TASK-BASED APPROACH IN EDUCATION

HOW TASK-BASED APPROACH CAN DEVELOP LANGUAGE SKILL AND ENHANCE COMMUNICATION COMPETENCIES IN CLT CLASSROOM?

Introduction

            Twenty-first-century requires a new approach of teaching and learning process in order to achieve the learning objectives effectively. It is believed that the learners’ can acquire language better through natural and meaningful communication process as stated in Krashen’s hypothesis (Krashen, 1982). Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) that promotes active learning and student-centered learning is one of the popular new approaches for learning languages. Task-based approach is one of the best approaches in promoting CLT in the classroom. Task-based approach in language learning can be defined as the process of the learners in acquiring and mastering language skills to find solutions to the task given. Thus, in the other words, the goal of task-based approach focuses on how the learners gain better understanding and apply their knowledge in solving problems.

            However, the major misunderstanding occurs in task-based approach teaching in the Communicative Language Learning classroom. Some of them think task-based approach in CLT classroom only focus on the meaning that the learners want to deliver and neglect about the accurate grammatical form. Thus, the misunderstanding about CLT is promoting language fluency but not language accuracy. Language doesn’t have to well form in grammar to be meaningful but in CLT classroom, the importance of language accuracy definitely is taking into account.

                                         The basic principle of task-based approach is not only encourages the learners to use the language for functional purposes and to develop language skills but also to apply knowledge of the targeted language or analysis and accomplish the tasks given by their instructors. Task-based approach in teaching focuses on input providing skills, which also can be known as receptive skills (listening and reading) and output prompting or productive skills (speaking and writing) at the same time. In the other words, through task-based approach in communication language teaching, learners can apply the use of all the skills during learning and teaching process. Thus, it is important to select the appropriate tasks as interactive activities to be carried as classroom activities.

Task-based approach in the classroom

Task-based approach in CLT classroom proposes the relationship between language learning and tasks. Generally, PPP model, Presentation-Practice-Production is widely used in communicative classroom. PPP model can be executed in task-based approach classroom by assigning the students to work on a topic given. However, the topic given must be related to students’ environment in order to be a meaningful task for them. For the example, teacher assigned a group of students (4 to 5 person in a group) to work on ‘The effect of water pollution’ issue based on PPP model. For the first step, the teacher needs to present the aim of the task and explain why they need to work on it so that the students are clear with the task. Next, for practice stage, students are ready to find information for the task and practice to use the targeted language in explaining the elements in the topic. The students can understand how to use the language in the context on the topic. Finally, for the production, the students need to discuss among themselves by using targeted language while teacher observes their conversation. All of the students need to contribute ideas to the related issue.

                          Tasks can be ‘unfocused’ or ‘focused’ (Ellis R., 2009). For the unfocused task-based approach, teachers can apply meaningful principle in carrying out interactive round robin activity and encourage the students to use targeted language in general communication. In this activity, students sit in a circle and they need to tell about some problems that they experienced from their camping activity while the other students need to give respond by asking some questions to their mates. This activity implement communication principle or real communication enables students to talk about their real life experience besides builds students’ confidence to talk about themselves. This activity carries meaningful principle and purposes whereby the students use the language to talk about themselves.

Meanwhile, focused task-based approach can be seen where the students need to communicate by using specific linguistic feature and grammatical structure in giving ideas. For the example, in the focused task-based approach discussion, students need to give ideas and respond to each other by discussing the same issue and they are more focus on sociolinguistic and strategic competence. From sociolinguistic competence aspect for unfocused task-based approach, students need to be alert in the appropriateness of the language and the content used while polishing their interaction skills by managing the discussion in the form of turn-taking talk. Next, they can improve their strategic competence by contributing ideas with confidence and fluency while negotiate the ideas or seeking for clarification in the proper manner. These tasks are polishing listening and speaking skills.

Task-based approach interactive activity is not only limited to group activities but it also can be carried out by pair work. CLT classroom can polish other skills as well other than speaking and listening skills. For the example, teachers can assign essay writing task to pairs of students and encourage them to discuss about the topic given. Teachers need to make sure that all the students contribute ideas and present their before they start to write their essay. The rest of the students need to jot down what their friends present, after the pairing discussion. Next, all of the students will have additional important points and they can start to write their essay in pairs by following the writing stages which are from generating ideas, planning and drafting, structuring and reviewing their work.

Pair work activity may take a lot of time to execute it in the class. However, this activity carries a lot of benefits to the students in the form of learning process. This activity can improve communicative skills when the students work in pairs and interact with their partner in exchanging ideas. In presenting their ideas in front of their mates, the students also can increase their confidence and their writing skills when they need to from an essay based on the important points. Teachers can promote learning and implement task principle in targeted language that can polish students’ writing skill in CLT classroom in this activity.

This activity focuses on all of the competencies which are linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competence. For discourse competence, students can learn to generate ideas in a coherent form and strategic competence, students can clarify their point of view by giving additional supportive sentence to their main ideas. Besides, students can develop their sociolinguistic and linguistic competence by applying the suitable format for their writing, suiting the content with the language use and use the accurate grammar and vocabulary in their essay writing.

In conclusion, task-based approach mainly is about the completion of the task at the end of the learning process. Thus, during the ongoing process, language skills and competencies that will be developed in the learners can be observed through the comprehension achievement at the end of the lesson. This approach has significant objective and specific procedures in acquiring second language in an effective way.

References :

Ellis, R. (2009). Task‐based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221-246.

Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition.