1 CommunicativeLanguageTeaching
Forcenturies,whileLatinwasthedominantworldlanguage,educatorsreliedonwhatwas
codifiedinthe19th centuryasthegrammartranslationmethod(GTM) (Richards2001).By
themid20th century,foreignlanguageteachinghadevolvedfromtheGTMtotheNatural
Method,whichinturnledtotheDirectMethodfollowedbytheaudiolingualmethod.These
post GTM methods, among others, though successful in some contexts, such as private
languageschools,weredifficulttoimplementandlesseffectiveinclassroomenvironments
(Richards2001).Thisperiodinthedevelopmentofsecondlanguage(L2)teaching,calledthe
Reformmovement,canbestbecharacterizedasbeingpreoccupiedwiththesupremacyof
speech,theuseofconnectedtextandafocusonoralquestionsandanswersbetweenlearner
and teacher (Howatt 1982). Among the many concepts introduced during this phase,
ChomskyproposedhisnotionoflinguisticcompetencetowhichHymesrespondedwithhis
theoryofcommunicativecompetence(Hymes1966).
1.1 FocusonCommunication
Thelatterhalfofthe20th centurysawcommunicativecompetencecharacterizedashaving
threebasiccomponents:grammaticalcompetence,sociolinguisticcompetenceandstrategic
competence(Canale,Swain1980).Theseacademicdevelopmentsusheredinandbegantolay
thegroundworkforcommunicativelanguageteaching(CLT)asaformalpedagogicalpursuit.
Butunlikeitspredecessors,whichweremostlycharacterizedasmethods,CLTmaybestbe
describedasanapproachtolanguageteaching,basedonestablishedprinciplesratherthan
prescribedclassroompractices.TheseCLTprinciplesincludethefollowingfeatures(Nunan
1991):
1. Anemphasisonlearningtocommunicatethroughinteractioninthetargetlanguage.
2. Theintroductionofauthentictextintothelearningsituation.
3. Theprovisionofopportunitiesforlearnerstofocusnotonlyonlanguage,butalsoon
thelearningprocessitself.
4. Anenhancementofthelearnersownpersonalexperiencesasimportantcontributing
elementstoclassroomlearning.
5. Anattempttolinkclassroomlanguagelearningwithlanguageactivationoutsidethe
classroom.
Usingthisperspective,CLTdescribesaclassorfamilyofapproacheswiththepotentialto
havemultipleinstancesoroffspring.Thusanysubsequentapproach,whichpossessesthese
attributes,canbesaidtodescendfromCLT.
1.2 TheEmergenceofTBLT
Bytheendofthe20thcentury,duringthe1970sandearly1980stherewasasurgingdemand
in language teaching, partly driven by the creation of the European Union and other
developments in the United States (Savignon 2002).Aroundthe same time, N.S.Prabhu
throughtheBangaloreProjectwaspopularizingtheideaofusingmeaningfultaskswithina
CLTcontext(Prabhu1987).Heobservedthatitwasnotnecessaryforhisstudentstofocuson
linguisticelementsaslongastheywereengagedinrealworldcommunicativetasks.Asthe
century came to a close and with little fanfare, TBLT was born and by the addition of
communicative tasks, pedagogically strengthened the principles of CLT, succinctly
summarizedas:
CLTisabroad,philosophicalapproachtothelanguagecurriculumthatdrawsontheory
andresearchinlinguistics,anthropology,psychologyandsociology.(Forareviewofthe
theoreticalandempiricalrootsofCLT,seeSavignon1993).Taskbasedlanguage
teachingrepresentsarealizationofthisphilosophyatthelevelsofsyllabusdesignand
methodology.
(Nunan2004)
1.3 Identifyingapedagogicaltask
But,whatexactlyisatask?Numerousattemptsatdefiningataskhavebeenmadeandmaybe
found throughout the ELT literature. Nunan begins by distinguishing between realworld
tasksandpedagogicaltasks;theformerreferstousesoflanguageintheworldbeyondthe
classandthelattertothosethatoccurintheclassroom(Nunan2004).
