Criteria for identifying tasks for TBL

In this first article I start by looking at what we mean by task'. This will enable us to
identify activities in our textbooks which have most of the characteristics of tasks. It will
also enable us to identify activities which we can adjust and turn into tasks.
When is an activity not a task?
Task-based teaching is about creating opportunities for meaning-focused language use.
In other words, learners doing tasks will not just be

speaking to practise a new structure e.g. doing a drill or enacting a dialogue or

asking and answering questions using the new' patterns;
or writing to display their control of certain language items,
These are primarily form-focused activities, designed to practise language items that
have been presented earlier. There is a place for form-focused activities in task-based
learning (TBL), but activities such as these are not tasks.
Learners doing tasks (i.e. focusing on meanings) will be making free use of whatever
English they can recall to express the things that they really want to say or write in the
process of achieving the task goal.
What kind of activity is a task?
Willis and Willis (2007:12-14) offer the following criteria in the form of questions.
The more confidently you can answer yes to each of these questions, the more task-like
the activity.

1.

Will the activity engage learners' interest?

2.

Is there a primary focus on meaning?

3.

Is there a goal or an outcome?

4.

Is success judged in terms of outcome?

5.

Is completion a priority?

6.

Does the activity relate to real world activities?'

Let us consider the task Planning a class night out' in the light of these criteria.

I think the lesson would certainly engage my learners' interest, especially if they
knew they would actually be going on the chosen night out, so a) is Yes.

Learners have strong preferences about nights out and would definitely be
meaning what they say, so Yes to b).

The first outcome for each pair is their finished plan for the night out, (which must
be complete before they tell the class about it so the class can vote on the best plan) and
a second outcome might be the real-world night out, so a confident Yes to c), d), e) and
f).
Next is an example of an activity designed for an adult class. Which of the questions a)
to f) might you answer with a fairly confident Yes? How task-like do you think it would
be, and why?

Think of the busiest day you have had recently. Work in pairs.
Tell your partner all the things you did.
Decide which of you had the busiest day, then tell the class about it.
Decide who in the whole class had the most hectic day (and say why.)
Finally, from memory, write a list of the things one person did on their busiest
day, and, without revealing their name, read it out to the class (or display it on the
wall) to see how many people can remember whose day it was.

Generally adults enjoy talking about (even bragging about) how busy they are/have
been, so this would score a Yes for a), b) and f). The first goal is to compare their
busiest days. The natural completion point for each learner is the end of their day - and
the final outcome - the selection of the busiest person is also clear, so we can answer Yes
quite confidently to the other questions. The final writing activity sets up an engaging
memory challenge game with a clear outcome - to identify the person written about.
Both the above activities, then, would count as tasks, and both generate several kinds of
genuine meaning-focused interaction amongst learners and teacher.
How can you upgrade a less task-like activity?
This activity comes at the end of a unit focusing on the language of past time:

Work in pairs. Talk about your grandparents.

Tell each other what you know about their past lives.
Use the phrases and patterns from the box above.

Think about this activity and apply the questions a) to f) above. Which questions would
you answer with a Yes, and which would be Not sure or No? How could you adapt it to
make it more task-like and get more Yes answers?
Commentary

You might answer Yes to a) and f) with some degree of confidence. We do, in real
life, occasionally talk about our grandparents and our memories of them. If the topic
Grandparents' does not engage all learners, let them choose instead an elderly person
they knew well.

For b), the answer would probably be No, because the final instruction (Use the
phrases and patterns from the box above) shows that this activity is intended largely to
practise these particular ways of expressing past time presented earlier in the unit. Cooperative learners will be trying to make sentences about their grandparents not simply
to give information but primarily to show mastery of the new forms. This is unlike natural
language use. To make it more task-like, we could delete the final instruction, and do this
activity early on in the unit, so learners are focusing more on meanings i.e. sharing their
memories of their grandparents in a natural way rather than trying to incorporate
particular language forms. Then the answer to b) would be Yes.

For c), d) and e) the answers are also likely to be No; there is no goal or purpose
given for talking about grandparents and learners have no way of knowing when they
have said enough to complete the activity, or whether indeed they have succeeded or
not. Some learners might end up saying very little.
Adding a goal or outcome to make a task
For the Grandparents' activity we need to add a goal to give the activity a purpose and
make the outcome more specific so that learners know when they have completed the
task. Some sample outcomes follow here and you could add one of these sets of
instructions, depending on which outcome you think would best engage the learners in
your class.

