Journal of Translation and Languages ‫مجلة الترجمة واللغات‬

ISSN : 1112-3974

Task-Based Learning Approach:

From Theory to Practice

Grazib Mohamed
University of Saida Moulay Tahar -Algeria
mfgrazib@hotmail.com

Abstract: The field of teaching has witnessed the elaboration of bounteous approaches and methods,
eached influenced by a learnig theory and a teaching theory. The task-based approach is an example
of these innovations in teaching in general and English language teaching in particular. With its
three-phase procedure, pre-task, task and post-task phases, the task-based approach fits project-
based learning and is consistent with the competency-based approach. This paper aims to popularise
the use of the task-based learning as an approach in ELT classrooms. The focus will be also on the
way teachers switch from theory to practice keeping the same pedagogical objectives. The paper
sheds light on the main phases of the task-based learning approach, its advantages if used with
students having different abilities and how to evaluate their tasks.
Keywords: Task-based learning, English language learning, project pedagogy, evaluation,
classroom’s different abilities.
Résumé : Le domaine de l'enseignement a vu l'élaboration d'approches et de méthodes multiples,
chacune influencée par une théorie de l'apprentissage et une théorie de l'enseignement. L'approche
par tâches est un exemple de ces innovations dans l'enseignement en général et l'enseignement de la
langue anglaise en particulier. Avec sa procédure en trois phases, les phases pré-tâche, tâche et post-
tâche, l'approche par tâches s'adapte à l'apprentissage par projet et est cohérente avec l'approche
par compétences. Cet article vise à populariser l'utilisation de l'apprentissage par tâches comme
approche dans les classes de l’enseignement de la langue anglaise. L'accent sera également mis sur
la façon dont les enseignants passent de la théorie à la pratique en gardant les mêmes objectifs
pédagogiques. L'article met en lumière les principales phases de l'approche d'apprentissage par
tâches, ses avantages s'il est utilisé avec des élèves ayant des capacités différentes et comment évaluer
leurs tâches.
Mots clés : Apprentissage de la langue anglaise, approche par tache, evaluation, pédagogie de projet.

1. Introduction
Didactics has witnessed many important innovations in what concerns
approaches and methods that can go hand in hand with both teachers and students’
needs and aspirations. The task-based learning is among the recent methods adopted
by teachers in many pedagogical fields, simply because it gives many opportunities
to students with different abilities and competencies within the same classroom.

2. Task-Based Learning Principles

The task-based learning originality is that at the end of the learning process,
the lecture will be crowned by a production. This production will be strongly related
to what was seen and explained by the teacher. Students can exploit the best of this
method by enlarging expanding their knowledge and making further research in the

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classroom and/or at home. The use of many resources is possible such as: Internet
exploration, hard books, PDF books, videos, audio files….
Students can restrict their investigations by using their own capacities as they
can ask for the help of teachers, parents, friends…. They will have a full autonomy
to select the way they manage their work by adopting the adequate and necessary
methodology.
During the investigations, the students can enrich their vocabulary, lexis, new
patterns as well as different grammatical forms. Generally, teachers do not pre-
determine the content of the lesson to be taught but the details of its content will be
drawn according to the immediate needs expressed by the students.

3. Task-Based Learning Phases

Most of teachers adopting the TBL opt for the tri-dimensional form of this
method. It consists mainly on dividing the lesson into three distinctive parts:

Phases Main recommendations

- Task identification
Pre-task - Pedagogical objectives
- Main definitions
- Teacher’s recommendations/advice/support
Task - Collecting/selecting/organising and arranging data
- Task analysis and finalisation

- Presentation and display

Post-task - Evaluation
- Comments /argumentations and critics

Table1. A Framework for designing task-based lessons

o Pre-task phase: It is the task presentation, where the teacher will introduce
the main features of the task. The identification of the task, the definition of
its characteristics, the main pedagogical objectives expected at the end of the
task. Students will be trained with new situations of the target task such as
new expressions, new vocabulary.
o Task phase: This phase will minimise the teacher’s role from almost 100%
in the pre-task to just 10% in the task phase. This rate consists mainly on the
new role of the teacher from the owner of knowledge in the pre-task phase to
just an observer, collaborator, and adviser in the task phase. Students perform
individually, in pairs or in groups their work. They can consult their teacher
when really necessary. A free working atmosphere should be created in the
classroom environment where the students may be motivated to perform the
expected tasks in very suitable conditions.

