Task-based language education:From theory to

Task-based language education:From
theory to practice… and back again
Kris Van den Branden
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
[email protected]
TBLT on Google
 Task: 275.000.000 hits
 Task-based: 1.320.000 hits
 Task-based language: 607.000 hits
 Task-based language teaching: 311.000
 Task-based language education: 320.000
“Task” as a crucial concept in…
 Theories of language learning
 SLA research
 The theory and practice of language education
 The assessment of language proficiency/skills
 Real life
Defining “task”
“… by ‘task’ is meant the hundred and one things
people do in everyday life, at work, at play, and
in between. ‘Tasks’ are the things people will tell
you they do if you ask them and they are not
applied linguists” (Long, 1985: 89)
Target tasks and pedagogic tasks
 Pedagogic tasks as increasingly complex
approximations of target tasks (Long, 1996;
Long and Norris, 2000)
 Example: Following street directions
 Listen to fragments of elaborated descriptions
while tracing them on a very simple 2-D map.
 Virtual reality map task. Using video from the
target location and audio of the target discourse,
complete a simulation of the target task.
(Long, 2007: 129)
Target tasks and pedagogic tasks
 Tasks should result in a kind of language use
that resembles that in the outside world (Ellis,
2003)
 Work with three other students. You are on a
ship that is sinking. You have to swim to a nearby
island. You have a waterproof container, but can
only carry 20 kilos of items in it. Decide which of
the following items you will take (Remember, you
can’t take more than 20 kilos with you)
Target tasks and pedagogic tasks
 Tasks should give rise to a number of
interactional and cognitive processes, believed
to enhance language learning
 Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1996: 451-452):
”... negotiation for meaning, and especially negotiation
work that triggers interactional adjustments by the NS
or the more competent interlocutor, facilitates
acquisition because it connects input, internal learner
capacities, particularly selective attention, and output
in productive ways”
---- Jigsaw tasks/Information gap tasks
Target tasks and pedagogic tasks
 Output Hypothesis (Swain, 1985, 1995):
production of L2 output --- collaborative speaking
and writing tasks, group work/pair work
 Cognitive psychology (e.g. DeKeyser, 2001;
Schmidt, 1998; Robinson, 2001; Skehan, 1998;
Doughty and Williams, 1998): conscious noticing
and analyzing L2 forms ----- input enhancement,
focus on form, error correction, explicit teaching
Methodological principles for TBLT
1 Use tasks, not texts, as the unit of analysis
2 Promote learning by doing
3 Elaborate input
4 Provide rich input
5 Encourage inductive learning
6 Focus on form
7 Provide negative feedback
8 Respect learner syllabuses/develop-mental processes
9 Promote collaborative learning
10 Individualize instruction
(Doughty and Long, 2003)
Two questions
1 To what extent can we expect these cleverly
designed tasks to elicit the same kind of
interactional work and cognitive processing in
authentic classrooms?
2 To what extent do these cleverly designed
tasks really promote the students’ ability to use
the target language outside the classroom?
Teachers working with tasks
Language teachers are “active, thinking decisionmakers who make instructional choices by
drawing on complex, practically-oriented,
personalized, and context-sensitive networks of
knowledge, thoughts and beliefs” (Borg, 2003:
81)
Putting principles to work…
3 Elaborate input
4 Provide rich input
Teachers reducing task complexity, avoiding to confront
learners with challenges, with things they haven’t fully
acquired yet
In task-supported teaching, “tasks are seen not as a
means by which learners acquire new knowledge or
restructure their interlanguages but simply as a way by
which learners can activate their existing knowledge of
the L2 by developing fluency” (Ellis, 2003: 30)
Putting principles to work
2 Promote learning by doing
8 Respect learner syllabuses/developmental
processes
9 Promote cooperative/collaborative learning
Teachers’ need to maintain control
An example: Radio Tika task (cf. Berben, Van den
Branden & Van Gorp, 2007)
Radio Tika
- Create a radio news bulletin, using Dutch
(main medium of instruction) and other
languages
- 3 primary school teachers were
videotaped
- Grade 6, children aged 12, multilingual
classes
- Result: three different activities
Radio Tika: 3 versions
L1?
Topic
control?
Explicit
teaching?
Freedom
for
students
Teacher 1
No
+++
No
+/-
Teacher 2
No
++
Yes
+
Teacher 3
Yes
+
No
+++
Putting principles to work
6 Focus on form
7 Provide negative feedback
Poor integration of focus on form in meaningful
activity
Inconsistent feedback and error correction
behaviour
The same task?
 Teachers reconstruct a given task, based on
 Their cognitions on language education
 Their personal needs, skills, and teaching style
 The context in which they operate
 Their perceptions of their students
= Turning tasks into personal task intentions
(“intended tasks”)
Task motivation (Dörnyei, 2002)
 Task motivation is influenced by:
 Learner characteristics
 Features of the task
 Learning environment
 Learner’s task-related beliefs
Expectancy of successful task completion
(“expected task”)
Personal goal setting (“intended task”)
A process-oriented model of task motivation
Preactional stage
- setting goals that are worthwhile to pursue
- perceiving the task as a reasonable challenge (goal
can be reached, gap can be bridged)
Actional stage:
- maintaining task motivation through action-control
processes
Postactional stage:
- evaluating past experiences
- determining future activities
(Dörnyei, 2002)
School effectiveness research
Teachers tailor their instructional practices to their perception of the
academic level of the group of students.
