Unit 11: Task-based Language Teaching

Section 11.1: Introduction

Essential Abilities and Skill

 Teachers will be able to identify key principles that form the framework of TBLT.
 Teachers will be able to explain the difference between tasks, exercises and activities.
 Teachers will be able to identify and briefly describe components of a task.
 Teachers will be able to distinguish between focused and unfocused tasks.
 Teachers will be able to define task difficulty and identify a few characteristics of the three main
factors that affect task difficulty.

Introduction to “Task-based Language Teaching”

Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) is a way to realize Communicative

Language Teaching (CLT). Both adhere to the view that language is for the purpose
of communication and the necessary language forms come naturally out of the
functions enlisted to achieve successful communication. Communication that
promotes language learning must be (1) meaningful, (2) rooted in activities and
situations that interest students and (3) can foster engaging interaction. Both
acknowledge that students are ready at different times for another piece of the target
language, so a degree of individualization is needed. Therefore, teachers are guides of
language content and facilitators in the learning process, while students are active
participants, whether working individually or in pairs and groups.

To anchor this unit’s explanation of TBLT, let’s review the key ideas about CLT:

 Language learning is learning to communicate using the target language, with an emphasis on
competence, which requires authentic language use for a particular group of students based on
their needs and learning goals.
 The role of the teacher is that of a guide, a facilitator or an instructor.
 Motivation is central, so the activities must be interesting to students and engaging.
 Communicative activities are essential.
 Communicative competence is king, NOT accuracy.

TBLT research proposes that explicit attention to linguistic items (e.g. grammar,
vocabulary and pronunciation) facilitates explicit learning of the target language
(Nunan, 2004 & Long, 2015). Therefore, TBLT makes a place in the curriculum for
explicit attention to linguistic items through tasks that focus on language forms. They
round off the meaning-focused tasks that engage students in authentic language use.
This is crucial for language learning.
 This unit takes a closer look at the foundations of TBLT; the distinguishing features
of a task compared to an activity or exercise; several categories of task types that can
be effectively used in a communicative classroom; and a model for sequencing tasks
and considerations for form-focused work within them. Example tasks and task
sequences will be shared to demonstrate TBLT in action. Considerations for various
proficiency levels will also be explored.
Key Terms

 target task–real-world tasks that people do in daily life.

 pedagogical tasks–simplified versions of target tasks designed for use in the classroom to
promote language learning.
 experiential learning–the use of students’ immediate, personal experiences as the point of
departure for the learning process.
 learner-centeredness–the development of teaching procedures and content based on data supplied
by learners themselves; closely related to experiential learning.
 focus-on-form–an approach to language system instruction provided within a communicative
context.
 scaffolding–the various ways teachers support students as they accomplish tasks (e.g.
modification of input, procedures, interaction patterns, etc.)

Journal Reflection

Section 11.2: Foundations of Task-based Language Teaching

Defining Task

Before we examine the ways in which TBLT realizes certain SLA theories and is then
implemented in the classroom, it is important to understand what is meant by “task”
in TBLT, and how it differs from “activity” and “exercise.” These terms are often
used interchangeably, which can cause confusion and misunderstanding.

In TBLT tasks are “the hundred and one things people do in everyday life, at work, at
play, and in between” (Long 2015, p. 108). This includes making breakfast, brushing
 your teeth, calling customer service, and filling out an online application, to name just
a few. Some are more complex than others. Some require language and some do not.
These real-world tasks, referred to as target tasks (TT) in TBLT, are “a
communicative act we achieve through language in the world outside the classroom”
(Nunan, 2001). Many TT cannot be done in the classroom as they would be done in
the real world so they need to be modified. These classroom-based tasks are
called pedagogical tasks (PT), and they reflect aspects of the real-world task. PT are
“a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating,
producing or interacting in the language while their attention is principally focused on
meaning rather than forms” (Nunan, 2001). While students’ focus is on completing
the task, they both knowingly and unknowingly use language structures, functions and
their own background knowledge in order to complete the task.

Tasks exhibit several key characteristics (adapted from Nunan, 2004, Richards, 2014,
& Skehan, 1996):

 meaning-focused
 authentic and connected to the real world
 relevant to students’ needs
 something students do using their existing language resources
 prioritize task completion, a non-linguistic outcome
 use communication strategies and interactional skills when two or more students are involved
 provide opportunities for reflection on language use.

The Difference Between a Task and an Exercise

With these characteristics in mind, it is clear to see the difference between a task and
an exercise. A language exercise is a piece of classroom work that requires students
to manipulate some aspect of language. An exercise is focused on a limited set of
correct linguistic choices. Distinguishing minimal pairs or identifying whether a
spoken word matches the featured sound are examples of phonology exercises. Some
common grammar exercises include listening for the past tense in a story, or
completing a conversation by filling in the missing words and phrases. The box below
shows a grammar exercise.
 While this and other language exercises are of some benefit, there is very little if any
communication value by selecting the correct structure.
The Difference Between a Task and an Activity

The distinction between task and activity, however, is more fluid. An activity is “any
kind of purposeful classroom procedure that involves learners doing something that
relates to the goals of the course” (Richards, 2014). A teaching activity is a broad
term that could encompass tasks and exercises. They resemble PT because there is the
potential for meaningful communication between students. So, how can a teacher
know when an activity is a task? Willis and Willis (2007, pp. 12-14) offer a list of
questions teachers can ask themselves, and the more confident the answer is yes to
each one, the more task-like the activity.

