Efl Teachers'' Perceptions Of Task-Based Language Teaching A Case Study At A Midtier Language Center In Ho Chi Minh City Ma .Pdf

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY
UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TASK-BASED
LANGUAGE TEACHING: A CASE STUDY AT A MIDTIER LANGUAGE CENTER IN HO CHI MINH CITY
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of
Master in TESOL

By
THACH THI QUACH THI

Supervised by
CAO THI PHUONG DUNG, Ph.D.

HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2022


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to several people. Without their
instruction, support and encouragement, the completion of this thesis would not be
possible.
First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Cao
Thi Phuong Dung. She has provided me with lots of invaluable knowledge, support
and guidance. I really appreciate her professionalism and admire her patience when I
work with her through this thesis. Without her dedicated contribution, my thesis is
hardly completed.
Second, my special thanks go to my beloved friends and my dearest person for
their care, support and encouragement. They always stand by, bringing me lots of
energy and motivation to reach the end of the Master-in-TESOL journey.
Third, I am indebted to my family who always support and listen to me when I

have difficulties in my studies. They welcome me to get home every time I am under
pressure to write the thesis.
Finally, I would like to thank and congratulate myself on my effort and
patience to reach this far. This journey is long enough and filled with spikes and
thorns, so I am blissful to write these words to accomplish this thesis.

i


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I certify that the thesis entitled “EFL teachers’ perceptions of Task-Based
Language Teaching: a case study at a mid-tier language center in Ho Chi Minh City”
is my original work.
I hereby declare that this study has not been previously submitted to any
institutions for any purposes.

Ho Chi Minh City, October 2022

Thạch Thị Quách Thi

ii


TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. i
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ..................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................. vi
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. vii

LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................viii
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ ix
CHAPTER 1 ......................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background of the study ..........................................................................1
1.2 Aims of the study .....................................................................................3
1.3 Significance of the study ......................................................................... 4
1.4 Scope of the study ....................................................................................4
1.5 Thesis organization ..................................................................................5
CHAPTER 2 ......................................................................................................... 6
LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................... 6
2.1 Tasked-based Language Teaching (TBLT) ............................................ 6
2.1.1 Theoretical Background of Task-Based Language Teaching .......6
2.1.2 Defining key terms .........................................................................7
2.1.3 Principles of Task-based Language Teaching ...............................9
2.1.4 Task components ......................................................................... 11
2.1.5 Task types .................................................................................... 12
2.1.6 Task-based lesson procedure .......................................................13
2.1.7 Difference among tasks, exercises, activities ..............................15
2.1.8 Previous studies on the use of TBLT in classroom practice .......16
2.2 Teachers’ and students’ roles in the Task-based Language Teaching . 21
2.2.1 Teachers’ roles .............................................................................21
2.2.2 Students’ roles ..............................................................................21
iii


2.3 Conceptual framework .......................................................................... 22
CHAPTER 3 ....................................................................................................... 24
METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 24
3.1 Research questions .................................................................................24

3.2 Research design ..................................................................................... 24
3.2.1 Participants ...................................................................................26
3.2.2 Research instruments ................................................................... 26
3.3 Context of the study ...............................................................................30
3.4 The pilot study ....................................................................................... 31
3.4.1 Rationale of the pilot study ..........................................................31
3.4.2 Choice of the participant in the pilot study ................................. 31
3.4.3 Pilot study procedure ................................................................... 32
3.4.4 Findings from the pilot study ...................................................... 33
3.4.5 Conclusion ................................................................................... 34
3.5 Data collection procedure ......................................................................34
3.6 Data analysis procedure .........................................................................36
3.7 Chapter summary ...................................................................................39
CHAPTER 4 ....................................................................................................... 40
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ....................................................................... 40
4.1 Findings of the study ............................................................................. 40
4.1.1 The current practice of Tasked-Based Language Teaching in
teenage classes at ASTON language center. ........................................ 40
4.1.2 EFL teachers’ perceptions of the use of Task-Based Language
Teaching ................................................................................................51
4.2 Discussion ..............................................................................................58
4.2.1 The current practice of Tasked-Based Language Teaching in
teenage classes at ASTON language center ......................................... 58
4.2.2 EFL teachers’ perceptions of the use of Task-Based Language
Teaching ................................................................................................63
CHAPTER 5 ....................................................................................................... 69
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CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................69

