Written by: Nabeeha Tahir

Task based teaching (TBT) is not a new phenomenon, which otherwise came in the highlight among educationists’ more than a decade ago, for being a game-changer in the teaching methodologies. Diving back to the history, it was introduced in 1980s as Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) to primarily teach English language, nonetheless, is more functional in today’s educational era as Task Based Teaching (TBT)- an inclusive strategy applied by teachers of all subjects to achieve an effective outcome.  With the advancement in teaching strategies and digital technology, Task based teaching (TBT) framework is adapting continuously based on the learner needs and abilities. Conversely, each framework has its own defined focus of attention. However, this article addresses the apprehensions related to this approach which have never been guessed by mentors to demerit the effectiveness of the lesson outcome.

Pitfalls of Excessive Tasks in a lesson - Unstructured Pattern

Applying Task Based Teaching (TBT) technique in lessons is indeed one of the best methods to develop learners’ motivation and skills. It not only supports students learning, it also, helps teachers to have interactive lessons, organized lesson plans, classroom management and achieve learner-centered stage. With all such optimistic aspects, one can never assume what is happening wrong in the entire process. This approach has led teachers to focus more on having unorganized lessons loaded with activities, gamification, worksheets, handouts, visual aids, etc. driving them away from the notion of concept teaching, elicitation, instruction-to-concept check stages and ensuring that learners understand what’s being taught.

Idea of an Excellent lesson in a teacher’s notebook!

Many teachers consider an excellent lesson is the one that has a lot of tasks, hence missing out the main impulse of the lesson. This does not provide them an opportunity to think on how this is affecting average to weak learners, especially in mixed ability classrooms. In vast majority of educational institutes globally, TBT is quite misunderstood leading it to be an exhausting experience for learners and teachers as well. Having tasks or activities one after the other leaves the struggling and average learners perplexed as they have not completely understood the main idea of the lesson being taught and are emphasized to must dive-in the tasks, yet the pressure to have correct answers is another story. This wholesome process is not enabling the teachers in balancing motivation and conceptual understanding in classrooms – precisely mixed-ability classrooms.

Stages of Task-Based Teaching – Understanding the core

 Undoubtedly, a lesson consisting of tasks leads to an interactive session, helps to build a learner-centered stage, supports cognitive & critical thinking. Contrarily, if it’s implemented following an unstructured pattern, the results can be vice versa. An unproductive outcome is never an objective of any teacher. Tasks should be applied based on the correct organized method as recommended by the pioneers of this technique.

The first stage is the Lead-in or Pre-task Phase, where the teacher intents to introduce the topic of the lesson by establishing the context based on students’ prior knowledge. Here, this needs to be understood that unquestionably there are multiple activities to conduct a lead-in session. However, only one or maximum two activities need to be applied rather than applying all or multiple activities in one phase.

The two illustrations display a layout of initial stages of a supposed-lesson plan. The design of Plan A does show a variety of ways to have interactive session and keeping students accommodative. However, it lacks the steps of observing students’ understanding through structured tasks, smooth flow and adequate time required for students to absorb the ideas learned.

 Whereas the Plan B, depicts one or two activities, with monitored students’ concept building at each stage through verbal and written production stages. These types of plans are a win-win situation both for the teacher and the student. Teacher can conduct the session smoothly, ticking out the lesson goals and outcomes. Students also have ample time to follow and process the information acquired.

Laying out tasks I believe, must be done through a well-spaced version, more than well-defined sequence of stages.

Well-spaced version means to have a sufficient gap between task pre-setting, elicitation, ICQs, execution, feedback, and error correction.

Quality vs Quantity: Comprehending the logic!

 Teachers should understand that learners are not in the classroom to see how much variety of activities a teacher knows or keeping the count of worksheets they have solved! It’s not a race or a competition where there is a display of how many interactive activities a teacher can do in one lesson. Students are there to learn the concepts through critical thinking, build their cognitive skills and eventually learn to apply them practically.

Having said that, prioritizing on the targeted activities to provide a quality of learning experience rather than exhausting on the quantity of activities is a wiser approach which should be adopted.

Sometimes students do not require a fancy or a highly intellectual approach. They need something simple which conveys the idea, provides an opportunity to interact with their teacher and share their concerns about the lesson topic. For example, there are two classes, Class A and Class B.

The teacher of Class A gives 3 tasks to its students.

a)     Match the word to its meaning

b)    Make sentences out of all the words from the list.         Total time 10-15 mins

c)     Fill in the gaps using these words.

Following each task, students promptly receive the correct answers without assigned sufficient time for peer discussion, analysis, asking questions, and process the meaning of the learned lexis. Reason being, need to move on to the next task within the time frame. This method proves challenging, particularly for average to weak learners who require additional time for understanding, preventing confusion and reducing dependency on peers when tackling the subsequent part of the task. Consequently, this situation worsens when students are asked to solve the tasks individually, as they possess only partial awareness of the meanings of the lexical items.

The teacher of Class B gives the same 3 tasks to its students.

a)     Match the word to its meaning and compare the answers with their partner after completing (5-7 mins)

b)    Make sentences out of any 6 words from the list, followed by sharing their sentences with the class (10-12 mins)    

c)     Fill in the gaps using these words and then answers will be discussed together. (10-15 mins)
Hereby, it can be observed that the teacher of Class B allows sufficient time for the students to critically evaluate the connection between the words and their meanings. After completion, give them a moment to compare their answers with a partner before discussing as a class. Noticeably, in the second task, gives students flexibility to choose words from the list and create sentences. Provide them with enough time to think and formulate constructive sentences. Lastly, the teacher introduces a context where students need to fill in the gaps using the learned words. At the end of the task, students are facilitated with class discussion and encourage students to explain their choices.

In the pursuit of effective Task Based Teaching, quality should always triumph over quantity. No matter how many worksheets, activities, questions a student is solving one after the other, it's crucial to focus on creating a conducive learning environment where students can engage meaningfully with tasks, reflect on their understanding, and collaborate with peers. By spacing out tasks, emphasizing critical thinking, and allowing time for processing, teachers can achieve a balance that benefits all learners, including those with varying abilities. Ultimately, it's the quality of the learning experience that makes a lasting impact on students' comprehension and retention of the subject matter.

Reference:

• The Effect of Task-based Language Teaching in Learning Motivation (by HW Chua · 2020 )

• Methodology in language learning- T-Kit (Council of Europe and European Commission- 2000)

About the Author:

Nabeeha Tahir, holding an M. Phil degree and certified with CELTA, IELTS, and Teacher Trainer qualifications from the UK and Australia, emerges as a distinguished ESL/IELTS Instructor. Alongside her role as a Train the trainer, she also serves as a Course Developer for professional teacher development and a skilled Research Writer. Ms. Tahir has dedicated over 9 years to the field of education. During this time, she has been active in training teachers and imparting English Language & IELTS instruction to undergraduate and graduate bilingual learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. Ms. Tahir's extensive expertise spans teacher education, second language acquisition, curriculum implementation, lesson plan development, content-based instruction, and resource development. She has successfully implemented these skills in both university and international schools in Saudi Arabia. Proficient in digital tools and software, Ms. Tahir currently serves as a teacher trainer, course developer, IELTS & ESL Instructor, guiding and mentoring tutors as well as students to enhance their capabilities.