1.4 Definitions
ThefollowingdefinitionsrangefromLongsverygeneraltothemoreconciseofSamuda&
Bygate,toeverythinginbetween.But,theyhaveseveralthingsincommon;priorityoftask
outcomes or completion; a focus on meaning rather than grammatical form; the use of
communicativelanguageactivities,tonameafew.Forbrevity,onlysomeofthemoresalient
definitionsshouldsufficeforourconsideration:
Apieceofworkundertakenforoneselforforothers,freelyorforsomereward(Long
1985:89).
Longsdefinitionleavesmuchtotheimagination,butnonetheless,itexpandsonthebasic
dictionarydefinitionofataskbysuggestingamotivation.
...anactivitywhichrequireslearnerstoarriveatanoutcomefromgiveninformation
throughsomeprocessofthought,andwhichallowsteacherstocontrolandregulate
thatprocess(Prabhu1987:24).
...tasksarealwaysactivitieswherethetargetlanguageisusedbythelearnerfora
communicativepurpose(goal)inordertoachieveanoutcome(Willis1996:23).
Inhispioneeringandgroundbreakingwork,Prabhufocusedontheconceptofanoutcome
relatedtoanactivitythatengagedthelearnerintheL2.But,withtheteachercontrollingand
regulatingtheprocess,hisdefinitioncompromisesstudentcenteredness.Willis,veryclosely
followsPrabhuandreinforcesthenotionsofactivityandoutcome,butemphasizesthattheL2
isthetoolthatfacilitatestheoutcome.
anactivityinwhich:meaningisprimary;thereissomesortofrelationshiptothe
realworld;taskcompletionhassomepriority;andtheassessmentoftaskperformance
isintermsoftaskoutcome(Skehan1996:38).
Skehansdefinitionintroducestwoadditionalconcepts;focusingonmeaningasopposedto
linguisticorgrammaticalformsandtheuseoftheoutcometoassessperformance.
apieceofclassroomworkthatinvolveslearnersincomprehending,manipulating,
producingorinteractinginthetargetlanguagewhiletheirattentionisfocusedon
mobilizingtheirgrammaticalknowledgeinordertoexpressmeaning,andinwhich
theintentionistoconveymeaningratherthantomanipulateform.Thetaskshould
alsohaveasenseofcompleteness,beingabletostandaloneasacommunicativeactin
itsownrightwithabeginning,amiddleandanend(Nunan2004:4).
aholisticactivitywhichengageslanguageuseinordertoachievesomenon
linguisticoutcomewhilemeetingalinguisticchallenge,withtheoverallaimof
promotinglanguagelearning,throughprocessproductorboth(Samuda,Bygate2007:
69).
Inhisdefinition,Nunan,itseems,isattemptingtoleavenostoneunturned,andindeedis
quitecomprehensive,butalas,ateacherwouldneedadetailedchecklistforeachlessonplan
inordertobecertainofcompliancewithhisdefinition.However,heavoidstheambiguity
trapthatispresentinSamudas&Bygatessdefinitionbytheiruseofholisticactivityand
linguisticchallenge.
Wecannowconsolidatethesedefinitionstoarriveatamanageablegraspofatask.Thefirst
listprovidesfivekeyelementsofatask(Skehan1998:citedinNunan2004):
1. Meaningisprimary
2. Learnersarenotgivenotherpeoplesmeaningtoregurgitate
3. Thereissomesortofrelationshiptocomparablerealworldactivities
4. Taskcompletionhassomepriority
5. Theassessmentofthetaskisintermsofoutcome
Finally,Ellisprovidesuswithhissummaryofthesediversedefinitionsasfollows:
1. Ataskisaplanforlearneractivity.
2. Ataskisprimarilyfocusedonmeaning.
3. Ataskinvolvesrealworldprocessesoflanguageuse.
4. Ataskcaninvolveanyofthefourlanguageskills.
5. Ataskengagescognitiveprocesses.
6. Ataskhasaclearlydefinedcommunicativeoutcome.
(Ellis2003:910)
Inthefinalanalysis, thegoalofthelanguageteacheris todeveloppedagogicaltasks or
activitiesthatapproximaterealworldtasks,therebycreatingactivitiesthataremeaningful
andrelevanttotheirstudents.
