Communicative Task Design: True or False?

SATEFL Stirling October 2010Designing and using communicative tasks Jane Willis Honorary Visiting Fellow, Aston University, UK

TBLT …True or False? What do you think? No answers immediately: you will find out during the session… .. is designed to teach spoken rather than written English. .. is learner centred. .. rejects rote learning as a useful activity. .. does not allow the use of the first language in the classroom. .. does not provide learners with language input before expecting them to engage in a communicative activity. .. does not allow for the study of grammar. .. does not allow drills and pattern practice. .. requires a greater range of teaching skills and techniques than traditional approaches.

Characteristics of effective tasks: ask these questions - can you answer YES? • Would the activity engage learners’ interest? • Is there a primary focus on meaning? • Are learners allowed free use of language? • Is there a clear outcome for learners to achieve? • Is success judged in terms of outcome? Is completion a priority? • Does it relate to real world activities?

Some examples of tasks & task sequences • Memory challenge – objects on a tray (teacher led>pairs) • Guess what I’ve got in my bag today! (teacher led>pairs) • Draw up your ideal school timetable (11-12 year olds) • Plan a class party for the end of term (mind map > group) • Describe in detail how to make your favourite food; classify dishes, then compare recipes (cost/healthy?) • Earthquake safety – design a leaflet for overseas visitors

What a task is NOT… • Learners acting out a dialogue or a strip cartoon • A ‘free’ production activity to ‘personalise’ a pre-taught structure e.g. After a presentation of ‘going to’ future: Ask your partner what they are going todo this week-end. • Role-play activities with role cards (i.e. where learners are acting, not meaning what they say.) All these are perfectly viable practice activities, but would not count as ‘tasks’.

How task–like is this activity? TRANSPORT… in groups When did you last stay out late? Where did you go? Who with? And how did you get home? What is public transport like where you live? (Source: Natural English Intermediate) • How could you make this into a more effective task?

To learn a language, learners need • exposure to relevant language in use • opportunities and motivation to engage in meaning-focused interaction – using whatever language they have at their disposal. ‘Use it to learn it’. Effective tasks should generate lots of meaning-focused language use.

Things on a tray (1) - memory challenge! The teacher starts by collecting objects and talking about them (useful teacher talk – exposure to useful words and phrases – ‘lexical priming’) Memory challenge – test your teacher’s memory: What things? And where? --------------------- Now – you will have 30 seconds to look at a picture of things on a tray and try to remember what things were where… Ready?

Things on a tray (2) - memory challenge

Tray task cycle How many things can YOU remember? Work in twos, make a list. Prepare to tell the class… (Think what happens when you have to ‘go public’.) Group member reports to class – (Do they agree?)

Why the ‘Report to class’? Tasks on their own are not sufficient for all round language development. Skehan: Learners may gain ‘fluency at the expense of accuracy’; Their research underlined the need for ‘pushed output’ and a focus on form; hence the task cycle within a wider framework:

When to work on language and focus on form? - using tasks to promote language development Priming & Preparation Key lexis & useful phrases Task >> Planning >>>> Report of outcome Language extension >> Prestige language use Form focus Analysis & practice of language features from texts written or spoken that learners have read or heard

Recording of fluent speaker reporting the Tray task (Learners make a list of the things he forgets) DL: Okay. Er, the bananas ... top left-hand corner of the tray, and on their right, as we look at it, a pair of glasses.... A ruler on the right of the glasses, and a glass of water on the right of the ruler. Below the bananas ... was ... erm - well right at the bottom, bottom left hand corner was a n… - was a notebook. And there was something above that, but I can’t remember. Erm, there were some coins on the right hand side of the book, and er, a ten pound note above the coins…. and to the left of the ruler. Erm … I think that’s about it.

Recording of feed-back on his ‘Tray task’ Listen and see if you were right JV: Okay, let’s see. Erm … bananas on the top left of the tray, then glasses … then the ruler … then the glass of water. Below the bananas on the bottom left was a book. Then some coins … and a ten pound note above these. So what you’ve forgotten was a letter that’s between the bananas and the book on the left, the keys at the bottom, in the middle really, and the address book and the watch, which are sort of next to the glass of water. • How to exploit these for FORM FOCUS?

Designing tasks

Using your text book and adapting activities to make them more task-like by adding an outcome, being more specific.. Selecting a topic your learners like and generating a task sequence Tip: work with a colleague or two Designing tasks – save time by

From topic / text totasks: designing a task sequence Listing Ordering & Sorting Matching Comparing TRAVEL PLANS (Zambia/Scotland) Problem solving Sharing personal experiences Projects and creative tasks

Sample tasks What do you already know about Zambia? List 3 things. Find out more by googling wiki-zambia, and write a True-False quiz (5 items) for other groups to do in class. If you were planning a trip to Zambia, where might you go, how might you travel and why? Choose 2 places. An American couple from New York are visiting Edinburgh January 2011. They want to spend 3-4 days on Skye, love walking, dramatic scenery and good food. What advice would you give them? (4 things).(Lonely Planet Thorntree Forum Sept 2010)

Sources of texts on travel • For factual information, google Wikipedia + country e.g. Zambia • For a variety of text types, some very exploratory / spoken – see: Thorntree Forum, e.g. • http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1960190 • Train journeys Seat 61 – Travellers Reports e.g. http://www.seat61.com/Zambia

Workshop on ‘Designing & refining tasks’ • Design a set of tasks based on a topic of your choice • Brainstorm on sources of texts/recordings • Examine four parameters that you can adjust to improve tasks • Refine one task using the four parameters, • If time, outline a lesson plan Try to come in a group with an idea for a topic.

