Task-Based Learning Method - TBL

This article focus on the Task-Based Learning Method (TBL) and it brings readers both theory and short examples about this teaching procedure.

The Task-Based Learning Method: an overview

Choosing a method is a difficult decision for English teachers since there are many options available. In this article, we will provide our readers with the basic features of the Task- Based Learning method, known as TBL. In general lines, the procedure goes like the following: the teacher gives learners a task to perform and they are not supposed to discuss language until the task has been completed. Then, usually, the teacher analyzes the language and makes corrections based on what the students’ performance showed to be necessary.

According to Jeremy Harmer (2007) there are two versions of the Task-Based Learning method. In one of them, students perform the tasks and focus on language form while they do the tasks and/or as a result of having done them. In the second one, the teacher provides students with some of the language to do the tasks before they perform them. Despite the differences, both TBL approaches have got the performance of meaningful tasks as a central feature to the learning process. The idea is that students are able to learn if they are focused on the completion of a task as effectively as if they were focused on language form. As a consequence, instead of concentrating on language structure and function, in TBL students face a task to do or a problem to solve.

Nonetheless, it is important to point out that TBL is not just about doing a task after another, as Jane Willis (1996) asserts. Otherwise, students would gain fluency but not accuracy. It is crucial for the success of the method that the teacher follows the three basic stages that compose the method as carefully as possible.

First of all, there is the Pre-Task stage which consists of the teacher introducing and exploring the topic as well as highlighting useful words and phrases. For that, techniques such as brainstorming, mind maps, matching phases to pictures, classifying words and phrases and choosing the odd one out can be used. Some very effective materials are recordings and videos of native speakers performing a similar task, which may also be used to give instructions. Texts related to the topic are another alternative. By using these, TBL promotes exposure, one of the four basic conditions for learning a language.

The second stage is the Task Cycle. It offers students the chance of using language they already know while performing the task. They are also given the opportunity of improving that language as they plan their reports of the task to the classroom. Students do the task in pairs or in small groups while the teacher monitors them. It is crucial that the teacher, especially if not used to TBL, does not teach during the task stage, unless there is a major communication problem. To avoid that, instructions must have been very clear during the first stage, as well as the topic introduction. If necessary, students might be exposed to useful language during the planning and the reporting phases, after the task has been completed. By this time, students will have experienced other two basic conditions for learning: motivation and use.

The last part of the Task Cycle is reporting to others how the task went and what students have accomplished. Reports are important because that is when students start worrying more about accuracy rather than fluency, because they must produce an intelligible discourse.  Reports might be written or oral and some purpose ideas for them are:

·         creativity: students say what they have most enjoyed about the other groups’ work;

·         listing: student can vote for the most comprehensive list;

·         comparing: students see how the other groups performed the task and check if they went the same way;

·         problem solving: students compare strategies, evaluate solutions, vote for the best solution an recommend solutions;

For example, if the task was giving a girl who is travelling abroad for the first time and all by herself some advice, students can compare their advice and choose the best and most useful ones.

The last stage is called Language Focus and it is when the fourth condition for learning is fulfilled because it concentrates on studying language form. The teacher then can examine and discuss specific structures that were used during the task and correct students’ mistakes and slips. The teacher gives students practice on these features, such as drillings, listening and completing, gap-filling, progressive deletion, unpacking a sentence, memory challenge, dictionary exercises and computer games.

Since we have discussed the Presentation-Practice-Production method (PPP) in this blog, it might be interesting to point out the core difference between it and the TBL. According to the last one, only after the Task Cycle students’ attention is directed to language form, whereas in PPP it comes first. Another difference is that in PPP a context for grammar teaching must be invented and in TBL it is already provided since students have already worked on its meaning and usage. Plus, the PPP method goes from accuracy to fluency. On the other hand, TBL goes from fluency to accuracy which might be more interesting and funnier to students. 

Some teachers may argue that using TBL with beginners and young learners would be too complicated. However, there are some simple activities, such as bingo, memory game, odd one out, “Simon Says”, classifying and guessing games that can be used and do not require complex structures.

In spite of many critiques related to timing and whether an entire course based on TBL would be effective, some TBL features are undoubtedly interesting, such as providing students with opportunities for trying out new language and doing more free practice rather than the controlled one.

(Posted by: Luciane Scarato)

Bibliography:

Jane Willis. A framework for Task-Based Learning. Oxford: Longman, 1996.

Jeremy Harmer. The practice of English Language Teaching. England: Pearson Education Limited, 2007.