TBLT & CALL, M2 Masters in Teaching English, University of Nice

1. GOAL 23 January 2019
Task-based language teaching (TBLT) and computer-
assisted language learning (CALL)
Shona Whyte
VMEAN2 GOAL
!1

2. Technology for making connections
✤ learner connections: Story Slam
✤ class connections: Who’s who?
✤ connections with colleagues: Peer filming
!2

3. the story so far
tasks with technology

4. among learners:
story slam
✤ clip: itilt2.eu
✤ pedagogical benefits
✤ tools
✤ difficulty
4

5. across classes:
who’s who?
✤ clip: itilt2.eu
overview
✤ pedagogical benefits
✤ tools
✤ difficulty
!5

6. across classes:
phubbing project
✤ clip
✤ benefits (TBLT)
✤ tools
✤ difficulty
!6

7. with colleagues: video
in open practice
✤ clip: peer filming
✤ pedagogical benefits
✤ tools
✤ difficulty
!7

8. Peer filming with student teachers
Peer filming can help bridge the gap between school and university
during the school placements in pre-service teacher education.
The student teachers
✤ design tasks in groups
✤ teach and observe the activity in school
✤ film the activity on their smartphones
✤ share critical incidents at university
✤ write a reflective paper on the experience.
!8

9. 9
05:58

11. video examples of technology-
mediatedTBLT
✤ task-based language teaching offers useful framework for instructed
second language acquisition (L2 research)
✤ controlling task demands for young beginners is particularly
challenging (Who’s who?)
✤ managing learner and teacher expectations regarding assessment
requires special care (Story slam)
✤ culture need not conform to target language traditions (Who’s who?)
✤ video recording facilitates observation and development (peer filming)
✤ digital tools and classroom examples are important, but ongoing
professional development thrives on collaboration and open practice
!11

12. Ongoing professional development
!12
http://
efl.unice.fr
=> Teaching
=> M2 MEEF

13. GOAL projects
Student teachers will design and implement one task-based
activity in their classrooms, share and analyse their
experience, then give a short presentation to the group in
February/March and submit a 500-800 word write-up of
this work. The course grade will combine oral presentation
and written work.

14. action research
examples of tasks

15. Rosemary Erlam
✤ Erlam (2013) Listing and comparing tasks in the
language classroom: examples of Willis &
Willis’ (2007) taxonomy in practice. New Zealand
Language Teacher.
✤ Erlam (2015) I’m still not sure what a task is:
Teachers designing language tasks. Language
Teaching Research.
!15

16. Listing & comparing
tasks (Erlam 2013)
✤ What types of tasks do Willis & Willis
(2007) identify? How are they
organised?
✤ Explain Prabhu’s (1987) framework:
what three types of task does he
describe? What link between proficiency
and task type does he make?
✤ What criteria do Ellis (2003) and Willis
& Willis (2007) propose for task design?
✤ What examples of tasks are offered and
how do they fit task criteria? Which
seem best suited to your own teaching
context?
!16
Teachers designing
language tasks (Erlam
2015)
✤ What criteria do Ellis & Shintani (2013) propose
for task design?
✤ What criticisms of TBLT are noted?
✤ What are the research questions in this study and
who participated?
✤ Explain Table 3: what do these questions refer to
and how were they used in the study?
✤ What were the results of the study?
✤ What were the two task criteria that teachers
found hardest to implement and what reasons are
suggested in the discussion? As secondary EFL
teachers in France do you relate to these
difficulties?

17. Edwards &Willis (2005)
✤ Edwards, C., & Willis, J. R. (Eds.).
(2005). Teachers exploring tasks
in English language teaching.
✤ Find PDF on Google Scholar
✤ action research projects by MA
students/student-teachers
✤ possibility for replication study
!17

18. GOAL presentations
Student teachers will design and implement
one task-based activity in their classrooms,
share and analyse their experience, then
give a short presentation to the group in
February/March and submit a 500-800 word
write-up of this work. The course grade will
combine oral presentation and written
work.
6 February
27 February
13 March