In Methodology and Terminology I referred to task-based instruction. Using a definition by Skehan (1998) I showed how it differed from a language activity, in which the focus is primarily a practice- oriented means of displaying language form. To recap a task-based approach is designed to ‘encourage naturalistic acquisitional mechanisms, cause the underlying interlanguage system to be stretched, and drive development forward’ (Skehan, 1998: 95). As a definition of tasks in a task-based approach, Skehan proposes the following:
Meaning is primary;
There is some communication problem to solve;
There is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities; Task completion has some priority;
The assessment of the task is in terms of outcomes.54
Whilst Skehan puts an emphasis on meaning, it should not be assumed that task-based instruction does away with a focus on form. Indeed Willis (1996), Littlewood (2004) and Willis and Willis (2010), for example, discuss the integration of a focus on form, i.e. specific lexicogrammatical features in task- based instruction. Attention is also drawn to the importance of this in the task-based model proposed below.
I have argued that the ESA model adopted in Language Leader Intermediate is limited to the study and practice of linguistic form. And whilst the study of form and usage is necessary, the activation stage does not really cater for a discussion in which participants are expected to exchange points of view. Indeed, as I have pointed out, giving learners a set of pictures and asking them to ‘Work with a partner and discuss what you think the designs below are’ (Cotton et al., 2008: 75) invariably leads to rather stilted discourse in which single utterance guesses are made. When we consider what the rubric is asking of the learners, this is hardly surprising. For example if presented with the following picture (Figure 11) a reasonable response is arguably ‘It’s a fishing net’ (picture reproduced from Figure 2 in 2.3.1 Problematizing a lesson on modal verbs).
54 A distinction is made between lesson ‘objectives’ and lesson ‘outcomes’ in my conclusion. See also
171 Figure 11 (Cotton et al., 2008: 75)
A slightly more bizarre response might be the invented example below:
It’s a fishing net or it’s a large spring, no, it might be a sculpture, or it could be a dress or maybe it’s a fish, no, I think that it might be a new kind of bed, or perhaps it’s a balloon, but I don’t think it’s a sofa. What do you think Roy?
My point is if you ask someone what they think something is, they are likely to tell you what they think it is, and that might reasonably be curtailed to one or two ‘guesses’, not repeated guesses and not a discussion, as my data has shown.55 So what is required is a means by which the learners can enter
into a discussion and a language task by which this can come about; hence task-based instruction. For this purpose I draw on Willis’ task-based model. Willis offers five principles to provide input, use, and reflection on the language input and use.
1. There should be exposure to worthwhile and authentic language. 2. There should be use of language.
3. Tasks should motivate learners to engage in language use.
4. There should be a focus on language at some points in the task cycle. 5. The focus on language should be more or less prominent at different times.
(Willis, 1996 in Skehan, 1998: 126).
55 It is also worth considering how frequent a speech function such as deduction using a modal verb occurs in a
discussion. For example in the following news clip, on the possible eruption of the Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland, the seismologist uses only two modal verbs for deduction based on present evidence
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28854809Compare this with the following comedy sketch; a useful teaching resource: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKQOk5UlQSc
172 In terms of lesson staging Willis (1996) and Willis and Willis (2010) propose the following sequence of pre-task, task cycle and language focus:
Pre-task
Introduction to topic and task Task cycle Task Planning Report Language focus Analysis Practice
During the pre-task stage the learners are introduced to the topic and task. A possible way of doing this would be to present the class with a text of a similar kind. So for example if the task is a discussion, then a short recording of a discussion would be appropriate. At this stage learners activate schematic knowledge, are presented with authentic language, and attention is drawn to form.
The task stage consists of three parts: the task, planning and report. Firstly the learners are given the task to complete at which stage the focus is on meaning, i.e. completion of the task. The next stage is for the learners to prepare to report back to the teacher or the class and so the planning stage allows the learners time to put their report together focusing on the language, structure, sequencing, etc. they need to do so. The report stage provides an opportunity for learners to practise the language. The final stage is the language focus. The language comes after the task ‘with the intention that any language which is focused upon is relevant to learners and required for a communicative purpose, rather than introduced because a syllabus dictates that it should be covered at a particular point’ (Skehan, 1998: 128). Drawing attention to form, explicit focus on a particular structure or practice- oriented work.