Task-Based Language Teaching
reviewed by Beyza Yilmaz, Turkey
Beyza Yılmaz is an instructor in School of English Language Instruction at Ozyegin University. She worked at Bahçeşehir University English Preparatory Programme as an instructor of English for six years (2005-2011). She received her BA in English Language Teaching from İstanbul University in 2005. She received her CELTA in 2007. At present, she is pursuing her Master’s Degree in English Language Teaching at Middle East Technical University. She has presented both in national and international conferences and co-moderated two sessions in Electronic Village Online, a project of CALL interest section of TESOL. Her interest areas cover teacher education, Media Assisted Language Learning (MALL) discourse analysis, and instructional design.
E-mail: beyzayilmaz@gmail.com
Task-Based Language Teaching
David Nunan (Author)
Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 978-0521549479
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The context
Purpose and structure of the book
Comments on the design
Reflections
Dr. David Nunan is both a linguist and the world's best-selling textbook author. Professor Nunan's academic and student textbooks are published by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and the EFL publishing division of Cengage Learning. Dr. David Nunan is Academic President of Anaheim University based in Anaheim, California. He serves in a concurrent role as Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Professor of TESOL at Anaheim University. In 2000, David Nunan served as President of TESOL, the world's largest language teaching association. He has received numerous awards throughout his career for his contributions to the field of English Language Teaching.
As a member of the reading club organized in Bahcesehir University English Preparatory Program (BUEPP), I had the opportunity to read Task Based Language Teaching (2006) by David Nunan in the first semester of 2007-2008 academic years. As TBL was being implemented in our school then, I benefited a great deal from reading the book, which I found to be useful, both from a practical and theoretical standpoint.
Task based language teaching is a new concept for many language teachers. There is a lot of theoretical information available, but many people know very little about how it can be implemented in practice. The main purpose of this book is therefore to give teachers some ideas about how TBL can be implemented in language classes. The writer achieves this by:
1- providing teachers with models and an empirical basis for TBLT.
2- clarifying the role of focus on form in TBLT
3- giving teachers some ideas about how TBLT can be assessed.
The book consists of eight chapters on different aspects of TBLT. Nunan refers to different researchers’ ideas before stating his own approach. This manner of proceeding provides the reader with numerous insights into TBLT.
Chapter 1: This chapter is mainly about the definition of “task” in relation to the general field of task design and how communicative language teaching and TBLT are interrelated. The effect of TBLT on learners and academic practice is also discussed.
Chapter 2: In this chapter a framework for TBLT is established, along with the key elements that make up a task. Principles underlying the instructional sequence are also highlighted.
Chapter 3: In this chapter, core components that go toward making up a task, including goals, input data, procedures, teacher and learner roles and task settings are examined. The relationship between real world and pedagogic tasks, task and text authenticity and learning strategies in TBLT are also touched on.
Chapter 4: This chapter summarizes research about TBLT. The important issue of task difficulty is also examined by exploring different factors making one task more difficult than another. Krashen’s four hypotheses are also explored in this chapter.
Chapter 5: Research into the focus on form in TBLT is explored in Chapter 5. The place of form and the proper amount of focus is considered .The writer refers to various ideas regarding form in TBLT by providing the reader with numerous examples of task types.
Chapter 6: In this chapter some key elements in grading, sequencing and integrating tasks are explored. Nunan argues that many factors need to be taken into account and that these factors are interrelated.
Chapter 7: This chapter is mainly about assessment in TBLT. Key issues related to assessment are considered and related to the context of TBLT. Some practical tools such as performance scales, portfolios and production tasks are explored.
Chapter 8: This chapter focuses on tasks and teacher development: how teachers can evaluate and create their own tasks. Nunan concludes that tasks can be used as a point of departure for small scale classroom projects by teachers themselves.
The book is really a handy reference book for language teachers intending to explore TBLT in detail. It includes an overview at the beginning and a summary at the end of each chapter, which makes the thread easy to follow. Several appendices including various task types and practical applications are also included. These appendices make TBL more concrete in readers’ minds. The writer provides the readers with a glossary of terms used in the book to clarify their meaning. “Reflection boxes” in each chapter make the writer and reader interact and also make the reader consider how s/he can make use of TBLT in their own teaching contexts.
This book enabled me to have a clearer idea about TBLT. Reading the book and implementing TBLT at the same time helped me combine theory with practice. I also reconsidered my role as a teacher and my expectations from my learners thanks to the book.
The book has also been helpful to me in some controversial areas such as the place of grammar and assessment in TBLT. Before reading the book, I thought TBLT advocated no explicit focus on form (i.e. strong interpretation). Thanks to the writer, I’ve realized that there is also a “weak interpretation” advocating explicit focus on “form” as well as “meaning”. Learning this helped me to reconsider the role of grammar in TBLT and revise my lesson plans accordingly. As a person who definitely believes that “form should be focused along with the meaning”, learning this comforted me and enabled me to look at TBLT from a different perspective.
Another thing I liked about the book is the way the writer presents his ideas. In most methodology books writers tend to make their readers to take their own standpoint. However, the presentation of ideas is different in this book. Even though it is his book, the ideas are not enforced. They are mentioned in detail along with other researchers’ ideas. Some lesson plans and practical ideas of the writer’s and other researchers’ are mentioned. Therefore, it is up to the reader to choose the best one to make use of in her/his own context
In conclusion, I definitely benefited from reading this book, as it provided me with a clearer idea of what TBLT is and is not, and I believe this book can be useful for language teachers wishing to explore Task Based Language Teaching in detail.
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