Introduction
4.2.2.1
Reflection
4.2.2.2 Belief check
4.2.2.3 What is a 'task'?
4.2.2.4 Tasks in textbooks
4.2.2.5 Reflection
4.2.2.6 Optional reading 1
4.2.2.1
Reflection
Have you included an activity in one of your recent lessons that you would
call a task? What was it? Why would you call it a 'task' rather
than, say, an 'exercise'?
4.2.2.2
Belief check
How central a role do you believe communicative tasks should occupy in
your language lessons? What do you believe tasks can do for learners that
other types of activity cannot do?
4.2.2.3
What is a 'task'?
Here are three different definitions of 'task'. Which one do you prefer
for the purposes of language teaching and learning, and why?
If you are working with a colleague try to come to an agreement on the best definition before checking the comments. After completing the task, spend a few minutes discussing the pros and cons of this type of consensus discussion task.
Definition 1: An activity which requires learners to arrive at an outcome from given information through some process of thought, and which allows teachers to control and regulate that process. (Prabhu, 1987: 24) (See Commentary 4.2.1)
Definition 2: A classroom event that has coherence and unity, with a clear beginning and an end, in which learners take an active role. (Cameron, 1997: 346) (See Commentary 4.2.2)
Definition 3: A goal-oriented activity in which learners use language to achieve a real outcome. In other words, learners use whatever language resources they have in order to solve a problem, do a puzzle, play a game or share and compare experiences. (Willis, J. 1996b: 53) (See Commentary 4.2.3)
4.2.2.4
Tasks in textbooks
On the following pages are some example units and activities taken from
published English language learning books (five in all). Decide whether
the activities in this material could be classified as tasks, according
to definition number 3 above. Do not be influenced by whether the activities
are labelled as tasks or not - the authors of the books were almost certainly
not using the same definition as we are!
If you are working with a colleague, try to come to an agreement on the answers before checking the comments. After completing the task, spend a few minutes discussing the pros and cons of this type of collaborative matching task.
Note: examples B, C, D and E are all scanned images of pages from coursebooks, and may take some time to load on certain systems.
| Example A | See Commentary 4.2.4A |
| Example B | See Commentary 4.2.4B |
| Example C | See Commentary 4.2.4C |
| Example D | See Commentary 4.2.4D |
| Example E | See Commentary 4.2.4E |
4.2.2.5
Reflection
At the beginning of this activity cycle you were asked if you had included
an activity in one of your recent lessons that you would call a 'task'.
In the light of what you have just read and thought about, has your initial
response to this question changed?
4.2.2.6
Optional reading 1
Now would be a good time to look at the first part (see Reading 1, 4.2.7)
of the recommended reading for this activity cycle.
