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Beyond
the task
T
James Pengelley ask-based Learning (TBL) has the students to negotiate meaning
become the main player in with their own resources.
explores the benefits of recent methodological 3 The language needed to do the task is
strategies. It has formed the analysed, discussed and improved.
task repetition. basis of the current trend away from
form-driven approaches to teaching, as 4 The task is repeated, to allow an
it gives primary importance to the use opportunity for the students to
of language to achieve the develop monitoring skills.
communicative goals of a task, rather Provided the task itself is well-defined,
than merely to the production of a this is arguably a very good framework,
discrete number of ‘correct forms’. not just for TBL, but for an array of
Since its rise in popularity, there has teaching approaches that promote
been much comment on the importance fluency ahead of accuracy and, in fact,
of task cycle repetition, in which an may have significantly wider-reaching
initial task is followed by a ‘noticing’ applications in the development of a
stage, or perhaps a more explicit more generalised framework that
language analysis stage, and then the promotes the development of
students are encouraged to perform an communicative competency.
identical, similar or parallel task –
giving them an opportunity to Doing it again
implement, improve and practise the
same language. The argument here, as I have been developing a ‘fluency-then-
proposed by Peter Skehan, Scott accuracy’ routine using Community
Thornbury and Jane Willis, is that Language Learning (CLL) with my
completion of the first task leads to current group of students. CLL is a
familiarity with meaning, which means student-centred approach based on
that when the students move on to the psychotherapy principles, with the
second, similar or identical task, they primary aim of reducing the anxiety
have more cognitive resources available associated with language learning, and
to devote to form manipulation and ultimately developing communicative
self-monitoring, and a greater long-term fluency. A typical CLL lesson follows a
awareness of the linguistic forms needed choose–record–reflect cycle.
to convey appropriate meaning more The students work in small groups
precisely. and decide on a topic they would like to
The fundamental features of this discuss. The conversation is recorded,
procedure may be summarised as utterance by utterance, with the students
follows: putting any questions they have to the
teacher, who immediately reformulates,
1 An authentic communicative task is
models, drills and encourages them
chosen. throughout the process. The class then
2 The teacher takes a back-seat role in reflects on the strengths and weaknesses
the first attempt at the task, allowing of their completion of the task; the