Task-Based Language Education: From Theory To Practice (original) (raw)

Index vi Contents de®nition. This we ®nd in the de®nitions proposed by Bachman & Palmer (1996) and Bygate et al. (2001), who stress that even though the goal that the learner aims to achieve need not be linguistic (e.g. painting a fence), the task necessitates language use for its performance. In other words, painting a fence becomes a language task if it cannot be performed without some use of language (e.g. under-Author De®nition Long (1985) A piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward. Thus examples of tasks include painting a fence, dressing a child, ®lling out a form. .. . In other words, by`task' is meant the hundred and one things people do in everyday life, at work, at play, and in between.`Tasks' are the things people will tell you they do if you ask them and they are not applied linguists. Crookes (1986) A piece of work or activity, usually with a speci®ed objective, undertaken as part of an educational course, at work, or used to elicit data for research. Carroll (1993) Any activity in which a person engages, given an appropriate setting, in order to achieve a speci®able class of objectives. Bachman & Palmer (1996) An activity that involves individuals in using language for the purpose of achieving a particular goal or objective in a particular situation. Bygate et al. (2001) An activity which requires learners to use language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective. It is claimed, rather, that (pedagogic) tasks provide a vehicle for the presentation of appropriate target language samples to learners ± input which they will inevitably reshape via application of general cognitive processing capacities ± and for the delivery of comprehension and production opportunities of negotiable dif®culty. New form±function relationships in the target language are perceived by the learner as a Prabhu (1987) An activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome from given information through some process of thought and which allowed teachers to control and regulate that process was regarded as a task. Candlin (1987) One of a set of differentiated, sequencable, problemposing activities involving learners' cognitive and communicative procedures applied to existing and new knowledge in the collective exploration and pursuance of foreseen or emergent goals within a social milieu. Nunan (1989) A piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is primarily focused on meaning rather than form.