Definition of Task Principles of Task-Based Language Teaching

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5. Task-Based Language Teaching

a. Definition of Task

Materials should be designed to lead a communicative task in which learners use the content and language knowledge they have. A task becomes a primary focus in a unit. Tasks hold a central place both in current second language acquisition research and in language pedagogy Ellis, 2003. Richards and Schmidt 2002:539 say that task is an activity which is designed to help achieve a particular learning goal. It can be defined as an activity or action that is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language. In line, Breen 1987 in Nunan 2004:3 states that tasks refer to a range of work plans which have particular objective, appropriate content, a special working procedure, and facilitate language learning from the simple and brief exercise type to more complex activities. Beside, according to Nunan 2004:4, task is a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing, or interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on mobilizing their grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning, and in which the intention is convey meaning rather than to manipulate form. In brief, a task is an activity in which students use language to achieve a specific outcome. Although definitions of task vary in Task- 36 Based Language Teaching, there is a common understanding that a task is an activity or goal that is carried out using language.

b. Principles of Task-Based Language Teaching

Developing tasks should employ appropriate principles. Nunan 2004, 35-38 enumerates seven principles for planning task-based lesson, i.e. scaffolding, task dependency, recycling, active learning, integration, reproduction to creation, and reflection. The explanation of each principle is explained in the paragraphs below. The first principle is scaffolding. By scaffolding, it means that learners need to have sufficient language to complete the tasks. Since the learners focus on meaning when carrying out a task, teachers may need to build extra support into the classroom materials to provide learners with specific language forms and vocabulary that they are likely to need in carrying out the given task. Although learners do not produce language, they do acti vely use the scaffolding’s forms in context to perform the task. The second principle is task dependency. Task dependency refers to the organization and sequencing of tasks. Ideally, one task grows out of another. Thus, the ability to complete Task B depends on the successful completion of Task A. The next principle is recycling. By recycling, it can be seen that a series of tasks should cluster around some theme. In completing such 37 clustered tasks, students will maximize their opportunities for learning because some set of targeted language forms e.g. a vocabulary cluster, a certain grammar structure is likely to occur regularly. The next principle is active learning. Teachers should be aware of that tasks are unit of works, and should thus be structured to have learners do something. Integration is the next principle for task-based language teaching. While performing tasks, students should have the opportunity to realize the relationships between linguistic form and communicative function and semantic meaning. The next principle is reproduction to creation. Following widely accepted notions that learners need to comprehend input and make form- meaning connections before they can produce the target language for communicative purposes, teachers have to sequence tasks in ways that move from reproduction activities to production activities where learners create with the language. The last principle is reflection. It is recommended that learners should have opportunities to reflect on what they have learnt and how well they are learning it. The seven principles above are the principle of the successful deployment of task-based language teaching. 38

c. A Framework of Task-Based Learning