So why Task-based Learning? • TBL provides learners with natural exposure (input), chances to use language to express what they want to mean (output), to focus on improving their own language and to analyse and practise forms. • TBL is more likely to keep learners motivated since it builds on whatever language they know in a positive way. Learners are actively engaged throughout the task cycle, and get chances to think for themselves and express themselves in the security of their group. • Learners become more independent and feel empowered, gaining satisfaction from successfully achieving things through the FL.

Teachers’ advice on TBL ‘Collaborate with your colleagues – it saves time – and it makes teaching much more rewarding…’ ‘Collaboration is the key’ ‘Don’t give up - it really works!’ www.willis-elt.co.uk

Designing and refining tasks Workshop

Workshop on ‘Designing & refining tasks’ • Design a set of tasks based on a topic of your choice • Brainstorm on sources of texts/recordings • Examine four parameters that you can adjust to improve tasks • Refine one task using the four parameters, • If time, outline a lesson plan Find a group and agree on an idea for a topic.

Seven types of task • 1. Listing: brainstorming and/or fact finding e.g. qualities, priorities, places, things, features, things to do, reasons. • 2. Ordering and sorting: sequencing, ranking, classifying e.g. sequencing story pictures, ranking items according to cost, popularity, negative or positive. • 3. Matching e.g.Listen and identify, listen and do (TPR), match phrases/descriptions to pictures, match directions to maps. • 4. Comparing: finding similarities or differences e.g. comparing ways of greetings or local customs, playing ‘Spot the Difference’, contrasting two countries.

5. Problem-solving: real-life problems, case studies, incomplete texts e.g. logic problems, giving advice, proposing and evaluating solutions, predicting a story ending. • 6. Projects and creative tasks e.g. doing and reporting a survey, producing a class newspaper, planning a radio show, designing a brochure. • 7. Sharing personal experiences: story-telling, anecdotes, reminiscences, opinions, reactions e.g. early schooldays, terrible journeys, embarrassing moments, personality quizzes.

Build a task sequence: brainstorm all 7 then select the best 3 or 4 • 1. Listing: brainstorming and/or fact finding • 2. Ordering and sorting: sequencing, ranking, classifying, prioritising • 3. Matching • 4. Comparing: finding similarities or differences • 5. Problem-solving: logic puzzles, real-life problems, case studies, incomplete texts • 6. Projects and creative tasks • 7. Sharing personal experiences: story-telling, anecdotes, reminiscences, opinions, reactions.

Refining tasks and improving tasks:four parameters you can adjust 1 Goal / outcomeDevise a final goal/ outcome that is clear to students. Make it specific! Or break it down into stages (with opportunities for exposure and output) so learners know (precisely) how to achieve it. 2 Pre-task preparation timeIndividual learners can think ahead how to do the task (strategic planning) and plan the language they need. This helps to stimulate engagement and lengthens speaking turns. But sometimes let them do a task without preparation, spontaneously (involves different skills). 3 Interaction patterns: individuals, pairs, groups, whole class; and individual roles: chairperson, spokesperson, secretary, editor, language advisor.

4. Post-task activities • planning and giving a report of the task • reflecting, then repeating the task with other partners • comparing with recordings of same task done by others • form focused study, noting useful words, phrases, patterns • learners recording themselves summarising or repeating the task; transcribing one minute’s worth of their interaction • reflecting and evaluating on the process, writing feed-back.

How to make time for tasks in class? Devote class time to activities that give experience of real language in use, experience that learners might not get outside class, especially spontaneous and planned spoken interaction. Outside class Some text book activities are best done at the learner’s own pace – set these for homework, to be checked quickly at start of next lesson. For example, learners can: • prepare topic and task related vocabulary at home prior to the task, • do form-focused exercises (grammar, vocabulary) for homework, • do the listening / reading and follow up activities in their own time. Encourageindependent vocabulary learning and out of class projects and surveys.

TRUE or FALSE? TBLT … • .. is designed to teach spoken rather than written English. • .. is learner centred. • .. rejects rote learning as a useful activity. • .. does not allow the use of the first language • .. does not provide learners with language input before expecting them to engage in a communicative activity. • .. does not allow for the study of grammar. • .. does not allow drills and pattern practice. • .. requires a greater range of teaching skills and techniques than traditional approaches.

www.willis-elt.co.uk References • Edwards C. and J. Willis (eds) 2005. Teachers Exploring Tasks in ELT. Palgrave MacMillan. British Council ELT Innovations Award 2006 • Leaver B. and J. R. Willis 2004 Task-based Instruction in FLE: practices and programs Georgetown University Press • Willis D. 2003. Rules, Patterns and Words: Grammar and Lexis in English Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press • Willis D. and J. Willis, 2007 Doing Task-based Teaching OUP Useful websites: • An excellent introductory article on TBL by Richard Frost: • http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/a-task-based-approach • Four articles on TBL by Jane Willis can be found at: • http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/criteria-identifying-tasks-tbl • Free sample task-based lesson plans at http://www.willis-elt.co.uk/taskbased.html

Communicative Task Design: True or False?