Transcript Slide 1

From grammar point to
task-based lesson:
closed and open tasks
Jane Willis
www.willis-elt.co.uk
Honorary Visiting Fellow, Aston University
Overview
• What we mean by ‘task’ with examples
• Demonstration of short TBL lesson with
rationale
• Closed and open tasks – workshop mode
• Predicting language points – workshop
with transcripts and findings…
• Sample ‘closed’ tasks which prioritise
certain language items
• Some ways of designing closed tasks
What exactly is a task?
When is an activity a task?
Characteristics of effective tasks
• Would the activity engage learners’ interest?
• Is there a primary focus on meaning? (Are learners
free to use whatever language forms they choose to?)
• Does it have a clear outcome for learners to achieve?
(Is completion a priority?)
• Is success judged in terms of outcome rather than
accuracy of language?
• Does it relate to real world activities?
The more confidently you can answer YES to
these questions, the more task-like the activity.
Tasks for this picture
a) Memory challenge: Look at the picture for 30 seconds.
How many things can you list in one minute? E.g.
fireplace; blue vase with flowers in.
b) True or False? Teacher led: There are some birds over
the fireplace. The blue vase is on the right of the clock.
c) Guess what I am thinking of. Here are some clues! it’s
on a shelf, it’s useful, you can put things in it ...
d) Look at the picture for one minute and write five quiz
questions to give to other teams – to answer without
looking. E.g. Where exactly is the cat?
e) Picture hide-and-seek.
Play picture hide-and-seek
Discuss with your neighbour the best place
in the room in the picture to hide
something small (like money or keys).
Decide together exactly where you would
put it.
Change partners. See how quickly you can
guess what place they have decided on.
Ask them questions – but they can only
answer yes or no. (Count the questions.)
Typical TBL lesson framework
Priming & Preparation
(exploring topic, useful words & phrases)
Task Cycle(s)
Task(s)
Planning >> Report of outcome
Form focus
Analysis of text / transcript >> Practice
Report stage
Choose your best hiding place and tell the class.
E.g. Best place for keys - behind the radio on the shelf by
the fireplace.
Listen and
- remember who hid what and where…
OR
- note down the really good places.
OR
- take brief notes. Which were the most popular places?
Note: there must be a clear purpose for the class to
listen or read others’ reports.
How ‘closed’ was this task?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Precise goals, predetermined outcome?
Strategies set?
Vocabulary items predictable?
Whole phrases predictable?
Grammar predictable?
Interpersonal talk & task-oriented
language? (What would you predict?)
How ‘closed’ was this task?
• Precise goals, Yes; predetermined
outcome? No, but restricted
• Strategies set? variable but limited
• Vocabulary items predictable? Yes
• Whole phrases predictable? Yes
• Grammar predictable? Yes, quite...
• Interpersonal talk & task-oriented
language? Some predictable…
Sample tasks: closed or open?
• How strict were your parents? Find who had the
strictest / most easy-going ones.
• Things on a tray – memory challenge.
• What will life be like in 50 years’ time? List three
aspects you agree on.
• Problem page letter about a difficult daughter:
what advice would you give to these parents?
• Find seven differences between your two
pictures.
• What is the most embarrassing thing that has
ever happened to you? Tell your partner.
• List 3 interesting places and say why people
should visit them. Share recommendations; vote
Closed and open tasks - a cline
from
closed: a very specific outcome, one predetermined solution; clearly defined
parameters; predictable language
to
open: learners are free to decide on their
own solution(s) and ways of achieving
them. Less predictable / unpredictable
language
Can you predict some language
items?
We recorded several people doing the same
picture Hide & Seek task and transcribed what
they said.
>>Write down your language predictions for the
task.
Prepositional phrases, expressions of location
Question forms: Is it .. ? Are they…?
Task-oriented phrases: How many questions is
that?
Transcripts
F OK, it’s your turn to guess. I’ve
got a small bunch of keys and
I’ve hidden them somewhere
in the picture.
M Ah let me see. Are they – erm inside the teacup on the table?
F No.
M. Er.. beside the chair?
F No ..[…]
M Oh dear. Er... behind the clock?
F No. That’s four. [………….]
M Oh where can they be? [……]
M Inside that little jar with a lid
on?
F That’s it – you got it in fifteen.
M Oh dear. What a long time I
M Erm now , I’ve hidden a pen.
F Mhm mhm. You’ve hidden a pen.
M Yes.
F OK. Is it on top of the table?
M No.
