Introduction to TASK BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING (TBLT) | TEFL Tips

Summary

In this educational video, Martin explains Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), an approach focusing on meaningful tasks over grammar units. TBLT emphasizes real-world language use, leading to increased motivation and proficiency. The video outlines TBLT's theoretical foundations, including the importance of lexical units and spoken interaction. It also discusses the teacher's role in facilitating tasks and the three-phase process of task introduction, completion, and post-task activities. Martin invites feedback on TBLT experiences and encourages viewers to suggest future topics.

Takeaways

• 😀 Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is an approach focused on using tasks for language teaching and learning, emphasizing meaningful communication over grammar instruction.
• 📚 TBLT contrasts with the traditional PPP (Present, Practice, Produce) approach by promoting language emergence through tasks rather than pre-teaching grammar rules.
• 🌐 TBLT offers students a variety of language exposure, including lexical phrases, collocations, and language patterns, which are essential for real-world communication.
• 📈 Early studies, such as the Malines Communication Syllabus (1975) and the Bangalore Project (1987), supported the use of tasks in language teaching, despite their brevity.
• 🎓 Benefits of TBLT include increased motivation, opportunities for natural repetition, flexibility in curriculum, emphasis on learning strategies, error correction, risk-taking in language production, high proficiency results, and student satisfaction.
• 🗣️ TBLT's theoretical underpinnings assume that language is a tool for meaning-making, achieving goals, using lexical units, and that interaction is key to language acquisition.
• 🧠 In TBLT, learning is seen as an internal, organic process where form facilitates language learning, and tasks help learners notice gaps in their language skills.
• 📝 The teacher's role in TBLT involves motivating students, providing clear instructions, and supporting interaction during tasks without correcting errors prematurely.
• 🔄 TBLT involves a three-step process: introducing the task, supporting the task, and a post-task phase, which includes reflection and consolidation of learning.
• 🔑 TBLT activities can include information gap tasks, problem-solving, decision-making, and opinion exchange, aiming to promote interaction and language use beyond the classroom.

Q & A

What is Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)?

Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is an approach to language education where students engage in functional tasks that focus primarily on meaning exchange and using language for real-world non-linguistic purposes.

How does TBLT differ from the PPP (Present-Practice-Produce) approach?

In the PPP approach, the focus is on pre-teaching elements of grammar, whereas TBLT is more open, allowing language to emerge through meaningful tasks rather than focusing solely on grammar units.

What were the two early studies that looked at task-based approaches for language teaching?

The two early studies were the Malines-Nijmegen Communication Syllabus in 1975 and the Bangalore Project in 1987.

What are some benefits of using a TBLT approach according to the video?

Benefits include greater motivation, opportunities for repetition without boredom, flexibility in curriculum, emphasis on learning strategies, natural error correction, risk-taking in language production, high proficiency results, and increased student satisfaction.

What are the key assumptions made in the theory of language for TBLT?

The key assumptions are that language is primarily for making meaning, achieving real-life goals, with lexical units being key for language use and learning, and that spoken interaction is central to language acquisition.

How does the theory of learning differ in TBLT?

In TBLT, language learning is seen as internally determined by the learner, an organic process, with a focus on form that facilitates language learning, negotiation of meaning, and interaction and communication providing scaffolded learning.

What is the role of the teacher in a TBLT classroom?

The teacher's role includes motivating and engaging students, providing clear instructions about the tasks, and offering support and interaction while students are completing the tasks.

What are the proposed six activity types for TBLT in the language classroom?

The six activity types are: jigsaw tasks, information gap tasks, problem-solving tasks, decision-making tasks, and opinion exchange tasks.

What is the procedure for following a TBLT approach?

The procedure consists of three steps: introducing the tasks, supporting and helping with the task, and a post-task phase.

How can teachers introduce tasks in a TBLT approach?

Teachers can introduce tasks by sharing images, experiences, brainstorming ideas, using important language, listening to an element of the task, or reading a text to engage students.

What is the focus during the task phase in TBLT?