1.

Try to find out three things that your grandparents' and your partner's
grandparents' lives had in common. What was the biggest difference between them?
Or

2.

Decide which one of your partner's grandparents was / is the most interesting
person and give two reasons why you think so. Then tell the class about him/her and
vote to decide on the three most interesting grandparents in the class.
Or

3.

Describe two early memories you have of one particular grandparent. Tell your
group. Take notes when listening to each other.

Compare your memories - whose were the most interesting, most vivid,
most amusing, saddest or strangest?
And/Or:

Compare your groups' memories and try to find ways to classify them (e.g.
to do with food or meal-times? games? outings? being ill? negative / positive things?)
Then report your categories to the class, with examples. Did you all have similar ways of
classifying?
So there are several potential outcomes (and you might well think of others) that could
be created out of this activity to make it more task-like. In fact each of these would
make a different task.
If learners are clear what the outcome should be, and know the number of things to list
or describe, they are more likely to engage with the task, speak with more confidence
and know when they have completed it. Successful task achievement will greatly
increase their satisfaction and motivation. When, after completing the task cycle, they
look more closely at language forms used by others doing similar tasks, they will already
be familiar with the contexts and have experienced the need for some of those forms.
Conclusion
In this article, we have looked at six characteristics of a task and analysed two activities
that would count as tasks. We have also turned one less task-like activity into a task by
moving it to near the beginning of the text-book unit, making it meaning-focused rather
than form-focused, adding a definite outcome and making the instructions as precise as
possible so the completion point is clear.
In my next article we will look at different types of task, and see which kinds are most
often used in textbooks and how we can incorporate more task types into our teaching.
Further reflection

1.

Look at the three alternative sets of instructions (1 - 3.2) for the Grandparents'
activity above. Try to predict which of these (i.e. which outcome) would generate the
most varied interaction patterns and the richest use of meaning-focused language
amongst your learners.

2.

Look at a unit in your textbook. How many primarily form-focused activities are
there? And how many primarily meaning-focused? Choose one that your learners might
engage with and try to upgrade' it to generate richer meaning focused interaction and
become more task-like.

3.

Read Chapter 1 The basis of a task-based approach' in Doing Task-based Teaching

by Dave and Jane Willis OUP 2007.
If you are not sure what task-based teaching is all about, start by reading Richard Frost's
article A Task-based approach'.
Richard's article presents an excellent overview of a task-based learning approach (TBL)
and highlights its advantages over the more traditional Present, Practice, Produce (PPP)
approach. He has a link to a detailed lesson plan for the task Planning a class night out'.
Reference
Dave and Jane Willis 2007 Doing Task-based Teaching OUP
Written by Jane Willis, Consultant, Writer, UK

Six types of task for TBL

In this article we look at different types of task, and see which kinds are most often used
in textbooks. I also suggest ways of adjusting them so that they stimulate more
opportunities for meaning-focused interaction, and encourage learners to give longer
responses. Finally I show how a graded set of tasks can be developed on a theme.
Identifying task-like activities
In my first article Criteria for identifying tasks for TBL, we looked at six questions that
gave us criteria to help us identify tasks and upgrade' potential task-like activities into
tasks. So now we can identify activities in a textbook unit that could become tasks and
form the basis of a task cycle with;

Pre-task activities,

Task - Planning - Report cycle,

Post-task activities as illustrated in the activity Planning a class night out.

However, tasks tend to come in various disguises. Some textbooks contain quite a few
task-like activities, but very few use the word task to describe them. They often come
under section headings like: Speak out! Listening challenge; Think then compare
ideas; Reach a decision; With a partner In groups Its your turn Questions and
answers... Discuss ... Tell your partner Writing Reading or even under Grammar or
Vocabulary
For example, in Total English, a text-book for beginners, the activity: Who is your
favourite 20th Century icon? Tell your partner about the person. comes at the end of a
Grammar section on was / were which follows a reading activity.
There are several ways to turn this into a more rewarding task as illustrated in Criteria
for identifying tasks for TBL and you can also build up a graded set of tasks around this
theme - as illustrated below.
Three types of task
Activities like the following generally have the potential to become effective tasks:
Listing and/or brainstorming
You can list people, places, things, actions, reasons, everyday problems, things to do in
various circumstances etc.
Examples:

(1) In pairs, agree on a list of four or five people who were famous in the 20th
century and give at least one reason for including each person; Can you remember your
partners busiest day?

