, matching directions to maps
• Comparing: Finding similarities or differ-
ences (comparing ways of greetings or lo-
cal customs, contrasting two countries)
• Problem-Solving: Real-life situations,
case studies, incomplete texts (logic prob-
lems, giving advice, proposing and evalu-
ating solutions, predicting a story ending)
• Projects and Creative Tasks: Doing and
reporting a survey, producing a class news-
paper, planning a radio show, designing a
brochure, etc.
• Sharing Personal Experiences: Story-
telling, anecdotes, memories, opinions,
reactions (early schooldays, unforgettable
moments, terrible journeys, etc.) (p. 58).
[A Task-Based Lesson plan prepared by Dave
Willis and Jane Willis is given in the Appendix
with some modifications that might be of use to
teachers who use TBLT in the EFL writing class]
Advantages
The main advantage of the task-based approach
is that it gives students much freedom and natural
context in which they can use the target language
in class. Hence, they have a more varied exposure
to language and are exposed to a good range of
lexical phrases, collocations and language forms.
However, the focus is essentially on writing per
se rather than correctness of grammar, syntax etc.
Students can explore their ideas and choose their
own words with the result that they become active
learners. They are free to explore ideas without
worrying about mistakes in using tenses and ap-
propriate words. The last part of the TBLT process
can be devoted to corrections and improvement.
TBLT is learner-centered and is a strong com-
municative approach where students spend their
time fruitfully and creatively.
A FRAMEWORK FOR TBLT:
THREE STAGE PROCESS
In a framework for TBLT, Jane Willis (1996) sug-
gests a three stage process - pre-task, task cycle,
and language focus (p.54) - and this comprises
effective steps for improving students’ writing
skills. The result is that students tend to become
better at formulating their ideas in a coherent
way, using correct syntax/grammar, vocabulary,
and so on.
The Pre-Task Phase
The pre-task phase introduces the topic and task
for the students and activates topic- related words
and phrases. It is like a warm-up activity. Students
get a chance to recall things that they know and
the teacher then tells them what will be expected
of them at this stage. The teacher may highlight
new language structures to draw attention to cer-
tain phrases or expressions and perhaps present a
model of the task by showing a picture, audio or
video that demonstrates it, at the same time try-
ing to elicit appropriate vocabulary or phrasing
which students might find useful. For example,
the teacher may talk about the village/city where
the students live, what they like and what they
don’t like about it, and write their responses on
the board, thus providing useful vocabulary for
the main task
During this time, students are expected to
get involved in the task, individually or in pairs,
depending on the type of activity selected. After
choosing the task and explaining it, they begin
drafting. And as they begin writing the first draft,
the teacher should urge them to let their ideas
flow onto the paper without concern for perfec-
tion in form or mechanics. At every stage, it is
the teacher’s duty to encourage and motivate the
students to use what they are comfortable with in
order to complete the task.
117

The Task Cycle
This cycle can be divided into three parts: the task
itself, its planning, and the report stage. The fol-
lowing points have to be taken care of at this stage:
1. The task should not be repetitive: e.g.
Yesterday I went to Muscat. Yesterday I went
to my college. Yesterday, I met my friend
etc.
2. The task has a communicative goal for the
students to achieve – for example, making an
important decision about choosing a course,
writing a list of items that may be needed
for a picnic or preparing for a football match
etc. The teacher should make it clear to the
students that their important goal is complete
the main task.
3. The main task allows students to use their
own ideas without worrying about the
grammar, spellings and other mechanics
of writing. The task must not restrict the
language that students wish to use. Indeed
they are free to use any language structures
they want in order to achieve the end goal,
which provides them with motivation and
purpose and ensures that students focus their
attention on communicating meaning rather
than on grammatical structures.
4. During the task, the teacher’s involvement
should always be encouraging and sup-
portive. However, s/he is not supposed to
tell students which grammatical structure
to use while they are engaged in their tasks
although the teacher may, if necessary, men-
tion useful words or phrases. Nor should the
teacher correct the students’ work during the
task but quietly monitor student progress
and note down their mistakes for eventual
correction.
118