During the task phase, the focus is on students using the language they already have to complete the activity, with the teacher monitoring and helping with language formulation without correcting at that time.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)

This paragraph introduces the concept of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), emphasizing its focus on meaningful tasks over specific grammar units. TBLT is presented as an approach rather than a method, aiming to facilitate language learning through real-world, non-linguistic tasks. The paragraph contrasts TBLT with the PPP (Present, Practice, Produce) approach, highlighting TBLT's flexibility and the exposure it provides to a variety of language elements such as lexical phrases and collocations. Early studies, including the Malines Communication Syllabus (1975) and the Bangalore Project (1987), are mentioned to support the use of tasks in language teaching. Benefits of TBLT include increased motivation, natural error correction, and higher student satisfaction. The theoretical underpinnings of TBLT are also discussed, including the importance of lexical units, spoken interaction, and the organic nature of language learning.

05:01

📝 Implementing TBLT in the Classroom

This paragraph delves into the practical application of TBLT in language classrooms. It suggests starting with a needs analysis to understand student goals, which informs the development of the syllabus. Six activity types are proposed for TBLT: jigsaw tasks, information gap tasks, problem-solving tasks, decision-making tasks, and opinion exchange tasks. Each activity type is designed to promote interaction and language use in context. The role of the teacher in a TBLT approach is also discussed, emphasizing the need to motivate students, provide clear instructions, and support them during tasks. The paragraph outlines a three-step procedure for TBLT: introducing the task, supporting students during the task, and a post-task phase. The importance of allowing students to use their existing language skills to complete tasks is highlighted, with the teacher's role being to facilitate rather than correct during the task.

10:01

🎓 Conclusion and Call for Feedback on TBLT

The final paragraph concludes the discussion on TBLT, acknowledging the theoretical nature of the content and expressing hope that it was informative for understanding this language teaching approach. The speaker invites feedback from viewers who have used TBLT, asking about their experiences and students' responses. They also encourage viewers to request future videos on different approaches and methods. The paragraph ends with a call to action for viewers to like, subscribe, and engage in the comments, and the speaker signs off with well wishes for teaching success.

Keywords

💡Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT)

Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is an approach to language education where students engage in meaningful tasks that require them to use language for real-world purposes. It contrasts with traditional methods that focus on teaching grammar rules and vocabulary in isolation. In the video, TBLT is described as an approach that encourages students to focus on meaning exchange and to use language for non-linguistic purposes, which is central to the video's theme of modern language teaching methods.

💡Meaningful Tasks

Meaningful tasks are activities that require students to use language in a way that is relevant and practical, simulating real-life situations. These tasks are central to TBLT as they promote language learning through practical application. The video emphasizes that in TBLT, students are given functional tasks that invite them to focus on meaning exchange, which is a departure from traditional approaches that might focus on grammar drills.

💡PPP Approach

PPP stands for Presentation, Practice, and Production, a traditional language teaching method where new language structures are introduced (Presentation), practiced (Practice), and then used by students to produce language (Production). The video contrasts this with TBLT, highlighting that TBLT allows for more open-ended language use where language emerges naturally through tasks rather than being pre-taught.

💡Lexical Phrases and Collocations

Lexical phrases and collocations refer to common combinations of words that native speakers use. In the context of TBLT, students are exposed to these natural language patterns through the tasks they perform, which helps them to learn and use language more effectively. The video mentions that TBLT provides students with exposure to a variety of language, including lexical phrases and collocations.

💡Motivation

Motivation is a key factor in language learning, and the video suggests that TBLT can lead to greater motivation among students. This is because tasks are often more engaging and relevant to students' interests, making the learning process more enjoyable and purposeful. The video lists 'greater motivation' as one of the benefits of TBLT.

💡Natural Error Correction

Natural error correction is the process by which learners correct their own mistakes through interaction and feedback during language use. The video mentions that TBLT provides opportunities for natural error correction, as students are encouraged to use language spontaneously in tasks, which can lead to self-correction and learning from mistakes.

💡Spoken Interaction

Spoken interaction is emphasized in TBLT as a key component of language learning and acquisition. The video explains that TBLT views language primarily as a means of communication, and thus, the approach prioritizes interactive speaking activities that facilitate language use and learning. This is in line with the video's overall message about the importance of practical language use in education.

💡Needs Analysis

A needs analysis is a process used by educators to determine what language skills and knowledge students need to acquire. In the context of TBLT, the video suggests conducting a needs analysis to inform the curriculum and tasks that will be used in teaching. This ensures that the tasks are relevant and aligned with the students' goals and needs, which is crucial for effective language learning.

