任务型教学法在初中英语教学中的应用——以译林版8A unit 5 Reading为例

论文总字数：44700字

摘 要

本文以任务型教学方法理论和中学英语阅读教学的研究为出发点。任务型教学法是在交际教学法的基础上发展起来的一种新的教学方式方法，且已为语言学家和外语教师认可和接受。本文首先回顾了任务型教学中关于“任务”的理论基础，指导原则，任务选择和定义，阐述了任务概念和阅读理论知识的观点，然后以译林版英语教材八年级上册第五单元阅读的第一课时为例，探讨任务型教学在阅读教学中的有效性，旨在探讨中学阅读教学教学方法的可行性和有效性。

关键词：任务型教学法；初中；阅读教学

Contents

1. Introduction……………………………………….…………………1
2. Literature Review……………………………………………………1

2.1 A brief introduction of Task-based Language Teaching method……...3

2.2 An overview on the study of reading teaching………… ……….…....4

2.3 An Introduction of task-based reading………………………………..5

3. Application of Task-based Language Teaching in Reading – Take 8A unit 5 Reading as an Example ………………………….……………...6

3.1 Integrating course content amp; setting up reading tasks………………..8

3.2 Setting up classroom lead-in and reading tasks skillfully…………….9

3.3 Digging into the reading content deeply amp; arranging reading reasonably………………………………………………………………..10

3.4 Expanding the reading class to achieve language output…………….10

3.5 Maintaining the classroom order and changing the role of teachers…11

3.6 Paying attention to the way the task set up…………………………..12

3.7 Tasks being related to real life………………………………………..13

3.8 Self-assessment……………………………………………………….13

4. Conclusion……………………………………………………………..15

Works Cited……………………………………………………………...16

Appendix………………………………………………………………….16

1. Introduction

Task-based Language Teaching method has been a significant topic in foreign language teaching since the 1980s. The Ministry of Education explicitly advocates the implementation of Task-based Language Teaching methods in the new English Curriculum Standards. It is a new teaching method which is developed on the basis of communicative teaching method. It has become a teaching method that was recognized and accepted by linguists and foreign language teachers. It is implemented with students’ communication, attendance, joint work and so on in the process of tasks. Meanwhile, it mobilizes students’ initiative and uses target language to detect and perceive the meaning of language in its activities. The English task-based reading teaching mode is one that was clearly pointed out and advocated by the junior high school English curriculum standard. It is designed to enable students to accomplish the staged reading task aims through consciousness, sensation and practice. During their study, they can enjoy learning actively and successfully so as to improve students’ core English literacy in reading and make students become the real masters of English learning.

Liu Xun (2000)[1] believes that in the early 20th century, during the development of teaching, many researchers in China gradually realized that the current education model still reflects the educational level of the 1970s. Therefore, many researchers have been concentrated on the in-depth exploration of the teaching model. It can also be seen from the "General Course Outline of Teaching" promulgated in 2008, the Task-based Language Teaching mode has gradually entered a more extensive application stage. In "New Course · Mid" (2016) [2], it can be seen that task-based language teaching is mainly based on topic and learning activities are mainly based on expressing meaning. By completing tasks, cultivating students" language ability, developing students" learning strategies, and promoting students" innovative spirit and practical ability, Task-based language teaching method has increasingly shown its superiority in English reading teaching. As “English and Foreign Language Teaching and Research for Middle School Students” (2017) [3] says, “Reading teaching is a significant part of middle school English teaching. It is a method to improve students" ability of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is one of the significant ways to develop students" foreign language literacy as well. So, we can see that English reading is of great importance in middle school English teaching.” “Education Weekly” (2016) [4]: In fact, the improvement of students" English reading ability should not be completed overnight. Teachers should take full advantages of task-based language teaching methods to fully implement English reading teaching activities, gradually develop students" reading interest, expand students" reading thought, and then improve their reading ability, and make greater progress in their English learning.

Based on such a background, this thesis will take Reading in 8A Unit 5 from Yilin Press as an example to explore the application of Task-based Language Teaching in Junior English reading with the purpose to promote students" reading interest and improve the current situation of middle school English reading.

2. Literature Review

What exactly is a ‘task’? How does a ‘task’ differ from other devices used to draw forth learners’ language, for example, an ‘activity’, or an ‘exercise’, or ‘drill’? It should be acknowledged from the beginning that in neither research nor language pedagogy is completely consistent as to what constitutes a task, making definition problematic, nor is there consistency in the terms employed to describe the different devices for eliciting learner language.

