Task - Based Learning
20 6 Creative tasks
These are often called projects and involved pairs or groups of learners in some kind of freer creative work. They also tend to have more stages than
other tasks, and can involve combinations of task types: listing, ordering and sorting, comparing and problem solving. Out-of-class research is sometimes
needed. Organizational skills and team-work are important in getting the task done. In real-life rehearsals pairs or groups of students predict, plan and
rehearse what they could say in typical real-life situations. As mentioned above, there is open task type which is loosely structured
with less specific goal. On the other hand, there is also closed task which is highly structured and have very specific goals. In this study, task with specific goals are
good ways of encouraging students to interact in the target language in the language classroom.
c. Component of the Task Based Learning Framework In designing reading materials, the writer chooses a task based learning
framework that was developed by Jane Willis 1997:40. The step becomes the basis of this design. According to Willis, the framework consists of three phases.
They are: The first phase is Pre-task phase. The pre-task phase introduces the class
to the topic and the task, activating topic-related words and phrases. To set up a task successfully, teachers should maintain themselves to construct advance
preparation. Preparing teacher’s own task for the first time may seem to involve a lot of preliminary work, but the teacher can always use them again with different
classes. And once the preparation is done, the teacher will find during the task PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
21 cycle that it will be the students who are doing most of the work rather than the
teacher. Then, teacher should introduce the topic. The teacher will need to help learners define the topic area. There may possibly be a need to clarify particular
concept of the topic. However, students may, especially if they come from other cultures, hold different views on what some topics are about. Moreover, teachers
also need to identify topic language. The point of the introductory focus on topic and language is not to teach large amount of new language, and certainly not to
teach one particular grammatical structure, but to boost students’ confidence in handling the task, and give them something to fall back on if necessary. After
that, teacher should provide the pre-task language activities. Pre-task activities to explore topic language should actively involve all learners, give them relevant
exposure, and, above all, create interest in doing a task on this topic. In one lesson, one or two of these pre-task will probably be enough. Furthermore,
teacher must also give task instructions. The students should understand what the task involves, what its goal and what outcome are required. Lastly, teachers must
consider allowing preparation time. Allowing a few minutes for learners to prepare individually for certain tasks has been shown to result in language use
that is richer in terms of complexity and variety of syntax, breadth of vocabulary, and in fluency and naturalness.
The second phase is Task cycle phase. The task cycle offers learners the chance to use whatever language they already know in order to carry out the task,
and then to improve that language, under teacher guidance, while planning their reports of the task. Feedback from the teacher comes when they want it most, at
the planning stage, and after the report. Exposure to language in use can be PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
22 provided at different points, depending on the type of task. Either before or during
the task cycle, students might listen to recordings of other people doing the task, or read a text connected with the task topic, and relate this to their own experience
of doing the task. So, the Task Based Learning framework so far provides the three basic conditions for language learning – exposure, use and motivation.
Within the framework, there is a natural progression from the holistic to the specific. The task cycle offers learners a holistic experience of language in use.
The third phase is Language focus phase. Language focus allows a closer study of some of the specific features naturally occurring in the language study in
the language used during the task cycle. By this point, the learners will have already worked with the language and processed it for meaning, so they are ready
to focus on the specific language forms is clearly contextualised though the task itself. The final phase, which includes analysis and practice components, fulfils
the fourth desirable extra condition for learning-explicit study of language form.
Pre-task
Introduction to topic and task
Teacher explores the topic with the class, highlights useful words and phrases, helps
students understand task instruction and prepare. Students may hear a recording of
others doing a similar task.
Task cycle
Task Planning
Report
Students do the task, in pairs Students prepare to report to
Some groups present their or small groups,
the whole class orally or in reports to the class, or
Teacher monitors from a writing how they did the task,
exchange written reports, and distance.
what they decided or compare results.
discovered.
Students may now hear a recording of others doing a similar task and compare how they all did it.
Language focus
Analysis Practice
Students examine and discuss Teacher conducts practice of
specific features of the text new words, phrases and
or transcript of the patterns occurring in the
recording. data, either during or
after the analysis.
Figure 2. Components of the TBL framework Willis, 1996:38
23 d. The Implementation of Task Based Learning for classroom students
A Task Based Learning framework for beginners and young learners
Longer
Pre-task
Introduction to topic and task. Lots of teacher talk about the topic;
use of pictures, demonstrations, songs.