💡Activity Types

Activity types refer to the different kinds of tasks that can be used in a TBLT classroom. The video lists several types, including jigsaw tasks, information gap tasks, problem-solving tasks, decision-making tasks, and opinion exchange tasks. These activities are designed to promote interaction, communication, and language use in various contexts, which is central to the TBLT approach.

💡Teacher's Role

The teacher's role in TBLT is multifaceted, including motivating students, providing clear instructions, and offering support during tasks. The video outlines the importance of the teacher's role in facilitating the TBLT process, which includes setting up tasks, monitoring progress, and providing the necessary support for students to engage successfully with the activities.

💡Comprehensible Input

Comprehensible input is a concept in language acquisition theory that suggests learners need to receive language input that is slightly above their current level of understanding to progress. The video mentions that TBLT, through its focus on tasks and negotiation of meaning, provides learners with the comprehensible input they need to advance in their language learning.

Highlights

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) focuses on using tasks to facilitate language learning.

TBLT is an approach rather than a method, emphasizing functional tasks over grammar units.

Students in TBLT engage in meaningful tasks, prioritizing communication over linguistic accuracy.

TBLT contrasts with the PPP approach by encouraging language emergence through tasks.

TBLT exposes students to a variety of language features, including lexical phrases and collocations.

Early studies, such as the Malaise and Bangalore projects, supported the use of tasks in language teaching.

Benefits of TBLT include increased motivation, repetition without boredom, and natural error correction.

TBLT promotes risk-taking in language production and high proficiency results.

The theory behind TBLT assumes language as a means for making meaning and achieving goals.

Language learning in TBLT is seen as an organic, internally determined process.

The approach emphasizes the importance of lexical units and spoken interaction for language acquisition.

TBLT involves a variety of skills and considers learning difficulty negotiable for pedagogical purposes.

A needs analysis is crucial for curriculum development under TBLT.

Six activity types are proposed for TBLT, including jigsaw, information gap, and problem-solving tasks.

The teacher's role in TBLT includes motivating students, providing clear instructions, and offering support during tasks.

The TBLT procedure involves pre-task introduction, while-task support, and post-task activities.

The success of TBLT tasks is measured by student engagement and the achievement of real-world goals.

The video concludes with a call for feedback on TBLT experiences and suggestions for future content.