2.1 A brief introduction of Task-based Language Teaching method

A pedagogical task is a piece of classroom assignment involving learners in understanding, manipulating, generating or interacting in the target language while their focus is on mobilizing their grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning, with the intention of conveying meaning rather than manipulation. The task should also be complete and independent of itself as a means of communication in its own right with a beginning, middle and an end. Although the definitions of a task vary somewhat, they all emphasize the fact that pedagogical tasks involves communicative language use, where the user’s attention is focused on meaning rather than grammatical form. This does not mean that form is not important. The definition above refers to the deployment of grammatical knowledge to express meaning, emphasizing the fact that meaning and form are highly interrelated, and the existence of grammar enables language users to convey different communicative meanings.

However, as Willis and Willis (2001)[5] point out, the difference between tasks and grammar exercises is that learners are free to use a range of language constructs to achieve task results - these forms are not specified in advance.

The Task-based Language Teaching method means that the teacher should act as a guide to various tasks in the class. The motivation of this model is the specific task that is formulated, the learning of knowledge achieved by completing the task, and the teaching achievement reflected by the task results. The theoretical knowledge of the Task-based Language Teaching model believes that students should master and use the language in their activities. In the Task-based Language Teaching mode, tasks should be realistic and feasible for students, so that students can complete tasks in various languages and improve their own reading abilities.

The Task-based Language Teaching thinks that students are the center of learning and allow students to gain knowledge in the process of learning and using language. Pedagogically, task-based language teaching has reinforced the following principles and rules:

• Selecting content based on the needs
• Highlighting on learning to interact in the target language
• Leading real texts into learning situations
• Providing opportunities for learners to concentrate not only on language but also on the learning process
• Enhancing the learner"s own personal experience as an important factor in classroom learning
• Linking language learning inside the classroom with language use outside the classroom

Having absorbed the principles and practices, there are some distinct characteristics in Task-based Language Teaching methods.

First of all, the subjective status of learners in the teaching process has been fully and effectively reflected. Let the learner finish learning well in the form of completing the task by setting the teaching goal as a one-to-one task. In this way, the learner can better exert the subjective initiative and think actively and independently. Throughout this process, the teacher is the designer of the task and the adviser who helps learners to accomplish the task. In the whole class, the learner"s full presentation of the main role is the primary purpose of the teaching tasks. Second, the sharing and communication of information must be highlighted. The Task-based Language Teaching method aims at grasping the learner"s psychology of information sharing and communication. The teacher has a planned and purposeful design of teaching tasks with different information, which causes the curiosity and interests of the learners. Thus students can be fully committed to the completion of the task. Third, the application of teaching knowledge has been improved.

In the learning process, the main purpose of learning is to be able to make better use of the knowledge they have learned in life. The designed teaching tasks are mostly done by teamwork, and such classes can provide learners with more time and opportunities to improve their knowledge. Fourth, the task is absolutely authentic. When using the Task-based Language Teaching method for teaching design, teachers must use the knowledge and practical experience of the learner as the premise, and use the on-site simulation method to design the real events that are common in the learner"s learning or work as teaching tasks. This helps to develop the learner"s ability to practice.

Second, relevant research has been carried out by different scholars.

Prabhu, N. S. (1979-1984) instructed communicative teaching experiments in India, this is the initial form of Task-based Language Teaching methods. When he was conducting the experiment, he paid great attention to “doing while learning”.

Skehan (1998: 116-117) had a good summary on the results of task-based pedagogy research and discovery of foreign scholars from 1984 to 1997, including teaching tasks, proficiency in teaching tasks, goals set by teaching tasks, and related participants.

Peter Robinson (2001) analyzed the difficulty of recognizing the cognitive complexity of tasks when Task-based Language Teaching is applied.

David Nunan (2004) [6] compiled "Task-based Language Teaching", which is explained in detail from eight aspects of language education: concept, architecture, task organization, relevant teaching experience foundation, task collection, formal focus, teaching evaluation, teacher and tasks.

Kris Van den Branden (2006) explained Task-based Language Teaching method from the task needs, the development and sequencing of the basic task level, the development of language tasks for primary and secondary schools, teachers in task-based language teaching, the roles and other aspect in his writing "Task-based Language Education from Theory to Practice".

Rod Ellis (2005) edited the essay "Planning and Task performance in a second language", which focuses on the nature of task setting and the importance of task setting to task performance when using task-based method.

