APA Reading Note
Chapter 1
This chapter provides us a primary definition of what exactly a task is and the effective way of task-based teaching is engaging learners in real language use in the classroom in which there are three approaches: focus on meaning, focus on language, focus on form. It also provides us a very basic concept of task-based teaching by analyzing the characteristics and distinctions with examples. Successful teaching is judged in terms of how well the learners are elicited and able to communicate effectively in real world. The three approaches are connected with each other since SLA is a developmental process without which learning will not be as successful as expected, It emphasizes that designing a task base on developmental sequence is a critical part to facilitate language acquisition.
To my understanding, focus on meaning and then on language is the essential approach to build up the learners’ vocabulary and language sense and promote learners’ confidence. Focus on form is also a necessary task as fundamental structures for the advanced learners in writing and reading.
Chapter 2
Task-based sequences in the classroom provides us a number of form-focus activities which are related with each other and reflect the real world. From this chapter I learned how to plan the teaching process in detailed steps: how to prime learners, how to introduce the vocabulary, how to focus on learners’ mind and how to explain and demonstrate, I can introduce vocabulary through multi-sensory techniques (showing pictures with Chinese characters, orally saying it, and then have students repeat back). To provide plenty of opportunities to use the language in the classroom facilitates learners to make the most of what they have learned. Comparing with the way I taught in China, the form –focus teacher–center class confined my concept of teaching while here the form-focus is comprehensive. It is not a single task , not detract from a focus on meaning, the sequences are planned to help make sense of the language, highlight the useful forms for acquisition as well as provide motivation. It broads my view from different angle. I agreed that to find the right balance between meaning-based and form-focused activities will be the challenge for a teacher in preparing the tasks, It definitely leads me in the right track in future teaching.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 is introducing a great deal of vivid ways through the examples to make focus on form actively from many angles. I learned a number of ways of designing tasks on reading, written and spoken texts which illustrate the valuable learning activities in real world. Making listening and reading into meaning-focus activities is a significant breakthrough in language teaching. We all know that the start point for language learning is meaning focus: interaction and communication, but how, what and where to start? For me , it was only a slogan before I was reading this chapter. Those answers light up my thinking and I realize what I had been trying to do for many years but failed is that I need directions and need a key to open the door for practicum . I have been equipped with great confidence to be a good teacher in future by learning detail examples like how to build activities, the Jigsaw tasks, a series of ways such as general knowledge tasks, corrupted text, ways to recycle texts, quizzes, group dictation, discussions, communal memory, evaluation and report etc. Especially for reading tasks, the jigsaw task sequences ( split-information) illustrated are the very effective way to draw students attention by group working.
Chapter 4
This chapter is presenting us the process of selecting topics and the ways of designing tasks. It is very practical and doable in classroom teaching to generate the activities which draw the learners’ attention and interest through real world information stimulation.
What I have learned here is not only the way of how to start a topic by listing, sorting and classifying , but also the concept of how to be organized and systemized is very helpful and effective ways of learning in other fields like projects preparing, engineering schemes and designing work. Tasks involving ordering, sorting, sequencing, ranking are certainly making the learning process initiatively by brainstorming as well as listening , speaking and writing. Tasks designed accordingly would stimulate the learners’ language processing system and connect the language net work that learners have formed to produce as much output as possible.
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 is going detail into how it is possible to start with a topic, how to narrow it down, and design different types of topics that enable learners to acquire the language features more easily and naturally and build up the new ways to express themselves.
One point impresses me the most is Sharing Personal Experiences: storytelling. It is an effective task to draw learners attention and arouse their interests to share each other’s stories which can be extended to facilitate learners individual thinking by giving them freedom to predicting what’s going on or the end. I did storytelling in my English class before , but the outcome was not as expected due to not extending task sequences for the learners to reuse or recycle the topic vocabulary and make maximum use of them. However the problem solving tasks and puzzles also provides me a great picture in priming teaching strategies. The Reader Activities illustrated in this chapter inspired me to do something new in teaching and hopefully will be successful.