 Will the activity engage learners' interest?

 Is there a primary focus on meaning?
 Is there a goal or an outcome?
 Is success judged in terms of the outcome?
 Is completion a priority?
 Does the activity relate to real world activities?

The main feature that distinguishes an activity as a

task is the nature of the outcome. Is it successful completion of the task or correct use
of the language item(s)? Let’s say the activity is about buying a train ticket and the
outcome is to correctly use the phrases “I would like” or “May I have”. This is a
linguistic outcome and success is measured by correct language use. This is not a task.
Completing the task tells the teacher that the students have sufficient language ability
to buy the train ticket, and something more challenging can be introduced, such as
refunding a train ticket or changing the ticket date. If, however, they are not able to
buy the ticket, then it is very likely there are language gaps to address before trying to
complete the task again.
To summarize, we can say that language exercises have a focus on the language
structure, and a correct answer is one with the correct language structure. On the other
hand, a task is defined as meaning focused, authentic and connected to the real world.
Activities reside in the middle, having potential to be task-like.
Task-based Syllabus Design

Syllabus design is one aspect of curriculum, along with methodology and assessment.
These three aspects are integrated, each informing the other in the curricular plan for
instruction. The syllabus identifies what is to be learned and the order in which that
learning will take place. Methodology is concerned with the selection, sequence and
justification of the types of learning experiences to be used. And assessment deals
with the instruments and procedures to measure student progress toward curriculum
goals.

TBLT is a way of designing a syllabus within the theoretical framework of CLT that
uses “tasks” as the unit of analysis rather than discrete linguistic items. A grammar-
based syllabus sequences these discrete linguistic items according to research that
suggests which aspects of grammar are acquired before others. In CLT, functions are
commonly the unit of analysis, and situations are selected or created for
communicative practice.

In contrast, the task-based syllabus bases its selection of tasks on students’ needs, and
then derives its grammar and functional instruction from what naturally arises from
the tasks and the students as they work to complete the tasks. For example, one of the
TT a teacher identifies as a need for students could be to participate in a job interview.
The teacher can anticipate the language structures and vocabulary students will need.
In addition, there are language functions involved in the task. Taken together, these
inform the teacher’s design of an instructional unit. The table below suggests
linguistic items that derive from a target task that meets a need of students.

Target Task Identification and Selection

A task-based syllabus is organized around tasks, but which tasks should be included
in an oral English course? Foreign language teachers in China will likely be handed a
textbook as the basis of a course syllabus. If there is no textbook, then a course title
might be provided, such as “Oral English” or “English for Specific Purposes (ESP)”.
It is most common at the Kindergarten to Senior Middle School level to have a
curriculum to follow.

Some form of a needs analysis can be done as the basis for task selection. For
Kindergarten to Senior Middle School students, look to the established curriculum for
these needs and identify target tasks that are age appropriate, such as describing
yourself and other people. University and adult students could be surveyed to learn
topics of interest and their potential future use of English. All of these tasks relate to
language functions that are included in textbooks, so use the resources and tools you
have at hand.

The Advantage of a Task-based Syllabus

There are advantages to using “task” as the
organizing unit for course design. Thinking of
adult and university students’ needs in terms
of tasks helps teachers navigate the gap that
might exist between content-specific knowledge
(English for Engineers) and student’s
linguistic knowledge (describing something).
There are resources that describe work in
various fields as tasks an employee is able to
do. This saves teachers a lot of time and
effort creating their own descriptions of TT
of instructional units in a task-based
syllabus. Another advantage is that the
dynamic qualities of L2 communication are more
apparent as students complete tasks. What
better way to see what students can do with
the language than to have them do
things using the language.
Section 11.3: Theoretical Basis for TBLT
Interaction Hypothesis

In this part we will review some of the theories and methodological principles that
inform TBLT, most notably the Interaction Hypothesis and related theories of the
negotiation of meaning and comprehensible input and output.

The Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1996; Gass & Mackey, 2006) claims that face-to-
face interaction and communication promotes language proficiency. As they attend to
the new language, students collaboratively begin a process called negotiation for
meaning. For example, two students engaged in a PT that simulates ordering food at a
restaurant may encounter the following:

Customer: I want hamburger and freeze.

Waiter: Freeze? I don’t know what you mean.

Customer: Um, you know hamburger?

Waiter: I know hamburger.

Customer: And freeze, those long potato...

 Waiter: You mean fries?

Customer: Oh, yes, fries. I want hamburger and fries.

The two students are engaging in a conversation that is meaningful and authentic to
the real world. However, the Customer’s utterance, “freeze” confuses the Waiter. The
Waiter asks the Customer the intended meaning. As the Waiter discovers the
meaning, the Customer gives attention to the communication breakdown. The
Customer can now utter the correct word and adjust to accomplish the task of ordering
what is desired (Long, 1996).

