Task-based Approach as a Teaching Tool

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Abstract：This essay will introduce how to employ the task-based approach as a teaching tool to promote the interactions between learner-learner in foreign language teaching in terms of three basic phases: the Pre-task, the Task cycle, and Language focus which are involved in task-based learning. Therefore, I am going to give some suggestions to English teachers in China that how to apply these theories to practice in the three stages.

Key word：task task-based approach, scaffolding meta-talk cognitive change

Ⅰ.What a task is

Referring to“task”, D?rnyei and Kormos (2000, p. 276) describe that“tasks usually refer to communicative language activities in which purposeful communication, authentic situations and active learner engagement are key concerns." from a practical perspective. From pedagogical perspective, namely task-based learning, Willis (1994, as cited in Harmer 2004, p. 87) gives her understanding "like a sort of PPP upside down". She (1996, as cited in Harmer 2004, p. 87) suggests three basic phases: the Pre-task, the Task cycle, and Language focus which are involved in task-based learning. However, from psychological perspective, Stetsenko and Arievitch (1997, as cited in Swain, Brooks and Beller 2002, p. 172) analyze the internalization process that "Psychological processes emerge first in collective behavior, in co-operation with other people, and only subsequently become internalized as the individual's own possessions'".

Ⅱ.How to employ the task-based approach as a teaching tool

As mentioned above, according to Willis (1994), there are three basic phases: the Pre-task, the Task cycle, and Language focus which are involved in task-based learning. Therefore, I am going to give some suggestions to English teachers in China that how to apply these theories to practice in the three stages.

In the pre-task stage, according to Willis (1994, as cited in Harmer 2004, p. 87), the teacher can introduce a topic and he/she can introduce some relevant vocabulary, even more, design some activities to activate the schemata of students. However, the teacher should make sure that the students understand the task instructions. Topics can be regarded as "input data" which is one crucial component of task (Nunan, 1989, 1993, as cited in Williams and Burden, p.169). Topics can be initiated by the teacher rather than the topics appeared in the textbooks. They can inspire the students' motivation if they appear quite interesting. It is also useful at this point to introduce some relevant vocabulary and let students take part in some preparatory activities.

Then, we will move on to the while task stage, namely, Task cycle. To promote the interactions between learner-learner, the teacher will ask the students to work in pairs or small groups and then he will supervise their processes. Willis (1994, as cited in Harmer 2004, p. 87) divides this stage into two phases: the planning phase and the report phase according the students' performance.

During the planning phase, there is a development called "cognitive change" in students' mind (Ellis, 2003, p.191). He (ibid.) states that, supported by the socio-cultural theory of mind, this cognitive change involves three stages that "scaffolding and collaborative dialogue", "meta-talk" and "private speech" corresponding to the development that "object- to other- and finally to self-regulation". Therefore, the processes of the students prepare to report to their classmates what their understanding of this task and how they did the task make each student experience this "cognitive change".

When mentioning "scaffolding", now regarded as collaborative dialogue, many people suppose that it should happen between experts and novices. However, it can also occur between people who possess similar knowledge and experience. Therefore, when the students analyse the topic and express their own ideas about this topic together, one student can scaffold the others. In this activity, the students can create shared understanding, develop the understanding of the new language forms, jointly manage a problem they could not have solved individually and set a common goal to pursue. In addition, collaborative work makes the task easier and lower the depression during problem solving (ibid.).

Then, during the "metatalk" step, the students will talk to each other to constitute what they are going to perform in front of classmates. As wells (2000, as cited in Swain et al. 2002, p.171) points out that an utterance could be deemed contemporarily as "'process' and product': as saying' and as what was said'". It means that when the students talk to each other, they will use English to communicate with each other and express their ideas. The mental process is like that they have some ideas first and put them into English in mind and then speak out. Therefore, the content and the language are co-built and they will be available for forming further schemata resource (ibid.).

The final step of "cognitive change" is the private speech. Donato (1994, as cited in Ellis 2003, p.198) supposes that the private speech is "a means of organizing, rehearsing and gaining control over new verbal behavior." Actually, it is a way of self-mediation. Therefore, according to their own different standards, students can mediate themselves individually. They can use it to practice their language voicelessly before performing the task. It can help students to practice the new language forms. It is good for their individual improvement. After the planning phase, the students will perform their task in the report phase. The teacher can make use of this chance to give immediate feedback on their performance to help them to realize their deficiencies and merits.

The final stage is the language focus stage. It also contains two phases: analysis phase and practice phase (Willlis, 1994, as cited in Harmer 2004, 87). In analysis phase, the students can do some analysis and review to familiar themselves with these new language items which appeared in their or others' performances. They can practice these new words, phrases and patterns more confidently and certainly in practicephase rather than in the report phase. What is more, the students can take note in their notebooks to consolidate knowledge.

Ⅲ.Conclusion

To conclude, this essay shows us the situation that when utilizing the tasks to promote the interaction between learner-learner. Williams and Burden (1997, p. 168) states that, in a foreign language setting, under the psycholinguistic drive, studies and researches of foreign language acquisition show that "a learner's language system develops through communicating meaningfully in the target language." Compared with the traditional language classroom practices in China that the teacher dominated the classroom and there is little learner-learner interaction, tasks can offer a stage for meaningful communication such as interacting, negotiating, and conveying meanings in the target language in settled situations in pairs or small groups. Therefore, the task-based approach can be a useful pedagogical tool for the language teachers in foreign language teaching.

Refrences：

［1］Drnyei, Z. ＆ Kormos, J. The role of individual and social variables in oral task performance. Language Teaching Research, 2000，4 (3): 275-301.

［2］Williams，M.＆Burden, R. Psychology for language teachers. United Kingdom： Cambridge. 1997.

（作者单位：重庆师范大学外国语学院）