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o Post-task phase: also called the production phase. It consists on the exhibition
and the display of the students’ tasks. All the students’ activities should be
reviewed or displayed in order to motivate them. During the evaluation
phase, the positive sides should be mentioned and rewarded first. The
mistakes and the negative sides may be corrected anonymously. Teachers
should give opportunities to their students to express their argumentations
towards the choice of the content, the way and the methodology adopted.

4. Task-Based Learning and Projects

The task-based learning fits elegantly the project based-learning. The recent
curricula are characterized by the integration of projects at the end of each unit or
file. Projects are considered as real and true ways to measure and evaluate
competencies through students’ realisations; whatever the ways, methods, tools and
means used to achieve and realise these projects.
Projects are used to initiate students to research and investigation. Generally,
they are given multi-topic projects, where they can choose and opt for the appropriate
one which will suit their levels, motivation and intelligence. Teachers may opt for
open-ended projects rather than structured projects or topic-related projects. The
open-ended projects cannot limit students’ imagination and creativity, they permit
them to express and show to which extent they can apprehend a research; however,
with structured projects and topic related projects, the expected outcomes will be
almost the same for all the learners; then, teachers can’t feel any important difference
between projects prepared by students of different levels.
Projects urge students to revise and assimilate the pre required information
from the related lessons of the project. They have many indirect pedagogical aims
and objectives, they make them able to use their own methods and strategies to think,
solve, create, design and present their projects. They can feel really autonomous
when working outside the classroom; they can satisfy their curiosity without
obstacles. They learn how to make the right choice and decision when opting for
such project rather than another one as well as the methods and strategies used to
achieve it…. Time notion is also not neglected in project pedagogy, it trains students
to respect the deadlines and manage the time duration to realise the project in a pre-
determined period.
Projects are considered as the final learning step that could be introduced as
main objectives. It is the result and the fruit of many pedagogical parts; it could be
applied to many levels according to competencies and abilities. A project could be
achieved by realising the following steps:
 The choice of the theme and the form of the final presentation (written report,
oral…)
 The choice of the adequate strategies and methodologies
 Data collection
 Organising and arranging collected data
 Analysing and studying findings
 Project presentation

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 Project discussion and evaluation

As in real life situations, sometimes pupils know only what they want and why
they want it, but the way to get it will differ from one person to another, from one
situation to another. What will make final differences in the results could be without
any doubt: motivations, personality, psychological and intelligence differences.

5. Teachers and Students’ Roles in TBL

The main aims of TBL tend to give more autonomy to students so it lessens
teachers’ interventions from 98% (pre-task) to just 10% (post-task) in and promote
learners’ interventions from 2%(pre-task) to 90% (post-task).
Rate Pre-task phase Task phase Post-task phase

Teachers’ 98% 25% 10%

roles

Students’ roles 2% 75% 90%

Table 2. Teachers and Students’ Roles in TBL

As seen from the table above, students’ roles move from 2% in the
pre-task phase to 90% in the post-task phase. Students have an important role
in the task phase; they need assistance, supervision and collaboration from
their teacher. However, teachers’ roles lessen from 98% (dominator) to just
10% in the post task phase. In certain cases, the teachers’ roles can reach 50%
or more in the task phase with some students who have difficulties. In these
cases, the teachers are considered as partners. The figure below gives more
illustrations

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100%

90%

80%

70%

60%
Teachers’ roles
50%
Students’ roles
40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Pre-task phase Task phase Post-task phase

