1.  Irma Nydia Villanueva Rivera

2. • A wide range of methods can be
found in the language teaching
literature that subscribe, not
with a prior analysis of the
language, but with an analysis of
the communicative needs of the
learner.

3. • These include content-based
instruction (Brinton, 2003),
project-based pedagogy (Ribe and
Vidal 1993, Rudolph), and task-
based language teaching (Nunan,
2004).
• These methods all share one thing in
common – the starting point for
designing materials and courses is
something other than an inventory
of sounds, words and grammar.

4. Task-based Language Learning (TBLL)
known as
Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)
or
Task-based Instruction (TBI)

5.  TBLT is an approach to teaching a
second/foreign language that seeks
to engage learners in interactionally
authentic language use by having
them perform a series
of tasks.

6.  It aims to both enable learners (1) to
acquire new linguistic knowledge and
(2) to proceduralize their existing
knowledge.
 The learning process is seen as a set
of communicative tasks
that are directly linked
to curricular goals.

7.  Task-based learning is an overall
approach to language learning that views
the tasks that learners do as central to
the learning process.

8. • Creating engaging classroom activities that
enable students participate actively and
meaningfully in tasks that are age, brain,
proficiency level-compatible.

9. These descriptions
are recognized
internationally,
and have been
developed by the
American Council
on the Teaching
of Foreign Languages.

11. Role of the Teacher
•Cooperate, listen and respond to students
needs
•Decide what tasks to work on
•Decide when to try a new task
•Correct and keep feedback
•What specific things did the
students do?
•Help students monitor
each other

12. Role of the Student
•Work individually or with the groups equally
•Gather and organize information
•Present results to others
students and/or Instructor
•Analysis of his/her perfor-
mance with Instructor

13. A task is an activity where the target
language is used by the learner for a
communicative purpose (goal) in order to
achieve an outcome.

14. • A 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 to convey meaning rather
than to manipulate form.

15.  Will the activity engage learners
interest?
 Is there a primary focus on meaning?

16.  Is there a goal or an outcome?
 Is success judged in terms of outcome?
 Is completion a priority?
 Does the activity relate to real world
activities?

17. Gebhard (1996) list of authentic
materials
1. Authentic Listening/ Viewing
Materials- TV commercials, quiz
shows, cartoons, news clips, comedy
shows, movies, soap operas,
professionally audio- taped short
stories and novels, radio ads, songs,
documentaries, and sales pitches.

18. 2. Authentic Visual Materials- slides,
photographs, paintings, children’s artwork,
stick-figure drawings, wordless street signs,
silhouettes, pictures from magazines, ink blots,
postcard pictures, wordless picture books,
stamps, and X-rays.

19. 3. Authentic Printed Materials- newspaper
articles, movie advertisements, astrology
columns, sports reports, obituary columns, ,
lyrics to songs, restaurant menus, street
signs, cereal boxes, candy wrappers, tourist
information brochures, university catalogs,
telephone books, maps, TV guides, comic
books, greeting cards, grocery coupons, pins
with messages, and bus schedules.

20. 4. Realia*- coins and currency, folded paper,
wall clocks, phones, Halloween masks, dolls, and
puppets, to name a few.
*realia: concrete objects and the paraphernalia of
everyday life which are used in the classroom to
illustrate and teach vocabulary or to serve as an aid to
facilitate language acquisition and production.

21. • Using authentic materials has
several advantages. According to
Brinton (1991), authentic materials
and media can reinforce for students
the direct relationship between the
language classroom and the outside
world.

22. • Gebhard (1996) sees authentic
materials as a way to contextualize
language learning.

23. 1. Activities using cultural objects
Activities involving the direct use
and handling of products of a culture
(such as postcards, photographs,
symbols, and images in song lyrics)
can be very effective in the
classroom.

24. 2. Listening / Viewing Activities
Many creative approaches for using
video in the classroom are given by
Stempleski and Tomalin (1990). One
idea is through silent viewing of video
clips to let students consider what is
going on and guess what the speakers
are doing and saying. Another
approach would be for students to
watch the beginning only of a video
clip, and then they must predict what
will happen next.

25. 3. Interactive simulations
Another approach would be to set up a
simulation of some real-world scenarios in
which students familiarize themselves
with the details through interaction with
authentic materials. Then the students
have to play a certain role in the scenario
and communicate with others in a
realistic manner while attempting to
accomplish certain tasks.
(Authentic Task-based Materials:
Bringing the Real World Into the
Classroom by Gail K. Oura)

26. • The primary focus of classroom activity
is the task and language is the
instrument which the students use to
complete it. The task is an activity in
which students use language to achieve
a specific outcome. The activity reflects
real life and learners focus on meaning,
they are free to use any language they
want. Playing a game, solving a problem
or sharing information or experiences,
can all be considered as relevant and
authentic tasks.

27. • The tasks will generate their own
language and create an opportunity for
language acquisition (Krashen*). If we
can take the focus away from form and
structures we can develop our
student’s ability to do things in English.
That is not to say that there will be no
attention paid to accuracy, work on
language is included in each task and
feedback and language focus have their
places in the lesson plans.
*Krashen, S. (1996). The Natural
Approach: Language Acquisition in
the Classroom. Prentice Hall

28.  Most of the task-based lessons in this
section are what Scrivener classifies as
authentic and follow the task structure
proposed by Willis and Willis.
 Each task will be organized in the
following way:
1.Pre-task activity an introduction to
topic and task
2.Task cycle: Task > Planning > Report
3. Language Focus and Feedback

31. 1. It gives learners confidence in trying out whatever
language they know
2. It gives learners experience of spontaneous interaction
3. It gives learners a chance to benefit from noticing how
others express similar meanings
4. It gives learners chances for negotiating turns to speak
5. It engages learners in using language purposefully and
cooperatively
6. It makes learners participate in a complete
interaction, not just one-off sentences […] it is likely
that discourse skills such as these can only be gained
through interaction.
7. It gives learners chances to try out communication
strategies
8. It helps learners gradually gain confidence

33. Created by Irma Nydia Villanueva-Rivera
Spanish Teacher, Puerto Rico Department of Education
spanishteacherpr@yahoo.com
http://irmavillanuevarivera.wordpress.com
http://lenguajelenguayhabla.blogspot.com