1. B Y : I V A N A G U I L A R
TASK BASED LEARNING IN
THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM

2. OBJECTIVES
By the end of this presentation we’ll have…
• Reviewed the evolution of Language Teaching
Methodology
• Explained the underlying principles to TBL
• Compared TBL with another language teaching model
• Experienced a language teaching activity based on TBL
• Identified ways to implement TBL principles in our
teaching
• Shared and evaluated ideas on how to implement TBL in
our classrooms

3. WHERE DOES AN E.T. COME FROM?
Linguistics
Applied
Linguistics
Language
Pedagogy
Bilingualism
Contrastive
analysis

4. WHERE DOES AN E.T. COME FROM?
Grammar translation
Direct
Method
Audio-
lingual
Community
Language
Learning
Communicative
Language
Teaching
• Lexical Approach
• Natural Approach
• Humanistic Approach
• Task Based Learning

5. TASK BASED LEARNING: PPP VS TBL
PPP
•Presentation
•Practice
•Production
TBL
•Pre-task
(Introduction to topic
and task)
•Task cycle (Task-
planning-report)
•Language focus
(Analysis and practice)

6. TASK BASED LEARNING: PPP VS TBL
PPP
• A Focus on two or three
forms specified by the
teacher.
• The focus on form comes
before the communicative
activity
• The success of the activity is
judged in terms of whether
or not learners produce the
target forms.
TBL
• A focus on meaning in which
participants are concerned with
communication
• A focus on language when
learners think about the best way
to express themselves.
• A focus on meaning in which
learners study isolated lexical or
grammatical forms.

7. TASK BASED LEARNING: THE FORM
MEANING CONTROVERSY
Why not starting with form?
Learners can not pay attention to both form and
meaning.
Natural development of a language (in children)
starts with the meaning.
Learners engage in unnatural activites where the
goal is form focused practice.
Time investment
Real world needs and presures.

8. TASK BASED LEARNING: THE FORM
MEANING CONTROVERSY
This is a very popular contest in many radio stations.
The task is simple. Ask your partner as many questions
as possible. Your classmate should answer to your
questions but can not say YES or NO because this
makes him/her lose.

9. TASK BASED LEARNING: PPP VS TBL

10. TASK BASED
LEARNING: AN
EXPERIENCE

11. TASK BASED LEARNING:THE
PRINCIPLES
• 1. Meaning is primary.
• 2. Learners do not regurgitate meanings from
teachers, course books or other sources.
• 3. There is a connection between a real-world
activity and the classroom task.
• 4. Task completion has some priority.
• 5. Task outcomes are the basis for assessment

12. TASK BASED LEARNING: A TAXONOMY
OF ACTIVITIES
Your Topic
Teens
Ordering
Sorting
Classifying
Comparing
Matching
Sharing
Experiences
Project Work
Problem
Solving
Listing

13. TASK BASED LEARNING:
IMPLEMENTING THE PRINCIPLES IN
THE CLASSROOM
• Make your instructions more precise: Talk to your
partner-Talk to your partner and…
• Add post tasks reports
• Re-ordering activites-Do the skill lessons first.
• Prime better (warm-up activites)
• Focus on a concrete outcome.

14. TASK BASED LEARNING:SHARING
IDEAS
• Check your handout.
• Where could you implement some of the task
based learning principles?
• Here are the principles to help you remember.
1. Meaning is primary.
2. Learners do not regurgitate meanings from
teachers, course books or other sources.
3. There is a connection between a real-world activity
and the classroom task.
4. Task completion has some priority.
5. Task outcomes are the basis for assessment

15. TASK BASED LEARNING: A CHECKLIST
1. Does the activity engage learners’ interest?
2. Is there a primary focus on meaning?
3. Is there an outcome?
4. Is success judged in terms of outcome?
5. Is completion a priority?
6. Does the classroom activity relate to real world
activities?

16. QISS
• What is a QUESTION you have in your mind?
• What is something you found INTERESTING you
found?
• How could you SUMMARIZE your learning?
• What is a SUGGESTION you have?