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 presents us task design principle that language focus and form focus should be central to language learning. It still emphases on communicative activities and group work to make the language features noticeable and memorable from the pedagogic point of view. Teacher’s role is to activate students’ corpus. When I was reading, I began to actively process the information and revisit my already formed opinions which were to make full use of the class time to provide students as many forms as possible and let students practice after class themselves. In fact practice initiatively was never happening without teacher’s supervising and facilitating outside the classroom. In another words, without the developmental process such as negotiation, recast, eliciting, feedback and interaction etc. priming by teachers ,acquisition may not take place properly and efficiently, especially at the earlier stage. That’s why my students in China complained that they spent more than ten years learning English but acquired nothing.
Another important point came into my mind from reading this chapter is the teaching sources are various. And group work is one of the promoting means to raise students interests and motivation.
Chapter 7
Regarding language teaching, there is a big gap between classroom and the real world. Chapter 7 focuses on how to minimize the gap by providing us with various useful strategies to take students through different careful prepared sequences. Such as solve a problem and make learning happen through the problem solving process and playing the roles.
I was so impressed by the concept of the teacher roles, such as a teacher should be first an organizer, a leader, manager, facilitator, positive monitor , language knower and advisor before finally a language teacher. I strongly agree that a teacher should “import and shape knowledge” instead of a purvey of knowledge. If a teacher can seriously take these roles into account , teaching will be very successful. These roles will be the motto in my future teaching career. I believe motivation is one factor only when united with the effective strategies can lead to achievement.
Through this chapter, I hold the truth that “There is no student who can not be taught, but the teacher who can not teach.” There are always ways to trigger students’ talent and passion to learn.
Chapter 8
This chapter is introducing the 7 special aspects when to adapt or refine the design work. Being a instructor, to familiar with what students need is a critical point for detailed task planning. There is a saying in China “有的放矢”, which means to shoot when you have clear target in mind without which I believe the task can be done in vain or the outcome is not as effective as what we originally expected.
One of the point I like the most is the ways to develop accuracy in doing TBT. To record and transcribe the learners language activities would work well in reformulating their language knowledge by self correction. It is true that negative feedback will stimulate the motivation leading to accuracy. From revisiting my teaching activities, I realized that there are still a lot of detailed segments I have missed although I spent a lot of time in designing the task. For example, lack of specific formats to engage students in the particular task when I was trying to have the students practicing “人见人爱 和 自言自语”. Surely the activity was not satisfied .The chapter certainly puts the whole picture in my mind of how to refine a task-based teaching activities with the 7 parameters.
Chapter 9
“What to teach”? We were asked at the Practicum II session IV. Chapter 9 is giving us a satisfactory and detailed answer ---syllabus functioning as the guiding principle directing what to teach. This chapter provides me a complete clear diagram of how to design a task based syllabus with much deeper insight and understanding.
Learning about the process of syllabus designing here is quite eye opening as it is very important to ensure valuable classroom time to be put to best possible use. The 7 parameters we have learned in Chapter 8 should be taken into consideration while designing the syllabus in order to build up learners language knowledge systematically.
One point I strongly agree with here is that selecting excellent and stimulating materials will achieve better outcome effectively.--- a course book, which is one of the critical elements for both teachers and students to carry out practically and enjoyably to achieve successful teaching and learning. I had used several textbooks while I was teaching English in China. And I prefer “ New Concept English “ rather than “ Key Text English”. The former is authentic and focusing on real world language which promotes teaching activities more vividly while the latter focusing on forms needs a lot of efforts and time in restructuring tasks.an Han
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 is leading me much deeper into how to carry out TBLT in real practice. It provides us a great deal of examples while answering the questions from many teachers. Some of the questions for TBLT here represent mine as well. The solutions fill the gap between the theory and actual implementation. TBLT subverts my traditional teaching concept. A well design task is the combination of speaking, listening reading or writing which definitely facilitates learning motivation and efficiency at the maximum range. This chapter enriches my teaching philosophy to a new stage. I specially benefit from the teacher' tips for implementing TBLT. Actually task is not a big deal as I take it for granted. Everything can be a task as Dr Han showed us two students talking about the differences of two houses, they were able to use limited vocabulary to produce comprehensible output with a clear focus on the specified task. When I finished reading this chapter and revisited the previous chapter related to the questions raised here. I was feeling lifted up, and understand more of what TBLT means.