(2) On your own, make a list of all the things he/she did. Then check with your
partner. Were there any things you forgot?

Ordering and sorting

This can be sequencing, ranking, or classifying.
Examples:

(3) In pairs, look at your list of famous people. Which people are most likely to
remain popular and become 20th century icons? Rank them from most popular to least
popular, and be prepared to justify your order to another pair.

(4) Look at the four pictures. They are mixed up. Work in pairs. Put the four
pictures in a sequence so that they tell a story. Prepare to tell your story to another pair.
Matching
You can match captions / texts / recorded extracts to pictures; short notes or headlines
to longer texts, e.g. news items.
Examples:

(5) Read the texts each is about a famous person but the person is not named and look at the photos. Match each text to a photo. Then talk to your partner, and say
how you were able to match them. Prepare to tell the class how you did it.

(6) Read the four headlines A to D. Match two pieces of information (given in 1-8
below) to each headline. Explain to your partner how you did this. What clues did you
find? Did you both use the same clues?
Do you have any tasks like these in your textbooks? Sometimes textbooks use Listing,
Ordering and Matching activities at the beginnings of units, to introduce or revise useful
words and phrases to prepare for the main topics. The outcomes are usually clear (e.g. a
completed list, a set of matched information). But although they give valuable exposure
to relevant topic-based language in the form of reading texts or recordings, they rarely
stimulate much learner interaction as they stand.
Stimulating more interaction
All the examples I have given above are based on activities from real text books, but in
each case I have added a further step or two to stimulate additional meaning-focused
language use.

In 1 and 3 learners are asked to give reasons for or justify their decision

In 2, 5 and 6 they do the tasks individually then explain to their partner how they
did them

In 3, 4 and 5 they are asked to prepare to explain how they did the task or tell
their story to another pair or to the whole class.
Three more type tasks
Comparing: finding similarities and differences
Comparison tasks can be based on two quite similar texts or pictures (a classic example
is Spot the Differences) or places or events etc that learners have experience of.

Learners can also compare their own work with that of another learner or another pair or
group.
Examples:

Compare your list of possible 20th century icons with your partners list. Did you
have any people in common? Tell each other why you chose them. How many reasons
did you both think of? Finally, combine your two lists, but keep it to five people.

Tell your picture story to another pair and listen to theirs. Compare stories make
a list of the main similarities and differences.
You will by now have noticed that many of these tasks carry on the same themes as in
previous tasks. It is possible to build up a set of tasks on the same theme, each one
arising out of the previous one. This is an excellent way to build learners confidence
once they are familiar with the basic vocabulary for the topic, they can then do a range
of activities recycling the topic language and using it for different purposes in a set of
tasks.
Problem-solving
Text-books often contain activities based on common problems pollution, relationships,
noisy neighbours and so on. But sometimes problem-solving tasks are over too quickly
learners agree on the first solution that comes to mind, using minimal language, e.g.
Noisy neighbours? OK so call police. The instructions for the town centre traffic
problem in the example below incorporate six or seven ways of generating richer
interaction. Which of these ways might you use with your classes?
Example:

Think of a town centre where there is too much traffic. In twos, think of three
alternative solutions to this problem. List the advantages and disadvantages of each
alternative. Then decide which alternative would be the cheapest one, the most
innovative one, the most environmentally friendly one. Report your decisions to another
pair / group / the class, and discuss with them which solution would be the best one to
put forward to the local government.
More complex tasks like comparing and problem solving sometimes involve processes
found in simpler tasks, like listing see previous examples. The task above problemsolving - involves listing and quite a lot of comparing and evaluating.
Sharing personal experiences and story telling
Activities where learners are asked to recount their personal experiences and tell stories
are valuable because they give learners a chance to speak for longer and in a more
sustained way. And it is something we often do in real-life. However, as we saw from the
Grandparents activity in Criteria for identifying tasks for TBL, the instructions for
activities where learners are encouraged to relate things from their personal lives are
often rather vague and open-ended. In order to encourage richer interaction, we usually
need to add a clear goal, make instructions more precise, and give clear completion
points. See Criteria for identifying tasks for TBL which gives several ways to adjust
activities like these.
Summary
So far we have identified and commented on six types of task that sometimes appear in