5.1 Overview of the study ............................................................................69
5.2 Implications ........................................................................................... 69
5.2.1 Pedagogical implications .............................................................69
5.2.2 Implications for the TBLT users ................................................. 70
5.3 Limitations ............................................................................................. 70
5.4 Suggestions for future research ............................................................. 70
5.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 71
REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 72
APPENDICES .................................................................................................... 78
Appendix A ..................................................................................................78
QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW ........................................................78
Appendix B .................................................................................................. 80
OBSERVATION FORM ......................................................................80

v


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BA

Bachelor of Arts

CLT

Communicative Language Teaching

TBLT

Task-Based Language Teaching

PBL

Project-Based Learning

EFL

English as a Foreign Language

MOET

Ministry of Education and Training

n.d.

no date

EAP

English for Academic Purposes

VHU

Van Hien University

HUS

Ho Chi Minh City University of Sport

ET

Elite Teens

IELTS

International English Language Teaching System

KET

Key English Test

TQM

Teaching Quality Manager

e.g.

For example (exempli gratia)

et al.

and others (et alia)

T

Teacher

vi


LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 The task generator: a taxonomy of task types....................................12
Table 4.1 The procedure of TBLT implementation by six teachers at ASTON42

vii


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 A framework for TBLT ....................................................................13
Figure 2.2 Difference among exercise, activity and task (Richards, n.d.).........16
Figure 2.3 Conceptual Framework..................................................................... 23
Figure 3.1 Three main steps of data collection procedure................................. 35
Figure 3.2 The process of analyzing and interpreting qualitative data.............. 36
Figure 3.3 The thematic network of the study....................................................39
Figure 4.2 A framework for TBLT.....................................................................58

viii


ABSTRACT
This research is designed to investigate how EFL teachers at ASTON
language center in Ho Chi Minh City apply Task-Based Language Teaching
(TBLT) to teach teenage students. It also aims to explore teachers’ perceived
benefits and drawbacks of the use of TBLT. A qualitative case design was
employed using the interviews and observations as research instruments for
generating data.The participants recruited for the study are six Vietnamese
teachers who have at least one-year experience in teaching English and are
using TBLT in their teenage classes at ASTON. The findings from the study
showed that the participants had a significant knowledge of TBLT on how
they apply it to teach teenage learners, especially procedure, instruction,
groupings, task types, skills applied and roles of the teacher and students and

hold a positive view on the use of the TBLT approach. The study also found
that the benefits of TBLT include motivation, authentic practice, formative
assessment, creativity, suitability and improvement and drawbacks consist of
choice of tasks, preparation, negative factors, imprecision and assessment. The
study concluded with a discussion of practical implications for pedagogy and
TBLT users.
Key words: TBLT, EFL teachers’ perceptions, benefits and drawbacks,
case study

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
The importance of learning English is more and more encouraged so
that everyone can achieve the fluency of this universal language these days. In
order to achieve better results in learning and teaching English, educators
always try to update better teaching methods and approaches through some
training sessions, workshops and from their colleagues and books. Some
approaches recently emphasize more on student-centered learning. In the
Vietnamese context, some modern teaching approaches and methodologies
such as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), Task-Based Language
Teaching (TBLT) and Project-Based Learning (PBL) are also applied more
popularly in various levels of students.
Nunan (2003) emphasizes the importance of TBLT, based on a study of
curriculum guidelines and syllabi in the Asia-Pacific countries including Japan,
Vietnam, China, Korea and Malaysia. Some research on TBLT has been
carried out in teaching contexts in Asian countries which share a lot of
similarities with Vietnamese ones. The study of Jeon and Hahn (2006) in Korea

shows that many teachers hold a significant understanding of TBLT, but they
retain some fear of using TBLT. Those teachers reveal that they face with some
new disciplinary problems about classroom practice, lack understanding of
TBLT's practical applications and confidence. Another study of Liu, Mishan &
Chambers (2018) in higher education in China found that most of the
participants in the study hold positive views on TBLT and report a high
frequency of using it. However, the study revealed that the majority of the
participants are not confident in their understanding of TBLT. In addition, the
study found that the public examination system is seen as one of the key
reasons preventing the implementation of TBLT.