Teaching and Learning to Write
Planning and Report Stage
At the planning stage, students work with the
teacher to improve their writing skills. Here, there
is a heavy emphasis on form-focused instruction
as students attempt to improve the overall cor-
rectness of their writing. The teacher at this point
plays a very important role in shaping the written
work of the students. At the report stage, students
present their findings and here the teacher’s role
is to act as a chairperson and to summarize each
student’s work and make comments. The report
stage is crucial as it gives students added motiva-
tion to complete the task.
Language Focus
This is the final stage and it allows a closer study
of some of the specific features naturally occur-
ring in the language used during the task cycle.
By this time, students will have already worked
with the language and processed it for meaning,
so they are ready to concentrate more on the
language forms that carry meaning. This stage
focuses on two parts: analysis and practice. The
analysis involves the teacher focusing on certain
language structures or grammatical issues related
to the tasks that students are addressing. This may
be based on some of the errors the teacher has
noted down while monitoring the students’ work.
Students here can also do practice exercises with
special focus on language issues.
Why is the language focus last instead of first?
The most important point about task-based learn-
ing is that students communicate what they want to
say using the words and phrases they wish to use.
This approach works on the notion that students
are basically intelligent, that is, they often know
what they want to say, and this approach gives
them some control and freedom to express their

Teaching and Learning to Write
ideas in the paper. It is the drive to communicate
their ideas which becomes an impetus to learn the
language. The teacher is merely a facilitator in the
writing process and helps students in their effort
to be good writers. Once the teacher knows that
students have developed an interest in writing,
they can provide them with opportunities to write
for different audiences and for different purposes,
and to write in other genres, including stories,
biographical pieces, and other types of essays.
Of course, there are numerous ways in which
this framework may be adapted to situations and
contexts. The task cycle might be replaced with
an activity in which students study a text and at-
tempt to work out the meaning of a new structure,
before presenting their findings to other students
and receiving feedback and comments from the
teacher.
TASK- BASED TEACHING AND
LEARNING: SOME ISSUES
Since TBLT is very student-centered, and since
students are encouraged to use their own language
and vocabulary, it becomes necessary for the
teacher to give continuous support during the
whole process. Otherwise, students will not learn
new expressions, phrases or words themselves.
Even after the task cycle is completed, the learning
process goes on. The valuation part is crucial for
the students to become aware of the tasks that they
have completed and their results. If the teacher does
not do the follow- up, half of the effort is wasted.
Thompson and Millington (2012) point out that
“large class sizes, inadequate financial support
and teacher time constraint at many institutions
can make the introduction of task-based teaching
problematic” (p. 159).
Tasks for Developing Writing
Skills: Some Examples
1. On the first day of my EFL class in writing, I
invite my students to write something about
themselves so that I come to know about
their background and especially about their
knowledge of English language and their
writing skills. I show them a few examples
of student writing from the previous years
as models. I realize that my students are
happy to express themselves freely. Thus,
as a teacher, I get an opportunity to listen
to their stories and I give due credit to their
accomplishments, letting them know that
they learn to write by writing.
2. A task based on a personal memory that
works well with any age is an “I remember”
one (Peregoy, Suzanne and Boyle, 2013).
This also can be given as an introductory
task for students who have just started their
course in writing. Here the teacher gives a
number of prompts to elicit answers from
the students:
Teacher: I want you to think of five things
that have happened to you. Write down
each of the five things, beginning with
the phrase I remember. When you
have finished, share your ideas with a
partner. [Give students time to share]
Teacher: Now, write down one name associ-
ated with each of the five things you
selected. [Waits a few minutes]
Teacher: Can you name our five senses?
[Students mention the five senses:
touch, sight, smell, hearing, and tast-
ing.] Write down the most important
sense that goes with each of your “I
remember” reflections. [Waits a few
minutes]
119