“This refers to the concept of ‘didactic fit’: adjustment of curriculum,
learning materials, method of instruction, effective learning time,
assessment, etc. to the ability level of the class (Dar & Resh, 1986,
1994). In most classes, the content and pace of teaching are geared to
the middle level of ability in that class. In lower classes, there is a
more limited academic focus, poor use of instructional time and a
reduced opportunity to learn…” ( De Fraine et al., 2002: 424)
Overt and covert task activity
 Underneath the actual verbal exchange lies a
particularly strong current of highly personalised nonverbal mental activity: task intentions and assessments
influence task activity, and vice versa
 Task intentions, expectations and actions are fed by
previous experiences and beliefs
 One person’s task perceptions and actions can have a
strong impact on interlocutors’ task perceptions and
actions, and on the earning potential of the task
 The need for classroom-based, process-oriented
research to explore these issues
 Teachers’ crucial role in TBLT
High-quality interaction
 Interactional support
 Integrated in functional
tasks
 In line with student’s
task intentions
 Linked with students’
current behaviour,
needs and level
 Assigning active role to
student and promoting
active thinking
 Differentiated
 Learning is
 Situated
 Goal-directed
 Cumulative
 Constructive
 Cognitive
 Individually different
(De Corte et al, 2003)
Making interactional decisions
Teacher intuition estimating effect sizes:
If learner(s) exhibit behaviour X, and my reaction
is Y, what will be the effect on:
- the process of task performance (estimate
based on analysis of ongoing process)
- the product(s) coming out of task performance
(based on comparison between task goals and
current product)
- language learning (based on knowledge of
curriculum goals (target tasks) and knowledge
of how language learning comes about)
Training teachers
 Explicit teaching won’t suffice
 A need for intensive and sustained support
 Communication and support networks
 Providing teacher aids
 Creating favourable conditions
 Promoting and supporting teachers’ professional
development
Teacher training
 Task-based as well…
 Training in real operating conditions
 Alernating action and reflection
 Cf. Van den Branden, 2006
Cycle of reflection (Korthagen, 1993)
 Classroom experience
 Reflection (detailed analysis)
 Raising essential aspects of current and
previous classroom experiences to
consciousness
 Searching for alternatives
 Trying new ideas out in new classroom
experiences
Different worlds?
 Lack of empirical research
 Task-based language assessment
 Studies of SLA/FLA in naturalistic settings
 Second language studies
 Study abroad (foreign language students)
Integrating the two worlds
 Creating favourable conditions for real-world L2
use in the classroom and for building selfconfidence
 Training communication strategies
 Assignments with native speakers
 Integrated language learning, e.g.:
 Vocational training
 School-based training
 Through the use of multimedia
Conclusions
 “If task-based teaching is to make the shift from
theory to practice it will be necessary to go beyond
the psycholinguistic rationale (…) and to address the
contextual factors that ultimately determine what
materials and procedures teachers choose.” (Ellis,
2003: 337).
 Towards a process-oriented approach to classroombased research and teacher training
 Focus on people, on how they interact during task
performance, rather than on tasks alone
References
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Berben, M., Van den Branden, K., & Van Gorp, K. (2007). “We’ll see what happens.” Tasks on paper and tasks in
a multilingual classroom. In K. Van den Branden, K. Van Gorp & M. Verhelst (Eds.), Tasks in Action. Task-based
language education from a classroom-based perspective (pp. 32-67). Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars
Publishing.
Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think,
know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36, 81-109.
De Corte, E., Verschaffel, L., Entwhistle, N., & Van Merriënboer, J. (eds.) (2003). Powerful learning environments:
Unravelling basic components and dimensions. Oxford: Pergamon.
De Fraine, B., J. Van Damme, & P. Onghena, (2002). Accountability of schools and teachers: what should be
taken into account? In: European Educational Research Journal, 1. 403-428.
DeKeyser, R. (2001). Automaticity and automatization. In P. Robinson (ed.), Cognition and second language
instruction (pp. 125-51). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2002). The motivational basis of language learning tasks. In P. Robinson (ed.), Individual Differences
and Instructed Language Learning (pp. 137-158). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Doughty, C., & Long, M. (2003). Optimal psycholinguistic environments for distance foreign language learning.
Language Learning & Technology, 7, 50-80.
Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (1998). Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Korthagen, F. (1993). Het logboek als middel om reflectie door a.s. leraren te bevorderen. VELON Tijdschrift, 15,
27-34
Long, M. (1985). A role for instruction in second language acquisition: Task-based language teaching. In K.
Hylstenstam & M. Pienemann (eds.), Modelling and assessing second language acquisition (pp. 77-99).
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Long, M. (1996), The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition, in W. Ritchie & T. Bhatia
(eds.), Handbook of Language Acquisition. Vol. 2: Second Language Acquisition (pp. 413-468). New York:
Academic Press.
Long, M. (2007). Problems in SLA. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Long, M., & Norris, J. (2000). Task-based teaching and assessment. In M. Byram (ed.), Encyclopedia of
language teaching (pp. 597-603). London: Routledge.
References (continued)
 Robinson, P. (ed.) (2001). Cognition and second language instruction.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 Schmidt, R. (1998). The centrality of attention in SLA. In J. Brown (ed.),
University of Hawai’i Working Papers in ESL, 16, 1-34. Honolulu: University
of Hawai’i.
 Schmidt, R. (2001). Attention. In P. Robinson (ed.), Cognition and second
language instruction (pp. 3-32). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
 Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: some roles of
comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S.
Gass & C. Madden (eds.), Input in Second Language Acquisition (pp. 235256). Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House.
 Swain, M. (1995). Three functions of output in second language learning.
In: G. Cook & B. Seidlhofer (eds.), Principle and Practice in Applied
Linguistics: Studies in Honour of H.G. Widdowson. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 125-144.
 Van den Branden, K. (2006). Task-based language teaching: from theory to
practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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