Task cycle More
sets of short tasks, followed by lots of teacher chat about the tasks.
Gradual increase in emphasis on these:
Planning Report
Language focus
Finding, identifying and classifying common words and phrases.
Practice of classroom language and social phrases.
Keeping personal dictionaries.
Figure 3. A TBL framework for beginners and young learners Willis, 1996:116
Many teachers feel that real beginners, in this study refer to classroom students, need to be thought some grammar before they can start to do the task.
But is this really a case? In task based learning, students learn by doing; the learning is part of the task itself Willis, 1996:118.
Tasks provide opportunities for learners to listen to and participate in meaning-focused interaction from the very beginning, helping them to acquire the
new language more naturally. Moreover, the affective factor is especially PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
24 important when teaching beginners, in this study refer to classroom students. A
task-based approach encourages beginners because it values what learners can achieve no matter how little language they have. For beginners, the teacher’s most
important general priorities are Willis, 1996:118: 1 establishing a relaxed, anxiety-free atmosphere in the classroom;
2 providing a lot of exposure that learners can make approximate sense of; 3 building on what they know, but without expecting perfection;
4 no forcing to speak at first if they prefer not to; 5 reassuring of their progress, and generally boosting their confidence.
The Task Based Learning framework for beginners differs from the standard framework in four ways. Firstly, there is tendency to exposure. One
result of this will be a longer pre-task phase and a shorter task cycle. Secondly, the cycle may well consist of sets of short tasks rather than one long one. Thirdly,
there is less emphasis put on public use of language until learners have gained confidence, the planning, and report stages are either omitted or very short, with
the teacher giving the first reports informally. Finally, the language focus concentrates initially on words and phrases, only gradually progressing towards
grammar. In this study, the writer divides two major steps of implementing Task Based Learning for classroom students. The two major steps of implementing
Task Based Learning for classroom students are: 1 Task for beginners
The principle here is to start with what learners already know. Even complete beginners in English will find there are a lot of words they can already
recognise which will help them boost their confidence. Furthermore, this stage PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
25 may also be the same like the framework of task based leaning in constructing
advance preparation. The teacher can designs and plan his or her lessons. The next phase is pre-task phase. Sample procedures for a pre-task phase
follow, based on familiar words for learners of English. The specific aim of this phase of teacher talk is to get learners to tune in to the target language. It
provides very useful exposure which learners can make sense of, with the help of gestures and mime. They will certainly not understand everything the
teacher say, but they will be listening for meaning, and getting the general sense.
Once students have heard all the words, and recognise their written forms, there are several kinds of simple tasks and games that they can do with them,
for example, classifying, odd word out, memory challenge and ‘Yes or No?’ games,
etc. Or the teacher can also give task like listing, ordering and sorting, problem solving, survey,
etc for the early lessons. 2 Language focus for classroom students
After a set of tasks, when learners have gained some experience of the language in use, its patterns will begin to make sense. This is the time to focus
on language form. In Task Based Learning lessons, the teacher is generally a ‘facilitator’, always
keeping the key condition for learning in mind. Facilitating learning involves balancing the amount of exposure and use of language, and ensuring they are
both of suitable. There are many ways in which the components within the framework can be
weighted differently and adapted to suit learners’ need. For example, initially, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
26 with insecure false beginners, teacher may feel the report component is not
appropriate. However, with learners who are confident and fluent but very inaccurate, teacher might want to spend more time on this component, with
both an oral and written report. And sometimes students may like to repeat the task itself with another partner at the end of the language focus.
e. Text based tasks Text, in this study, includes recordings of spoken language and extracts
from radio, in addition to the printed word. Text-based task require learners to process the text for meaning in order to achieve the goals of the task.
1 selecting and balancing exposure Willis states that exposure to target language is absolutely vital. Learners
can only learn through trying to make sense out of the language they experience. So the quality of the exposure, i.e. to a well-balanced range of text types and
topics, is crucial 1996:67. Teachers need to pay attention to the coursebooks and students’ needs.
Because of the impoverished and restricted language found in some coursebooks, many teachers are aware of the need to use supplementary materials. But, these
must be chosen with due regard both for the language and the learner. Teachers need to be aware of learners’ possible end-of-course objectives and to think how
they could continue their language learning independently after the course. All this is useful exposure, and should be assed, together with the classroom language
that the course materials are likely to generate, to see how far the total exposure meets the learners’ needs.