Transcripts

hello and welcome this is Martin and

this is ELT experiences a couple of

weeks ago I received a question from one

of my subscribers asking what tasks

based language teaching is and I thought

today I would share a video describing

what task based language teaching is and

how you can incorporate it into your

teaching task based language teaching or

TV LT refers to the poor use of tasks

for providing language teaching and

language learning is known as an

approach to language rather than a

method as bound to Brendan mentioned an

approach to language education in which

students are given functional tasks but

invite them to focus primarily on

meaning exchange and to use language for

the real world non linguistic purposes

so it's quite interesting here that

founder Brendan mentions that it's the

focus on meaningful tasks rather than

focusing on particular grammar units and

the distinction between a PPP approach

and a TBL T approach is with a PP that

he approach you're going to be focusing

solely on elements and pre-teaching

elements of grammar whereas a T PLT

approach is a bit more open and language

emerges through meaningful tasks with

td-lte

students will have more exposure to a

variety of different language they'll be

exposed to lexical phrases collocations

and patterns of language there were two

studies undertaken quite early on

looking at a task based approach for

teaching the first was the malaise in

communication syllabus and this was in

1975 and the second was the bangalore

project and this was in 1987 these two

studies were relatively short

however it did give some credence that

the second language acquisition tasks

could be used to define teaching

approaches there was another study that

was conducted where it looked at a task

based approach and the benefits of a TBL

T approach and these included that there

was greater motivation there was an

opportunity for repetition without any

boredom there was greater flexibility

with regards to the curriculum there was

an emphasis on promotion of how to learn

there was also an opportunity for

natural error correction the next

benefit was that there was a promotion

of undertaking greater risk when it came

to language production there were high

proficiency results and finally there

was increased student satisfaction when

it came to this approach now we're going

to have a look at the theory of language

when it comes down to at our space

approach and the theory of language is

much defined by the method or the

approach of how you teach the language

and 30 VLT there are a couple of

assumptions to be made the first is that

language is primarily a means of making

meaning the second consideration is that

language is primarily a means of

achieving real life goals and the third

consideration is that lexical units are

key for language use and language

learning the fourth consideration is

that spoken interaction is the key for

language and language acquisition and

the final consideration is that language

use involves a variety of different

skills now when it comes down to the

theory of learning with a task based

language teaching approach the first

factor that you've got to consider is

that language learning is determined by

the learner internally rather than

externally

second consideration when it comes down

to the learning theory is that language

learning is an organic process the third

consideration is that there's a focus on

form that can facilitate language

learning the fourth factor to consider

is that negotiation of meaning provides

learners with the comprehensible input

that they need the next factor consider

is that tasks provide learners the

opportunity to notice that gap when it

comes down to that comprehensible input

and that modified output and the next

factor is that interaction and

communication provides that scaffold

learning that's required in a more

naturalistic approach the final factor

that you've got to consider is that

learning difficulty can be negotiated

and fine-tuned for pedagogical purposes

so obviously the key drive for a tea

belty approach is for students to decide

on what the curriculum may be the first

is to conduct a needs analysis with your

students now hopefully the needs

analysis will inform you exactly what

the student wants to achieve the group

of students want to achieve at the end

of their course and hopefully this will

inform you and organize you with regards

to develop in the syllabus under a team

BLT approach when it comes down to

activities in the language classroom

will its proposed six activity types

that you could incorporate now there was

another research done about particular

task types and hopefully this list will

help you inform how you go about

teaching a particular task itself and

there's a variety of activities that you

could incorporate in the language

classroom and see how you get on

so the first activity that was proposed

and organized was a chips or tasks and

this is where you have different

elements of

information and that the students

combined it to create a whole the second

task that was considered is an

information gap task and this is where

one student has some elements of

information which is missing and the

other group or other student has

different elements of information

missing but if they share the

information with each other they'll form

it to create a whole group the third

task that could be used in the language

classroom is the problem-solving tasks

students have given a problem and a set

of instructions they must arrive at a

solution to the problem and there is

generally one solution to the problem

the fourth activity that was suggested

is the decision-making task and students

are given a problem to overcome but are

given a number of possible outcomes and

they must choose one and negotiate and

discuss and this type of activity is

very similar to stuck on the desert and

choose five things that you need to take

with you to survive or a balloon debate

the fifth and final task that was

suggested is an opinion exchange task

this is where learners exchange and

offer ideas to various experiences and

they do not need to reach an agreement

now when it comes down to the role of

the teacher there's a couple of things

that you need to consider with a tlg

approach the first role is to try and

motivate and engage and energize

students in the tasks that they're going

to be completing the next role is to

provide adequate and appropriate

instructions very clear instructions

about the task because it's going to be

quite focus for the students and they

need to know exactly what's expected of

them and the third role of the teacher

is to provide support and interact with

the students while they're going and

proceeding with the

tasks itself now we're now at the end

but this time I'm going to be sharing

with you the procedure to follow a tea

BLT approach there's essentially three

steps to a tv-- ot approach initially

there's introducing the tasks then

there's support him and help injuring

the task and finally there's a post task

phase so for the pre tasks introducing

the topic and tasks the teacher could do

a couple of things a teacher could

introduce a topic and its thing by

sharing images by sharing experiences

and brainstorming ideas with the class

the teacher may highlight and use

important language at this point but

would not pre teach new vocabulary and

students can either listen to an element

of the task itself without revealing too

much or given the details of the answers

of that particular task or if it's a

text students can read a element of the

text to get them engaged and interested

in the activity now with regards the

charset task is done by students and it

gives students a chance to use whatever

language they already have to complete

the activity the teacher is walking

around monitoring the students at that

time but the teacher helps the students

with formulating the language that they

want to say but not actually correcting

them at that time obviously the emphasis

is on spontaneous natural language being

produced and the success in the task

helps the students improve their overall

confidence and it motivates them as well

I hope today's video was useful and

apologies if it is a bit I don't know a

bit too theoretical it's not usually the

sort of video that I make but I do hope

it was useful for you to understand a

particular element of a language

learning or language teaching

and the approach that could be used and

if you've used a to BLT approach how did

you find it and how did your students

respond if you want to hear of future

approaches and methods in a video please

let me know in the comment and I hope

you enjoyed it today as ever don't

forget to hit the like button hit the

subscribe button if you haven't

subscribed already and I'll see you

around next time take care and happy

teaching bye bye

[Music]