In the process of communicating, and negotiating for meaning, it’s obvious that
students will make errors, but, it might not be as obvious that students can also be a
source of error correction for one another. Interaction with quick feedback allows for
the meaningful and authentic task to continue as students wrestle with the language.
Comprehensible Input and Output Theory
The Interaction Hypothesis is also supported by the role of comprehensible input
and output during interaction. Input provides the learner with language structures,
functions, vocabulary, phonology, and the associated culture. Though some
researchers argue that input is the driving force for language learning, others have
found that input alone is insufficient for all language learning. Language production,
or output, allows students to test language (Swain, 1995), and this is what TBLT
seeks to make possible as it creates opportunities to receive input, and to push output
through PT that promotes meaningful communication. In addition to SLA theories,
several educational philosophies undergird TBLT, namely learner-centeredness,
learning by doing and scaffolding.
Educational Theories–1

(1) Learner-centeredness, or student-centeredness, is concerned with what students

need and want to learn, as well as their innate capacities and readiness for that
learning. For adolescent and university students, a commercially-produced textbook is
often provided or available. To increase motivation for learning, textbook topics can
be rated for their relative interest, and the syllabus organized accordingly. A teacher
can select units that must be included in the course, and then invite students to select
two or three other units.
Student-centeredness, however, is more than the content of a course; it is also student
readiness and capacity for learning. A task-based syllabus requires teachers to react
to the linguistic problems that arise in the classroom. This can be challenging for
novice teachers, who may not have answers for linguistic issues that arise in the
moment. TBLT seeks to meet the future communicative needs of students while
adjusting language teaching.
(2) Learning by doing, or experiential learning, is achieved as students engage in and
complete tasks. Teaching English in China limits opportunities for students to get
hands-on practice with the target language outside of the classroom, so the creation of
tasks that target those experiences can equip students to meet present and future real-
world communicative needs. Role-plays, discussions, and the use of authentic
English-language texts and videos are just a few ways to simulate real-world language
use in the classroom.
Educational Theories–2

(3) Scaffolding is the way in which teachers support students in their efforts to
successfully complete tasks. It is to be expected that tasks will pose a degree of
difficulty or challenge for students. If something is too easy students might lose
interest, or if too hard students might give up. Teachers must know what support to
provide, when to begin to pull away those supports and in what manner. Teachers
need to know the gap that exists between a student’s current and potential
developmental level as demonstrated in what they can do independently and what
they could do with peer or teacher assistance. This gap is known as the Zone of
Proximal Development (ZPD), and can be illustrated as i+1, in which “i” represents
a student’s current developmental level and “+1” represents the range for potential
development. It is not +3 or +5, but only +1; just one step beyond and within reach
with assistance.

Some students find the target task beyond their reach. These students need learning
activities designed to take them incrementally toward the learning outcome. At the
same time, appropriate feedback about their performance and cycles of assessment
support their knowledge and skill building.
(4) Collaboration and Motivation –The relationship between teachers and students
can be described as egalitarian in TBLT as both are participants in the process of
teaching and learning. Teachers take what they understand to be the needs and
interests of their students, and select TT and design PT to meet those needs and
engage those interests. The work of pairs and small groups helps all students to
engage in the task and have the opportunity to learn language that comes out of the
collaborative work. In the language classroom, mutual aid and cooperation among
students and their teachers promotes supportive peer-to-peer interaction and the
negotiation of meaning, which assists language learning, not just the accomplishment
of the task. An added benefit of this mutual aid and cooperation in completing
engaging and relevant tasks is motivation.

A Principled Framework for TBLT

The aforementioned philosophies of learner-centeredness, learning by doing,

scaffolding, collaboration and motivation are part of several frameworks for TBLT
(Long, 2015; Nunan, 2004; Willis, 2007). The foundational principles that run
consistently among them are the following:

(1) Use Tasks, Not Text, as the Unit of

Analysis in Syllabus and Instructional
Design
 Use tasks, not text as the unit of analysis in
syllabus and instructional design because they enable students “to experience
language as a living entity through using it to practice doing the tasks they will face
beyond the classroom” (Long, 2015, p. 305). In speaking, like driving, students need
to do the task they will do in the future, learning as they do it. Thus, tasks derive from
students' needs and can be designed to move students from receptive to productive
knowledge then to creative language use. Grammar and language functions can be
meaningfully activated in the context of tasks. For example, the job interview task
described earlier activates the language function of describing oneself and the
grammar structure of asking and answering wh-questions. These linguistic items can
be naturally recycled in various contexts as tasks are developed to build on one
another, further developing students’ understanding of the language in use.

(2) Provide Rich, Comprehensive Input

For the tasks, teachers need to provide rich and comprehensible input that is not only
linguistically complex, but also authentic, relevant and of good quality. Naturally,
some authentic input will not be comprehensible to some students, and in those cases
it can be made more accessible with scaffolding. It is also important to note that
conversation between teachers and students is authentic and comprehensible input,
and in the Chinese classroom this is a primary source of naturally occurring spoken
English for students.

(3) Focus on Form

Focus on form in Applied Linguistics “refers only to those form-focused activities
that arise during, and are embedded in, meaning-based lessons; ...” (Jimenez Raya,
2009, p. 62). TBLT does advocate meaning before form. In this case, “linguistic
problems [are] treated reactively, as they arise. ... with the idea that learning grammar
evolves out of language use, not the other way around” (Long, 2015, p. 222). This can
be challenging for novice teachers, who are still gaining confidence in identifying
language structures and explaining them in ways that support student learning.
(4) Reflection
One final parameter for a TBLT framework is reflection. An opportunity for students
to consider what they have learned, how they have learned it, and how well they are
doing. This can be done after the TT has been performed by asking students to
evaluate their accomplishment of the task and the process of learning. Teachers can
work this into the lesson structure by modeling the TT at the beginning, and checking
in with students about the ways in which they are developing in the skills. It also
helps when teachers explain the rationale behind the tasks they have done. Providing a
rationale is particularly important in Chinese classrooms where teaching and learning
follow more traditional models.