F Is it among the books on the shelf?
M No […]
F In the pot of - the vase of flowers?
M No.
F Oh dear – how many questions have
I had?
M one two three four five […] eight.
F Oh dear […] Is it in the letter rack?
M Yes.
F Oh, Wonderful! How many?
Form Focus: analysis & practice
• Underline eight phrases of location.
• Choose five other useful phrases and read them
to your partner.
• Think of a small object (pen, keys, gold coin).
Describe three hiding places in this room,
making it easy for someone to find your object
quickly. Can you write three long sentences of
over 12 words?
• Who can write the longest sentence in 1minute?
Transcripts
F OK it’s your turn. I’ve got a
small bunch of keys and I’ve
hidden them somewhere in the
picture.
M Ah let me see. Are they – erm inside the teacup on the table?
F No.
M. Er.. beside the chair?
F No ..[…]
M Oh dear. Er... behind the clock?
F No. That’s four. [………….]
M Oh where can they be? [……]
M Erm now , I’ve hidden a pen.
F Mhm mhm. You’ve hidden a pen.
M Yes.
F OK. Is it on top of the table?
M No.
F Is it among the books on the shelf?
M No […]
F In the pot of - the vase of flowers?
M No.
F Oh dear – how many questions have
I had?
M one two three four five […] eight.
M Inside that little jar with a lid F Oh dear […] Is it in the letter rack?
on?
M Yes.
F That’s it – you got it in fifteen.
F Oh, Wonderful! How many?
M Oh dear. What a long time I
Predicting language points
occurring in task interactions
• How would you advise someone who is about to
visit [ADD a country / town / area they know] for
the first time?
• What advice would you give to the parents of a
daughter who is rude, disobedient, often lies to
them, and who has become friends with a girl
they don’t like? (Problem page letter).
Source: Nunan (Atlas) and
Cox 2005)
David Cox got 25 pairs of native-speakers /
Findings from recorded data
Advice on places to visit (Thailand):
past tenses: ‘When I went, I used buses mainly’,
‘you can…’ ; relative clauses + which;
comparatives; ‘It’s a…’ + adjective phrases
Problem page letter: what advice would you give?
Common: modal verb phrases, esp. ‘got to’,
conditionals, imperatives
Also common: noun / adj + to: e.g. ‘the (..) thing to
do is to..’./ ‘it’s important (not) to…’/
‘it might be an idea to’… / Also ‘try and/ try to…’
Note: very few phrases with ‘strong’ modals
‘should’ / ‘ought to’; no usual ‘text-book’ advicegiving phrases such as If I were you I’d..
What are you going to do …?
- this coming week-end? Will our paths cross?
D Will you be going to the supermarket?
B Probably, yes. I’ll have to go shopping at some stage.
D I might be, too. [..] I’m going to a concert on Friday night.
- this summer ?
A I hear you are planning a trip to Africa…
J Yes. Going in September to see my son.. So I’m going to
fly to Lusaka, and erm he’ll meet me there.. And we’ll do
a bit of travelling around. I think we’re going to be staying
most of the time in Monze [..] But we are planning all
sorts of exciting things. We’re going to go on safari…
In fifty years’ time?
What will life be like in 50 years’ time? List
three aspects you agree on.
• Findings from recordings
- will (I think people will travel more; there’ll be …)
- going to (People are going to live longer)
- will be +ing; More people will be working from
home
- will / won’t be able to
Nunan task adapted and recorded by David Cox 2005
So can we ’trap’ structures?
• Even within a given time frame (future)
and a specific context (plans), it is not
easy to predict what forms a speaker or
writer will choose.
• The future is uncertain, so need to express
various degrees of certainty, plus volition,
hope etc (lexical choices)
So can we ‘trap’ structures?
Put this head elsewhere??
Teacher-led spoken tasks,
Short texts: true/false statements,
quiz questions
• You can deliberately constrain the lexical
load by using a text (written or spoken) or
a picture as the basis for a task;
• By recording people doing tasks you gain
more idea of what grammar is typical for
that task, and learners get insights into
real language use.
• Important not to restrict learners’ choice of
forms – using language is all about choice
– ‘what is the best way of getting my
meaning across?’
Devising activities, diagrams, pictures
which prioritise certain language
Order of adjectives:
sets of coloured balls of two different sizes –
throw them round the class who catch and keep
one; then ask Who’s got a/the big red ball…/
Teacher-led > Child-led (Extends to Who had
the.. ? I’d like a/the..