Teacher: Now, select the “I remember” you
would most like to write about. Share
the memory with your group. [Waits
about 15 minutes]
Teacher: Next, write the part of the memory
that makes it memorable or important
to you and share it with your group.
Teacher: Now, writing as fast as you can
for 10 minutes, see how much of the
memory you can get down on paper.
Don’t worry about punctuation or spell-
ing; you can think about that later, if
you like what you’ve written.
Teacher: [Ten minutes later.] Share your
writing with your group members and
ask them to make suggestions that will
make it clearer (p. 260).
We can notice that in this type of task, all the
three phases – pre-task, task cycle and language
focus - can easily be applied.
Any topic or theme can give rise to different
types of tasks (Dave Willis, 2007) which can be
generated with the help of a typology in Table 1.
Each type involves a different cognitive pro-
cess. The top two types increase in cognitive
complexity from left to right, but are generally
cognitively less challenging than the two at the bot-
tom. These may involve more complex cognitive
operations or combinations of simpler task types.
For example, let us take the topic “Cats”. In
this case a ‘Listing Task’ might be: List three
reasons why people think cats make good pets. A
‘Comparing Task’ might be to compare cats and
dogs as pets. A ‘Problem Solving Task’ might be:
How and by whom will the cats be taken care of
Table 1. Types of tasks
LISTING TASK
YOUR TOPIC
Example: Cats
PROBLEM SOLVING TASK
120

Teaching and Learning to Write
when the family is away or absent? An anecdote-
telling task can involve sharing stories or personal
experiences about cats.
TURNING TEXT READING
INTO A TASK
We can use TBLT for working with texts and turn
text reading into a task for the students. Here, in-
stead of the three stages mentioned above, we can
divide the tasks into pre-reading, during-reading
and after-reading activities.
Pre-reading aims to activate schema by help-
ing students relate what they already know to a
reading passage and this helps in building back-
ground knowledge. At this stage, students may be
introduced to vocabulary and ideas found in the
text. The teacher can ask them to make predictions
about what they are going to read. Such activities
encourage students to anticipate a reading and
stimulate their interest and motivation to read
(Jacobs, 1999). A video clip/pictures related to
the text can be shown to the students before read-
ing the text. A brain storm activity and matching
exercise with new and difficult vocabulary from
the text can also be arranged as pre-tasks. As stated
before, a pre-task should always make students
feel ready and comfortable before working with
the main task, and when working with texts it is
always required to include the main theme of the
text and new vocabulary items from it.
During-reading activities help students inte-
grate their background knowledge into the new
information they receive from the text. While
they are reading, they can gather, organize, and
COMPARING TASK
ANECDOTE TELLING TASK

