Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an approach that uses tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction. A task is an activity or goal carried out using language. The key principles of TBLT are that language is used for meaningful communication, lessons involve purposeful activities and tasks, and learning a language is best when it mirrors real-world language use. TBLT focuses on the process of learning through tasks that provide opportunities for input, output, and negotiation of meaning rather than solely teaching language structures. The teacher takes on roles like selecting and sequencing tasks, preparing learners, and raising learner consciousness of the language.

1. Task-Based Language Teaching
TBLT

2. What is TBLT?
It is an approach based
on the use of tasks as
the core unit of
planning and instruction
in language teaching.

3. What is a task?
A task is an activity or goal that is carried out
using language.

4. Examples

5. Main points of TBL
Process
Communication and meaning
Purposeful activities and tasks

6. Theory of language
 Language is primarily a means of making meaning
 Multiple models of language inform TBI: structural,
functional and interactional models of language.
 Lexical units are central in language use and
language learning
 “Conversation” is the central focus of language and
the keystone of language acquisition

7. Theory of learning
 Tasks provide both the input and output
processing necessary for language
acquisition
 Task activity and achievement are
motivational
 Learning difficulty can be negotiated and
fine-tuned for particular pedagogical
purposes

8. The syllabus
Conventional syllabus Task-based syllabus
 It specifies the content of a  It specifies the task that
course: should be carried by
– Language structures learners within a program:
– Functions – Pedagogical tasks
– Topics and themes – Real-world tasks
– Macro-skills (reading,
writing, listening, speaking)
– Competencies
– Text types
– Vocabulary targets

9. The syllabus
Conventional syllabus Task-based syllabus
 It specifies learning  It is more concerned
outcomes. with the process of
learning.

10. Learner roles

11. Teacher roles
Selector and sequencer of tasks
Preparing learners for tasks
Consciousness-raising

12. The role of instructional materials
 Pedagogic Materials: They are limited only
by the imagination of the task designer.
 Realia: TBI proponents favor the use of
authentic tasks supported by authentic
materials wherever possible.

13. • Students examine a newspaper,
determine its sections, and suggest
Newspapers three new sections that might go in the
newspaper.
• After watching an episode of an
unknown soap opera, students list the
characters (with know or made-up
Television names) and their possible
relationship to other characters in the
episode.
• Seeking to find an inexpensive hotel in
Tokyo, students search with three
different search engines (e.g., Google,
Internet Yahoo), comparing search times and
analyzing the first ten hits to determine
most useful seach engine for their
purpose.

14. Procedure
Jane Willis
 She teaches at Aston University,
UK, on their new modular
Masters in TESOL/TESP. Her
books include Teaching English
Through English (Longman),
Challenge and Change in
Language Teaching (with Dave
Willis, Heinemann), and A
Framework for Task-based
Learning (Longman).

15. Sequence of activities

16. Pretask

17. The task cycle

18. The language focus
• Students are given an opportunity to reflect and
analyse the new language which has emerged
through the task.
Analysis
• Students put the language acquired into practice.
Practice