27 March 2015 / by Vincent Chieppa

Task-based language teaching: 6 tools for task force teachers



Please note that the emphasis of today´s discussion is not on the theory itself, but rather on the types of tasks that could be incorporated in any class.  If you so wish, you could read up on the methodology of task-based language teaching by taking a peek at this article, slideshow or video.  So, why don´t we turn to different types of tasks associated with task-based language teaching instead.



• Brainstorming/Thought showers

• Pros & cons

• Strengths & weaknesses



• Fact-finding

• Planning

• Exploring ideas



• Sequencing

• Ranking

• Categorizing & classifying



• Matching

• Finding similarities & differences (in tables, examples, qualities, facts etc.)

• Evaluating cases



• Finding solutions

• Examining real/hypothetical situations

• Reasoning

• Decision-making



• Sharing personal experiences

• Describing

• Discussions

• Debates



• Picture/headline prompts

• Dialogue jigsaw

• What happens next?





You might have noticed that these categories are not meant to be mutually exclusive; many of these tasks stretches over several of these categories and could be incorporated in an overall task-based language teaching framework.   I am sure that you must also have noticed that this blog should only be used to jump-start your creativity in building on your own task-based activities.  As always, go and nurture those students´ interest of yours.

17

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