Language teachingLesson 2 of 3 in the course Communicative approach

Task-Based Language Teaching: Tasks, Lesson Design, and Learning Theory

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces task-based language teaching (TBLT), its relationship to communicative language teaching, and the reasons educators use it.

Task-based language teaching, also called task-based instruction (TBI), organizes learning around meaningful tasks completed through the target language. Learners might arrange a medical appointment, conduct an interview, solve a practical problem, or contact customer service.

All flashcards

What is task-based language teaching?
An approach that organizes language learning around meaningful tasks completed using the target language, with assessment focused mainly on successful outcomes.
What is the relationship between TBLT and CLT?
TBLT is a branch of communicative language teaching because it prioritizes meaningful language use and communication.
What are target tasks?
Activities people perform outside the classroom in the real world, such as conducting an interview or making an appointment.
What are pedagogical tasks?
Classroom activities in which learners understand or produce the target language while focusing primarily on conveying meaning.
What was Prabhu's significant observation?
Learners could learn language while focusing on a non-linguistic problem, suggesting that problem-solving tasks can support acquisition.

Quiz questions

  1. A pair of learners each has different clues and must combine them to complete a shared schedule. Which task type is this?Answer: An information-gap task
  2. Learners discuss how a story should end, and several different conclusions are acceptable. Which task type does this illustrate?Answer: An opinion-gap task
  3. What does Skehan's Trade-Off Hypothesis propose may happen when learners face competing demands for attention?Answer: Improvement in one performance dimension may come at the expense of another.
  4. In sociocultural accounts of language learning, how can peer interaction support a learner working in the Zone of Proximal Development?Answer: Collaboration can scaffold performance beyond what the learner could manage alone.
  5. What can researchers reasonably conclude from a change in learners' complexity, accuracy, and fluency scores?Answer: The scores indicate performance patterns but do not directly establish the mental processes behind them.

Based on the Wikipedia article Task-based language teaching, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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