The full title of this chapter in Bill VanPatten’s book, While We’re On the Topic, is “Tasks Should Form the Backbone of the Communicative Curriculum”.
This post will be short because I am involved in a couple of language teachers conferences.
Let’s start with a set of can-do statements. Then we’ll know what to expect from VanPatten’s discussion. Rate yourself for each statement with one of the following: Yes, for sure; Sort of; Nope.
- I can state the difference between an Exercise, an Activity, and a Task.
- I can identify a Task when I see one.
- I understand the difference between an input-oriented task and an output-oriented task.
- I can state the difference between Tasks as drop-ins and Tasks as the goals of units.
- I understand what it means to determine what students need to know and what they need to be able to do in order to be successful with a task.
Before reading this chapter in VanPatten’s book, these were my answers:
- No
- No
- Sort of
- No
- Sort of
As you can see, my knowledge of Tasks was (and to a certain extent remains) quite limited. That’s why I read books like this.
VanPatten lays out the design of the chapter as exploring three topics:
– The nature of tasks;
– The difference between a Task, an Exercise, and an Activity;
– How the teacher can use Tasks to construct a communicative curriculum.
By this point in the book, we should know that the focus will be on communication, i.e. the expression, interpretation, and negotiation of meaning in a given context for a purpose.
Since the title of the chapter is about Tasks, we can conclude that VanPatten will recommend Tasks as opposed to Exercises and Activities.
Beyond that, check back next week for the discussion and a report on how the conferences went.