Try It - Reflective Teacher’s Response

Summary
TBLT is a way to design a syllabus that uses tasks, which are relevant to students’
needs, as the unit of analysis. Real-world tasks and their classroom counterparts
 engage students in communication for real purposes that fosters motivation and
requires cooperation and mutual aid among students. Meaningful exposure to
authentic input is critical to this process. Key features of TBLT are focus on form and
student reflection of the tasks, which train students in analysis for both language and
learning goals.

Section 11.4: Focus on Form in Task-based Language Teaching

The Difference Between Focus on Form and Focus on Forms

The term focus on form (FOF), is often used interchangeably with focus on forms
(FOFs), but these refer to two different processes. When students ask their partners or
the teacher for language suggestions, or refer to their dictionaries, these are FOF
activities initiated by students according to their linguistic need in the moment. In
contrast, activities that focus on forms (FOFs) are teacher-initiated and direct
students’ attention to specific language forms with the goal to help them recognize
and manipulate those forms. Explicit teaching of language structures (FOFs)
facilitates language learning when done in the context of meaning-focused
communication (VanPatten & Oikennon, 1996). Teachers can help students be more
ready to learn and make use of certain linguistic features when they react in real time
to linguistic problems that arise as students complete tasks. The following are ways
teachers can react in real time or immediately following completion of a task.

 Give negative feedback by pointing out student examples of the ways language cannot be used.
These “incorrect forms” are not going to show up in the authentic input, and this is an appropriate
time to address them.
 Ask students to identify the grammar structures they are struggling with.
 Highlight a limited number of linguistic items that were noticed in student utterances, and
prioritize them according to student readiness to make use of them.

All of the above are form-focused, but it can be difficult to parse out which is FOF or
FOFs. The key idea is that a focus on language form, whether incidental or
intentional, within the context of meaningful communication promotes language
learning. If students are going to become more proficient in L2, they need to attend to
problem areas of language structure and lexicon.
Try It – Reflective Teacher’s Response
The Difference Between Focused and Unfocused Tasks
Unfocused tasks are designed to provide students with opportunities to use language
communicatively with no direct attention to language structure. Students interacting
in an unfocused task come into contact with language structures and commonly
stumble over language gaps, they take notice of it, and choose to seek help with the
gap or leave it alone. Telling personal stories is a good example of an unfocused task
as students relate an experience to a partner. Other unfocused tasks include gap-
activities: information-gap, opinion-gap and reason-gap.

Focused tasks are similar to the Production stage of the PPP teaching approach
because such tasks are “designed to provide opportunities for communicative
language practice, using some specific linguistic feature” (Jimenez Raya, 2009, p. 63).
These tasks seek to increase students’ exposure to target structures by building them
into the procedures and input. The desired result is to increase the ability of students
to notice the target structure.
Focused or Unfocused? – Reflective Teacher Response
TBLT research does not give immutable answers for which task type is better, but it
does show that learning does occur in both task types. Further, as long as meaningful
and authentic interaction is happening in the classroom, learning will occur that
promotes improved language behavior for L2.
Consciousness-Raising Tasks

To help students notice a language feature, teachers can use consciousness-raising

tasks (CRT), a variant of focused tasks that use inductive and deductive procedures
to draw students’ attention to a particular linguistic feature. These are considered
genuine tasks designed to get students to notice through observation and to understand
through analysis. Students do this by discussing the language feature they observe
while using their own linguistic resources. The teacher assesses their analysis of the
language.

In the earlier focused task (Joey’s email to his mom - Part 3) you will notice that no
particular grammatical rule is introduced, but the input is enhanced. The structure is
made explicit, but the rule is implicit. A consciousness-raising task challenges
students to come up with a grammar rule through interaction. In this task example,
we’ll work with “mom’s” response to “Joey’s” original email. The learning thrust is
for students to process the targeted structure with a partner and become aware of its
use in the L2 so that they can use it with greater accuracy.
 You might wonder about the ability of students to talk about language in a foreign
language. That can be difficult. Some teachers find it helpful to let students use L1 to
discuss their observations and form their rule, but then use English to report to
another group or the class. The teacher then confirms what is correct, giving value to
the students’ conclusions.

Reflective Teacher’s Response

Summary
The key advantages of using CRTs:

 Grammar in context
 Authentic language
 Larger amount of input that is connected, not isolated
 Encourages cooperative learning
 Builds autonomous learning by showing students ways to analyze language

Alternate ways to address what is commonly referred to as “grammar instruction” has

been examined in this section. TBLT gets students communicating, making mistakes,
and identifying their language errors within the context of communicative tasks. The
role of the teacher early in the task sequence is reactive rather than proactive,
operating in response to what students produce or the challenges they face as they
negotiate meaning to complete the task. Focus on forms prepares students for the TT
performance.

Summary Chart
Section 11.5: Task Types
Activating Tasks

In this part we take a closer look at different types of pedagogical tasks. What follows
are several task types that vary in their complexity and difficulty for students
(discussed later).

