A Brief Analysis of Communication Tasks in Task-based Teaching

Abstract: Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) aims at proving opportunities for the learners to experiment with and explore both spoken and written language through learning activities. This passage further exam if the following four communicative tasks jigsaw tasks， role-play tasks， problem solving tasks， and information gap tasks can assist classroom learning.

Key words:task-based language teaching (TBLT) communicative tasks classroom learning

Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has slowly emerged since the 1980's to challenge the traditional itemized form-based methodology. According to the Brown(1994): TBLT aims at proving opportunities for the learners to experiment with and explore both spoken and written language through learning activities which are designed to engage learners in the authentic， practical and functional use of language for meaningful purpose. Also， there are some issues existed on the study of TBLT: some researchers argued for a definition of a language task in which a communication problem is to be solved， the categories of tasks bear some relationship to real-world activities， and the task should mirror real-life situations and decision-making as far as possible.

This article also mentioned David Nunan (1991)， an eminent authority in TBLT who has taught English around the world for more than 30 years， maintains \"setting specific tasks for students so that they act as if they were using the language in real life this is part of the essence of task-based teaching.\" So we doubt that if the traditional approach does help students generate meaningful language. i.e. solve problems in the real world. Because the traditional approach separates the foreign language into different parts (grammar， structure， listening， speaking， reading， and writing etc.) and then educators teach them separately step by step so that the acquisition is a process of gradually accumulation of parts.

But in TBLT framework， the enabling skills that enable students to communicate include language exercises and communicative activities.A good example of language exercises is vocabulary practicing and sentence structure patterns practicing. While the communicative activity is a kind of exercise in which students are supposed to walk around the classroom to do a survey about the classmates' hobbies.

Enabling skills prepare students for pedagogical tasks， which include rehearsal tasks and activation tasks. These tasks should be close to real world tasks and should enable students to solve practical problems in their real life.TBLT does not deny that drills and practice are necessary and useful for situations outside the classrooms.

In this part， I will further exam if the following four communicative tasks：jigsaw tasks， role-play tasks， problem solving tasks， and information gap tasks can assist classroom learning. It is hoped that this series has given teachers and learners incentive to evaluate use of the tasks in the learning environments and will provide a foundation for pedagogical shifts in the teaching of classical learning.

In the role-play tasks， one or more members of the learning group are given a role to play and are assigned an objective that they must accomplish. By forcing use of the target language to discuss the issues raised in the process of role-play， the learner's understanding of the issues will find expression in the target language. This task would also provide comprehensible input for the rest of the classroom.

In the jigsaw and information-gap tasks (with exchange of information supplier and requester roles) would provide the greatest opportunity for students to interact in seeking comprehensible input and modify their output for communication. In contrast to the traditional classroom lesson where students have a limited amount of time to practice in the class， teachers in task-based teaching environment provide more opportunities of practice to students through assigning tasks to pairs or small groups of students. Those tasks used in the classroom maximize the amount of time so that each student is available to use the target language. Meanwhile， tasks create a more authentic situation in which language is used for communication by learners to reach a common goal.

A typical example of a problem-solving task is that when a problem arises in a certain setting (real or imaginary)， students must figure out how to get assistance and solve the problem. In this task category， information is expected to flow two ways and converge to one outcome. However， participation of all students is not necessary for successful completion of the exercise.

Communication tasks can be identified， classified in order to help teachers and researchers to distinguish tasks from less efficient activities for their work with language learners. The categories， which cover \"interactant relationships and requirements， communication goals， and outcome options， have been used to locate， describe， and compare four task types and to assess their contributions to providing comprehension， production and feedback opportunities to L2 learners\" (Pica，1993).

Like any other teaching approach， TBLT is not perfect and it is not exclusive. I feel that we still have these problems concerning TBLT: 1. How does the education system change to improve students' ability to solve real world tasks or problems? 2. While it is easy to conduct TBLT in a group of students who are quite proficient in English， is TBLT also suitable for beginners?

We can not solve all these problems in short time， but educators will try their best to make good learning tasks that should enable learners to manipulate and practice specific features of language， allow learners to rehearse communicative skills they will need in the real world， involve learners in sharing information， give learners a choice in what way they do and the order in which they do it， and involve learners in solving a problem in order to coming to a conclusion. Language is better achieved in an inductive way step by step， may be we can not expect more from the beginner， but gradually， they will benefit from this teaching approach with the time goes on， e.g.， teachers should let students observe and conclude what the language is like instead of giving students the rules and examples. In case students develop wrong rules， teachers are there to help and correct.Students best learn the rules from meaningful and practical contexts or tasks.

References：

[1]Brown， H.Douglas. Task-based Teaching in Chapter 13 Integrating the “four skills” of Teaching By Principles—An Interactive Approach To Language Pedagogy. Prentice Hall Regents，1994.

[2]Pica， T. Kanagy， R. Falodun， J. Choosing and Using Communication Tasks for Second Language Instruction and Research.From Tasks and Language Learning—Integrating Theory Practice.Edited by Graham Crookes Susan M. Gass，1993.