textbooks or that can be adapted from task-like activities. We have seen that a set of
tasks can be built up around one topic. We have looked at ways of stimulating richer
learner interaction and giving more opportunities for genuine meaning-focused language
use and maximising learner responses.
Other activities like quizzes, questionnaires and projects can also generate rich
interaction if set up in such a way as to maximise learner participation. Tasks can also be
based on reading and listening texts. For three examples of task-based lessons such as
these you can download seehttp://www.willis-elt.co.uk/taskbased.html
In my next article, I will show how we can exploit text-book material to help structure a
task sequence, incorporating Pre-task activities, a task-cycle, leading on to language
focus and form focused work.
References
The tasks in this article are based on activities from:

Face2face Pre-intermediate by Chris Redstone & Gillie Cunningham (Cambridge

University Press 2005)
Total English Starter by Jonathan Bygrave (Pearson Longman 2007)
Further Reading
For more on task types, see Chapters 4 and 5 of Doing Task-based Teaching Dave Willis
& Jane Willis (Oxford University Press 2006)
Written by Jane Willis, Consultant, Writer, UK

From priming tasks and target tasks to language

focus and grammar
In this article, I will show how we can

increase learners' exposure to natural English through teacher talk and teacherled tasks

exploit text-book material to help structure a task sequence

incorporate priming tasks at the Pre-task stage

manage a task-planning-report cycle with a language focus in the Planning stage

do form-focused study after the task cycle

In my first and second articles I suggested that you look through your textbook units to
identify tasks or activities that can be made into tasks; these tasks will give learners

opportunities to use English for themselves. We also saw how you could build up a set of
tasks based around one theme. One task might become the target' task, or main task;
others might be used at a Pre-task/Priming stage, to activate vocabulary in preparation
for the main task.
Learning from exposure
In addition to using English themselves, learners need lots of exposure to English being
used (i.e. listening to and reading a good range of text types, both spontaneous and
planned language). Tasks based on listening and reading texts provide really useful input
(see Dave Willis's articles in last month's Teaching English). Listening is especially vital
for beginners who need lots of input before they are expected to speak.
So look through the next unit you will teach in your textbook to see what kinds of
exposure to English it provides. Is there a good balance of:

Listening tasks with transcripts of recordings? (The transcripts can be used for
form-focused study after the task).

Reading texts that form the basis for a task? (E.g. match texts to pictures).

Opportunities for topic-based teacher talk? (E.g. about your own experience of the
topic).
Teacher talk and teacher-led tasks on text-book topics
Learners love hearing about their teacher's personal experiences and opinions and this
kind of teacher talk forms valuable spontaneous input that learners will acquire from
naturally. Teacher talk in English is possible at all levels, even with beginners, very
simply, with gestures and drawings to help them understand. You can also set yourself
memory challenge tasks that stem from information you gain from learners. So plan
ahead - find topics or themes that you can talk about in the next unit you plan to teach.
This topic-based teacher talk is very useful in the Pre-task phase, when priming learners
on the theme of the lesson. Here are two examples:

On the theme of Where I live/lived' you could start the lesson by describing the
rooms in your own or your parents' house or flat, and saying which you like/d the best
and why.

On the theme of Talking about the past' - you could start by trying to guess what
individual people in your class did last week-end, and then trying to remember who did
what: "Carlos, did you play football last Sunday? No? Did you play football on Saturday?
Yes - OK, so Carlos played football on Saturday. Now, Maria did you go shopping last
weekend? Yes ?And what did you buy? Some shoes. Nice! OK so Maria went shopping
and bought some shoes and Carlos played football." and so on.
This last example combines a guessing game with a memory challenge. By the time you
have remembered one or two things for 15 or 20 learners, they will have had lots of
exposure to past tense forms and questions, and they will have been listening carefully
to see how well you can remember, and maybe even helping you. So this easily fulfils the
main criteria for a task - it is both engaging and meaning focused, without putting
pressure on the learners to produce any new forms.