In our country, since 2001, the Chinese Ministry of Education has clearly proposed to apply the task-based approach to English education in China. Therefore, the Task-based Language Teaching method has become one of the important methods in English education, and many of the theories about Task-based Language Teaching methods have emerged. Related papers on Task-based Language Teaching methods include Cai Lanzhen (2001) “The Application of Task Teaching Method in College English Writing”, Deng Qiuping (2005) “Review of Group Activities of Foreign Language Teaching”, Tong Wei(2016) “Application of Task-based Language Teaching Method in Middle School English Reading Teaching”, Kan Xuewu (2015) and so on. The current exploration of Task-based Language Teaching methods in foreign language education is still going on and deepening, and jumping out of the theoretical stage and moving forward in practice.

2.2. An overview on the study of reading teaching

When we start reading, we actually have to make some preliminary decisions, and we usually make these decisions very quickly, consciously or unconsciously. For example, when we look at a message or news, we usually read the title because it contains the important content of the news. This process includes a combination of search for information, general reading comprehension, skimming and scanning. We read partly for information, but we also read with a goal to finish a newspaper or a book quickly, because few people try to read every line of the newspaper or books. In other settings, usually academic or professional ones, we sometimes integrate information from different reading sources, which varies from different parts of a long and complex text to a prose and accompanying diagram or chart. To conclude, the purpose for reading can be listed as follows, (1)reading to search for simple information; (2) reading to skim quickly; (3) reading to learn from texts; (4) reading to integrate information; (5) reading to writer search for information needed for writing; (6) reading to critique texts; (7) reading for general comprehension.

The main purpose of English reading comprehension in junior high school is to improve the capacity of students to analyze and settle problems in English articles. However, in the actual teaching, there are many teachers who still apply traditional teaching ideas and approaches in their teaching. In the reading teaching, many teachers translate the words and phrases for students, focus on the key knowledge points and fixe collocation phrases in the article, and then explain and analyze the exercises in the accompanying paragraphs. Sometimes they may focus on the subjective initiative that students can play in this session but sometimes they may neglect.

2.3. An Introduction of task-based reading

Task-based Language Teaching is a model in which teachers guide students to accomplish learning tasks through percipience, sensation, and practice. The theoretical support of this model is that students" language learning and mastery must be realized in the hands-on experience of students. For teachers, the Task-based Language Teaching requires them to integrate the content of the course and summarize it into one task. In this way, teachers can not only better grasp the teaching objectives and achieve higher quality teaching, but also strengthen their teaching ability and enhance their professional and technical level. For the students, the students’ learning tasks have changed from textbooks to a specific and vivid task. The learning motivation is clear, the learning path is also determined, and completing the task is equivalent to gaining knowledge. Under this circumstance, not only the students" desire for knowledge is obviously enhanced, but also the awareness of taking the initiative to solve problems is stimulated. In real practice, they constantly reflect and comprehend, which is conducive to students more comprehensively and deeply grasp the content of the course so as to better learn English.

In the junior high school English reading lesson, the Task-based Language Teaching mode is used to help students improve their core English literacy in reading. In order to accomplish this goal, the advantages of the Task-based Language Teaching method should be fully utilized. Teachers should follow the following principles when designing reading teaching tasks:

First, students are the subject of teaching and learning. While paying attention to knowledge and operability, teachers should take the interest into account, act as organizers and guides in the process of implementing the Task-based reading.

Second, gradation and logic should be attached importance to the process of reading. On the one hand, teachers should maintain a gradual logical relationship when designing reading tasks. The teaching content should be from shallow to deep, from easy to difficult so that students can maintain self-confidence in the process of English learning for a long time and effectively improve the English proficiency. On the other hand, when teachers implement the Task-based reading in the classroom, they must also demonstrate a gradual and progressive phase. Specifically, the teacher can divide the large reading task into several smaller activities for students to complete and then rationally transit to some more difficult classroom tasks, so that the students can finally realize the whole task reading, gain knowledge and enjoy the sense of success in class engagement.

3. Application of Task-based Language Teaching in Reading – Take 8A Unit 5 Reading as an Example

Based on statements above, this part will explore the application of Task-based Language Teaching in Junior English reading to develop students’ reading interest and the reading part in 8A Unit 5 from Yilin Press will be taken as an example to study the current situation of middle school English reading. The Content of this lesson is presented as follow:

Reading, as the main langauge carrier of the unit, plays a central role in the whole unit. This article, the story of Xi Wang , is about the growth of a giant panda, dangers giant pandas face and measures to protect them. By learning this lesson, students can talk about the growing process of pandas and develop the awareness of protecting wild animals. By studying this lesson, Students can gradually get their reading ability improved.