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A number of recent studies on TBLT have been done so far in Vietnam,
but their focuses mostly were on the effect of using TBLT for teaching
speaking skill and the target learners were at the tertiary levels. A study of
Nguyen, Le & Barnard (2015) in Vietnam found that the understanding of
Vietnamese teachers is rather restricted. Their focus is on forms rather than on
meaning. A study of Dao (2016) at Hanoi University revealed that most
Vietnamese teachers in the study have much understanding of TBLT and hold
positive views on the use of TBLT. The study also found that exam preparation
is considered as an obstacle which impedes TBLT implementation. Nguyen &
Nguyen (2017) conducted a study about teachers’ perceptions about TBLT and
its implementation at Can Tho University. The study found that the participants
hold a positive attitude towards TBLT. They believe that TBLT can promote
students’ motivation and English ability. However, they have difficulties in
transferring theoretical knowledge of TBLT to their own classes. Another study
of Tran (2019) at Ho Chi Minh University of Sport (HUS) revealed that the
student participants express a positive attitude toward TBLT. They believe that

TBLT implementation could improve their speaking ability.
In terms of teaching teenagers in Vietnamese context, teenage learners
have to study at least twelve subjects following the curriculum of MOET
(Ministry of Education and Training) updated in 2018. This leads to the lack of
revision on their recent lessons and the overloaded tasks at home. In other
words, teenagers find it hard to manage lots of time to study English. Moreover,
speaking and listening outcomes are becoming more and more attentive in their
learning program, which was not strongly emphasized in the last decade.
Therefore, the need for more activities and tasks demanding communicative
practices such as TBLT in class is very impelling.
Fortunately, teaching and learning English in Vietnam have been
upgraded these days. Applying blended learning, making use of available
applications from various platforms to improve the quality of both teaching and
learning English have been implemented in various education institutions in Ho
2


Chi Minh City. Since most teenage students have their own smartphones or
tablets serving for their studies, they can take advantage of those devices to
improve their English besides class time.
All things considered, many studies on TBLT in Vietnam have mainly
paid attention to the tertiary level. They investigate teachers’ understanding of
TBLT and their perceptions on its implementation. However, little research has
been done to explore how teachers perform TBLT in their teaching context and
their perceptions on its use for teenagers. Hence, further studies on the use of
TBLT for teenage levels are needed, which is expected to fulfill in this study.
The context of this study is at ASTON language center which belongs to a
group of mid-tier centers in Ho Chi Minh City and the target learners are
teenage students.
1.2 Aims of the study

This study aims to:
(1) discover and gain in-depth understanding on how the EFL teachers
perform Task-Based Language Teaching;
(2) investigate EFL teachers’ perceptions of the use of TBLT into their
language classes, namely the benefits and drawbacks.
Research questions
In an attempt to fulfill the aims mentioned above, the study is set to
answer the following questions:
(1) How do EFL teachers apply Task-Based Language Teaching to
their classes?
(2) What are the EFL teachers’ perceptions of the use of Task-Based
Language Teaching in their classes?
Sub-questions:
(1) What are EFL teachers’ perceived benefits of the use of TBLT?
(2) What are EFL teachers’ perceived drawbacks of the use of TBLT?

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1.3 Significance of the study
Findings from the study strongly confirm the results from previous
research. First, TBLT brings motivation to students’ learning, the study shows
that the real-world tasks give them lots of interest and chances of independent
work. Second, TBLT is really a suitable approach to develop communicative
outcomes. It enables learners to communicate a lot to deal with the tasks. Third,
real-life tasks allow students to practise authentic language use. Fourth,
preparation for the TBLT application takes lots of time. Fortunately, this
problem can be solved when teachers spend a certain time doing the same work.
Besides, plenty of free online resources can be exploited to save time from
teachers’ preparation.

