1. Elisabeth L. Chan
-University of North Texas-
-Intensive English Language Institute-
TESOL International Association
Philadelphia Convention 2012

2. Have You Ever Heard?
 I don’t need to ESL. I studying for TOEFL.
 I want pass TOEFL. I’m not needing ESL.
 I am studying, but I’m studying my own thing.

3. Students’ Misdirected Focus
 Low participation in class
 Low homework completion
 Low motivation
 Focus on “TOEFL-ing” out of ESL

4. It’s Easier than English
 IEP students often have an unrealistic picture of
 American university expectations
 the linguistic and cognitive demands necessary to be
successful
 time (for studying, for class, for completing their
degrees)

5. Dose of Reality
Ways to help students gain a more realistic
picture:
 Sit-in on classes
 Bring past ESL graduates to speak to the class
 Bring in a guest lecturer to give an authentic lecture
 Use authentic lectures from the Internet (Open Course
Ware)

6.  What is a task?
 Everything people do in everyday life, at work, at play
and in between (Long, 1985)
 Activity carried out as a result of understanding
language, which may not involve language production;
specific definition for successful task completion
(Richards, et al., 1986)
 Structured language learning activity with specific
objective, appropriate content, procedure, and
outcomes(Breen, 1987)

7.  What is a task?
 Meaning is primary; learners create their own meaning;
real-world activities; task completion priority;
assessment is in terms of outcome (Skehan, 1998)
 Workplan causing learners to process language
pragmatically; focus on meaning and learners use the
language they already know; real-world use (Ellis, 2003)

8. TBLT
 Task-based language teaching helps students by:
 Using a needs based approach
 Having students learn to communicate through
interaction in target language
 Incorporating authentic texts
 Helping learners focus on the learning process
 Enhancing learner’s personal experiences
 Linking language in classroom to the outside

9. Ssshhhh
 English Language Skills
 Reading, Listening/Speaking, (optional: Writing)
 Expand vocabulary, familiarize with discourse
 Grammar:
 Simple present, future, and past tenses
 Modals, “need” + infinitive
 Question formation, answers

10. Three Tasks
 First Week of Classes
 Reading Like You’ve Never Read Before
 English Comp 101

11. Task 1 – “First Week Of Classes”
 Objective: students learn about degree requirements,
as well as course expectations
 Materials:
 Course requirements for students’ majors
 Sample syllabi from gen ed courses
 Time: 20-30 minutes
 Possible task outcomes: list requirements “outside
major”, list comparisons between a gen ed course and
IEP’s expectations

12. Discussion Questions
 What are “gen ed” requirements?
 What courses will you take?
 What information is on a syllabus?
 How does it compare to your IEP class syllabus
and policies?

13. Surprise!
 Items that surprise many students:
 Gen Ed Courses: Even if they are a business major,
they must take a science course.
 Policies: Attendance and participation are part of
the grade. No make up exams allowed.

14. Task 2 – “Reading Like You’ve
Never Read Before”
 Objective: students measure their reading abilities
versus actual reading demand
 Materials:
 Textbooks from gen ed courses
 Matching sample class syllabi
 Time: 20-30 minutes
 Possible task outcomes: time reading speed in gen ed
vs. IEP text, list a page count per week or per exam

15. Discussion Questions
 How many pages are in one gen ed textbook? IEP
textbook?
 How many pages do you read per week?
 How many chapters are on one exam?
 What do you notice about the vocabulary?

16. Surprise!!
 Items that surprise many students:
 The books are heavy.
 The print is small.
 There are so many pages in one chapter.
 You have to read many chapters per exam.

17. Task 3 – “English Comp 101”
 Objective: students learn essay and grading
expectations and measure their writing abilities versus
actual freshman writing demands
 Materials:
 Freshman English composition (rough, peer, final)
 Composition grading rubric
 Time: 20-30 minutes
 Possible task outcomes: apply the rubric to the
rough/final draft and calculate score

18. Discussion Questions
 How does the rubric work?
 What seems to be the most important?
 How many words do you think are in the paper?
 What grammar structures do you see?
 What type of feedback did this paper receive?
 What grade do you think the paper got after the
peer review?

19. Surprise!!!
 Items that surprise many students:
 The amount of points devoted to each part, especially
grammar.
 That the “-3” for grammar mistakes is per mistake.
 Points were taken off for incorrect format.
 The peer review partner did not catch all the mistakes.
 That theoretically you could score below zero.

20. Thank You!
 Re-focus students’ goals
 More realistic
 More useful
 Task-based approach
 Communicative
 Real world

21. CONTACT INFO
Elisabeth L. Chan
Elisabeth.Chan@unt.edu
ElisabethLChan@gmail.com
http://www.slideshare.net/ElisabethChan

22. TESOL Diversity Standing
Committee
 Look for the Diversity Survey at the TESOL
Membership Booth in the Exhibit Hall
 E-mail: diversity@tesol.org
 Online survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/tesoldiversity

23. Reference List
 Nunan, D. (2004). Task-Based Language Teaching.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.