3 Teacher as a language advisor
In the planning stage, the teacher should help the learners find phrases that can precisely convey what they mean. Teachers can suggest the learners to look up
the definition of unfamiliar words in the dictionary, encourage the other members of the group to edit the report draft together, and give positive comments on their good
points as well as creative use of the language.
4 Teacher as a chairperson
Teacher’s role as a chairperson takes place in the report stage. Teachers have to introduce the presentation, set a purpose for listening, nominate which group
speaks next, and make a summary at the end. Teachers should not interrupt or correct learners during their presentation because it can be discouraging. Teachers who are
inexperienced with task based learning need to be well-informed of how to act and respond to learners’ errors when implementing the materials.
4. Journals in Language Teaching and Learning
In task based learning, the success of learning lies heavily on the learners. This may cause some difficulties for the learners who do not have good learning
strategies. It will also be difficult for the teachers to monitor the learning progress of those learners. This may lead to a condition where the learners fail to obtain the sense
of achievement, and in turn will make learning as a demotivating experience for them. One of the possible solutions is to use a learning journal.
Brown 2004 defined a journal as a record of one’s thoughts, feelings, reactions, assessments, ideas or progress toward goals, which is usually written with
little attention to structure, form, or correctness. Writing a journal aims to record events and ideas for later reflection, which will help learners trigger insights about
learning. Writing a journal can also facilitate learners to become more reflective, in which they can monitor their own learning progress and take control of their own
learning. By writing journals, the learners can express their thoughts freely, without
fearing being judged by anyone. Teachers should provide reflective questions which can encourage them to think deeper, especially about things related to their learning
difficulties. Journals can help learners realize the importance of setting their own goals, as well as monitor their own achievements and learning difficulties Brown,
2004. Watson 1996 stated that journals are also beneficial for the teachers because
it enables teachers to be better acquainted with the learners and also inform about the learners’ progress and difficulties. Through journals, teachers will be able to
investigate the affective states which hinder the learners’ learning progress such as anxiety, experience from past failure, lack of confidence, or tendency to withdraw
from challenges. Journals can also provide information about the learners’ needs and wants, from which we can draw suggestions from the learners on ways to improve the
teaching learning process. Most importantly, writing journals will help learners practice and improve their writing skills Brown, 2004.