Figure1. Teachers and Students’ Roles in task-based learning

Projects are considered as the final learning step that could be introduced as
main objectives. It is the result and the fruit of many pedagogical parts; it could be
applied to many levels according to competencies and abilities. A project could be
achieved by realising the following steps:
 The choice of the theme and the form of the final presentation (written report,
oral…)
 The choice of the adequate strategies and methodologies
 Data collection
 Organising and arranging collected data
 Analysing and studying findings
 Project presentation
 Project discussion and evaluation

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Main Phase Teachers’ Students’

Participation Participation

The choice of the theme and the 80% 20%

form of the final presentation
(written report, oral…)
The choice of the adequate 70% 30%
strategies and methodologies
Data collection 20% 80%
Data organization and 10% 90%
arrangement
Analysing and studying findings 5% 95%
Project presentation 0% 100%
Project discussion 0% 100%
Project evaluation 50% 50%

Table 3. Teachers and Students’ Participation Rates

As in real life situations, sometimes students know only what they want and
why they want it, but the way to get it will differ from one person to another, from
one situation to another. What will make final differences in the results could be
without any doubt: motivations, personality, psychological and intelligence
differences.
From the following figure we can easily notice that: The objectives of the TBL
are set to diminish the large disparity between teachers and students’ interventions.
The teachers’ roles slide from 98% to 2% hence the students’ roles slide from 10%
to 90%. The strength of the TBL resides on the way that makes students’
participation more important than in other approaches and methods.

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Teachers and Students' Participation

in TBL

· Project evaluation
· Project discussion

· Project presentation

· Analysing and studying findings

data organization and arrangement

Data collection

The choice of the adequate strategies

and methodologies
The choice of the theme and the form of
the final presentation (written report,…
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Figure 2. Teachers and Students’ Participation in TBL

Teachers’ participation is objectively limited in order to give more autonomy

and flexibility to students. Teachers are neither the owners of the knowledge nor the
leaders of the learning process but they are full participants in all the different phases
of the projects. They must intervene to assist students, give advice and guide them
to solve the confronted difficulties. However, students have more flexibility in the
choice of the project and how to realise it.
6. Project Methodology in TBL
Almost all the projects follow the same methodology which consists of three
distinctive parts1:
o Pre-phase project
o During the project
o Post-phase project
In the pre-phase, teachers will present and explain briefly the most important
parts of the project. During the project, students will choose a topic, make a plan,
collect information and data, select and organise data. In the final phase, students

1
Jane Willis “ A Framework for Task-Based Learning” Oxford University Press 2007

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will present and display their project and make a self evaluation for their realisation.
According to the results of the classroom observation2:

Passive Hesitating Active Participants

participants Participants

Pre-phase 70% 20% 10%

Task-phase 10% 30% 60%

Post-phase 5% 5% 90%

Figure 4. Students’ Participation in TBL Phases

As expected, and as shown from the below figure, students are more active during
the project. This will prove strongly the famous saying: “Involve me and I will
learn”3. In contrast, students are passive learners and passive observers during the
pre-phase where teachers will explain everything to their students. Finally, and in the
post-phase of the project, almost all the pupils are active, and more motivated. This
category of pupils is known as the “full members” or the “core of the groups”4.

Titre du graphique
90%
80%
70%
60%
Titre de l'axe

50%
Passive participants
40%
Hesitating Participants
30%
Active Participants
20%
10%
0%
Pre-phase Task-phase Post-phase
Titre de l'axe

Figure 3. Students’ Participation in TBL Phases

2
statements made during many classroom observations in TBL sessions
3
Benjamin Franklin
4
T. Karalis (2010): Situated and Transformative Learning

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7. Projects Based Learning Expected Outcomes

As mentioned before, all the projects fall in one main goal which is: research
oriented approach where students will use their own methods and strategies to
reach the research objectives.
It is worthy to mention the other important expected outcomes of project
pedagogy:
 Making and taking decisions
 Respecting time and deadlines
 Opting for cooperative learning
 Sharing information
 Developing self-esteem and self confidence
 Solving problems
 Learning by their own
 Developing linguistic intelligence
 Developing interpersonal intelligence (for cooperative learning)
 Developing intrapersonal intelligence (for individual learning)

