Task—based English Teaching in Vocational Colleges

Abstract： task- based Approach is “human-oriented”. It is based on students’ practical life. It makes use of all the resources， including students， teachers and environment， which can enrich teacher’s teaching contents and make students use english creatively.

Key words： Task-based approach； English teaching； vocational colleges

中图分类号：G642.41 文献标识码：C DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672-8181.2013.19.133

Task-based Approach are students-centered. In the approach， the task is the main line. It emphasizes participation. In the approach， teachers give the initiative to the students and encourage students to take part in activities and perform tasks. Teachers should change the traditional class teaching mode to task-based approach to organize teaching activities. The following conclusions are drawn from this research：

①Task-based Approach is better than traditional language teaching in terms of students’ cognition. What makes it better is that students’ thinking is active in class. Students tend to express their ideas bravely， thus the enthusiasm of participation is higher and the cooperation consciousness is stronger in class than before， and the ability of oral expression is improved too. Teachers should improve the quality of the tasks by creating connections with students’ everyday life， and strengthen the management of the students’ learning process. These three points are the key to undertaking task-based approach and cultivate students’ autonomous learning ability.

②The appropriate self-evaluation of learning process is the motivation of learning.

③Task- based Approach offers new challenges to teachers’ teaching concept for it require teachers to speak correct and fluent English.

④Task-based Approach requires higher demands of students’ learning ability. It proposes a higher requirement of students’ self-study and management ability， and active inquiry spirit as well； because if the students do not have initiative to learn， Task-based Approach will not work. Thus students’ learning dynamic changes are extremely important.

Based on the data of questionnaires and comparing it with the traditional teaching method， we could make this conclusion： it is workable to apply the Task-based Approach in our daily teaching， and it is more helpful to improve students’ oral English. Major findings of the research are summarized as below：

①Students in the experimental class show more interest and confidence in oral English than those in the control class. During the activities， students are not passive receivers but active participants. Task-based Approach will create an active atmosphere in the whole class in that different activities draw students’ attention and stimulate their interest in the learning process. Meanwhile， all the activities give students chances to practice and communicate， which are effective in encouraging students and in cultivating their communicative ability.

②Application of Task-based Approach in oral English class improves students’ English level. As students participate in the class actively， they would like to express their viewpoints and have more chances to cooperate with their classmates. As a result， their oral English level will be improved quickly

③TBA is learner-centered teaching. It does not presuppose objectives and concentrates on students， styles and goals but stimulates students’ creativity and innovation so as to improve a student’s sense of achievement and self-esteem. It also gives some control to them.

④After the 15-week TBA research， both the author and the students have benefited tremendously from this approach and its related activities.

The above four findings imply that TBA can be applied to English teaching in vocational colleges. In the context of TBA， implications can be found in English learning and teaching.

Firstly， in TBA class， learners play the central role as they are monitors， participants， innovators and risk-takers. Thus， they should be given enough opportunities to develop their learning ability.

Secondly， in TBA class， the principle of authenticity should be obeyed in selecting tasks， English reading or listening materials. For example， the materials should attract students’ interests. Only in this way， learners like to participate in the tasks actively； as a result， their higher learning motivation could be stimulated.

Thirdly， in TBA class， the organizer should encourage the learners to accomplish the tasks by cooperation as it would give the learners the chance to share each other’s learning strategies， and to know their own weaknesses and strengths as well. Therefore， learner’s cognitive and cognitive competence will be improved gradually.

Fourthly， the introduction and application of TBA does not mean that traditional PPP approach has been given up concerning the real teaching circumstance in vocational colleges. Mastering English is really difficult because Chinese language is different from English in many ways. If the grammars are not explained systematically and the students do not do a large number of exercises， they will not master the form of the English well. In addition to that， vocational students lack in good study habits and they do not like to study English actively； as the traditional PPP approach can provide students with chances to memorize and master the form of English， a good balance between TBA approach and PPP approach should be kept.

Fifthly， as teachers’ traditional role has been changed in TBA， they are no longer controller or dominator but facilitator， counselor， and commentator. The classes are student-centered and the students will learn actively and independently. Moreover， the requirements of teachers

competence have been enhanced in TBA class. To face the development of modern teaching， teachers should receive more training to equip themselves with wide knowledge and improve their comprehensive competence in order to undertake TBA practice successfully.

References：

[1]Long， M. The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition [C].In Ritchie W C&Bhatia T K， eds. Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. New York： Academic Press， 1996：413-468.

[2]Nunan， D. Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom [M]. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press， 13. Nunan， D. 1999， Second Language Teaching & learning . Heinle &'Heinle Publishers. Cambridge University Press.

[3]Nunan， D. Second Language Teaching and Learning [M]. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 2001.

作者简介：刘莹，四川工商职业技术学院基础部，四川都江堰 611830