Coloured shapes in a square – True or False?
There are six small blue triangles; There are
more x than y; All the/some of the/none of the…)
You can prioritise but you cannot restrict
Prioritising verb tenses
Present Simple – plan a survey questionnaire to find the
most popular sports, hobbies and spare time activities
Second conditionals – write a personality quiz: How
courageous are you? What would you do if … an alien
space ship landed in your garden? A. I would hide under
my bed. B. …. (Hint: start by listing scary scenarios)
Future continuous – write a personality quiz: How
ambitious are you? What will you be doing in 10 years
time? A. I’ll be managing my own company.B…
Sources: Lamprini Loumpourdi (2005) pp33-39)
Past simple: a busy day: find who had the busiest day.
Tell an anecdote e.g. my most embarrassing experience.
Prioritising other language items
• Question forms: survey questionnaires, planning
interviews, guessing games like 20 questions
• Modal verbs: speculation tasks e.g. matching photos of
un-named places to names of countries
• Noun groups: identifying a person in a picture of a
crowded shopping centre or beach scene..
• Greetings: list the greeting words and phrases you
know in English and another language; explain to your
partner in what situations you use them.
Note: text-books have many ideas – add a goal or outcome
to ‘taskify’ them. Then try them out with a fluent speaker.
Start with a text
(inspired by the recordings)
How strict were your parents? Find who had
the strictest / most easy-going ones.
• JANE – DO THIS INTO LESSON
FRAEMWORK LAYOUT?
• First do this questionnaire text
Designing tasks to provide a natural
context for language use
Easier to work from topic or text to task - designing sets of
tasks based on specific topics or texts.
Write clear instructions, record 2 or 3 pairs doing the task and
see what language emerges… Transcribe useful sections
Design form focus exercises from the data afterwards. Start
with lexis.
Harder to work from grammar point to task and find a
natural context for specific language use.
But you can narrow down by using simple pictures or
diagrams, or quiz or questionnaire formats.
Messages
• Meaning focus - using language is all about choice –
‘what is the best way of getting my meaning across’?
• Use tasks to get learners using language to mean things
• Important not to constrain their choice of forms
• Work from data - richer than prediction; short texts or
spoken transcripts of tasks, recorded interviews
• Text-book tasks can often be tweaked and improved –
to give learners a specific goal or outcome to achieve
• do the text-book tasks first then the grammar sections
References
www.willis-elt.co.uk
• Edwards C. and J. Willis (eds) 2005. Teachers
Exploring Tasks in ELT. Palgrave MacMillan.
British Council ELT Innovations Award 2006
• Leaver B. and J. R. Willis 2004 Task-based
Instruction in FLE: practices and programs
Georgetown University Press
• Willis D. 2003. Rules, Patterns and Words:
Grammar and Lexis in English Language
Teaching. Cambridge University Press
• Willis D. &J. Willis, 2007 Doing Task-based
Teaching Oxford University Press (available at
OUP stand)
Extra slides follow
When to work on language and
focus on form?
Priming & Preparation
Key lexis & useful phrases
Task >> Planning >>>> Report of
outcome
Language extension >>
Prestige language use
So why Task-based Learning?
• TBL provides learners with natural
exposure (input), chances to use
language to express what they want to
mean (output), to focus on improving
their own language and to analyse and
practise forms.
• TBL is more likely to keep learners
motivated since it builds on whatever
Tweaking tasks – some hints
Find seven differences between your two pictures
Hint: provide more than 7 differences – to ensure the
Report stage is engaging as pairs will find different ones.
Questions: have you got a/is there a.. ‘what about the .?
intonation questions, PLUS topic oriented language
Hint: richer language used if they work co-operatively to
write a list e.g.‘ So what shall we put?’
Implementing and exploring
TBL…
• Aim at richer interactions in class –
focus on meaning first, form later.
• Use your text-books flexibly: ‘taskify’
them.
• Explore what happens when you use
tasks: get learner feed-back, adapt
Teachers’ advice on TBL
‘Collaborate with your colleagues –
it saves time – and it makes
teaching much more rewarding…’
‘Collaboration is the key’
‘Don’t give up - it really works!’
Some more ‘open’ tasks:
with same picture/similar theme
• What kind of people do you think might live
here? Who might they be? Think of five things
you could guess about them, and give your
reasons.
• Memory challenge quiz – write 5 questions.
• Have you ever locked yourself out of your
home? What did you do?
• Where do people sometimes leave a spare set
of keys? Discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of each. ???