英语毕业论文

PAGEPAGE4Tasked-basedLanguageTeachingApproachinMiddleSchoolEnglishTeachingContentsAbstract………………………1Introduction…………………2ChapterIthedefinitionoftasks……………3Whatisatask………3Thestructureandcomponentofthetasks………5Thedistinctionbetweentasksandexercises……6ChapterIITask-basedlearningapproach…………82.1DevelopmentofTBLT………………82.2Thestagesofthetask-basedlanguageteaching……92.3ComparisonoftheTBLwiththePPP(presentation-practice-production)………………12ChapterIIIApplyingtheTBLinpracticalEnglishteaching…………………143.1anexampleofTBLapproach………143.2theadvantagesofTBLApproachinmiddleschoolEnglishteaching3.3Severalsuggestionsaboutthetaskdesign…………15Conclusion……………………16Bibliography…………………17Abstract<TheNationalEnglishCurriculumStandards

forPrimaryandSecondarySchools>emphasizestheconceptof“languageuse”andsuggestsadopting“task-basedapproach”.ButformostEnglishteachers,theTBLisnew.BeforeweuseitinourEnglishteaching,wemustknowthekeyquestions:whataretasks?Whatistask-basedlearningapproach?Whatisthetheoreticalbasis?Howcanwedesignthelively,effectivetasks?InthispaperItrytoexploretheabovequestions.Thispapermakesageneraldescriptionaboutthetask-basedapproachinforeignlanguageteaching,whichisinvoguebothathomeandabroad,tentativelymakingasuggestionforourownchoice.Thepaperthenanalysesitsbasicfeaturesandthesignificanceofitsimplementation,pointingoutthepossibleproblemsworthournotice.(i.e.,asaresponse).Forexample,drawingamapwhilelisteningtoatape,listeningtoaninstructionandperformingacommand,maybereferredtoastasks.(Richards,Platt,&Weber,1985,p.289)Breen(1987)suggeststhatataskisanystructuredlanguagelearningendeavorwhichhasaparticularobjective,appropriatecontent,aspecifiedworkingprocedure,andarangeofoutcomesforthosewhoundertakethetask.'Task'isthereforeassumedtorefertoarangeofworkplans,whichhavetheoverallpurposeoffacilitatinglanguagelearning-from,thesimpleandbriefexercisetype,tomorecomplexandlengthyactivitiessuchasgroupproblemsolvingorsimulationsanddecision-making.(P.23.)Manyotherteachersandwritersuseamorerestricteddefinition.Theyexcludeactivitieswherethelearnersarefocusingonformalaspectsofthelanguage(suchasgrammar,pronunciationorvocabulary)andreservetheterm‘task’foractivitiesinwhichthepurposeisrelatedtothecommunicationofmeanings(i.e.forwhatNunan,1989,p.10,callsa“communicativetask”).Willis(1996,p.23)isonewriterwhoadoptsthisdefinition:Tasksarealwaysactivitieswherethelearnerusesthetargetlanguageforacommunicativepurpose(goal)inordertoachieveanoutcome.Althoughtherearemanykindsofdefinitionsabouttasks,Ithink,asactivitiesofclassteaching,tasksshouldincludethesefeatures:1Meaningisprimary.Theyinvolvecommunicativelanguageuseinwhichthelearners’attentionisfocusedonmeaningratherthanlinguisticstructures.2Therearesomecommunicationproblemstosolve.3Thereissomesortofrelationshiptocomparablereal-worldactivities.Theyshouldbeauthenticandascloseaspossibletotherealworldanddailylifeexperienceofthelearners.4Taskcompletionhassomepriority.Theyshouldinvolvelearnersinvariousactivitiesinwhichtheyarerequiredtonegotiatemeaningandmakechoicesinwhat,whenandhowtolearn.5Theassessmentofthetaskisintermsofoutcome1.2ThestructureandcomponentofthetaskTaskTaskGoalsTeacherroleInputLearnerrolesActivitiesSettingAframeworkforanalyzingcommunicativetasksNunanthinksthatthetasksareinstructed.itismadeupoffiveparts:1)goals;2)theinputmaterials;3)activities;4)learnerandtheteacherroles;5)setting1)Thegoals:Thepurposeofthetask-basedlanguageteachingistotrainthestudents’competenceofcommunication，thisisnotonlythecompetenceofspeakingandwriting,butalsoincludingsocialinguisticcompetence,discoursecompetenceandstrategiccompetence.（Canale，Swain，

1980）.itisunnecessarytoshowthestudentseverytaskgoal.Andacomplextaskmayhaveseveraldifferentgoals.