27 Encourage extensive reading for children to be fun is interesting. They can
be supplemented by stories, activity books and reference books. Sometimes a class library of short stories, magazines, children’s story books and comics will
help. Advances in computer technology mean that the internet is also becoming a useful resource.
Here are some criteria that should be kept in mind: they are, however, inextricably intertwined. Selecting a piece of material will involve considering all
of them, and is often a delicate balancing act.
1 Exploitability: choose a piece of material that lends itself to classroom
exploitation, i.e. engaging task, or series of tasks, that will probably sustain students’ interest over a length of time.
2 Topic: variety is important – it is impossible to please every member of the
class every time. However, engaging tasks, with the right degree of challenge, will more than make up for a seemingly dull topic. An element of surprise or
originality helps.
3 Lengthchunk-ability: choose a short piece, or a longer one that has obvious
‘pause’ points, i.e. can be split into sections with a task set on each. This is far more productive in class than a long piece, even it is an average book.
4 Linguistic complexity: try choosing occasional items where the language
itself seems difficult but the general message is predictable and the genre is familiar, e.g. weather forecast, sport reports. A simple task can be set that can
be successfully achieved without the need to understand every idea.
5 Accessibility: is the text culturally accessible or will students need additional
background knowledge to appreciate it? With Business English or other PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
28 professional area, students may need to know specific information, e.g. the
type of organisation or its approach.
6 Copyright: check that you are not breaking copyright laws by copying and
using the material in class, or by storing it afterwards. Grading a text by attempting its level makes no pedagogic sense, then,
unless one knows the purpose for which the information is to be used. Text comprehensibility and task purpose are inspirable. The task defines the purpose
for which the text needs to be understood. As a general rule, if the text is linguistically dense or complex, set an easy task, and follow it with others that
encourage learners to focus on different aspects. If the text is easy, you can set more challenging tasks, for example understanding implications or inference. It is
more realistic to grade the task rather than the text. 2 reading strategies
This section examines the ways in which language learners read, and compares them with common strategies in mother-tongue reading. We then
consider the importance of recognising natural patterns in text. These will give some principles upon which to base task design, and help teachers to generate
fresh idea for tasks. Reading for meaning should become a priority, and they need to get used
to the idea of sometimes reading for partial or approximate comprehension, rather than aiming at perfect understanding each time. As far as possible, the task set
should encourage the kinds of language processing behaviours students will need after their course, for example, reading for information. Reading word by word is
unlikely to be among them. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
29 One strategy that helps learners find their way through a reading text, to
pick up the thread of an argument after getting lost, is recognising particular patterns and the words or phrases that signal them. Learners need to be able to
recognise and exploit these patterns to improve their reading and listening comprehension and to help them organise text clearly and logically.
The examples of six patterns are: 1 Situation – problem – solution – evaluation
Sometimes, however, it can be more complex. If the first solution proposed is no good, the evaluation will be negative and another solution will be put
forward, followed by another evaluation. So then the pattern would be: situation – problem – solution 1 – evaluation negative – solution 2 –
evaluation positive . The problem or solution can be also elaborated on, for
example, by explaining causes, reasons, and procedures. 2 Sequential
Stories, anecdotes and descriptions of process often follow a sequential pattern. Written or planned text tends to contain a wider variety of time
phrases to signal sequential patterns, such as eventually, after three weeks, later
. 3 General – specific
Often a general concept will be illustrated by an example, or general word, like ‘traffic’, followed by a more specific item, like ‘speeding cars’.
4 Topic – elaboration When writing, we introduce a new topic or new angle on an old topic by using
titles and headings, or stating the next main theme or argument. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
30 5 Main facts – supporting details
Newspaper reports typically begin with a paragraph that gives most of the main facts the story, often in one sentence.
6 Hypothesis – evidence - conclusion However, texts rarely follow just one of these patterns. Awareness of these
patterns can help learners a lot. Awareness of these patterns can also help teachers and material writers. If teachers start by identifying the predominant
patterns in each text, teachers can design better tasks. Recognising the main parts of the high-order pattern is useful when dividing a text. And if teachers
can device tasks that highlight patterns, student will certainly find this helpful both when completing set tasks, and when reading or listening independently.
