SpeakingTasksBeDesignedtoImproveDifferentAspectsofSpeaking

于瑩

【Abstract】The aim of this paper is to evaluate how can speaking tasks be designed to improve different aspects of speaking.The author will first analyze three different aspects and introduce four criteria which can use to define the meaning of task.The result about whether the learner achieves the goal of the task is very important since evaluation of the outcome is the vital way to judge a task is successful or not.After getting to know the definition of task，communicative effectiveness will be analyzed from the angle of its two dimensions.The level of communicative effectiveness can decide the outcome of learner production in the speaking task.Task implementation cannot be ignored in the research of task designing since the feedback from it would enlighten the operation of task design.

【Keywords】task designing； communicative effectiveness； task implementation

1.Three Aspects of Speaking

Many non-native English speakers offer many years.learning，receiving a comment like “You can speak English fluently”means big praise for them.Because the comment indicates that the speaker can express his/her ideas in a less-hesitant，smooth，speedy and facile way and also be understood by others efficiently.Accuracy（or correctness） is probably the oldest，most transparent and most consistent construct of the triad，referring to the degree of deviancy from a particular norm（as cited in Housen & Kuiken，2009）.In other words，evaluation of accuracy in classroom performance is focused on how errors students make during the task，not only the lexical errors but also the grammatical errors.According to Iwashita，McNamara & Elder，the highest rating scale for complexity is：（The learner）confidently attempts a variety of verb forms（e.g.passives，modals，tense，and aspect），even if the use is not always correct.Regularly takes risks grammatically in the service of expressing complex meaning.Routinely attempts the use of coordination and subordination to convey ideas that cannot be expressed in a single clause，even if the result is occasionally awkward or incorrect（Iwashita，McNamara & Elder，2001，p.436）.

2.Definition of task

Skehan，reflecting a broad consensus among researchers and educators，suggests four defining criteria：

1.meaning is primary

2.there is a goal which needs to be worked towards；

3.the activity is outcome-evaluated；

4.There is a real-world relationship（as cited in Ellis，2000，p.195）.When students are handed out tasks in the class，they are supposed to communicate effectively with each other to achieve the ‘goal in the task.Meaning is regarded as the basic factor in the process of task implementation.The goal of the task is like the treasure on the map which makes seekers spending time and using skills to find it.At the process of hunting the treasure，seekers can get their skill into practice and know better about themselves.In the speaking classroom，students can practice their linguistic skills by pursuing the goal of the task.Achievement degree of communicative goals should be firstly taken into consideration when a teacher assesses a students output after he/she finishing the task.The content of task is propositional and related to peoples real life experience.For instance，to obtain，complete and process application forms such as drivers license，social security and college entrance is an appropriate real-world task.The same real world tasks like this one are describing feelings and emotions after watching a movie，shopping in a supermarket and using the telephone （Nunan，2004，p.47）.

3.Two dimensions of communicative effectiveness

Some students can achieve the goal of making participants understand each other and accomplish the task as it requests.However，some of them only can complete some requirements in the task or badly communicate with other involved in the same task.That might lead to the conclusion.That lead to the conclusion： the effectiveness of communication between/among participants as a determinant factor of whether the task implementation is successful or not.In 1997，Yule distinguishes two broad dimensions of communicative effectiveness：（1）the identification-of–referent dimension and（2）the role-taking dimension（Ellis，2003，p.118）.There were two measures which Yule put forward may distinguish excellent communicators from poor or satisfactory ones.Actually，these two measures were likely to be the reasons to the question.In the task，students need to understand what they suppose to do，that is the first step，to identify the referents in the task.Sometimes the referents are explicit while sometimes the referents are implicit.So students need to define implicit referents and try to explain or describe them respectively in an explicit way.After that，students are also encouraged to find their roles in the task.They are not only ought to express what they are thinking and also try to make interpretation of partners.opinions.

4.Four elements affect task implementation

Rod Ellis（2003）listed 4 elements which would affect the process of task implementation，especially the part of meaning negotiation，the use of communication strategies and communicative effectiveness.These are：（1）participant role，（2） task repetition，（3）interlocutor familiarity，and（4）type of feedback.Depending on the number of participants，they are always divided into groups or pairs.In a group，information holders are more than one people while in one pair，there is only one participant supposed to take charge of expressing information.Participant roles can be interactive and non-interactive.Interactive participant role，literally，is the information holder who interacts with other participant（s）by answering their/his/her questions or give informative feedback to answer during the whole task.On the contrary，non-interactive participant（s）only continually express the information they know without others.participation in the process.Task repetition can improve ESL learners.ability of communicating effectively in the same task but no remarkable difference shown in the different task of the same type according to recent research findings.

Another variable is the level of task/ topic familiarity which participants get during the whole process of tasks.The more familiarity they get，the efficiency they obtain.That can contribute or partly influence the result of task implementation.

The type of feedback would be the last variable of task implementation.According to the outcome of Van den Brandens investigation，second language learners from 10-11 years old show greater modification of their language output when they encounter negative feedback from others than other kinds of feedback.They mostly modified the choice of vocabulary rather than the complexity of sentences or the accuracy of grammar during the process of task output（Ellis，2003）.

References：

[1]Ellis，R.（2000）.Task-based research and language pedagogy.Language Teaching Research，4（issue supplement s3），195.Retrieved April 18，2012，from http：//ltr.sagepub.com/content/4/3/193.full.pdf+html.

[2]Ellis，R.（2003）.Task-based language learning and teaching.Oxford： Oxford University Press.

[3]Housen，A.，& Kuiken，F(xiàn).（2009）.Complexity，accuracy，and fluency in second language acquisition.Applied Linguistics，30 （issue supplement s4），2-3.Retrieved April 18，2012，from.

[4]http：//applij.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/4/461.full.pdf+html

Iwashita，McNamara & Elder.（2001）.Can we predict task difficulty in an oral proficiency test？ Exploring the potential of an information-processing approach to task design.Language Learning，51（issue supplement s3），436.Retrieved April 18，2012，from http：//onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/0023-8333.00160/pdf.

[5]Nunan，D.（2004）.Task-based language teaching.Cambridge： Cambridge University Press.