Teaching and Learning to Write
analyze the text and see if their predictions during
the pre-reading session were similar or different.
Students can also be encouraged to formulate new
questions and predictions (Jacobs, 1999).
After-reading activities provide students with
an opportunity to articulate their understanding
of the text they have read (Barnett, 1988, Jacobs,
1999). During this stage, students can be given
different writing exercises where they get a lot of
practice in using vocabulary and sentence patterns
they find in the reading.
The following is a passage on “Mark Twain’s
Boyhood Home.”
On the west bank of the Mississippi there is a quaint
house with a white picket fence, preserved as a
museum dedicated to its former owner- a famous
writer. It is said that many characters and stories
from his novels are based on real-life experiences
that he had there as a boy. This house was the child-
hood home of Samuel Clemens, although most of
you may know him by his pen name: Mark Twain.
Sam Clemens was born in November 1835, as the
infamous Halley’s Comet shot through the skies.
His family moved to this house in Hannibal, Mis-
souri when he was 8 years old. The family was
so impoverished that they had to move out of the
house for a while, living above a local drug-store
in exchange for his mother’s services as a cook.
They couldn’t afford to move back until after his
father died, in 1847.
Ten years later, at age 22, Sam Clemens started to
work on a riverboat. Also a journalist, he adopted
the pen name “Mark Twain” after a river term
that means two fathoms (12 feet) in depth, meaning
“safe water” for riverboats to pass through. Under
this new name, he published many famous books
including The Adventurous of Huckleberry Finn,
an anti-racist story that is often misinterpreted and
criticized for using racial terms and stereotypes.
Pre-Reading
Before handing over the passage to the students,
the teacher can involve them in some pre-reading
activities that will create the right attitude for
receptivity. During these activities, students will
be asked to make use of their experience of life
and their imagination and intelligence which will
enable them to guess what may happen in certain
situations. The title of the passage, the illustra-
tions, key words, warmers etc. are some of the
tools that may be used by the teacher. In the case
of the above passage, the teacher can write the
title on the board, followed by certain questions
which the students may be asked to answer in
their notebooks:
1. What do you understand by boyhood?
2. What is the difference between boyhood and
childhood?
3. Have you heard about Mark Twain?
4. Have you travelled on a riverboat?
5. What do you understand by the word
“racism”?
6. What is the difference between “pen name”
and “real name?”
At this juncture, students can be asked to work
either in groups or individually. The teacher may
collect the answers and share them with the class.
The teacher can also show an illustration of a
house on the banks of a river. The picture of the
Mississippi river or a video clipping related to
the Mississippi can also be shown to stir interest
in the minds of the students.
During-Reading Activities
Now, as students are ready to read the text, the
teacher can distribute copies of it to the students.
The following during-reading activities can be
tried out:
121

1. Listening to a good reading of the text
2. A reading of the text
3. Language exercises
4. Checking against the inferences made about
the text in the pre-reading activities
Students often enjoy listening to a text either
on a tape or when it is being read aloud by the
teacher in the classroom. It is, of course, very
advantageous if the teacher has a good voice and
a dramatic sense while reading the text. This will
help students to “feel” the language, its rhythm,
intonation, sounds etc. If the text is long, the
teacher can read some of the interesting sections
which will encourage them to read the whole piece.
Now, it is the turn of the students to read, at
first silently, and then aloud and individually, in
pairs or in groups. The teacher can ask them to
mark some of the difficult words or expressions
in the text and then help them to find out their
meanings.
From the reading, students will be happy to
note that they have formed some clear ideas about
the text before actually going through it.
Post-Reading Activities
Post-reading activities are meant to create a suit-
able situation in which the students can express
their reactions to reading the text. These will not
only deepen their understanding of the text but
also generate interest in the creative use of the
language. Some of the post-reading activities are:
Comprehension Questions
These questions are meant to assess how far the
students have understood the text. The teacher
may ask the following questions regarding the
present text:
• Why do you think Mark Twain wanted to
use a pen name rather than his real name?
122

Teaching and Learning to Write
• Come up with a pen name for yourself.
Explain what it means to you and why you
chose it?
• Imagine growing up with very little mon-
ey, just like Mark Twain. How would you
handle the situation?
• Can you guess the meaning of the word
“stereotypes” from the context of the text?
An Alternative Approach
As an alternative, the teacher can also split the
text into different sections and provide section
numbers. The sections must be divided as per the
content of the text. The text with the marked sec-
tions and numbers should be handed over to the
students. Another sheet of paper with a specific
format also should be given to the students, like
the one below:
You must read the text and fill in the format. Look
at the sections in the text and write down the most
important information from each section in the
first column.
Write down your experience, opinion, knowledge
about the information you find in the text in the
second section.
Students may be asked to work together or
individually when they read and fill in the format.
When they have all finished with the text and
the format, they may be allowed to discuss their
choices. The motivating factor is that students are
free to put into the format the information that they
find correct and that they must make a case for
their choice while talking about the text in class.
They are also given time to work with difficult
vocabulary items and expressions. Here they have
an opportunity to consult each other and also the
teacher about the text’s words and phrases that
they find difficult to understand.

