This presentation covers all the areas of Task-Based Language Teaching from its definition to its limitations and disadvantages.

1. Task Based Language
Teaching (TBLT)
Supervised by:
Prof. Rajaa Hassine
Done by:
Wafaa Abaraghe
Meryame Gouzili
Maryam El Mouharrir

2. Table of contents
01
05
04
02
06
03
Definition of TBLT
Principles of TBLT Objectives
Historical
Background
What is a Task?
Key assumptions
of TBLT

3. Table of contents
07
11
10
08
12
09
Stages of TBLT
Students’ Roles Instructional
Materials
Types of
pedagogical tasks
Advantages and
Disadvantages of
TBLT
Teacher’s Roles

4. “In the end we retain from our studies
only that which we practically apply.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

5. Definition of TBLT:
● Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an approach to language instruction that focuses
on the completion of meaningful tasks as the primary unit of learning. In TBLT, language
learning occurs through the successful accomplishment of tasks that require the use of
language in real-world or simulated real-world situations.
● Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) refers to the use of tasks as the core unit of
planning and instruction in language teaching.
● It has been defined as “an approach to language education in which students are given
functional tasks that invite them to focus primarily on meaning exchange and to use
language for real-world, non-linguistic purposes” (Van den Branden 2006).

6. Historical Background:
● Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), as we know it today, was first developed in
the 1980s by N Prabhu, a teacher and researcher in Bangalore, South India.
● He suggested that language acquisition is “an unconscious process which is best
facilitated by bringing about in the learner a preoccupation with meaning, saying
and doing”.
● He believed that using tasks would help tap into learners’ natural mechanisms for
second language acquisition.
● Although TBLT emerged from the previously elaborated Communicative Language
Teaching, it goes beyond just communication by incorporating real-life language
needs into the learning process.
● The Communicative Teaching Project, started by Prabhu, thus had no linguistic
syllabus. Instead, it specified a number of problem-solving and meaning-focused
activities or tasks.

7. Key assumptions of the TBLT approach:
● The focus is on process rather than product.
● The basic elements are purposeful activities and tasks that emphasize communication and
meaning.
● Learners learn language by interacting communicatively and purposefully while engaged
in activities and tasks.
● Activities and tasks can be either those that learners might need to achieve in real life or
those that have a pedagogical purpose specific to the classroom.
● Activities and tasks in a task-based syllabus are sequenced according to difficulty.
● The difficulty of a task depends on a range of factors, including the previous experience of
the learner, the complexity of the task, the language required to undertake the task, and
the degree of support available.
Feez, S. 1998. Text-Based Syllabus Design. Sydney: National Centre for English Teaching and
Research.

8. Principles of the TBLT:
● Tasks and content of the lessons should be related to the students’ level and
interests.
● Learning tasks should motivate students.
● Tasks should boost students’ confidence and minimize their anxiety.
● Errors are tolerated and are a significant part of acquiring a second
language.
● Students should use language in order to negotiate meaning.
● Tasks should push students to be responsible and enable them to learn how
to learn.

9. Objectives:
The main objectives of task-based language teaching are:
● It aims to improve students’ language learning process by engaging them in various real-
world tasks.
● Make students confident in using their current language proficiency.
● Enable students to experience spontaneous interaction.
● Help students develop intrinsic motivation.

10. What is a Task?
“a piece of classroom work which involves learners in
comprehending , manipulating , producing or
interacting in the target language while attention is
primarily focused on meaning rather than form”.
Nunan (1989)

11. Stages of TBLT
1. PRE-TASK:
The pre-task phase of a TBL lesson is the time when the teacher sets homework,
contextualizes the lesson topic, sparks student interest, and prepares students for homework.
To do this, you can show students an example of the completed assignment or model it. This
can be done by activating students' general knowledge of a given topi c and helping them
anticipate the type of language they will need to perform the task proposed.
It is extremely impo rtant that students understand the objectives of the assignment during
this phase. The focus of the stage is to engage students, set expectations,and give
directions.

