Once learners have identified the language they
need, according to Long (1983) it is extremely
important that they perform tasks to try out any new
language (to “negotiate meaning”) in order to be able
to use it correctly; in other words, to “learn by doing”,
as in the second discussion in the example above.
TBLT is also supported by a host of other theories,
such as those concerning collaborative learning (e.g.
Lantolf, 2000), gains in ‘complexity’, ‘accuracy’ and
‘fluency’ (e.g. Skehan, 1998), plus the views of
educational theorists such as Dewey. other words, to
“learn by doing”, as in the second discussion in the
example above.
TBLT is also supported by a host of other theories,
such as those concerning collaborative learning (e.g.
Lantolf, 2000), gains in ‘complexity’, ‘accuracy’ and
‘fluency’ (e.g. Skehan, 1998), plus the views of
educational theorists such as Dewey.
Learning By Discussing – An Example Of
How A TBLT Approach Works (The Proof?)
Having largely satisfied my
curiosity as to why a TBLT
approach was effective in a series
of lessons, I decided to expand
upon the research I had done, by
developing an entire, purely taskbased course.
To this end, I created a course
designed to develop students’
ability to participate and interact
more fully in academic
discussions. The course consists
of a series of (three to four)
academic discussions on topics
determined by students. Each
academic discussion sequence
begins with students informing
themselves on the topic (from a
variety of sources e.g.
ProCon.org, Debatepedia) and
sharing information in small
groups, which is followed by the
whole-class discussion itself
(recorded and uploaded to
Moodle), then student comparison
of their own performances with
those of C2-level speakers
performing a similar task (easily
found on e.g. YouTube) and,
finally, (self- and group-)reflection
and feedback phases (in TBLT
terminology, ‘focuses on form’) to
address their individual language
needs. Following each discussion,
students produce an
argumentative or opinion essay
on the same topic.
In order to ‘push’ students to use
newly-acquired language, I built in
a system of assessment where
two-thirds of the course grade is
based on performance during the
discussions. For this purpose, I
developed CEFR-related scales
with the assessment criteria of
content, flow, g Ʌ