Tasks such as brainstorming, listing, ranking and classifying help activate vocabulary
and schema students already have, and build on it as students share their results and
manipulate them together. These tasks are also a great way to quickly assess what
students recall from a listening text or reading passage. A few examples follow:

. List all the phrases you can think of that express disagreement or agreement. Then work
with a partner to put them in order from strongest disagreement to strongest
agreement.
. Brainstorm adjectives used to describe ability or personality. Combine your list with a
partner. Sort the list into positive and negative descriptions.
. Create a semantic map around the word “garden.”
Pictures and Storytelling

A. Pictures are versatile input for interaction. Simple pictures or line drawings can be
used for “spot the difference” tasks like the one below.
B. Pictures can also be used to spark storytelling. The picture task that follows, also
called a narrative task, requires students to tell a story based on pictures.
Reflective Teacher’s Response

Gap Tasks

Gap tasks are those in which students are missing some information they need to
complete the task and they need to talk to each other to discover it. This gives
students an authentic reason to negotiate, collaborate, and exchange information
toward a common goal.
 Information-gap
Task
In this type of gap task each student has a different piece of information (like a puzzle
piece) that must be combined to complete the task. Consider the following task:

Student A has a bus/train time table and Student B has the ticket prices. They each
have gaps in the provided information and they need to ask and answer questions
about the information each one has, discuss options (cheap and quick) and agree on
which bus/train to take to get to their destination.

Opinion-gap
This is also called opinion-exchange. This type of task involves identifying and
articulating personal attitudes, feelings or opinions. Unlike the information gap task,
students are given the same information and their final product can diverge.
Reasoning-gap
A reasoning-gap task calls on students to infer, deduce and perceive relationships or
patterns in some given information, and then convey their ideas to others involved in
the task. This requires students to make guesses, draw on their general knowledge, use
their imagination and logical reasoning to solve. Let’s look at an ancient puzzle as an
example: A man is standing by a river with a wolf, a sheep, and some vegetables. He
wants to get everything across the river, but he has a small boat that cannot carry all
three things at one time. The wolf will eat the sheep if the man goes away, and the
sheep will eat the vegetables if the man goes away. Discuss how the man can get
across the river without losing any of his belongings.
Role Plays and Dialogues

These two types of tasks give students opportunities to use the language in real ways.
They are best placed later in the lesson so that students have the chance to hear
authentic exchanges like those they will try out. Here is an example:
Discussions and Decisions

These tasks require students to collect and share information to reach a decision.
Other task types might be a part of discussions, such as generating lists and sorting
them, ranking items, reading texts and understanding their meaning as a basis of a
discussion.

Decision Making Task - Reflective Teacher Response

Reflective Tasks

Tasks that invite students to reflect on their task performance and rate themselves on a
scale, or reflect on the ways they learn best can be affirming and motivating. You may
recall that reflection is one of the principles of TBLT, which seeks to develop students
as autonomous learners. There are several ways to engage students in reflection.

Record and Review. Students record some or all of their interaction and listen to it
for the purpose of observation and learning. They can listen for language structures,
their means of negotiating meaning, and how well they performed the task. This kind
of task can be collaborative, as well, with added potential for encouragement as
students tell one another what they did well.
Quick Feedback. Teachers can ask a class how they felt about their performance by
using an emotions vocabulary chart. This is also a great way to recycle vocabulary
while giving students another way to identify how they performed.

Section 11.6: Designing Tasks

Task Components–1

In the previous section you were introduced to several types of tasks that could be
used to activate knowledge and get students interacting. In this section we discuss in
more detail the components of a task, whatever type it is, and how to assess its
complexity and modify it to make it more accessible to a group of students.

Tasks minimally include goals, input and procedures that are supported
by roles and settings. Let’s take each one in turn.

Goals
Goals are the general intentions behind a learning task, and provide a link between
that task and the curriculum. They might fall into one or a combination of these
categories: communicative, socio-cultural, affective, cognitive (learning how to
learn), or awareness of language and culture. A communicative goal might be to
develop interactional skills through negotiation of information. An affective goal that
many teachers have for their students is to develop confidence in speaking.

Goals can be derived from resources, such as job descriptions and proficiency
frameworks, and will be stated as observable behavior. Here are a few examples of
real-world tasks and a related PT goal.
 Input

Input refers to the

spoken, written or visual data that students work with in the process of completing a
task. Teachers are a good source for authentic and comprehensible input as they
introduce a topic, share a story related to it, explain what’s happening in the
classroom, ask questions of students and react to student utterances. Students can fill
those same roles when they are ready, such as reading out directions for classmates to
follow. Authentic input can come from a range of sources: formal and informal
letters, newspaper extracts, business cards, advertisements, hotel brochures, weather
forecasts, public transportation timetables, photographs, economic graphs and recipes.

Below are several types of input materials:

 Genuine: created only for real-world language use, but used in the classroom
 Altered: original altered by adding visuals or highlighting a linguistic feature, but retaining the
meaning
 Adapted: created for real-world language use, but vocabulary and grammar are simplified
 Simulated: uses characteristics of real-world language, but written for language learning purposes
 Incidental: created for the classroom with little attempt to make it appear genuine

Such materials simplify input to make it easier to process, increase frequency of target
language items to make them more noticeable, and slow down speaking speed to
make it easier to understand. It is still important to expose students to authentic input.
Task Components–2

Procedures
Procedures specify what students will actually do with the input of the PT. There are
four considerations: authenticity, focus of skill, accuracy or fluency, and locus of
control.