Chapter 1
This chapter provides us a primary definition of what exactly a task is and the effective way of task-based teaching is engaging learners in real language use in the classroom in which there are three approaches: focus on meaning, focus on language, focus on form. It also provides us a very basic concept of task-based teaching by analyzing the characteristics and distinctions with examples. Successful teaching is judged in terms of how well the learners are elicited and able to communicate effectively in real world. The three approaches are connected with each other since SLA is a developmental process without which learning will not be as successful as expected, It emphasizes that designing a task base on developmental sequence is a critical part to facilitate language acquisition.
To my understanding, focus on meaning and then on language is the essential approach to build up the learners’ vocabulary and language sense and promote learners’ confidence. Focus on form is also a necessary task as fundamental structures for the advanced learners in writing and reading.
Chapter 2
Task-based sequences in the classroom provides us a number of form-focus activities which are related with each other and reflect the real world. From this chapter I learned how to plan the teaching process in detailed steps: how to prime learners, how to introduce the vocabulary, how to focus on learners’ mind and how to explain and demonstrate, I can introduce vocabulary through multi-sensory techniques (showing pictures with Chinese characters, orally saying it, and then have students repeat back). To provide plenty of opportunities to use the language in the classroom facilitates learners to make the most of what they have learned. Comparing with the way I taught in China, the form –focus teacher–center class confined my concept of teaching while here the form-focus is comprehensive. It is not a single task , not detract from a focus on meaning, the sequences are planned to help make sense of the language, highlight the useful forms for acquisition as well as provide motivation. It broads my view from different angle. I agreed that to find the right balance between meaning-based and form-focused activities will be the challenge for a teacher in preparing the tasks, It definitely leads me in the right track in future teaching.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 is introducing a great deal of vivid ways through the examples to make focus on form actively from many angles. I learned a number of ways of designing tasks on reading, written and spoken texts which illustrate the valuable learning activities in real world. Making listening and reading into meaning-focus activities is a significant breakthrough in language teaching. We all know that the start point for language learning is meaning focus: interaction and communication, but how, what and where to start? For me , it was only a slogan before I was reading this chapter. Those answers light up my thinking and I realize what I had been trying to do for many years but failed is that I need directions and need a key to open the door for practicum . I have been equipped with great confidence to be a good teacher in future by learning detail examples like how to build activities, the Jigsaw tasks, a series of ways such as general knowledge tasks, corrupted text, ways to recycle texts, quizzes, group dictation, discussions, communal memory, evaluation and report etc. Especially for reading tasks, the jigsaw task sequences ( split-information) illustrated are the very effective way to draw students attention by group working.
Chapter 4
This chapter is presenting us the process of selecting topics and the ways of designing tasks. It is very practical and doable in classroom teaching to generate the activities which draw the learners’ attention and interest through real world information stimulation.
What I have learned here is not only the way of how to start a topic by listing, sorting and classifying , but also the concept of how to be organized and systemized is very helpful and effective ways of learning in other fields like projects preparing, engineering schemes and designing work. Tasks involving ordering, sorting, sequencing, ranking are certainly making the learning process initiatively by brainstorming as well as listening , speaking and writing. Tasks designed accordingly would stimulate the learners’ language processing system and connect the language net work that learners have formed to produce as much output as possible.
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 is going detail into how it is possible to start with a topic, how to narrow it down, and design different types of topics that enable learners to acquire the language features more easily and naturally and build up the new ways to express themselves.
One point impresses me the most is Sharing Personal Experiences: storytelling. It is an effective task to draw learners attention and arouse their interests to share each other’s stories which can be extended to facilitate learners individual thinking by giving them freedom to predicting what’s going on or the end. I did storytelling in my English class before , but the outcome was not as expected due to not extending task sequences for the learners to reuse or recycle the topic vocabulary and make maximum use of them. However the problem solving tasks and puzzles also provides me a great picture in priming teaching strategies. The Reader Activities illustrated in this chapter inspired me to do something new in teaching and hopefully will be successful.