Teaching and Learning to Write
The teacher can move around in the class and
monitor how students are doing the task. This
gives the teacher an opportunity to understand
specific problems faced by the students in their
use of language and in the writing process. And
also the teacher, at this juncture, has the full at-
tention of the students, who will be motivated to
learn the language well and in turn write well.
Dealing with Fiction or Short Stories
Here also, the pre-reading, during-reading and
after-reading activities can be incorporated. If the
story has a straightforward plot, it is easy for the
teacher to clip up the text and turn the text reading
process itself into a common task for a group of
students. So, the teacher should select the story
prudently and see that it suits the purpose.
But, while doing the main task, the format may
be slightly different.
First, the teacher should divide the text into
small sections (it may be cut up into 3-4 sections)
- logical in relation to the plot of the story. Then,
he/she can divide the story into different sections
and mark each section with letters or numbers.
The class should be divided into groups that
match the number of sections. The teacher then
keeps the different sections separate on the table
and asks each student in a group to pick up one
of the pieces. When all the students in a group
have read their own piece of text, they must tell
the rest of the group what the text is about. After
this, each group must try to write the story in the
right sequence. The format may be as follows:
Short story Adjectives/descriptive language
◦◦ Main Character
◦◦ Minor Characters
◦◦ Setting 1
◦◦ Setting 2
◦◦ Setting 3
◦◦ Problems/Themes
Reconstructing the Story
As a variation, students can also be asked to recall
and retell the story that they have dealt with. This
task helps students clarify their understanding of
the story and gives them more practice in using
the language. For this task:
• It is better to have a short story as students
can recall stories better.
• Select key words from the reading that stu-
dents can use while reconstructing the sto-
ry. Alternatively, the teacher can write the
words on the board or on a piece of chart
paper.
Procedure
• The teacher may first read the story and ask
the students to spend a few minutes in si-
lent reading, focusing on the main idea of
the story and the key words.
• See that the students understand the mean-
ing of the key words.
• Ask students to put aside the story and take
turns with another student in the class to
tell each other the story in their own words.
Encourage the students to make use of the
key words.
• Ask students to write down what they re-
member from the reading, using key words
from the story.
• The teacher may collect the written
work of the students for comments and
improvement.
CONCLUSION
There are innumerable ways and methods to
improve the writing skills of our EFL students.
TBLT is just one approach that can help. This
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approach is based on the assumption that students
may study more efficiently when their minds are
focused on the task, rather than on the language
that they are using. Students begin with the task
and, when they have finished it, the teacher draws
attention to the language used, making corrections
and adjustments. With the introduction of differ-
ent tasks, the class environment becomes more
alive, with the result that student involvement and
participation becomes observable. However, the
implementation of TBLT needs a good deal of
preparation on the part of the teacher, especially
in designing tasks that are interesting and suitable.
Teachers can also design tasks based on different
texts that the students can read and then write on.
The important point is that teachers must select
the tasks prudently and implement them properly.
They must create situations in which students can
think independently and also suggest tasks that
kindle their interest and sharpen their intuitive
faculty and sensibilities. In turn, students will
develop an interest in writing and will be able to
enhance their writing skills.
REFERENCES
Barnett, M. (1988). Teaching reading in a foreign
language. ERIC, ED 305829.
Dave, W., & Willis, J. (2007). Doing Task-based
Teaching. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Foster, P. (1999). Key Concepts in ELT: Task-
based learning and pedagogy. ELT Journal, 1(53),
69–70. doi:10.1093/elt/53.1.69
Hymnes, D. L. (1971). On communicative com-
petence. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press.
Jacobs, V. (1999, August). What secondary teach-
ers can do to teach reading? Harvard Education
Letter: Research Online.
124