(1) Authenticity–It is possible to use authentic input in non-authentic ways, such as

turning a newspaper article into a cloze exercise. Classroom activities should include
those that parallel the real world and promote language learning. For example, a
newspaper article. Be aware of the input’s potential, especially if genuinely authentic.

(2) Focus of Skill–Is the task activity designed to get skills or use skills? In skill-
getting,students engage in teacher-fronted exercises designed to master as they
memorize and manipulate language. In skill-using, students have increasing control to
apply the language they know in communicative interaction. TBLT maintains that
students learn by doing.
Task Components–3

(3) Accuracy/Fluency–It is understood that students need to be both accurate and

fluent, and teaching is designed to prepare students for those natural circumstances
that require both. But, the requirement to be evaluated demands that language be
produced for display, which tends to push students into accuracy-mode at the expense
of fluency. When allowed to plan freely, students produce more accurate language
because they can make use of the language they already know.

In the context of Chinese language classrooms, students and teachers are particularly
concerned with accuracy, and this impacts students’ willingness to engage in more
fluency-driven tasks. This is where providing a rationale for the tasks and the
procedures used will prove important and helpful. Chinese students are willing to try
what seems reasonable.

(4) Locus of Control–When activities FOFs, then teachers hold more control. But
when students are solving problems or exchanging opinions, more control can be
given to students in the language they use. Teachers can give students varying degrees
of control depending on the goals of the task and the abilities of their students.

Roles
Roles are concerned with what students and teachers are expected to do as they carry
out tasks, and the social and interpersonal relationships between participants. Students
can be passive recipients of input, listeners and performers with little control over the
content of learning, and responsive to teacher direction. This could describe many
Chinese classrooms in which teachers are expected to provide explicit instruction and
modeling of L2, and students are expected to receive and reproduce the language.

Chinese students are open to trying new things, even taking on different roles in their
language learning. Clearly explaining expectations, providing a rationale for pair and
group work, and planning for skill getting tasks that help students grow as
autonomous learners will help bridge the gap. Foreign teachers move toward their
students’ expectations first, and provide them the training needed to expand their role
in the learning process. One way to do this is to design tasks that intentionally develop
in Chinese students the skills and experiences needed to do more collaborative and
self-directed work inside and outside the classroom.

Task Components–4
Settings
Settings refers to the classroom arrangements that are either specified or implied.
These arrangements involve the environment in which the learning takes place and the
mode of learning. “Mode” refers to whether students function as individuals or
groups, and whether they are self-directed or teacher-directed. If students work alone,
are they self-paced and teacher-directed, or entirely self-directed? If students work in
pairs or groups, is the task for the whole class or just for the group or pair?

Group work facilitates interaction and promotes an environment supportive of L2

learning, but student proficiency levels impact the effectiveness of group interaction.
It could be frustrating if high and low proficiency students are grouped together. But
pairing either group with intermediate students increases potential success because
there is a greater likelihood of peer support and successful negotiation of meaning.

Chinese learners are not in the habit of working in pairs or groups in a language
setting (though that is changing in some educational settings), so you will have to
teach them and give them practice in cooperative pairs/groups. This can also be
challenging in Chinese classrooms where the desks are fixed to the floor or tightly fit
into the space. One way teachers handle this is to arrange students in seat pairs and
they work with each other often, which makes use of students’ collective cultural
norm.

Key Points of Task Components

Task Complexity and Difficulty–1

“A key issue for TBLT is how to determine the relative complexity, not of
grammatical features and constructions, but of tasks .... [If students have a] richer and
more varied experience of the same task under different conditions … the likelihood
[increases] that language ‘scripts’ learned for doing the task will transfer to real-world
settings beyond the classroom” (Long, 2015, p. 234). But what makes one task more
difficult than another? For our purposes here, we’ll consider three intersecting sets of
factors involved in task difficulty: student factors, input factors, and task factors.

(1) Student Factors

Student factors include confidence about the task, motivation to carry out the task,
previous learning experiences and relevant cultural knowledge to support doing the
task, and language skills. Students who possess these in greater measure will perceive
the task to be easier. Of course, the complexity of the input will also impact this
perception of ease or difficulty.

(2) Input Factors

Input factors that affect the difficulty of written and oral texts include things like
clarity of presentation, the amount of contextual clues, and the length of the text being
used. Students’ perception of difficulty will be influenced by how the task is set up
and presented.

(3) Task Factors

Task factors include the appropriateness of the goal, the preparation of students for
the task, the procedures governing task steps and interaction patterns, the role of
students and teachers, the nature of the output (public or private, written or oral), and
performance conditions.