8. Task/Project evaluation
During the evaluation phase, the way tasks/projects are designed, presented
and displayed will inform teachers about students’ hobbies and preferences.
Teachers may be astonished when evaluating some tasks/projects; they will detect
some hidden characteristics of their students such as their multiple intelligences.
Tasks and/or projects permit easily to recognise the students’ intelligence. In the
following taxonomy, Gardner presents eight ways to detect learners’ intelligence:
 Verbal/Linguistic intelligence: Reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
 Logical/Mathematical intelligence: Working with numbers, and abstract
patterns.
 Visual/Spatial intelligence: Working with images, mind mapping,
visualising, and drawing.
 Musical/Rhythmic intelligence: Using rhythm, melody, patterned sound,
song, dance.
 Bodily/Kinaesthetic intelligence: Processing information through touch,
movement, dramatics.
 Interpersonal intelligence: Sharing, cooperating, interviewing, relating.
 Intrapersonal intelligence: Working alone, self-paced, instruction,
individualised projects.
 Naturalist intelligence: Spending time outdoors, sorting, classifying,
noticing.

Teachers should pay attention to the way the students prefer presenting their
tasks, by this way they may detect their multiple intelligences. The ordinary way of
presenting tasks by listening, speaking, reading and writing is mainly related to the
verbal/linguistic intelligence. The use of numbers, statistics, mathematical charts,
tables and formula show that the student has a logical or a mathematical intelligence.

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The presence of images, maps, visualisations and drawings lead to the

visual/spatial intelligence. Students who use music, songs, rhythms, melodies and
special sounds have inevitably a musical or a rhythmic intelligence. If the students’
tasks processing or presentations are based on movements, bodily gestures,
touch…This category of students is a kinaesthetic intelligence type.
The students working in groups, sharing resources, cooperating are of interpersonal
intelligence type; however, those working alone, self-paced, not cooperating with
their friends are of intrapersonal intelligence type. The naturalist intelligence type is
of students preferring the outside tasks where they spend their time in classifying,
observing, noticing…

9. Conclusion
Through this paper, we have seen that the task-based learning is strongly
related to the project based learning which goes hand in hand with the pedagogical
objectives of the competency based approach. The task based learning can fit easily
any of the basic methodologies adopted in many domains and fields: Mathematics,
exact sciences, social sciences, literature and languages.
Both teachers and learners’ roles are affected in project pedagogy. Teachers
act as associate participants and partners in the project realisations, they offer
suggestions and propositions. They can just intervene to assist students, give advice
and guide them to solve the confronted difficulties. Students have more flexibility
and have more autonomy in all the different phases of the projects, they become
more active if compared to the traditional classroom activities
The task-based learning is a true barometer that can measure effectively the
students’ multiple intelligence. The use of the task-based learning approach has
redefined learners and teachers’ roles. It has reinforced learner-centred
methodologies. Teachers move from the position that considers them as sources of
knowledge and providers of input, towards one of teachers as guides and facilitators,
or even co-researchers. Learners will be very interested by the tasks they can choose
to realise and achieve because they incarnate really their competencies, capacities
and skills.
Project based learning activities play a vital role in the development of the
students’ outcome capacity and quality. They will be initiated to research activities
and learn how to solve learning problems and difficulties. Consequently, students
become more active, more motivated, more autonomous and more cooperative
during the project phases.

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References
[1] Bloom, B-S. (1974). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. David McKay Ed.
[2] Willis, D & Willis, J. (2006). Doing Task-Based Teaching. Oxford University Press.
[3] Gardner, H. (1983). The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
[4] Gardner, Howard. (1993). The Theory of Multiple Intelligences: The theory in practice.
New York: Basic Books.
[5] Willis, J. (2007). A Framework for Task-Based Learning. Oxford University Press.
[6] Elis, R. (2003). A Framework for Designing Task-Based Lessons.
[7] Karalis, T. (2010): Situated and Transformative Learning. Oxford University Press.

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