12. 2. TASK
Begin the task!
In this stage of the TBL lesson, learners perform the task proposed. Small groups or pairs are good, rather
than a bigger group where shyer students can ‘hide’. Ideally you won’t join in the task, but you’ll be
monitoring, and only giving hints if students get really stuck.
When students finish performing the task, they need to plan how they are going to report it to the rest
of the class or to other groups. They may rehearse and research the language necessary in order to share
the outcome of what they had done. Finally, students report the outcome of the task to other students.
The focus of this stage is fluency - using the language to communicate without falling into L1 unless
really needed.

13. 3. POST-TASK:
The post-task stage is when students evaluate their performance.Peer reviews are preferable, or if during
your monitoring you see an error common to many, a teacher-led delayed correction is also very useful.
For weaker groups, peer correction can be made more effective by giving the students support on how
to give feedback - perhaps via a checklist, or a ‘Things to Look For’ list.
It can also involve feedback provided by the teacher and subsequent practice of language items that
emerged from the task.
It is important to stress that form-focused language work should be in response to students’ production.
That means that the teacher will not teach a grammar lesson and expect that learners use that specific
structure while performing the task, neither should the teacher work on a pre-selected language item in
this phase of the lesson. This makes the role of the teacher as a monitor extremely important in TBL.
The aim for this stage is accuracy - reflecting on completed work and analysing it.

14. 1. Unrealistic language use
2. Use Language as an end.
3. Focus on form & rules.
4. Language production is
usually necessary
5. Accuracy based mostly.
1. Real life-like
2. Use language as a toll
3. Do not focus on forms,rules
4. Language production is not
always necessary
5. Fluency based
Pedagogical Task: Traditional Task:

15. Types of pedegogical tasks:
1. Cognitive
2. Interpersonal
3. Linguistic
4. Affective
5. Creative

16. 1. Cognitive
-Brainstorming
-Evaluating
-Inferencing

17. 2. Interpersonal
-Working in groups, in
pairs, coorperating ,
collaborating,........

18. 3. Linguistic
-Reading
-Listening
-Writing
-Speaking
-Using contexts
-Summarizing
-Skimming

19. 4. Affective
-Sharing personal
experiences with
others.
-Self evaluating
-Reflecting on learning

20. 5. Creative
-Thinking about new
ways of doing things.
-Problems solving
-Using language
creatively

21. Teacher’s Roles
1. Design tasks
2. Use scaffolding techniques
3. Give less instructions & explanations.
4. Encourage-risk taking and tolerate errors.
5. Provide feedback.

22. Students’ Roles
1. Work collaboratively
2. Be responsible for their learning.
3. Find effective learning strategies.
4. Reflect and evaluate their learning.
5. Be creative.
6. Use resources beyond teachers & textbooks.

23. Instructional Materials
1. Articles from news, magazines, and journals.
2. Radio and Television programs, scripts and
advertisement.
3. Stories and reports.
4. Instruction manuals.
5. Recipes.
6. Slides, videos and presentations.

24. Advantages of TBLT:
● Rather than using language only in the production stage in the PPP approach, TBLT
approach gives students the chance to use language throughout all the stages.
● Students learn by working in groups which encourage them to cooperate.
● Students have more exposure to language (lexicon phrases, collocations, patterns, as well
as language forms).
● The language input is controlled by the students’ needs rather than the teacher's decision.
● It is a student-centered approach.
● It emphasizes communication abilities; students spend much time communicating with
each other.

25. Disadvantages and Limitations:
● Students typically translate and use a lot of their L1 rather than the target language in
completing the tasks. (Broady)
● It focuses too much on communication, meaning, and tasks and neglects form and
accuracy.
● Learners may rely only on their first language while working on a communication task.
● Learners could face difficulties acquiring language due to fossilization.

26. Thank you for
your attention!

27. Activity