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TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING

 What is Task-Based Language
Teaching?
• Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a type of instruction that relies
on the use of authentic target language to do meaningful tasks.

• TBLT is also referred to as task-based instruction (TBI) and can be

considered a branch of communicative language teaching (CLT).

• The notion of tasks is central to this type of instruction.

• The assessment of learning is mainly based on task outcome and not

only on the accurate use of the target language.

• For this reason, TBLT is believed to be effective in learning target

language fluency and developing student confidence.
• Theoretical foundations The following are
some of the most important theoretical
premises of TBL according to Richards &
Rodgers (2001, p. 227-229).
• Theory of language
Language is primarily a means of making meaning: TBLT considers meaning
as a central focal point in language teaching. The approach is concerned with
the outcome of tasks.

Multiple models of language inform task-based instruction:

Structural, functional and interactional models influence TBLT adherents.

Lexical units are central in language use and language learning:

TBLT considers vocabulary items to include not only individual words but also
phrases, sentence frames, collocations and prefabricated routines.

“Conversation” is the central focus of language and the keystone of language

acquisition:
Learners are required to produce and understand communicative messages.
That is exchanging information is crucial to language acquisition.
• Theory of learning
Tasks provide both the input and output processing necessary for language
acquisition: If Krashen stresses the importance of comprehensible input, TBLT
advocates have argued that comprehensible output is also of equal importance.

Task activity and achievement are motivational:

Tasks appeal to learners’ learning styles and may involve physical activity,
collaboration, and partnership.

Learning difficulty can be negotiated and fine-tuned for a particular pedagogical

purpose:
Tasks may be designed in such a way that they meet learners’ level of proficiency.
That is, providing the appropriate target input is crucial to facilitate language
acquisition.

As it is evident from the above theoretical premises, the notion of task is central to
TBLT.
 What is a task?
• Here is a definition by Prabhu:
“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 was regarded as a task.”
(Prabhu, 1987:24)

Examples of tasks include:

• Preparing a meal.
• Ordering food in a restaurant.
• Making an appointment with a doctor on the phone.
• Solving a problem.
• Designing a brochure.
• Making a list of the qualities of a good husband/wife.
 Criteria for tasks in TBLT
Rod Ellis defines tasks in terms of four key criteria:
• 1. Meaning
Tasks are language teaching activities where meaning is central. Tasks require learners to produce and understand
communicative messages.

• 2. Gaps
Tasks should involve gaps. There are three types of gaps:
• Information gap: one person has information that another person does not have.
• Opinion gap: learners have the same shared information but they use that information to try to convey their feeling
about a particular situation.
• Reasoning gap: learners are asked to use reason and logic to decide what information to convey and what resolution to
make for the problem at hand. Like information gap, the activity necessarily involves understanding and communicating
information. Where the information and reasoning gaps differ is in the information conveyed. The latter is not identical
with the one initially understood. It changes through reasoning.

• 3. Use of learners’ own resources

Learners have to use their own linguistic and nonlinguistic resources to complete the task. That is, they have to use whatever
knowledge of the language they have in order to participate in the task. Learners may also use nonlinguistic resources such as
gestures. This criterion is what makes TBLT unique. In traditional language teaching, the teacher provides the language
resources and the students have to master these resources when they do a task. They are not asked to produce
communicative messages using their own linguistic resources.

• 4. Communicative outcome
Tasks must involve some sort of nonlinguistic outcome such as drawing a route on a map or agreeing on a plan to solve the
problem of pollution in the learners’ neighborhood.
•
 Task activity (cycle)
1. The teacher gives clear instructions about the task.
2. The learners do the task, in pairs or in groups, using their own linguistic
and nonlinguistic resources.
3. The teacher’s role at this stage is to monitor, support, and encourage
the learners.
4. The teacher does not have to intervene to correct accuracy mistakes.
5. The emphasis is more on meaningful communication, fluency and
confidence building than on accuracy.
6. The learners draft or rehearse what they want to say or write.
7. They report briefly to the whole class to compare findings.
8. Post-task
9. This stage provides an opportunity for learners to compare their
products with a similar product by a native/ fluent speaker.
10. The learners listen to a recording by a native/fluent speaker.
 Advantages of TBLT
• Implicit learning
The aim of TBLT is to help learners develop implicit knowledge of the language that will
enable them to participate easily and naturally in communication. The learners get the form
and use of the target language without being explicitly being taught. The role of the teacher
is to design tasks by replicating and creating the conditions for language learning and for
communication that exists outside the confines of the classroom. The aim is that the
learners’ inter language will gain implicit language knowledge while doing tasks.

• Incidental learning
Much of our everyday learning is incidental. TBLT provides opportunities for unplanned
learning. Completing a real-world task allows the acquisition to take place without any
deliberate intention on the part of the learner or the teacher.

• Meaningful learning
TBLT allows meaningful communication to occur during the accomplishment of tasks.
 Disadvantages of TBLT
• Some teachers criticize TBLT for focusing mainly on fluency
at the expense of accuracy.

• TBLT requires a high level of creativity and initiative on the

part of the teacher.

• TBLT requires resources beyond the textbooks and related

materials usually found in language classrooms.

• Evaluation of task-based instruction can be difficult. The

nature of task-based learning does not allow it to be
objectively measurable.