The application of task-based language reading is conducted from the follwing aspects.

3.1 Integrating course content amp; setting up reading tasks.

This passage is about the growth and problems of a giant panda whose name is Xi Wang. By learning this passage, students should get to know the problems that giant panda are facing and then start to think of ways to protect the pandas. Teachers should optimize and reorganize the content of English reading materials from the perspective of intra-disciplinary integration, and take the actual learning situation of students into account, and incorporate some relevant extracurricular texts. The target learners of my study are grade 8 students. After more than a year"s study, their English learning ability has been improved a lot, and they have adapted to the task-based language teaching method. Their abilities to listen and speak are enhanced to a certain degree and they have consciousness of learning.

The integration of middle school English reading content has become a specific "topic" form of English reading. On the basis of reading the "topics" in English which are corresponded to the corresponding classrooms, more detailed in-class reading tasks are designed before the class. By integrating the content of the course, the boundaries between the content of the class and the content of the extracurricular content are broken, which is conducive to the teacher"s precise reading task and lays a good foundation for the successful development of the Task-based Language Teaching method of reading teaching in middle school.

In order to take full advanage of the Task-based Language Teaching method to effectively improve students" English reading literacy, teachers should integrate the course content and actively explore strategies for integrating teaching materials to determine the reading content which is suitable for junior high school students. Based on this, all the tasks should be carefully designed. To design all the tasks well, before the class, teachers should read comrehensively and totally understand the content so that they can set up proper tasks to help students have a thorough understaning of the reading material.

3.2 Setting up classroom lead-in and reading tasks skillfully

In the teaching design, first, the teacher presents at least three sentences, which are the descriptions of different animals. Then let students guess what animals they are. Second, the teacher asks students “What kind of wild animals do you like best? Which is your favorite animal?” and ask some students to share their favorite animals with classmates. The purpose is to lead in the topic and arouse students’ interest by guessing game. Anyhow, junior high school students are just children, a lively lead-in can attract more interest in the class. Then the teacher asks them: “Do you know what’s my favorite animal?” to further arouse their interest. Then the teacher can give students a descriptive sentence to guess what it is—a giant panda. Next, show students a short paragraph of the reason why I like them and some basic information of giant pandas. (These sentences contain important words and expressions). In this way, the teacher can simply present the content and remove the obstacles students may encounter in the article.

In the process of applying the Task-based Language Teaching method, the design and development of the lead-in process has direct influence on the entire reading teaching process. Therefore, according to the psychological cognition pronciples and characteristics of middle school students, English teachers should dig deeper into the background and knowledge of reading materials, skillfully design the way of lead-in, and create a series of small tasks to enable students to learn well. The reading content should be interesting enough to stimulate students" English thinking and reading desires. This can also provide relevant English cultural background and language knowledge for students and lay a good cognitive foundation for the reading teaching to be carried out so as to make students concentrated on the next reading topic well.

3.3 Digging into the reading content deeply amp; arranging reading reasonably

After lead-in, severa reading abilities can be strengthened. First, before reading, the teacher can ask students “Can you predict the content of the article according to the title---The story of Xi Wang?” This process can encourage students to think and speak out freely and can enable students to predict before reading and train the strategy of predicting. Second, listen and answer the following questions:1）What is the name of the panda? What does it mean? 2）What will happen to giant pandas if we do nothing? Then students can answer after listening, which can train their ability of listening with questions. What teachers should keep in mind is that these questions are presented before listening to help students finish the tasks, which is the application of task-based language teaching. Third, match each part with the main idea, which aims to improve the ability of skimming. Fourth, fill in the table. At last, have a discussion about: 1) What serious problems do wild animals face now? 2) What action can we take to protect wild animals? Teachers give them enough but limited time to have a discussion in groups to put forward suggestions. These two tasks can help improve their ability of scanning and uplift their awareness of cooperation in pair and group work.

In students’ reading process, English teachers should focus on how to develop students" reading ability rather than paying attention to the explanation of language points. English teachers should neither decompose the reading text into a single vocabulary or phrase, nor should they translate the text word by word. In the Task-based Language Teaching of English reading class, English teachers should act as a qualified guider, aiming at improving students" self-reading ability, such as reading with keywords and arranging reading time reasonably. In the process of students" reading, teachers should help students to dig deeper into reading materials by creating reading tasks and leading students to grasp the reading methods such as skimming and intensive reading so that students can gradually understand the meaning of reading material with reduplicative reading and gain independent reading ability.

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