Making time for tasks and still covering the syllabus
Submitted by
Jane Willis
on 9 July, 2008 - 02:43
This is the last in a series of four articles which will explore how to
integrate a task-based approach into a typical textbook to maximise learning
opportunities for your learners and to save teacher preparation time.
The wish of language teachers everywhere is to promote genuine learning - the
ability to use the language and to interact with a reasonable degree of fluency.
However, despite all teachers' efforts, learners often leave school ‘knowing' a
lot of grammar and vocabulary but unable to speak with confidence. They can make
up sentences, (given time), read quite well and even pass exams but cannot cope
with situations which demand spontaneous spoken interaction. And this situation
is what task-based approaches to language teaching attempt to remedy.
Genuine learning means using the language
Tasks and task-based sequences give learners opportunities to interact in
English and to experience language in use. Hearing teachers speaking English is
vital, (see my article
From priming tasks and target tasks to language focus and grammar
for more about this, and for ideas for teacher-led tasks), and teacher talk is
very much part of the task cycle. But equally important is for learners to use
English for themselves as much as possible, to activate the vocabulary and
grammar they have previously covered. In most countries, spoken interaction can
only be practised in the classroom, so how do we make time for this and convince
learners that it is an appropriate use of class time?
Explain to learners why you need to make time for tasks in class. Most learners
will agree they would like to speak English with some fluency. Doing grammar
exercises does not generally help people learn to speak. Very few learners have
opportunities to speak English outside the classroom. So somehow you need to
make time for speaking activities in class, and also time to focus on features
of spontaneous interaction.
One way of making time for tasks is to select textbook activities that are
suitable for homework. So the next question is: which textbook activities could
your students do outside class - in their own time - at home or possibly while
travelling? Which activities might in fact be ‘best' done out of class where
individual learners can work at their own pace? Here are some suggestions.
What text-book activities are best for homework?
Reading
Rather than reading a complete text in class, introduce it in class and do a
prediction task (without giving away any answers) to give them a reason for
reading it later. Then set the main reading text for homework, with another task
to do. Comprehension questions can be done at home too, or learners can invent
their own questions to contribute to a team quiz for the next lesson. For a
language focus, learners can underline words, phrases or expressions they found
useful or liked, to share with the class next lesson, and note down questions
they have or parts they didn't understand. The big advantage is that each
learner can read at their own speed, and take time to reflect on the language
features in the text. And, in addition to stimulating autonomous learning, it
saves a lot of class time.
Listening
Sometimes it is possible for learners to listen to their class materials in a
library or self-access centre. If learners have their own means of listening
they can do this on journeys or at home, and replay the recording as many times
as they need. As with reading, do a short priming stage in class beforehand and
set a listening task to do at home so that learners feel motivated to listen and
have a goal to fulfil.
As a subsequent language focus activity, students can:
write down any phrases they need help with, look them up in a dictionary
Learning and revising vocabulary
This is best done in learners' own time - as learners have different ways of
memorising words. Equip them with ways of classifying and recording new words,
e.g. mind maps or pictures so they can choose what works best for them. Each
student can then devise three or four quiz questions or gap-fill sentences to
test the class on new vocabulary next lesson.
Grammar practice exercises
These are also better done at home - when each learner can do them at his/her
own pace. Set these at the end of a task cycle so learners will have met some of
the new forms in context already. Go over them quickly next class, or let them
‘mark' each others' exercises and ask if in doubt.
Writing
Students can:
Evaluation and review
End of unit evaluations and language reviews are perfect for doing at home when
there are fewer distractions. It gives learners a chance to go back over the
unit and reflect on what they have learnt and identify things they still need to
ask about.
TIP: Always set up the homework in class beforehand and give them a purpose or
goal to attain, and make it clear exactly how you will use their homework or
check their work at the start of the next lesson.
What aspects of the task cycle can be done at home?
Task preparation
Learners can prepare vocabulary for a new topic at home using a dictionary, and
research a topic using web-sites or asking other people and prepare to report
back in English.
Sometimes you can give them the task instructions the day before the task so
they can plan what to say and how to say it. Then in class you can go straight
into the task. They can do the priming at home.
Task Report
After doing the task and planning a report in class, learners can write or
practise a full version at home. This can be displayed in class, or they can be
asked to reduce it to very short notes and give their report orally with the
help of the notes.
Form Focus
Sometimes this can be done at home (see suggestions above) and taken up in class
the following lesson. The advantage is that each learner will have had a chance
to assimilate the new language at their own speed and later in class can ask
about things they really need to know.
In addition to text-book exercises there are other ways of achieving a focus on
form and helping learners expand their vocabulary - by going back to past
reading or listening texts and asking learners to collect different kinds of
language features. These are often called consciousness-raising activities. In
the following lesson, learners contribute the examples they have found, discuss
how they could classify them and put them up on the board. For example,
depending on the text or transcript, learners could be asked to list or
underline:
Try some of these and see what you find out about language! Encourage your
learners to become 'language investigators'.
Conclusion
In this article I have outlined some ways of making more time in class for
spoken interaction by suggesting activities from the book and tasks that can be
done outside class. I have tried to show that a task-based approach (with a
focus on form) can be adapted to fit alongside almost any text-book, and that
the syllabus can still be covered, only in a rather different way.
The advantages are several:
Your students will end up not just knowing English, but also using it,
The chances are, too, that both you and your learners will enjoy your lessons
more because everyone is more active and involved. Lessons will be more
interesting and varied - learners nearly always have interesting things to say,
once they have the confidence to say them.
Further reading:
Doing Task-based Teaching Dave and Jane Willis (2007 OUP) Chapter 10
pages 212 - 216 for more ideas for making time for tasks and pages 228 - 229 for
tips from practising teachers on implementing task-based teaching.
There are more examples of ways to achieve a focus on form in reading texts in
Dave Willis's articles on this site (May 2008).
See also Consciousness-raising activities originally published in
Challenge and Change in Language Teaching (Dave and Jane Willis eds. 1996,
Macmillan). This article outlines techniques for encouraging learners to look at
and analyse language for themselves. It also gives hints on how best to exploit
texts for language study. To download this for free, go to our web-site
http://www.willis-elt.co.uk/books.html
and scroll down to the end.