You can also talk about things you bring into the classroom, e.g. fruit, vegetables,
clothes, photos of different holidays you've had. Bring them hidden inside a bag or
packet, take them out one by one and talk about each item (pre-task priming). Put them
all in a place where everyone can see them. Then you can follow on with some teacherled tasks, for example:

Listen and identify' puzzles: You describe one item without pointing to or looking
at it or giving too many clues. Learners listen and try to match your description to the
correct object - they put their hands up when they think they know which item it is.

Classifying fruit according to colour, popularity, country/continent of origin, size

and/or cost. You can do two or three of these classifying tasks with your whole class,
talking a lot and letting your class point and say whatever words they can to add to the
categories and complete the task as a class.

Correct the teacher' games. Say things about the items that are either true or
false. For example: "These are lovely orange grapes." The class might reply "No! - Not
orange! Green." Learners can later produce their own sentences for correction.

A simple memory challenge task: Cover up the items so learners cannot see them.
Ask learners in turn to name one thing, then you pick it up, show the class, talk a bit
more about it and put back in the bag. Finally, once everything is back in the bag, a
more formal memory challenge task with learners in twos or threes. Write or draw from
memory a list of the things, e.g. a green apple from Chile, an orange from Spain...or of
the photos of holidays, e.g. skiing in Andorra. Give a time limit, after which learners take
turns to tell the class about one or two things they remembered.
So here we have a number of teacher-led tasks that could lead up to a final memory
challenge listing task that learners can do together. This final task would count as the
target task, with learners listening to each other in the final report back' stage (this
provides more useful exposure - they can learn a lot from each other, too) and you can
expand on their contributions, rephrasing where appropriate.
Use the book but change the order
So let us look at how we can adapt a text book unit to build up a task sequence which
gives rich exposure to language in use and opportunities for learners to use English for
themselves.
In many cases this will mean changing the order of the unit sections and doing the
grammar sections later, after you have done a set of tasks on the topic. It is really
important to let learners do the tasks, expressing their meanings as best they can with
the language they have already acquired, even if they make mistakes. Then, after the
task sequence, to use the Grammar sections to focus on form and help them build on
what they know. If they do the grammar first, they will be worrying about using the new
forms and getting them right, rather than focusing on what they want to mean. This will
have a negative effect on their confidence. It takes time to absorb grammar - it is rarely
learnt quickly enough for them to put to immediate use in spontaneous interactive talk.
Pre-task/Priming phase
The aim of this stage is to prepare learners for doing the main target task. For this they
will need vocabulary to express the meanings they may wish to express when doing the

target task. Any of the suggestions above for teacher-led tasks could be used at this
stage.
Most textbook units start with some vocabulary building activities to introduce the words
and phrases that are useful for the new theme or topic. These can often be made into
mini-tasks that are more engaging than just listen and repeat'. If there are pictures, use
them for Correct the teacher' / True or False games (teacher-led or with learners in pairs
or groups) or memory challenge tasks.
For example:

With your partner, look at the picture of the house for one minute and try to
remember the names of the furniture in each room. Close your books. You now have two
minutes to draw / write a list of things in each room. How many things have you got in
each room? Now say / read your list to another pair and see who got the most... Finally
ask your teacher if she/he can remember what furniture is where.
Task Cycle: Task - planning - report
In many of the tasks illustrated in my second article, the final instructions were "Now tell
another pair your story / what you have done / Tell the class who you chose and say
your reasons". This is what is often called the Report stage. At this stage, because they
are going public' and talking to a wider audience, learners naturally want to use their
best language - they will feel the need to plan well, use the right words, speak as fluently
as they can and avoid mistakes. But most learners will need help to prepare for this.
If you incorporate a Planning stage between the task and the report back stage, learners
will have a chance to focus on the language they want to use and improve it. They can
check out words in a dictionary, and ask you to help them say what they want to mean.
They can even rehearse their report in pairs. So you as teacher will be acting as
language advisor, and learners will each be working at their own level, building on,
improving and extending the language they already have. Thus we achieve a learnercentred focus on language in the context of the task.
During the final Report phase, there is a simultaneous focus on fluency and accuracy,
and the Planning stage helps them to prepare for this.
Focus on Form: At the end of the task cycle
Now is the time to turn to the grammar sections in your textbook. Learners will now have
experienced quite a lot of this language in use, and the grammar exercises can often be
done quickly as consolidation exercises. To save time, start each exercise off in class and
let them finish them at home working at their own pace. Some books have grammar
reference and/or review pages - use these as a basis for a grammar quiz prepared by
learners at home.
Conclusion
Throughout this article, I have tried to show how, in a task based approach, the focus is
on learners learning language (through using and experiencing it themselves), rather
than teachers teaching language. The most common questions that teachers ask at this
point are:
How can I make time in class to do tasks and still cover my textbook?
Are there other ways of focusing on form?