On the other hand, other new findings in the study will provide new
insights into the field. Some other findings about the benefits of TBLT in the
research comprise an immediate progress report in class for teachers, allowing
students to perform their creativity, a suitable approach to teenage learners.
Other findings about the drawbacks of TBLT including difficulties in task
choices, negative elements in class, inaccuracy and individual’s assessment
were dug in order to be resolved. Moreover, the findings and implications can
serve as a reference for teachers working in a similar context. This study is a
premise for further studies in the future to explore fully the perceptions of EFL
teachers of the use of TBLT for other levels.
1.4 Scope of the study
This study was conducted at ASTON language center in Ho Chi Minh
City. Subjects of the study were six Vietnamese teachers (30 percent of the
total number of Vietnamese teachers; 86 percent of Vietnamese teachers who
were currently taking teenage classes at that time). The time frame for this
research was from January to July 2022. This study consisted of exploring the
current practice of TBLT and the perceptions of Vietnamese teachers on TBLT
implementation. The teachers’ perceptions would be limited to benefits and
drawbacks only of the use of TBLT in the context of a language center.
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1.5 Thesis organization
The overall structure of the study takes the form of five chapters.
Chapter 1 introduces the background to the study, aims, research questions,
significance, scope and thesis organization. Chapter 2 reviews the literature
related to Task-Based Language Teaching including theoretical background
and previous studies, some roles of both teachers and students in TBLT and the
conceptual framework. Chapter 3 is concerned with the methodology used in
the study, including research questions, research design, context of the study,

the pilot study, data collection procedure and data analysis procedure. Chapter
4 presents findings and discussion. Chapter 5 shows the overview of the study,
implications, limitations, suggestions for future research and conclusion.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, relevant issues of TBLT are presented including defining
key terms, principles of TBLT, task components, task types, task-based lesson
procedure, differences among a task, an exercise and an activity; previous
studies on the use of TBLT in classroom practice. In addition, teachers’ and
students’ roles in the Task-based Language Teaching, and Conceptual
framework are also covered.
2.1 Tasked-based Language Teaching (TBLT)
2.1.1 Theoretical Background of Task-Based Language Teaching

Richards & Rodgers (2014) state that “Task-Based Language Teaching
(TBLT) refers to an approach based on the use of tasks as the core unit of
planning and instruction in language teaching” (p. 174). TBLT is presented as a
logical development of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) by some of
its proponents (e.g., Willis 1996) and principles. For example, real
communication activities are essential for language learning, and learning is
promoted through activities in which language is used for carrying out
meaningful tasks. However, the focus of TBLT is on language use before
instructing the form while CLT introduces the form before using the language
for communication. Moreover, TBLT enables the parallel use of some
traditional methods to facilitate language learning the best. Richards & Rodgers
(2001) state language that is meaningful to the learner promotes the learning,

and “engaging learners in task work provides a better context for the activation
of learning processes than form-focused activities” (p. 223), so it provides
better opportunities for learners to produce language learning in TBLT.
Feez (1998) summarizes the following key assumptions of task-based
instructions. The focus of TBLT is on process rather than product. Its basic
elements are purposeful activities and tasks emphasize on communication and
meaning.

Language

can

be

learned
6

by

interactive

and

purposeful


communication through engaging in the activities and tasks. Activities and
tasks can be either what learners might need to achieve in real life or what have
a pedagogical purpose specific to the classroom. Difficulty is an element which
conditions the sequence of activities and tasks in a task-based syllabus. 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, 1998).
2.1.2 Defining key terms
‘Task’
A task is the principal unit of Task-based Language Teaching, so
teachers have to understand this primary concept to know what TBLT is.
However, there have been various definitions of tasks in the literature. The
researcher reviews some definitions in the literature before concluding the
definition of a task.
A group of scholars have some overlap in defining a task. Willis (1996)
states that a task is a goal-oriented activity practised in the classroom to obtain
the outcome or goal. Learners are required to use the target language for
communication to solve the provided problem. Thus, the target language is
considered as the vehicle to produce the outcome through the exchange of
meanings. Skehan et al. (1998), Willis & Willis (2007), Ellis (2003), cited in
Ellis et al. (2020) claim that a task in TBLT should have a primary focus on
meaning. There is some form of connection to similar real-world activities.
Willis & Willis (2007) and Ellis (2003) add another aspect that the assessment
of a task is based on non-linguistic outcome rather than accurate use of
language forms. Put another way, a task has a clearly defined communicative
outcome. Willis & Willis (2007) state that apart from focusing on meaning, a
task must engage learners’ interest.
Another proponent defines a task as follows: an activity that required
learners to think through a process “to arrive at an outcome from given
information” and “allowed teachers to control and regulate that process” was
considered as a task (Prabhu, 1987, p. 24). Through this definition, all activities
7