3 designing text-based task All text-based tasks aim to encourage natural and efficient reading
focusing initially on retrieval of sufficient relevant meaning for the purpose of the task. This will entail both holistic processing, i.e. gaining an overall impression,
and picking up detail linguistic clues: a combination of what are commonly called ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ processes. There is a range of task designs that can
be applied to text.
Designs for text-based tasks
Prediction tasks from headline and early text
from selected parts of text from pictures or videos withwithout words
or soundtrack Jumbles
jumbled sections of text PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
31 jumbled key points of a summary
jumbled pictures from a series Restoration task
identifying words phrases sentences omitted from or added to a text
Jigsawspilt information tasks Each student in a group reads a different
part of a whole text or researches an angle of a theme. These are then combined to
form a whole. Comparison tasks
two accounts of the same incidentevent a diagrampicture to compare with a
written accountdescription Memory challenge tasks
after a single brief exposure to the text, students list describe write quiz question
about what they can remember to show other pairs.
Task designs can also be combined. In the final event you need to select or design tasks that motivate students: that make them want to read, hear and learn
from available exposure, and that encourage them to develop a variety of effective reading strategies. Sometimes teachers will need to copy and cut up a text.
Sometimes retyping is necessary. However, each task successfully completed is a step on the road to the learner independence.
The task framework can be used flexibly as a planning tool to enable students to get the most benefits from text-based tasks. When using text of any
kind, the pre-task phase may involve a quick study of the title or a small extract, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
32 or words and phrases from them. The task cycle may take a bit loner, depending
on the length of text. The balance can also be changed slightly; there may be less emphasis on the planning and reporting components, to give more time for the
reading and listening. There may be two or even three task cycles arising out of one text, each giving different insights into its meaning.
Task based on text motivates learners to read for a particular purpose. Each time they do so; they interact with the text in a slightly different way, and
retrieve different kinds of meanings according to the task goals. This processes offers a variety of learning opportunities, and it is essential that the text chosen
from altogether a representative sample of the target language the students will later need. In this study, the cycle of teaching and learning activities consist of
number of stages which the teacher and students go through so that the students gradually gain independent control of a particular text-type. According to Feez
1998: 28, there are five stages of the teaching and learning style.
3 Joint
construction of the text
2 Modelling and
deconstructing the text
1 Building the
context
5 Linking related
text 4
independent construction of
the text
Figure 4. Stages of the teachinglearning cycle Feez, 199:28 adapted from Callahan and Rothery 1988, Green 1992, Cornish 1992
33 a Building the context
In this stage the students Feez, 1998:28: 1 are introduced to the social context of an authentic model of the text-type
being studied; 2 explore features of the general cultural context in which the text-type is used
and the social purposes the text-type achieves; 3 explore the immediate context of situation by investigating the register of a
model text which has been selected on the basis of the course objectives and learners’ need.
In this stage, the form of the tasks describe in the form of context-building activities. It includes presenting the context pictures, audio-visual, excursions,
field-trips, guest speakers, etc. b Modelling and deconstructing the text
In this stage students Feez, 1998:29: 1 investigate the structural pattern and language features of the model;
2 compare the model with other examples of the text-type. The tasks in this stage includes sorting, matching and labelling activities,
for example, sorting sets of texts, sequencing jumbled stages, labelling stages, etc. c Joint construction of the text
In this stage students Feez, 1998:30: 1 students begin to contribute to the construction of whole examples of the text-
type; 2 the teacher gradually reduces the contribution to the text construction, as the
students move closer to being able to control the text-type independently. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
34 Diagnostic assessment is critical at this stage as the teacher must decide
whether the students are ready to move to independent functioning or whether they need to undertake further work at the text modelling or joint construction
stages. d Independent construction of the text
In this stage students Feez, 1998:31: 1 students work independently with the text;
2 learner performances are used for achievement assessment. In this stage, reading tasks include comprehension activities in response to
written material such as performing a task, sequencing pictures, numbering, ticking or underlining material on a worksheet, and answering questions.
e Linking related texts In this stage students investigate how what they have learnt in this
teaching learning cycle can be related to Feez, 1998:31: 1 other texts in the same or similar context;
2 future or past cycles of teaching and learning. In this stage, reading tasks include comparing the use of the text-type
across different fields, researching other text-type used in the same field and researching how a key language feature used in this text-type is used in other text-
type.