2)Input:Inputreferstothedataofthetaskdesign（data）（Nunan，1989）。Therearemanykindsofinput，includingthenewspapers,novels,textbooks,songs,etc.（Gardner，Miller，1996）.Ifwewanttomaketheclasseffective,weshouldpreparemoreinput.

3)Activity:Theactivitiesrefertothetasksnottheexercises.

4)Teacher/studentrole:Thestudentsarecommunicator,theirmaintasksaretoexchange(receiveanddeliver)information,theyareindependent,andtheyoftenworkinpairsorgroups.Theteachershouldplayaroleasfacilitator,theorganizerofthetaskandthemonitorofthetaskcompletion，andsometimestheteachersshouldtakepartintheactivitiesasthepartners.Withinthisframework,studentandteacherarenolongertwoseparatepoles(i.e.theteachergivesinformationandthestudentreceivesit)asinthemoretraditionaltypeofteaching,buttwoentitiesworkingtogether,planning,takingdecisions,carryingoutthetask,andsharingthefinalsenseofachievement.

5)Settingreferstothelearnerconfiguration(eitherteacher-fronted,smallgroup,pair,orindividual),aswellastheenvironment(whetherthetasktakesplaceintheclassroomoroutsidetheclassroom).Oneofthefirsttaskstudiestobecarriedout,byLong,Adams,andCastanos(1976),foundthatsmall-grouptaskspromptstudentstouseagreaterrangeoflanguagefunctionsthanteacher-frontedtasks.Inrelationtoenvironment,MontgomeryandEisenstein(1985)foundthatsupplementingclassroomtaskswithcommunity-basedexperiencesresultedinsignificantlyincreasedlanguagegains.

