Possible Inadequacies in the application of the Task-Based Language Learning
by O. G. P.
Subject: Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Methodology I
In this essay, I will talk about some considerations (often overlooked) during the application of the Task-based language learning (TBLL) in English teaching. On the things I like about the TBLL, is the principle that teacher will attend the mechanics of the language after a meaningful language interaction has taken place. (TBLSIG, 2014). This way, there will be some linguistic topic that will come to attention and the post-task activities will be very useful because Ss will be predetermined to pay attention to what they have just communicatively experienced. Ss then may learn from their errors and may correct themselves or remember the aspects of language with more significance. I understand that there are many more advantages in this approach, but this time I want focus more on the critiques against TBLL.
TBLL is supposed to promote student-centered learning, so that the teacher only be a facilitator, and the students work to solve a problem or perform a task. I cannot resist, however, recalling in my experience, and highlighting some of the possible problems which my acquaintances and I have faced while studying under this approach. In my humble opinion, one of these is that, very often, the student’s feelings are not really taken into account. Some tasks may increase the level of Ss’ frustration if these are very difficult. I have seen how SS with better proficiency, are the only ones who sometimes have more facility to perform the tasks, but not everybody is able to learn the same way. Sometimes the Ss with lower levels of proficiency, are the very ones who are left behind when the tasks demand more than what they can do. So tasks should also use the principle “i + 1”, not to ask Ss to solve things they are not yet ready to solve.
Another thing is that when tasks are just too many, they may overburden the SS. At times, Ss end up seeing the teacher as the one who only assigns tasks and leaves all the work to the students, and does not do almost anything. So the amount of work should also be reasonable. Many times I have known teachers who only assign a huge amount of tasks, projects, or presentations. Then they evaluate subjectively the task performance, but Ss end up seeing them as teachers who just assigned tasks and raised judgments of tasks that they never modeled or taught before. In addition, many times, when presentations or explanations about tasks are given by a group of Ss, I’ve seen that if they are too long, many of the other Ss are passive or uninterested because they are not having real interaction and production at that moment.
Finally, the so-called “fossilization” may be a problem if we totally deviate the attention from language learning itself and instead focus only on the delivery of tasks. Some Ss’ may prepare “a short oral or written report to tell the class what happened during their task; then practice what they are going to say in their groups," but for experience, I have seen that many SS with just memorize what they are going to say in their short-term memory, or read it without caring about the language use. After that, some of them forget the use of that language because their focus was not on it, but only in the task.
In conclusion, I recognize that the TBLL might be very useful for students who want to communicate and have the chance to be assigned tasks they are prepared to achieve, but one should also see that the assignment of tasks by itself does not secure the language learning of the SS. As TBLL advocators propose, I believe that we “learn by doing” tasks when we want to learn to do them, but there are other factors that should be taken into account not to apply the approach in a wrong way.
TBLL is supposed to promote student-centered learning, so that the teacher only be a facilitator, and the students work to solve a problem or perform a task. I cannot resist, however, recalling in my experience, and highlighting some of the possible problems which my acquaintances and I have faced while studying under this approach. In my humble opinion, one of these is that, very often, the student’s feelings are not really taken into account. Some tasks may increase the level of Ss’ frustration if these are very difficult. I have seen how SS with better proficiency, are the only ones who sometimes have more facility to perform the tasks, but not everybody is able to learn the same way. Sometimes the Ss with lower levels of proficiency, are the very ones who are left behind when the tasks demand more than what they can do. So tasks should also use the principle “i + 1”, not to ask Ss to solve things they are not yet ready to solve.
Another thing is that when tasks are just too many, they may overburden the SS. At times, Ss end up seeing the teacher as the one who only assigns tasks and leaves all the work to the students, and does not do almost anything. So the amount of work should also be reasonable. Many times I have known teachers who only assign a huge amount of tasks, projects, or presentations. Then they evaluate subjectively the task performance, but Ss end up seeing them as teachers who just assigned tasks and raised judgments of tasks that they never modeled or taught before. In addition, many times, when presentations or explanations about tasks are given by a group of Ss, I’ve seen that if they are too long, many of the other Ss are passive or uninterested because they are not having real interaction and production at that moment.
Finally, the so-called “fossilization” may be a problem if we totally deviate the attention from language learning itself and instead focus only on the delivery of tasks. Some Ss’ may prepare “a short oral or written report to tell the class what happened during their task; then practice what they are going to say in their groups," but for experience, I have seen that many SS with just memorize what they are going to say in their short-term memory, or read it without caring about the language use. After that, some of them forget the use of that language because their focus was not on it, but only in the task.
In conclusion, I recognize that the TBLL might be very useful for students who want to communicate and have the chance to be assigned tasks they are prepared to achieve, but one should also see that the assignment of tasks by itself does not secure the language learning of the SS. As TBLL advocators propose, I believe that we “learn by doing” tasks when we want to learn to do them, but there are other factors that should be taken into account not to apply the approach in a wrong way.
Bibliography
- Council of Europe and European Commission, July 2000. Methodology in language learning T-Kit. Council of Europe publishing. http://youth-partnership-eu.coe.int/youth-partnership/documents/Publications/T_kits/2/tkit2.pdf
- Task-based Learning Special Interest Group (2014). “What is TBL?” http://www.tblsig.org/what-is-tbl
- British Council BBC. 26 April, 2004. A Task-Based Approach. Teaching English. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/a-task-based-approach
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