happening can be directed and controlled by teachers but still provoke students’
learning. In essence, Prabhu accepts that an outcome is an element of a task
since learners must produce the outcome in a task.
Concerning the type of tasks, Nunan (2004) drew a basic distinction
between a real-world task (also called a target task) and a pedagogical task. The
former refers to the use of language in the world beyond the classroom, and the
latter refers to all the tasks that occur in the classroom. Early, Long (1985)
argues that a target task is “a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others,
freely or for some reward” (p. 89). Examples of tasks are painting a fence,
dressing a child and filling out a form. In other words, tasks can be “the
hundred and one things people do in everyday life” (p. 89) including things at
work and at play. This means that tasks can be considered as some activities in
real life that need communication to complete an activity or to solve a project.
Conclusively, the task used in TBLT is a real-world task which allows learners
to focus on the language use through the real contexts.
In general, various ways of defining a ‘task’ have been offered by
different proponents through time. With reference to definitions cited above,
tasks in TBLT can be considered as meaningful communicative activities
where learners have to communicate in target language and interact to solve a
problem. Besides, the non-linguistic outcome is measured instead of the
accuracy of language forms. Although the main concentration of a task is on
the fluency of language use, there still have some reinforcements in accuracy at
the final stage of this approach. Additionally, the type of task belongs to a realworld task.
Perception
The term perception has been defined in a variety of ways according to
different authors and certain time. As stated in Cambridge Dictionary (4th
edition 2013), perception is a belief or opinion, often held by many people and
based on how things seem. Rao & Narayan (1988, p.329) define perception as
“the process whereby people select, organize, and interpret sensory
stimulations into meaningful information about their work environment”.

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According to Wang (2007), perception is a collection of internal sensory
cognitive processes that explore the mind for internal cognitive information and
detect, relate, and interpret it. McDonald (2012) states that a distinct individual
experience derived from anything that is known to oneself might be described
as perception. All things considered, with the purpose of this study, the
definition of perception mostly closes to McDonald’s.
Teenagers
According to Cambridge Dictionary (4th edition 2013), a teenager is a
young person between thirteen and nineteen years old. We also have another
term for this range of ages, which is adolescent, and this stage of human’s
development is very sensitive. Particularly, Plote & Smith (2016) state that
adolescence can be characterized by a rise in peer pressure, a separation from
parents, mood swings, parental disagreements, and dangerous or irresponsible
behavior, among other things.
Adolescence, as described by UNICEF (2011), is the time between the
onset of puberty and the approach of maturity, when young people are getting
ready to assume the tasks and responsibilities of adults in their culture. Each
person has a unique experience at this time depending on their level of physical,
emotional, and cognitive development as well as other factors.
Changes in both physical and psychological elements occur at this time,
which typically makes it challenging for us to maintain control and meet all of
their demands. The theories regarding the characteristics of this age can be
derived from a variety of studies, but each person will differ in terms of their
development process, their culture, and the environment in which they live.
2.1.3 Principles of Task-based Language Teaching
Language teachers should pay much attention to the principles of TBLT
so that they can take the best advantage of its implementation.

Some renowned scholars (Willis, 1996a; Skehan, 1998; Ellis, 2003;
Swan, 2005) propose common principles for TBLT as follows:

9




Instructed language learning should primarily involve ‘natural’ or
‘naturalistic’ language use, based on activities concerned with meaning
rather than language structure.



Instruction should motivate learners to engage in language use rather than
teacher control.



Students should be primarily focused on meaning when they carry out a
task.



There should be opportunities for focusing on form.