These I will address in my next article: How to include tasks and cover the textbook
syllabus.
Further Reading
There is more on language use in the task cycle in Richard Frost's article A Task-based
approach'.
For more on Focus on form at the end of the task cycle' see Doing Task-based Teaching
Dave Willis and Jane Willis (OUP) Chapter 2 pages 25-30.
For more on language focus and form focus see Doing Task-based Teaching Dave Willis
and Jane Willis (OUP) Chapter 6 pages 113-133.
Written by Jane Willis, Consultant, Writer, UK

Making time for tasks and still covering the syllabus

The wish of language teachers everywhere is to promote genuine learning - the ability to
use the language and to interact with a reasonable degree of fluency. However, despite
all teachers' efforts, learners often leave school knowing' a lot of grammar and
vocabulary but unable to speak with confidence. They can make up sentences, (given
time), read quite well and even pass exams but cannot cope with situations which
demand spontaneous spoken interaction. And this situation is what task-based
approaches to language teaching attempt to remedy.

Genuine learning means using the language

What textbook activities are best for homework?

What aspects of the task cycle can be done at home?

Conclusion
Genuine learning means using the language
Tasks and task-based sequences give learners opportunities to interact in English and to
experience language in use. Hearing teachers speaking English is vital, (see my
article From priming tasks and target tasks to language focus and grammar for more
about this, and for ideas for teacher-led tasks), and teacher talk is very much part of the
task cycle. But equally important is for learners to use English for themselves as much as
possible, to activate the vocabulary and grammar they have previously covered. In most
countries, spoken interaction can only be practised in the classroom, so how do we make
time for this and convince learners that it is an appropriate use of class time?
Explain to learners why you need to make time for tasks in class. Most learners will
agree they would like to speak English with some fluency. Doing grammar exercises does
not generally help people learn to speak. Very few learners have opportunities to speak

English outside the classroom. So somehow you need to make time for speaking
activities in class, and also time to focus on features of spontaneous interaction.
One way of making time for tasks is to select textbook activities that are suitable for
homework. So the next question is: which textbook activities could your students do
outside class - in their own time - at home or possibly while travelling? Which activities
might in fact be best' done out of class where individual learners can work at their own
pace? Here are some suggestions.
What text-book activities are best for homework?
Reading
Rather than reading a complete text in class, introduce it in class and do a prediction
task (without giving away any answers) to give them a reason for reading it later. Then
set the main reading text for homework, with another task to do. Comprehension
questions can be done at home too, or learners can invent their own questions to
contribute to a team quiz for the next lesson. For a language focus, learners can
underline words, phrases or expressions they found useful or liked, to share with the
class next lesson, and note down questions they have or parts they didn't understand.
The big advantage is that each learner can read at their own speed, and take time to
reflect on the language features in the text. And, in addition to stimulating autonomous
learning, it saves a lot of class time.
Listening
Sometimes it is possible for learners to listen to their class materials in a library or selfaccess centre. If learners have their own means of listening they can do this on journeys
or at home, and replay the recording as many times as they need. As with reading, do a
short priming stage in class beforehand and set a listening task to do at home so that
learners feel motivated to listen and have a goal to fulfil.
As a subsequent language focus activity, students can:
write down any phrases they need help with, look them up in a dictionary

prepare to explain two or three new items to the class next lesson

listen and repeat and/or transcribe short sections they like

practise pronunciation and intonation by reading the transcript out loud, and
pausing the recording

study the transcripts of the recording (these are usually in the back of the textbook) and take note of features of spoken interaction.
Learning and revising vocabulary
This is best done in learners' own time - as learners have different ways of memorising
words. Equip them with ways of classifying and recording new words, e.g. mind maps or
pictures so they can choose what works best for them. Each student can then devise
three or four quiz questions or gap-fill sentences to test the class on new vocabulary
next lesson.
Grammar practice exercises
These are also better done at home - when each learner can do them at his/her own

pace. Set these at the end of a task cycle so learners will have met some of the new
forms in context already. Go over them quickly next class, or let them mark' each
others' exercises and ask if in doubt.
Writing
Students can:

prepare first drafts of written work at home using a dictionary and then benefit
from specific teacher advice or group editing' in the next lesson.

