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Task-Based Language Teaching
Task-Based Language Teaching
According to Ellis (2003), Nunan (2005) and Richards & Rodgers (2001) Task-Based
Language Teaching is a teaching method that offers a framework in which students improve
their language competence by doing meaningful tasks. To this respect, Willis and Willis
(2000) and Izadpanah (2010) suggest TBLT consists of an integrated set of processes that
involves designing a task that includes decision- making about what tasks, what the learners
will do and then the order in which they will perform the tasks. To support this view point,
Cordoba (2016), Sarani, Behtash and Nezhad (2014) say that TBLT increased the mastering
of any language skill and creates a real-life language practice and use and provides a natural
context for language study. In sum, TBLT is a teaching and learning methodology that offers
students the opportunity to be engaged in meaningful, goal-oriented tasks that are designed
enhance fluency and accuracy at the same time. In accordance with Ellis (2005) fluency is
the capacity to communicate in real time and accuracy is the “ability to use the target
Referring to task, Nunan (2004) a task is “a piece of classroom work that involves
express meaning, and in which the intention is to convey meaning rather than to manipulate
form.” (p. 4). Sánchez (2004), Nasirian (2012), and Sarıçoban and Karakurt (2016) point out
that tasks are real-life activities that promotes meaningful language learning experiences to
the learners. Other important fact in TBLT are the meaningful or real-life tasks, Nunan
(2006) states that “meaningful tasks provide opportunities for learners to experiment with
and explore the language through learning activities which are designed to engage students
in the authentic, practical and functional use of language for meaningful purposes” (p.10).
To the same respect, Ganta (2015) explains that meaningful tasks aim at “meaning-focused
language use” so they give the participants the chance to be “language users” rather than
Based on the principle that TBLT provides rehearsal opportunities and enough time
for the students to think, create, and reflect about their learning language process by
conducting assignments in which they to collect, compare, analyze and interpret the
information to perform daily-life activities to learn a language. Ellis (2002) explains that a
lesson based on this methodology consisted of three states, “Pre-task” “during task” and “post
task”. The first step, the Pre-task is about planning how the task will be developed by the
students. The second stage, the during task emphases on the development of the assignments.
The last stage, the post task deals with recommendations or follow- up assignments based on
the performance of the students. In this action study, the research has decided to following
this model because it offers a clear cycle in which the students can have the opportunity to
Listening is a skill that allows the understanding and interpretation of oral messages
and increases communicative competence in ESL or EFL education. In this regard, Richards
(2008) expresses that listening had a noticeable place in language teaching and learning. He
manifests that this ability facilitated the acquisition of the input that the students need to
incorporate to learn the structures, the phonology, the vocabulary and the correct
pronunciation of the language. Many research studies (Chang & Millett, 2013; Matsuo, 2016;
Stephens, 2015; UcáYin, 2013; Renandya & Farrell, 2010; Renandya, Waring, 2010; and
Nation (as cited in Onoda, 2012) have showed the importance of this to facilitate general
listening comprehension. Brito (2015) affirms that this ability serves as a trampoline to
promote the understanding and the acquisition of other language skills. In this sense,
Richards (2005), Motallebi and Pourgharib (2013), Robb and Susser (1989), and Andrade
(2006) explain that listening contributed to have better language performance and is an
effective way to enhance pronunciation, speaking and intonation proficiency. Rost (1991)
agrees that listening was a decisive competence to promote the acquisition of sounds and
patterns that provides learners with capabilities such as becoming better listeners, improving
oral interaction and creating opportunities to be more analytical, synthetic and keen on what
other people say. To this respect, Iwanaka (2014) sustains that promoting this skill
encouraged students to acquire not only the language but also the opportunity to expand their
Taking into account that the theoretical construct of this research study is based on
TBLT, listening tasks are seen in this papers as all the assignments that designed to practice
listening as an integral element of EFL education that needs pre, while and post task stages
to be developed. In this orders of ideas, Renukadevi (2014) recognizes that “listening tasks
improved language competence in a EFL langauge” (p.1). By the same token, Hyslop &Tone
(1988), Kim & Kang (2015), Sevik (2012), Kim & Kang (2015), Wilson (2003) and Phuong
(2013) argue that listening assignments allowed the students to expand their expertise in the
language. Sharma (2011) explains that in listening tasks, there are basically three processes
teachers should focus when they work with listening in the EFL classroom: comprehending,
Harmer (2008) says that to promote listening tasks within TBLT framework, the
believed that “learners first need to recognize paralinguistic clues such as intonation in order
to understand mood and meaning. They also need to be able to listen for specific information
(such as times, platform numbers, etc), and more general understanding” (p. 135). Some of
the steps he proposes to develop listening are: 1) encourage students to listen as often and as
much as possible, 2) help students prepare to listen, 3) encourage students to respond to the
content of a listening, not just to the language, 4) applying different listening stages demand
Lampert (1985) states that one way to promote listening task is to use different
meaningful oral interaction. These strategies help to overcome specific listening problems
Steps
Techniques
Methodology
Procedures
Motivating factor
Meaningful listening tasks.
Meaningful listening tasks refer to those activities that the teachers design to enhance
real-life listening practice that go beyond pedagogical or instructional class activities. These
tasks are done to integrate language learning with one or more abilities of the language and
are directly related to the students’ interests, levels, and ages and cultures. Day & Bamford
(1999) explain that this practices meaningful listening tasks enriched EFL learning process.
According to Gilakjani & Ahmadi (as cited in Kim& Maneg, 2011), “teaching this
ability in EFL contexts creates listening habits which could enhance the ability to apprehend Commented [A1]: ??? Do you mean skill?
Commented [A2]: Which ones are those? Say them.
what is being said in audio material” (p.12). Listening practices include playing attention to
what other are saying, avoiding distraction, listening attentively to what is being saying,
showing respect to the speakers, waiting for communication time, and participating of the
conversation. Hellenes and Brown (2007), and Waring (as cited in Yin, 2013) state that EFL
students could be able to achieve fluent abilities in their understanding of the aural part of
EFL Journal, 7(3). Richards, J. & Rodgers, T.. 2001. Approaches and methods in language
Ganta, T. G. (2015). The strengths and weaknesses of task-based learning (TBL). Scholarly
Nunan, D. (2006). Task-based language teaching in the Asia context: Defining ‘task'. Asian
EFL journal, 8(3).
Ellis, R. (2002). The methodology of task-based teaching. OXFORD University press.
Sharma, N. (2011). Strategies for Developing Listening Skills. ELT Voices, 6, 12-18.
Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2001). Task-based language learning. In R. Carter, & D. Nunan, The
Sharma, N. (2011). Strategies for Developing Listening Skills. ELT Voices, 6, 12-18.