The Place of Tasks in the Language Classroom
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THE PLACE OF TASKS IN THE LANGUAGE
CLASSROOMCHAPTER 8
TASKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING
BASICALLY..........
A TASK is anything that learners are given to do (or choose to do) in the language classroom to further the process of language learning.
SPECIFIC INTERPRETATIONS OF TASKTeachers’ view of teaching-learning
processTeachers’ belief
about SLALanguage Teaching
approaches
Any activity that learners engage in to further the process of learning a language
A forum within which such meaningful
interaction between two or more participants can
take place
Procedural syllabus
an activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome through some process of thought, and which allowed teachers to control and regulate
TASK COMPONENTS (NUNAN, 1989)
Input data
activiities
Roles of teachers
goals
Roles of learners
A setting
TASK COMPONENTS (LAGUTKE AND THOMAS, 1991)
--THEME-CENTRED INTERACTION--All that the individual learners and the teacher bring to the
learning situationLearning take place within the
framework of the groupA dinamic element taking shape in an interactional process which mediates
learners’ interests, with the interests and preferences of
the teacher
I Dimensio
nWe
Dimension
Theme
GRADING TASKS AND TASK DIFFICULTY
NUNAN, 1989
Input
activity
Learners’
factorTask
Difficulty
INPUT
Grammatical complexity
Propositional density
Vocabulary usedThe genre, discourse structure,
sequencing of items
Explicitness of the information
Supporting pictures, tables etc.
Speed of listening text and Number of people involved
Length of the text
ACTIVITY
A piece of text
Sequencing pieces of the text
Transfering information to chart
Agreeing and disagreeing
aUsing the text as the basis of discussion
a
LEARNER FACTORS
confidence
motivation
Prior experience
Culture awareness
Capability and knowledge
PRABHU, 1987
Task Difficulty
The amount and type of information provided;
The amount of reasoning or cognitive operation needed
The precision neededThe learners’ knowledge of the world and familiarity with the purposes and constraints of
the taskThe degree of abstractness of the concepts
dealt with in the task.
BRINDLEY, 1987
Task Difficulty
Relevance to the learner
ComplexityAmount of context provided and
knowledge of the world requiredLinguistic demands
Accuracy required
Assistance given
Time available.
It can be seen that different people have approached the question of task difficulty in a variety of ways. There is however, one further imortant influence on task difficulty that has recieved considerable attention, that is, the different kinds of interaction generated by different types of tasks.
INTERACTIONAL FEATURES OF TASKS different tasks produce different types of
interaction and output different factors affect the quality and quantity of
the communication generated The amount and type of negotiation
activity Participants
Interaction
In TaskAmount and
type of collaborationInformation exchange
Size of group
Familiarity with the task
Proficiency level
Language background
Learning style
A COGNITIVE PROCESSING APPROACH
Feuerstein’s cognitive map
a model that represents the significant factors involved
in the performance of any mental act.
ELEMENTS OF FEUERSTEIN’S COGNITIVE MAP
The universe of Content
The modality or language Level of efficiency
The Cognitive operations
Phase of cognitive functions
Complexity
Level of abstraction
1
3
4
5
6
7
2
3 ASPECTS OF LEARNING PHASES
Input
elaboration
output
Selecting, gathering, and taking in appropriate information
Processing and using the input in some way
Expressing meaning arising from the processing that has occured
LITZ’S DEVELOPMENT OF FEUERSTEIN’S THEORY
arousal, sensation, attention and perception
short- and long term memory, processing skills and executive s
ystemsthe execution of some kind of response or performance which may involve verbal, written, gestural, or figural communication
Input
elaboration
output
Instrumental enrichment
A series of some 400 cognitive tasks constructed by Feuerstein and his co-workers by means of the
cognitive map to teach the skills of thinking, problem-solving and learning-how-
to-learn
These range from the simple organisation of our thoughts, through orientation in time and space, making comparisons, categorisation, establishing logical relationships, through to inductive and deductive reasoning.
Specific aspects of cognitive functioning
THUS..... Instrumental enrichment tasks can be used to teach both language and thinking. Learners are then engaged in using the target language for a purpose to develop their thinking ability and it is through this that their language competence develops.
AN EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON TASKS Tasks can be seen as a manifestation or embodiment of the
theories of learning subscribed to by teachers and their perceptions of the whole spectrum of the teaching-learning process.
Teachers will select tasks which reflect their beliefs about teaching and learning, including beliefs about such aspects as co-operation or competition, learners’ roles, learning style, independence, level of challenge and so on.
The ways in which teachers mediate in their presentation of tasks is a crucial aspect of any debate on learning tasks.
The learners make sense of the activities or experiences provided for them.
A SUMMARY ABOUT TASKS Tasks are seen as pivotal in the interaction between teachers and lear
ners. They provide one of many routes through which teachers and learners
convey attitudes and messages about the learning process to each other, as well as providing a vehicle within which learning takes place.
Besides, a consideration of the way in which tasks are presented, mediated, carried out and evaluated is also important.
Even the most innovative and well-designed tasks can be used in a range of different ways.
REFERENCE Williams, M.; and Burden, R.L. 1997. Psychology for Language Teachers: A Social Constructivist Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
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