1.5 Typesofpedagogicaltasks
AccordingtoPrabhu,ataskmaybecategorizedasoneofthefollowingthreetypes:
1. Informationgapactivity,whichinvolvesinformationtransferfrompersontoperson
orfromoneformtoanother;
2. Reasoninggap,derivingnewinformationfromgiveninformationthroughreasoning
skills;
3. Opiniongap,identifyingandexpressingaffectiveperceptionofasituation.
(Prabhu1987)
Willisgivesusyetanotherbreakdownoftasktypesforfurtherconsideration:
1. Listing
2. OrderingandSorting
3. Comparing
4. ProblemSolving
5. SharingPersonalExperiences
6. CreativeTasks
(Willis1996:149)
1.6 AFrameworkforTBLT
AnotheraspectthatmustbeconsideredistheTBLTlessonplan,whichconsistsofthree
distinctphases:thepretask,thetaskcycleandthelanguagefocus(Willis1996).Nunanalso
enumeratedthecomponentsofatasktobe:
1. Goalsandobjectives
2. Input
3. Activities
4. Teacherrole
5. Learnerrole
6. Settings
(Nunan2004)
Uptothisjuncture,Ihavepresentedacondensedviewoftheevolutionoflanguageteaching
uptotheemergenceofTBLT,reviewedsomedefinitionsofatask,presentedacoupleoflist
oftasktypesandlookedatdescriptionsofthephasesandcomponentsofaTBLTframework.
IwillnowlistargumentsforandagainstTBLT.
1.7 ThecaseforTBLT
LikeitspredecessorCLT,TBLTislearnercenteredratherthanteachercontrolled,(except
inPrabhusdefinition),andisthereforeamorerewardingexperience,especiallyupon
successful completion of assigned tasks. In a TBLT classroom, learners working
independentlyoftheteacher,mayprogressattheirownpaceandacquirelanguageitems
inunarrangedsequencesandanonprescribedmanner.
Whiletraditional methods ignore thechaotic andunpredictablenature ofthelearning
process,TBLTacknowledgestheserealitiesbyprovidinglearnerswithopportunitiesto
usetheL2incontextsthataremoreauthenticandpractical.
Learnersarepersuadedtouselanguagecreativelyandspontaneouslythroughproblem
solvingtasks.
Theprocessofcompletingtasksisnaturallyconducivetotheincidentalneedforformal
linguisticelementsandmayprovideopportunitiesfornewlanguageinput.
Thetransferenceofmeaningiscentraltothetaskbasedapproach.
Assessmentisprimarilybasedontaskoutcomeandnotsolelylanguagefeatures.
1.8 CriticismsandargumentsagainstTBLT
TBLTinheritssomeofCLTsambiguities(Littlewood2013).
Inspiteoftheattemptsatdefiningtheterm,thenatureofataskisstillsomewhatopento
debate.
ThereisthequestionofwherenewlanguagecomesfromintheTBLTparadigm(Swan
2005).
Potentialoverrelianceonthemothertongueduringtaskassignmentsduetoitbeingthe
pathofleastresistance.
TBLTmaypresentinsurmountableclassroommanagementproblemsintermsofnoise
levelsanddiscipline.
TherearequestionsastowhetherWesternsmethodsofELTwouldworkinnonWestern
contexts.
InaChinesecontext,therearespecificconcernsabouttheabilityofstudentstoadjust
fromthesafetyoftheGTMmethodologytotheselfdirected,freewheelingTBLT
approach.