All three of these are impacted by the level of cognitive demand. If the cognitive
complexity of a task is high, then there is a greater demand on students’ attentional
resources, limiting those available for processing and producing language. Let’s
consider static and dynamic speaking tasks. Static tasks, such as describing a simple
diagram, are less difficult because they use information that doesn’t change. Dynamic
tasks, such as describing a car accident, are more difficult because the elements of the
task change relative to one another. Is the student a bystander, a police officer, or the
person involved in the accident? These changing elements increase the cognitive
demand on students working on the task.
Task Complexity and Difficulty–2

Task difficulty is concerned with the question: Can students do the task using
English?Student, input and task factors are involved in answering this question. Each
of these could be remedied by a teacher through less difficult tasks that build up
linguistic resources, provide repeated experience with the task genre, and give explicit
guidance about the form of the task outcome. Another way to adjust for task difficulty
is to limit the number of steps in a task by breaking it down into smaller tasks with
fewer steps. The difficulty could also reside in the student who feels that it is too hard.
Providing schema building experiences before embarking on the task cycle can
develop confidence with the topic and task, easing a student’s sense of difficulty. All
three factors can be manipulated to some degree, but student factors will always
remain out of reach of the teacher’s direct control.

Task Characteristics that Affect Task

Difficulty
The table below summarizes important task characteristics that affect task difficulty,
including aspects of cognitive demand. Questions that teachers can ask regarding
those characteristics are included (Nunan, 2004). The next section will explore in
more detail how these factors can be manipulated to adjust task difficulty.

Summary of Task Characteristics That

Impact Task Difficulty
 (Adapted from Nunan, 2004)
Task Gradation–1

When tasks are too complex for students to do them, they must be adjusted in some
helpful way. We have mentioned that PT are simpler versions of TT, and that they get
progressively more complex. Putting an order to language items (grammar,
vocabulary, phonology) is complicated. The same can be said of tasks. Each
component intersects and impacts the others.

Task designers must consider the intersection of the following:

 the communicative value and complexity of the PT that have been selected for a language course;
 how frequently those tasks and language features might be encountered;
 how capable students are of processing what is demanded of them in the tasks;
 the perceived importance of the task or the language to the students.

As we discuss grading tasks, it is important to remember that commercially produced

textbooks are a solid starting point for task-like activities, but teachers are not bound
to the order in which those activities are presented. Consider your students’ needs,
abilities and knowledge related to the input and task procedures.

Grading Input
Authentic texts are essential to language learning for those studying in L1
environments, like English learners in China, and they can be challenging. To
accommodate this challenge, teachers might simplify the grammar of the input. This,
however, could make a passage more difficult to interpret. Consider the following
passages (Nunan, 2004, p. 115):

A: The students fooled around because the teacher left

the room.

B: The teacher left the room. The students fooled around.

Question for students to answer: Why did the students

fool around?

The more complex Passage A makes it easier to answer the question because the
cause/effect relationship is clearly marked by the use of “because.” Passage B
requires students to infer the relationship, which increases processing time, a feature
of cognitive complexity discussed in an earlier section. So, simplification of grammar
isn’t that simple; context and meaning must be taken into account. Text modification
is one way to address this aspect of task complexity.

(1) Simulation of input is writing exclusively for classroom use, such as a dialogue
about meeting new neighbors. The language might sound stilted to the native speaker,
but it will be comprehensible to students.

(2) Simplification is to use the original text and alter the linguistic features to reduce
complexity, as in Passage B above. Of course, this can be done more effectively, but
there will often be the risk of changing the meaning when simplifying.

(3) Elaboration can happen by presenting the same content again in different ways.
This not only introduces recycling in a natural way, but it also avoids the stilted and
unnatural language of simulated texts while retaining the complete meaning of the
original text.

PTs can be designed and arranged to start simple and become more difficult as they
approximate the authentic text more and more. Texts can also be divided into smaller
parts and taken one at a time in a series of repeated PTs, building on the
comprehension from earlier parts. Finally, providing contextual support and building
schema help students to make sense of the input.

Task Gradation–2
When we look at spoken input in particular, difficulty can be affected by length and
density of what is said and the order in which information is presented, but also by the
speed of speaking and the number of speakers involved. The support provided to
listeners. Rather than simplifying spoken language, research has found that native
speakers tend to alter the structure of the interaction during negotiation of meaning by
using certain conversational devices. Repeating and reformulating what was
said, requesting clarification and checking for comprehension, speaking in the here-
and-nowand confirming the conversational topic all made the interaction more
comprehensible. In addition, providing scaffolding in the form of synonyms for
unknown words, avoiding wh-questions by using yes/no questions, maintaining
regularity of language, and accepting topic changes within the conversation
elaborated the input to increase comprehensibility (Long, 2015).

Grading Task Conditions

We have just explored how to grade input factors to impact task difficulty. It is also
important to consider the complexity of the task, the language needed to do it, and the
ability of students to complete it. These three are interrelated in the task
characteristics described in the chart below. The left side of the chart lists ways to
decrease difficulty and the right side lists ways to increase difficulty.
You will notice that highly structured, receptive tasks that are situated in the present
and include rich context are easier than loosely structured, productive tasks that have
less context. It stands to reason that tasks built thoughtfully will provide the
appropriate gradation students need to be more successful when performing tasks.
Assessing Tasks

The assessment of a task must also consider the assessment of students. What
outcome is expected? Teachers of language work to develop the accuracy, fluency
and language complexity of their students. TBLT proponents seek to do this as
students do real-world things using the language. We will look broadly at how
accuracy, fluency and complexity of language are impacted by certain task
characteristics, namely:

a) interactive conditions,

b) relevant abilities of students and

c) the task itself, including the conditions under which

it is completed.