Formal pre- or post-task language study will be useful.
Those common principles above can be elaborated as the following.

First and foremost, the main focus is on how language should be used within
the contexts. Second, instruction, which enables students to engage in language
use, must be paid more attention. Third and fourth, the outcome should be a
communicative outcome, and the task has to provide more opportunities for
students to use the language. In other words, it concentrates on meaning or
focus-on-form. Last but not least, both pre-task and post-task phases should be
minded because pre-task would profitably scaffold the learning process of
students, and post-task would review, emphasize on language accuracy and
reinforce their practice.
Nunan (2004) also provides seven principles for TBLT: (1) scaffolding;
(2) task dependency; (3) recycling; (4) active learning; (5) integration; (6)
reproduction to creation; (7) reflection. According to Nunan (2004), at
scaffolding principle, the lessons and materials should provide a supporting
framework within which the learning can take place. At this early stage,
learners should not be expected to produce language that has not been
introduced either explicitly or implicitly. Then, task dependency, within a
lesson, one task should grow out of and build upon the ones that have gone
before. It shows how one task exploits and builds on the one that has worked
before. After that, recycling language maximizes opportunities for learning and
10


activates the ‘organic’ learning principle. Next, during the active learning stage,
learners learn best by actively using the language they are learning. Following
that, integration means that learners should be taught in ways that make clear
the relationships between linguistic form, communicative function and
semantic meaning. In the next stage, learners should be encouraged to move
from reproductive to creative language use. Last, reflection means that learners
should be given opportunities to reflect on what they have learned and how

well they are doing.
Concerning some principles mentioned above, the researcher totally
agrees with common principles proposed by Willis (1996a), Skehan (1998),
Ellis (2003) & Swan (2005) because those principles strongly emphasize on the
core concepts of the TBLT approach. The author adds the second group of
principles by Nunan (2004) to this section because there are some overlaps
among the principles of two groups such as scaffolding, recycling and active
learning.
2.1.4 Task components
Candlin (1987) suggests that a task should include “input, roles, settings,
actions, monitoring, outcomes and feedback”. Data that learners have to work
on are referred to as input in this situation. The relationship among participants
in a task is considered as roles. Setting refers to where tasks take place - in the
classroom practice or out-of-class arrangement. Actions can be understood that
the procedure and sub-tasks are performed by learners during classroom
progress. Monitoring describes the supervision of the task in progress.
Outcomes imply the goals of the task, and feedback is the final stage referring
to the evaluation of the task.
Meanwhile, Wright (1987a) argues that a task should contain only two
elements, input data and an initiating question. He clarifies that input data may
be provided by the materials, teachers or even learners. An initial question will
guide learners through what to do with the provided data. In conclusion, in this
study, components of a task as suggested by Candlin are proper for one reason
11


or another to the task-based lesson procedure due to their sake of completeness
and lucidity. After scrutinizing the components of a task from the view of some
authors by studying the task definition and principles of TBLT, the researcher
concludes that a task consists of seven elements as suggested by Candlin

(1987).
2.1.5 Task types
Scholars discuss and present different task types since different
proponents have written about TBLT. According to Prabhu (1987), tasks were
categorized into three principal types: information gap, reasoning gap, and
opinion gap. Firstly, an information-gap task involves transferring information
from one person to another, or from one form to another, and requires decoding
or encoding the information from or into language. Secondly, a reasoning-gap
task means applying some techniques such as interpretation, deduction,
practical reasoning, or a perception of relations or patterns to obtain new ideas
from supplied information. Lastly, an opinion-gap task refers to recognizing
and expressing a particular preference, emotion, or attitude in reaction to a
certain circumstance.
More recently, Willis & Willis (2007) present a taxonomy of task types
by generating a set of different kinds of tasks.
Table 2.1 The task generator: a taxonomy of task types (Willis & Willis,
2007, p.107)
Task types

Examples of specific tasks

Listing

brainstorming, fact-finding

Ordering and sorting

sequencing, ranking, classifying

Matching

words and phrases to pictures
directions to street map

Comparing

finding differences or similarities

Sharing personal experience

story-telling, anecdotes, reminiscences

Projects and creative tasks

class newspaper, poster, survey, fantasy, etc.