1.3TasksandExercisesTasksaredifferentfromtheexercises;wecansummarizethedifferencesbetweenthemliketheform:ExercisesTasksFocusonFormmeaningAuthenticcommunicationhaveHavenotAssessmentLanguageformTheoutcomeofthetaskLanguagecontrolControlfreelyTheteachercorrectthemistakesImmediatelyObservethencorrectAswehaveseen,oneofthekeyfeaturesofacommunicativetaskisthatlearnersfocusoncommunicatingmeaningsratherthanlearningorpractisingforms.Howeveritisnotusuallysimplyaquestionoflearnersfocusingeitheronmeaningoronform.Moreoften,itisamatterofdegree.Tasksareactivitiesinwhichlearnersarerequiredtodrawtogetherandextendarangeofelementsintheirframeworkofknowledgeandskills.Theyarecharacterizedbyanemphasisonactivity,participation,flexibledifferentiation,andcommunicationamongparticipantsthroughavarietyofmodesandmedia.Inordertolearnsuccessfully,learnersneedajudiciouscombinationoftasksandsupportingexercisesinwhichtheyfocusuponandpractisespecificelementsofknowledge,skillsandstrategiesneededforthetask.Exercisesdonotusuallycontainthefivefeaturesofalearningtask.Theyaregoodpreparationforthecompletionoftasksandarebestcarriedoutinthecontextofatask.Theyshouldbesequencedsystematicallyandintegratedwitheachothertohelpthelearnerstocompleteatask.Anexerciseusuallyhasarestrictivefocusonasinglelanguageelement,andhasalinguisticoutcome.Theessentialdifferencebetweenataskandanexerciseisthatataskhasanonlinguisticoutcome.Targetorreal-worldtasksarethesortsofthingsthatindividualstypicallydooutsideoftheclassroom.Pedagogicaltasksaredesignedtoactivateacquisitionprocesses.Learningactivitiesinwhichstudents“focusuponandpractisespecificelementsofknowledge,skillsandstrategiesneededforthetask”(CDC,1999a,p.44)withoutacommunicativepurposearecalled“exercises”.ChapterIITask-basedlanguageteachingandlearning2.1DevelopmentofTBLCurrently,Task-basedlearningispopularinmanycountriesandregions,suchasAmerica,Canada,SingaporeandHongKong.MeanwhiletheTBLapproacharousedthewideinterestinthefieldofEnglishteaching.Inthe1970s,Englishteachingexpertsputforwardsthetask-orientedapproachthatbasedonmuchresearchandpractise.Thiskindofteachingapproachhasbecomeinfluential.Ittransfersthebasisconceptionintothenewpracticalteachingapproach.Inthe1960s,N.S.Prabhuspent5yearsdoinganexperimentabout“strongversion”ofTBLamongthestudentsaroundtheageof8-12.Thenhestatedthatgrammarknowledgecouldbepickedupincommunicativeactivities.S.D.Krashenthinksthatcomprehensibleinputisanecessaryandsufficientconditionforsecondlanguageacquisition,inotherwords,acquisitionwouldoccurwhenlearnersunderstoodmessagesinthetargetlanguageHerbertH.Clark((1996)“languageisusedfordoingthings”.Thepurposeoflanguagelearningistodothingswellusingtherightlanguagenotmemorizethelanguageknowledgeisolatedly.Thatistosay,thevocabularyandthegrammarknowledgeservefor“doingthings”and“completingtasks”Ellisthinksthetheoreticalbasisofthetask-basedteachingandlearningis“inputandinteractionisthypothesis”.Studentsneedthecomprehensibleinputandtherightchanceofoutput,notthesimplelanguageform.So,Englishlanguageteachingshouldincludeallactivitiesof“modifiedinteraction”,i.e.tasks.2.2Thestagesofthetask-basedlanguageteachingInAFrameworkforTask-BasedLearning,JaneWillispresentsathree-stageprocess:pre-task,task-cycleandlanguagefocus.Pre-task-Introductiontothetopicandtask.Teacherexploresthetopicwiththeclass,highlightsusefulwordsandphrases,andhelpslearnersunderstandtaskinstructionsandprepare.Learnersmayheararecordingofothersdoingasimilartask,orreadpartofatextasaleadintoatask.Duringthepre-taskstage,theteacherintroducesthetaskthroughbrainstormingandothertechniquesdesignedtoactivatewhatSkehanreferstoasschematicorbackgroundknowledge.Theexistenceofschemasiswellestablishedincognitivepsychology.Schemascanbethoughtofasaformofcognitivescaffoldingforthepigeonholingofexperiences.Thethemeof‘rockconcert’setsoffavarietyofbackgroundknowledgeandvocabulary–securitystaff,gig,riderspringimmediatelytomindaslooselyconnectedwiththetheme.Familiarbrainstormingactivitiessuchasmindmapscanactivateschematicknowledgeandhelptosettheactivityinmotion.2)Taskcycle──Taskplanningandreport.Thetaskcycleitselfischaracterizedbytheengagementofvariousgroupsof4-6studentsinsolvingoftheproblem/task.Affectivebarrierssuchasshynesswhichcansometimesprovetobeanobstacletolearninginthecontextofteacher-ledwholeclassdiscussions.SmallgroupactivitieswherethelanguageofdiscussionisentirelyinthetargetlanguagecanthereforeencouragethedevelopmentofconfidenceinusingtheL2.Theemphasisisontheachievementoftaskobjectivesthroughthecollaborativeproductionofnatural,spontaneousspeechinwhichfluencyandcommunicationareatapremium.Teacherinterventionwherenecessaryshouldensurethatlearnerskeep‘ontask’andavoidswitchingbacktotheL1.Fromalinguisticpointofview,teachersshouldhelpatthisstagewiththereformulationofstudentutterances/sentencesbutshouldavoidanyexplicitreferencetogrammaticalstructureorterminology.Asweshallsee,thiscomesatalaterstageinthetaskcycle.Duringtheplanningstage,eachgroupofstudentsreportstheresultsoftheircollaborationseitherorallyorbydraftingawrittendocument.Thisreportwillbetheproductofanumberofdrafting/rehearsingstages.Teachersfamiliarwithprocesswritingtechniques(seeAlml?f1993foradiscussionofprocesswritinginconjunctionwithcomputers)willfindthatthisapproachtowritingpedagogycanbereadilyincorporatedatthisstage.ReportpresentationisanimportantaspectofTBLasitputsdemandsonthestudenttouseaccuratelanguagesuitableforpublicdisplay.Thesedemandsonattentiontogrammaticalformcanbecontrastedwiththetypeoflanguageproducedduringthegroupcollaborationstageontheproblem/taskwhereinsteadtheemphasisisonfluencyandspontaneity.Ideally,TBLactivitiesshouldprovidetheopportunityforthepracticeofbothspontaneousandrehearsedlanguageasresearchhasshownthatthesimultaneousfocusingonfluencyandaccuracyaremutuallyexclusiveaims(FosterandSkehan1996).3)Languagefocus-Analysisandpractice.PerhapsthemostinnovativeaspectofTBListhelanguagefocusstagecomingattheendoftheactivity.Analysis:Studentsexamineandthendiscussspecificfeaturesofthetextortranscriptoftherecording.Theycanenternewwords,phrasesandpatternsinvocabularybooks.Practice:Teacherconductspracticeofnewwords,phrases,andpatternsoccurringinthedata,eitherduringoraftertheAnalysis.2.3ComparisonofTBLwiththePPP(presentation-practice-production)Atraditionalmodelfortheorganizationoflanguagelessons,bothintheclassroomandincourse-books,haslongbeenthePPPapproach(presentation,practice,production).Withthismodelindividuallanguageitems(forexample,thepastcontinuous)arepresentedbytheteacher,thenpractisedintheformofspokenandwrittenexercises(oftenpatterndrills),andthenusedbythelearnersinlesscontrolledspeakingorwritingactivities.IncontrasttoPPP,theTBLselectionofthestructureorpatternatthelanguagefocusstageismadebytheteacherusingmaterialfromthestudents’owntexts.Thelanguagefocuscouldconceivablytakeupaparticularcontrastiveerrormadeinthestudenttexts.Suchalanguagefocusaimsatraisingstudents’consciousnessandsensitivitywithregardtolanguageratherthanresortingtoPPPstylepresenting,drillingandpractisingthestructureThedistinctionbetweentheTBLapproachandthePPPapproach:1)ThemainadvantagesofTBLarethatlanguageisusedforagenuinepurposemeaningthatrealcommunicationshouldtakeplace,andthatatthestagewherethelearnersarepreparingtheirreportforthewholeclass,theyareforcedtoconsiderlanguageformingeneralratherthanconcentratingonasingleform(asinthePPPapproach).InthethreestagesoftheTBL,thestudentsarealwayscompletingthetasks,butinthetraditional3PEnglishteachingapproach,theteachercontroltopicdevelopment,sometimestheteachersgivethestudentsoneortwotasks.2)Theteachingstepsin3P:presentation-practise-product,thetreestepsareofequalimportance,inthestepsofTBLapproach,thepresentationiscanceled,thepractiseis,andtheproductionisfocused.WhereastheaimofthePPPapproachistoleadfromaccuracytofluency,theaimofTBListointegrateallfourskillsandtomovefromfluencytoaccuracyplusfluency.3)Intheapproachoftask-basedlearningdescribedbyJaneWillis,thetraditionalPPP(presentation,practice,production)lessonisreversed.Thestudentsstartwiththetask.Whentheyhavecompletedit,theteacherdrawsattentiontothelanguageused,makingcorrectionsandadjustmentstothestudents'performance.Chapter=3\*ROMANIIIApplyingTBLinpracticalEnglishteaching3.1anexampleofTBLapproachTask:Inthelesson,thestudentsmakeaminipicture-storybook.