Skehan (2001) and others found that the level of proficiency students achieved in
accuracy, complexity and fluency is impacted by the manipulation of five task
characteristics, as summarized in the table below.
Write About It – Reflective Teacher Response
Section 11.7: Developing a Module of Work for a Target Task
The Task Cycle–1

Our desire is to help our students to communicate effectively and successfully. To

equip students to do a communicative activity teachers provide vocabulary and
grammar structures at the beginning of the lesson sequence. Novice teachers learn to
plan and implement lessons following the PPP model because it is a clear sequence
for a lesson. It organizes action around discrete language forms rather than tasks. This
is helpful because their knowledge base of linguistic items and how these intersect
with students’ first language is still growing. So PPP offers control and better
management.
TBLT proposes another way to plan, structure and implement a lesson. As you
become more practiced and confident in your lesson planning and teaching, you might
find yourself looking for other ways to plan and prepare. For the purposes of this
course, we will focus on this particular sequence to help you better understand how to
develop a reliable TBLT lesson.

Students begin with a task that engages

them to use their available language resources to interact with one another about the
lesson topic or theme. The purpose is to exchange meanings for real purposes as they
build up their schema and vocabulary in preparation for the Task Cycle. Accuracy is
not the aim. The Task Cycle ensues until students complete a version of the TT.
Depending on the complexity of the TT, the Task Cycle could include several tasks
before getting to the Planning and Report stages. Then the teacher directs students
toward language form issues that arose and are closely connected to what they need to
achieve the TT. Students then perform the TT, or the exit task. Following TT
performance, students reflect on the process of completing the task, looking at what
was easy or hard to do, and what learning strategies they used to achieve the task
outcome(s).

This TBLT approach to implementing a lesson is summarized in the table below

alongside the PPP approach.

TBLT and PPP Lesson Approaches

The Task Cycle–2

The following is a simple example demonstrating how a teacher might develop TBLT
on the theme of childhood memories.
Summary of the Task Cycle
In summary, it can be said that traditionally PPP is “form before meaning,” whereas
TBLT is “meaning before form.” It is possible to make a shift to a more task-based
approach to lesson planning if a teacher is willing to tolerate a little less control in
some aspects of communication among students. Good management and observation
skills will help with the gap left by surrendering some control.
Task Chaining

In an instructional sequence the tasks, task components and other skill work are
dependent on one another. We have written about tasks building on previous tasks,
and receptive language skills moving to productive language skills and on to creative
language use. These are all ways of organizing a series of tasks, not simply in a lesson
plan, but in a way that makes sense cognitively and developmentally. Members in this
field call this “task dependency” or “task continuity” or “task chaining.” We can
imagine tasks connected like links in a chain.

Consider the example below that begins with processing (comprehension of) the
language, moves to producing the language, and concludes by interacting with the
language. Each phase involves a movement from simple to more demanding tasks.
You’ll notice that the demands on the student gradually increase, and then the skills
acquired or practiced in one step are extended in succeeding steps.
We have created a pdf of the previous phases and the task chaining activity below that
you may print out for your own use.
Task Chaining–Reflective Teacher Response
Reflective Teacher Response

Conclusion
The biggest challenge for teachers using TBLT
is the amount of time it takes to create
lesson plans with interesting and engaging
tasks. For some students, a drawback might be
the amount of interactive time with other
students. This can be solved by providing more
form-focused activities where only the
individual works on the task.
Section 11.8: Review Tasks
Review Tasks

The goal of these review tasks is to apply what you have

learned about TBLT to a classroom experience. The
context is an oral English course at a university in central
China. The students are undergraduate English majors.
The featured grammar structure is future tense. You will
watch four separate clips from a lesson. Watch the clip
and answer the question(s) before viewing the next clip.
Review Tasks–Reflective Teacher’s Response
 Section 11.9: Essential Knowledge and Skills
Essential Knowledge and Skills

 Teachers will be able to identify key principles that form the framework of TBLT.
 Learning by doing
 Learner-centeredness
 Scaffolding
 Authentic input
 Reflection
 Teachers will be able to know the difference between tasks, exercises and activities

 Tasks have non-linguistic outcome(s), reflect real world things of daily life, engage students in
exchanging meaning for real purposes, and outcomes might diverge.
 Activities engage students in meaningful communication, but may also have a linguistic outcome
 Exercises are specifically aimed at practicing linguistic items. There is a limited number of correct
answers.

 Teachers will be able to identify and briefly describe components of a task

 Goal: What will students be able to do by the end of the task? (communicative, affective and/or
cognitive)
 Input: authentic; written, oral, visual
 Procedures: skill getting or skill using, targeting accuracy or fluency or both
 Roles (Teacher & Student): identify what T and S will do in the task, ensure they are compatible
with expectations
 Setting: location, participants and their relationship with one another

 Teachers will be able to distinguish between focused and unfocused tasks.

 Focused tasks: grammar structure built into the task; meaningful context for practice and language
analysis; using the correct form isn’t the goal
 Unfocused tasks: no specific grammar structure targeted; opportunity to use language
meaningfully

 Teachers will be able to define task difficulty and identify a few characteristics of the three
main factors that affect task difficulty.

 Task difficulty is concerned with the complexity of a task that impacts the perceived level of
difficulty for students. Task complexity is affected by three intersecting factors: the task, input and
student.