Problem-solving

puzzles, logic problems, prediction
12


Depending on the styles of different teachers, they can decide to use the
most suitable type of tasks. In this study, the author tends to support the
taxonomy of task types by Willis & Willis (2007) due to the simplicity of their
description. In each group of task types, specific examples are given to
illustrate what can be done. Moreover, the order of those types is presented
from the most basic tasks to more complex ones.
2.1.6 Task-based lesson procedure
Regarding the procedure of a task-based lesson, Willis (1996, p. 38)

suggests a framework for TBLT as follows:

Figure 2.1 A framework for TBLT (Willis, 1996)
It can be seen that a task contains three phases: Pre-task, task cycle and
language focus in a cycle of teaching. According to Willis (1996), the very first
phase of this cycle (or pre-task) introduces the topic and task. Specifically,
students understand the theme and objectives of the tasks through the teacher’s
explanation or clarity by brainstorming ideas with the class or using pictures,
mime or personal experience to give introduction of the topic. Additionally,
students may do a pre-task, for example, topic-based odd-word-out games.
Also, teachers need to highlight some useful words or phrases instead of preteaching new structures. In the meantime, students are assigned some
preparation time to think about how to deal with the task. If the task is based on
the text, they need to read the text at this time.

13


Willis (1996) says that the second phase - task cycle - consists of three
sub-phases: task, planning and report. In the task section, tasks are done by
students in pairs or groups, and students have chances to use whatever
language they already have to deal with the task by expressing what they want
to say. Teacher walks around, monitors and encourages students to
communicate using the target language in a supportive way. Teacher possibly
helps students to formulate what students want to say, but will not correct any
errors of form at this time. The task sub-phase focuses on the discussion within
small groups instead of the whole class. Next, the planning section prepares for
the next stage. Students are asked to report briefly what has been done to the
whole class. Students have to draft and rehearse what they want to present by
saying or writing in advance. Teacher advises students on the language and
perhaps suggests some useful phrases to polish and correct their language.

Teacher instructs students to practise peer editing and use dictionaries if the
task is on writing. This stage emphasizes on clarity, organization and accuracy
of the task. Next, in the report section, some pairs or groups of students are
asked to report briefly their outcomes to the whole class while other pairs or
groups give comments and add extra points. Teachers might give comments on
the content of students’ reports. This second phase emphasizes on the fluency
of learners in using the target language to communicate in order to solve the
task rather than accuracy of the language form while the last phase is opposite.
Willis (1996) explains that in the third phase, the teacher analyzes and
ensures the accuracy, then suggests the solutions and provides more practice.
More particularly, analysis is applied to figure out the strengths and
weaknesses by setting some language-focused tasks based on the texts students
have read. Students start working on those items, and the teacher walks around
to support them. The teacher then reviews the analysis and writes relevant
language on the board for students to make notes. At last, the teacher has
students practise some necessary activities based on the language analysis.
Practice activities can include repetition, sentence completion and memory
challenge games.
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2.1.7 Difference among tasks, exercises, activities
The terms - task, exercise, activity - are understood differently
depending on who defines them. According to Richards (n.d), an exercise is a
type of teaching method that incorporates controlled, supervised, or openended practice of a language skill. Exercises include drills, cloze activities, and
reading comprehension passages. An activity, on the other hand, is a broader
term that refers to any type of purposeful classroom practice that involves
students accomplishing something related to the course's goals. Singing a song,
playing a game, participating in a debate, and having a group discussion are all
examples of varied teaching activities.

According to the definition of Richards (n.d), a task is something that
learners perform or complete using their own linguistic resources or those
offered through pre-task work. It has an outcome that is not solely related to
language learning, yet language acquisition may occur as the learner completes
the task. Furthermore, it is relevant to the needs of the learners and includes a
focus on meaning. It necessitates the application of communication strategies
and interactional skills by learners when working on activities with two or
more people. A task also allows for opportunities to reflect on language use.
The figure below illustrates the differences among exercise, task and
activity by presenting the brief characteristics of each concept. Richard tells
these variances with no date (n.d.) shown from his own page.

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