Teachingaids:asetofslidesandseveralsetsofpicturesaboutthestoryoftheMoonlightSonata;ataperecorderandsomeCDs.

I.Pre-task--CollectinginformationaboutBeethovenandhismusic.

(ThestudentsareaskedtocollectinformationaboutBeethovenandsomeofhismusicbeforeclass.)

1.Thestudentssharetheirinformationingroups.(Groupwork)

2.Thespeakersfromeachgroupgiveareporttotheclass.(Classwork)

3.TheteacherplayssomeCDsforthestudentsandhelpsthestudentstoknowsomethingaboutBeethoven'smusic.(Classwork)

(Inthistask,thestudentswilllearnsomethingaboutBeethovenandclassicalmusic,especiallyBeethoven'smusic--theMoonlightSonata.)

II.While-task--Dubbingandcaptioningapicture-storybook.

(Theteacherhandsoutasetofpicturestoeachgroup.)

1.ThestudentsingroupsofsixmakeupastoryoftheirownabouttheMoonlightSonata.(groupwork)

2.Thespeakersfromeachgrouptelltheirownstories.(classwork)

3.Thestudentsreadthetextandchecktheirstories.(individualwork)

4.Thestudentsingroupsimprovetheirstory,ormakeupanotherstorybasedontheirunderstandingofthetext.Meanwhile,theycanhelponeanotheringroups,andtheteacheroffershelpwhennecessary.(groupwork)

5.Thespeakersfromsomegroupsdubtheslides.(classwork)

6.Thestudentsingroupscaptionthepictures.(groupwork)

7.Thestudentspresenttheirproducts;theclassandtheteacherevaluatethem.(classwork)

8.Thestudentslistentothetapeandreadthetextaloud.(classwork)

III.Post-task--Makingupaminipicture-storybookaboutBeethoven

andhisMoonlightSonata.

(Thestudentswillfinishthetaskindividuallyaftertheclass.)

l.Makeupaminipicture-storybook

"BeethovenandhisMoonlightSonata”.

2.Presentthepicture-storybooksinthenextclass.3.2TheAdvantagesofTBLinMiddleSchoolEnglishTeachingAfterapplyingTBLapproachinmiddleschoolEnglishteachingforalongtime,wefindit’snecessaryandaffective.Therearethefollowingadvantages:TBLapproachmanifeststhatEnglishispractical,anditchangesthelearningapproachof“memorizing-receiving-imitating”.Theauthentic,interestingandmeaningfultasksmakethestudentsparticipateactively,practice,thinkandcooperateandexplore.TBLapproachinspiresthestudentstousealltheEnglishresourcesthattheyhavehad,somestudentsevendon’tnoticethey’relearningEnglish.TBLapproachprovidesthestudentswithalotofcomprehensiveinputandsomechancestopractiseEnglish.That’susefulforthestudentstoacquireEnglishnaturally.TBLapproachcandevelopthestudentspioneeringspiritandthecompetenceofpractice.Italsocanimprovethestudents’competenceofsearchinganddealingwithinformationinEnglish.Thestudentscanlearnthenewknowledge.Theoutcomeoftaskcompletionprovidesthestandardsforthestudentstoassessthemselves,andmakethemfulloftheachievement.thenthestudentscangoonlearningwiththefeelingofachievement.3.3SeveralsuggestionsaboutthetaskdesignGoodtasksarethekeytothesuccessfulimplementationofTBLapproachintheEnglishteaching.Throughthepractise,wefoundthattheeffectivetaskshavethefollowingfeatures:1Theauthenticlanguageandsituationprinciple.Tasksshouldbeauthenticandascloseaspossibletotherealworldanddailylifeexperienceofthelearners,andthenthestudentswilltakeanactivepartinthetasks.Theteacherstill‘controls’theactivity,bycreatingasituationwhichheorshethinksissuitable,buthasevenlesscontrolthanin‘struc