write up final versions at home after a planning session in class, and then display
them in the next lesson for others to read.
Evaluation and review
End of unit evaluations and language reviews are perfect for doing at home when there
are fewer distractions. It gives learners a chance to go back over the unit and reflect on
what they have learnt and identify things they still need to ask about.
TIP: Always set up the homework in class beforehand and give them a purpose or goal to
attain, and make it clear exactly how you will use their homework or check their work at
the start of the next lesson.
What aspects of the task cycle can be done at home?
Task preparation
Learners can prepare vocabulary for a new topic at home using a dictionary, and
research a topic using web-sites or asking other people and prepare to report back in
English.
Sometimes you can give them the task instructions the day before the task so they can
plan what to say and how to say it. Then in class you can go straight into the task. They
can do the priming at home.
Task Report
After doing the task and planning a report in class, learners can write or practise a full
version at home. This can be displayed in class, or they can be asked to reduce it to very
short notes and give their report orally with the help of the notes.
Form Focus
Sometimes this can be done at home (see suggestions above) and taken up in class the
following lesson. The advantage is that each learner will have had a chance to assimilate
the new language at their own speed and later in class can ask about things they really
need to know.
In addition to text-book exercises there are other ways of achieving a focus on form and
helping learners expand their vocabulary - by going back to past reading or listening
texts and asking learners to collect different kinds of language features. These are often
called consciousness-raising activities. In the following lesson, learners contribute the
examples they have found, discuss how they could classify them and put them up on the
board. For example, depending on the text or transcript, learners could be asked to list
or underline:

words and phrases related to the topic e.g. if a text is about a boat on a rough sea
- find all the phrases denoting movement

phrases of location; time phrases or vague language

phrases referring to the future e.g. We can leave as soon as I have finished this
letter

verbs ending in -ing or -ed

phrases with a particular preposition e.g. on or at or in

words or phrases that are typical of spoken interaction e.g. Well,... So what we
did was...

new words, phrases or expressions they like or think might be useful or in spoken
interaction, circle all the verb phrases following the word I
Try some of these and see what you find out about language! Encourage your learners to
become 'language investigators'.
Conclusion
In this article I have outlined some ways of making more time in class for spoken
interaction by suggesting activities from the book and tasks that can be done outside
class. I have tried to show that a task-based approach (with a focus on form) can be
adapted to fit alongside almost any text-book, and that the syllabus can still be covered,
only in a rather different way.
The advantages are several:
Your students will end up not just knowing English, but also using it,

They will be able to speak and interact with more confidence,

They will have become more autonomous learners,

They will be far better equipped to go on learning English in the world outside the
classroom.
The chances are, too, that both you and your learners will enjoy your lessons more
because everyone is more active and involved. Lessons will be more interesting and
varied - learners nearly always have interesting things to say, once they have the
confidence to say them.
Further reading:
Doing Task-based Teaching Dave and Jane Willis (2007 OUP) Chapter 10 pages 212 216 for more ideas for making time for tasks and pages 228 - 229 for tips from
practising teachers on implementing task-based teaching.
There are more examples of ways to achieve a focus on form in reading texts in Dave
Willis's articles on this site (May 2008).
See also Consciousness-raising activities originally published in Challenge and Change in
Language Teaching (Dave and Jane Willis eds. 1996, Macmillan). This article outlines
techniques for encouraging learners to look at and analyse language for themselves. It

also gives hints on how best to exploit texts for language study. To download this for
free, go to our web-site http://www.willis-elt.co.uk/books.html and scroll down to the
end.
Written by Jane Willis, Consultant, Writer, UK

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/criteria-identifying-tasks-tbl