Teaching and Learning to Write
Johnson, K. (1982). Communicative syllabus
design and methodology. Oxford, UK: OUP.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
doi:10.1017/CBO9780511667336
Peregoy, F. S., & Owen, F. B. (2013). Reading,
writing and learning in ESL: A resource book
for teaching K-12 English learners. New York:
Pearson.
Prabhu, N. S. (1987). Second language pedagogy.
Oxford, UK: OUP.
Richard, J. C. (1986). Approaches and methods in
language teaching. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Skehan, P. (2003). Task-based instruction.
Language Teaching, 36(1), 1–14. doi:10.1017/
S026144480200188X
Thompson, C., & Neil, J. M. (2012). Task-based
learning for communication and grammar use.
Language Education in Asia, 2(3), 159–167.
doi:10.5746/LEiA/12/V3/I2/A04/Thompson_
Millington
Willis, J. (1996). A framework for Task-based
learning. London: Longman.
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Active Learning: A process whereby students
are engaged in active learning.
After Reading: Active reading strategies
implemented after reading a text.
Anecdote Telling Tasks: Tasks using anec-
dotes, narrative or stories.
Communicative Competence: The ability to
communicate well in a language.
Comparing Tasks: Finding similarities and
differences in two or more tasks.

Teaching and Learning to Write
Creative Tasks: Tasks which are imaginative
and inventive, useful for learning a language.
During Reading: The activities when the
students interact with the text.
Language Focus: Allows a closer study of the
specific features occurring in the language used
during the task cycle.
Listing Tasks: Tasks that are listed like people,
places, things, problems, reasons, etc.
Pre-Reading: The process of skimming a text
to locate key ideas before reading a text.
Pre-Task: Introduction to the task that may
involve brainstorming, introduction of new words
and phrases related to the task.
Problem Solving Tasks: Tasks related to some
problems like smoking, drinking, pollution, noisy
neighbors, etc.
Task Cycle: Rotation of tasks that are con-
nected to executing a task.
Task-Based Teaching and Learning: Teach-
ing and learning of a language using a series of
tasks.
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 Teaching and Learning to Write

APPENDIX

A Task–Based Lesson

Topic: Strict Parents

The lesson is taken from David and Jane Willis’ book Doing Task-based Teaching, published in 2007.

Whose Parents Were the Strictest?

1. Introduction: The teacher might lead the students into a discussion by telling them about his/her
own childhood experience.
2. Questionnaire for the Students: Here is a possible questionnaire to guide student in the discus-
sion. It is intended for discussion in groups of three or four. The teacher can add any other suitable
question or delete the one s/he thinks not very appropriate.

When you were a child:

a. Do you think your parents were strict or easy-going?

b. Did they allow you to stay out late at night?
c. Did they let you go on holiday on your own?
d. When you went out did you always have to tell them where you were going?
e. Did you always have to do your homework before supper?
f. Did your parents make you help about the house?
g. Did you have to help in the garden/farm?
h. What job did they make you do?

The teacher can vary the demands placed upon the class. With an advanced class the teacher may
begin by going straight to the questionnaire without further introduction.
David and Jane Willis suggest that, with a weaker class or an intermediate class, the teacher might
begin with a teacher-led discussion of each question. They also suggest some options that may be con-
sidered by the teacher, ranging from least to most teacher support.

a. Go straight to the questionnaire without any further introduction.

b. Show students the questionnaire, give them a few minutes to read through it, and ask them if they
understand everything.
c. Read through the questionnaire with the students explaining any possible difficulties.
d. As the teacher reads each question s/he may tell them briefly about her/his own experience.
e. At each stage ask the students to tell /write what they think.
f. Finish by adding a summary of what has been said.

