Abstract
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), which is in vogue both abroad and currently also in Taiwan, has emerged as a significant component in the development of the language curriculum for the past few decades. To put it simply, the task, which is goal-oriented and learner-centered, is a classroom activity in which students use real-life language to achieve a specific outcome. With the introduction of authentic materials, the focus of TBLT is on learners completing the task successfully by means of communicating through interaction and cooperation in the target language. However, to date the definitions of the concepts of “what is a task” existing in the literature, though based on the same theoretical background, are quite diverse. Researchers are not sure about whether TBLT is only a castle in the air. That is, does a task merely assume ideally that the teacher and students play each role fairly, the teacher-the discussion initiator, the students-the eager, active talkers? Or is the reality that there is no meaningful interaction involved, and therefore no significant language development?Although there has been numerous research discussing the rise of the task as well as its influence on second language acquisition and curriculum design, the surprising thing about these studies is that discussions of how tasks are carried out in actual school settings are few and far between. To confirm that the task-based innovations and benefits are echoed in practice, there has even been a demand to administer a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the interaction produced by tasks in the classroom. In Taiwan, the term “Task-based Language Teaching” is fairly new to most teachers of English, and even when they have heard of it, they may not be aware of its concepts and usefulness. Therefore, in the first part of this study, the question of what tasks are and the difference between exercises and tasks will be explored, and the theory and research that portrays the advantages and limits for task-based approach will be reviewed.Following this, the current paper attempts to investigate: (1) the characteristics of task-based interaction, (2) students’ communicative competence throughout the process, and (3) students’ opinions about classroom collaborative activities. Forty students who were enrolled in their second year at a private senior high school in Taipei participated in this study. During the school term (from November, 2005 to February, 2006), the subjects were required to engage in task-based (decision-making) activities, based on some aspect of the lessons, in addition to the original reading activities in the assigned textbooks. Student group discussion activities in these tasks were audio-taped for later transcription, each of the nine groups using one audiotape recorder. Questionnaires were administered before and after the implementation of the task to examine whether students’ attitudes towards this communicative method changed.The analysis of this recorded data revealed that there were longer turns in spontaneous speech and increasing use of interactional adjustments toward the end of the treatment period. The findings from the pretest and posttest questionnaires indicated that subjects perceived that task-based interaction had features different from other classroom discussion activities, and these supplemental group speaking activities motivated them to take part in in-class discussions and helped them cultivate better communication skills in negotiating meaning. From a pedagogical viewpoint, this study showed that using supplementary cooperative materials involved learners in comprehending and producing the target language more willingly and more effectively.