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 presents us task design principle that language focus and form focus should be central to language learning. It still emphases on communicative activities and group work to make the language features noticeable and memorable from the pedagogic point of view. Teacher’s role is to activate students’ corpus. When I was reading, I began to actively process the information and revisit my already formed opinions which were to make full use of the class time to provide students as many forms as possible and let students practice after class themselves. In fact practice initiatively was never happening without teacher’s supervising and facilitating outside the classroom. In another words, without the developmental process such as negotiation, recast, eliciting, feedback and interaction etc. priming by teachers ,acquisition may not take place properly and efficiently, especially at the earlier stage. That’s why my students in China complained that they spent more than ten years learning English but acquired nothing.
Another important point came into my mind from reading this chapter is the teaching sources are various. And group work is one of the promoting means to raise students interests and motivation.
Chapter 7
Regarding language teaching, there is a big gap between classroom and the real world. Chapter 7 focuses on how to minimize the gap by providing us with various useful strategies to take students through different careful prepared sequences. Such as solve a problem and make learning happen through the problem solving process and playing the roles.
I was so impressed by the concept of the teacher roles, such as a teacher should be first an organizer, a leader, manager, facilitator, positive monitor , language knower and advisor before finally a language teacher. I strongly agree that a teacher should “import and shape knowledge” instead of a purvey of knowledge. If a teacher can seriously take these roles into account , teaching will be very successful. These roles will be the motto in my future teaching career. I believe motivation is one factor only when united with the effective strategies can lead to achievement.
Through this chapter, I hold the truth that “There is no student who can not be taught, but the teacher who can not teach.” There are always ways to trigger students’ talent and passion to learn.
Chapter 8
This chapter is introducing the 7 special aspects when to adapt or refine the design work. Being a instructor, to familiar with what students need is a critical point for detailed task planning. There is a saying in China “有的放矢”, which means to shoot when you have clear target in mind without which I believe the task can be done in vain or the outcome is not as effective as what we originally expected.
One of the point I like the most is the ways to develop accuracy in doing TBT. To record and transcribe the learners language activities would work well in reformulating their language knowledge by self correction. It is true that negative feedback will stimulate the motivation leading to accuracy. From revisiting my teaching activities, I realized that there are still a lot of detailed segments I have missed although I spent a lot of time in designing the task. For example, lack of specific formats to engage students in the particular task when I was trying to have the students practicing “人见人爱 和 自言自语”. Surely the activity was not satisfied .The chapter certainly puts the whole picture in my mind of how to refine a task-based teaching activities with the 7 parameters.
Chapter 9
“What to teach”? We were asked at the Practicum II session IV. Chapter 9 is giving us a satisfactory and detailed answer ---syllabus functioning as the guiding principle directing what to teach. This chapter provides me a complete clear diagram of how to design a task based syllabus with much deeper insight and understanding.
Learning about the process of syllabus designing here is quite eye opening as it is very important to ensure valuable classroom time to be put to best possible use. The 7 parameters we have learned in Chapter 8 should be taken into consideration while designing the syllabus in order to build up learners language knowledge systematically.
One point I strongly agree with here is that selecting excellent and stimulating materials will achieve better outcome effectively.--- a course book, which is one of the critical elements for both teachers and students to carry out practically and enjoyably to achieve successful teaching and learning. I had used several textbooks while I was teaching English in China. And I prefer “ New Concept English “ rather than “ Key Text English”. The former is authentic and focusing on real world language which promotes teaching activities more vividly while the latter focusing on forms needs a lot of efforts and time in restructuring tasks.an Han
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 is leading me much deeper into how to carry out TBLT in real practice. It provides us a great deal of examples while answering the questions from many teachers. Some of the questions for TBLT here represent mine as well. The solutions fill the gap between the theory and actual implementation. TBLT subverts my traditional teaching concept. A well design task is the combination of speaking, listening reading or writing which definitely facilitates learning motivation and efficiency at the maximum range. This chapter enriches my teaching philosophy to a new stage. I specially benefit from the teacher' tips for implementing TBLT. Actually task is not a big deal as I take it for granted. Everything can be a task as Dr Han showed us two students talking about the differences of two houses, they were able to use limited vocabulary to produce comprehensible output with a clear focus on the specified task. When I finished reading this chapter and revisited the previous chapter related to the questions raised here. I was feeling lifted up, and understand more of what TBLT means.