If the teacher wants to go for option 1 in the above list, this means that students will have to depend
almost entirely on their own resources, although the fact that they will be working in groups will mean

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that they can help one another. If the teacher goes for a lower option like # 5, this will give the teacher
an opportunity to help with the kind of vocabulary the students might need. The teacher can also write
a list of new words on the board.
The teacher should not bother about grammar at this stage. Students will find their own ways of
expressing the meaning they want. S/he may quickly rephrase some of the things they say to make them
more comprehensible, but should not spend time correcting grammar at this stage.

3. Discussion: Divide students into groups of about 3 or 4 and ask them to decide whose parents
were the strictest. Tell them they can use the ideas in the questionnaire, but they may want to add
to them, if they like. As they are involved in the discussion, the teacher may go around the groups
observing what they are doing.

The teacher may appoint one student as the leader for each group. The job of the group leader is to
report the findings of the group to the class after the discussion.

4. Post-Discussion: After the discussion the teacher may give the groups a few minutes to brief their
leader before he reports back to the class. Choose one or two of the groups and ask them to report.
Ask the other groups to listen carefully and compare with the strictest parents from their own group.

After the discussion the teacher may want to summarize what the groups have reported and may ask
the other groups for their comments.

5. Language Focus:

a. Give students a copy of the questionnaire. Ask them to underline all the expressions about
what people were forced to do and what they were allowed to do.
b. Tell the students to turn over their copy of the questionnaire so that they are not seen. Give
the following questions as a handout or write them on the board:

When you were a child:

i. Do you think your parents were-------or-------------?

ii. Did they ----- ------ ----- stay out late at night?
iii. Did they ----- ----- go on holiday on your own?
iv. When you went out did ----- always----- -----tell them where you were going?
v. Did you always ----- -----do your homework before supper?
vi. Did your parents----- -----help about the house?
vii. Did you ----- ------help in the garden/farm?
viii. What jobs did they ---- ---do?
c. Ask them to work in pairs to fill in the blanks.
d. Tell students to put their worksheets away. Put numbers 1-8 on the board. Ask students to
work in pairs to see how many sentences they can recall. You may want to make this recall
exercise easier. You can do this by leaving a few key words in:

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 Teaching and Learning to Write

i. Do you ---- ---- parents ---- ----- or------ -----?

Or the teacher can provide a version of each sentence with all the grammatical words and markers
removed:

ii. They/you/stay/late/night
iii. They/you/go/holiday/own

The teacher can also ask them to pause after five minutes and listen, without writing, while he/she
reads out the sentences. After this, students can go back to writing.

6. Controlled Practice: The teacher may like to round off the lesson with some controlled practice.
This will help to fix the forms in learners’ minds, making it more likely that they will become a
natural part of their productive repertoire. Here are two possible exercises practicing make and do,
and the verbs force, allow and suppose in the passive structure.

Complete these to make true sentences:

a. When I was a child my parents made me-----

b. They let me -----
c. I was forced to ------
d. I was allowed to -----
e. I was supposed to ------

Think about your schooldays---

a. List three things you had to do or were forced to do.

b. List three things you weren’t allowed to do.
c. List three things you were supposed to do but didn’t

As students read out their sentences, the teacher may want to listen and repeat the drills. After students
have written their sentences, the teacher can ask one or two students to read out one of them and then
ask the rest of the class to see how many sentences they can recall. The teacher can make this easier by
writing the clues on the board:

• Fatima: Wear uniform

• Ahmed: Homework
• Mariam: High heels

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 Teaching and Learning to Write

Students will then recall:

• Fatima had to wear a uniform.

• Ahmed was supposed to do his homework every night.
• Mariam was not allowed to wear high heels.
7. Follow-up: The teacher should try to follow up with the students in a subsequent lesson within
a week or so. With a general class, they could be reminded of the discussion and asked to
recall their conclusions. The teacher can also give the students a gap-filling or multiple- choice
exercise including items which feature the grammatical items that were discussed.

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