Designing lesson tasks and materials

TASKS AND MATERIALS DESIGNED

Willis ( 1996 ) has proposed a elaborate model for forming lessons which involves the phases of pre-task, undertaking and linguistic communication focal point. In the first phase, the instructor introduces the subject and pupils are involved in a communicative undertaking that will assist them remember words and phrases and brainstorm thoughts that might be utile in executing the chief undertaking. What follows is what Willis calls the ‘task cycle’ in which scholars perform the existent undertaking, in braces or groups. Then, they prepare a study and show their findings to the category. As Manolopoulou-Sergi references, “after that is their attending directed towards specific characteristics of linguistic communication signifier” ( Manolopoulou-Sergi et al. , 2004:171 ) . In add-on, as Carless observes“the post-task stage can besides lend to reminding students…that while the undertaking may hold been gratifying, there were serious larning purposes underpinning it”( Carless, 2007:604 ) .

The three adapted undertakings follow the aforesaid undertaking construction proposed by Willis. Undertaking 1 ( see Appendix II ) focuses on developing reading, listening, speech production and composing accomplishments utilizing communicative teaching method in a series of undertakings taking to steer pupils in developing the accomplishments necessary to form an original travel path. The subject is derived from the text edition ‘On Screen’ but everything else has been changed. More specifically, the pre-task or ‘warm-up’ activity attempts to trip content scheme, pulling on students’ bing cognition ( see Appendix II ) . The existent undertaking is a saber saw reading undertaking which serves both as an reliable input and it is besides an illustration of the mark undertaking pupils are so asked to make. In finishing the mark undertaking, pupils need to entree Google maps and follow the finish described in the reading text. Therefore, scholars will go more familiar with some tourer sites in Athens, every bit good as let the usage of engineering in a purposeful manner as they may be asked to make in existent life. Furthermore, pupils in groups of 2 or 3 are asked to develop a twenty-four hours path in their country for a friend abroad taking into consideration his/her likes and disfavors ( see Appendix II ) . Giving pupils the chance to seek on a different country will ask ‘coaction and interaction’in order to successfully finish the undertaking ( information spread ) . In add-on, though this undertaking pupils will develop travel related vocabulary. Students are so asked to show their paths in forepart of the category which will actuate them to make well-designed and interesting paths. Finally, in the post-phase, the instructor leads a treatment on the completed undertaking ( the presentation ) which will unite a linguistic communication focal point every bit good as acknowledging of import information from the published article that should hold been included in the students’ presentation. What follows is a repeat of the schemes of a well-designed presentation/speech ( mentioning to a old unit ) and an existent presentation of the published article, therefore, giving scholars the chance to pattern the process and linguistic communication of a presentation one time more.

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Traveling on to Task 2, as a pre-task pupils are asked to bring forth a text ( see Appendix II ) through quickwriting. The undertaking is contextualized by supplying a intent and audience. Students are so encouraged to compare their quickwritings with another schoolmate and make up one's mind on a intent for composing. Therefore, pupils are asked to reflect on their Hagiographas and assist them develop schemes required in cognition transforming. In the task-cycle pupils are foremost introduced to a gap-filling activity which may non be an open-ended, procedure oriented activity or may non supply for specific written results, but will prosecute scholars in originative and synergistic ( with the speech production activity at the terminal ) state of affairss bring forthing thoughts for the existent authorship and giving scholars a feeling of success. Then, what follows is a 2nd bill of exchange and a alteration of it where pupils have the opportunity to measure their equals at a non-final phase with the aid of specific rating points. Through this, pupils are encouraged to portion ( verbal studies ) among themselves and assist them understand what goes in the writer’s and reader’s head and what schemes to utilize in order to acquire intending through a text ( metacognitive scheme ) . Furthermore, the following and concluding phase involves linguistic communication consciousness exercisings which are designed with the lone intent to bring forth more thoughts before pupils start composing their concluding bill of exchanges ( see Appendix II ) . Overall, this undertaking and the three phase intervention of composing a text is to let pupils to command, modify and farther develop their merchandise.

Geting started can be hard and therefore, in the 3rd undertaking the instructor foremost introduces the subject and encourages scholars to brainstorm thoughts with the usage of wordlists ( see Appendix II ) . Then, in the task-cycle pupils are divided into groups sharing thoughts on a problem-solving activity where they have to come up with a text utilizing specific words and phrases given by the instructor. This collaborative authorship is particularly valuable as it involves other accomplishments as good ( e.g. talking ) . In add-on, this problem-solving activity will advance dialogue of significance and“push scholars to prosecute in checking and clear uping as they go along”( Skehan, 2002:291 ) . Once each group has completed the text, they will be encouraged to show it in category and the remainder of the pupils to notice on it, therefore paying attending on signifier by holding the chance to ‘become teachers’ . Finally, in the last phase there is a listening activity in which pupils are asked to place specific words from the wordlist and so make full in the spreads of the paragraphs ( see Appendix II ) . The post-task stage is a opportunity to concentrate on linguistic communication and as Carless says“it is important to take the kids see the connexion between the undertaking they have merely done and some linguistic communication work”( Carless, 2007:601 ) .

Scaling AND SEQUENCING CRITERIA

Rating and sequencing of undertakings is so a major challenge for instructors and task-based course of study interior decorators. Therefore, a figure of theoretical accounts and standards for rating and sequencing undertakings have been developed. Two of the most popular models for the sequencing of undertakings are Skehan’s ( 1996 ) and Robinson’s ( 2001 ) . Although the procedure of rating and sequencing undertakings seems arbitrary and harmonizing to teachers’ judgement, I have chosen Robinson’s model to place ‘task complexity’ and later usage for the scaling of my undertakings. The ground for taking Robinson is as Steenkamp et Al. specifies “Robinson conducted research to find the function of undertaking sequencing in learners’ production” ( Steenkamp et al. , 2011:13 ) and I am covering with a productive country, that of authorship.

Robinson distinguishes three factors that influence the complexness of a undertaking viz. “cognitively defined undertaking complexness, scholars perceptual experience of undertaking trouble and the synergistic conditions under which undertakings are performed” ( Robinson, 2001b:27 ) . Task trouble and undertaking conditions are factors that might act upon methodological analysis and the determinations instructors will be asked to do for successful undertaking completion, but as they deal largely with learners’ affectional sensitivity and ability factors they can non be manipulated beforehand. In contrast, as Robinson states “undertaking complexness is the exclusive footing of pedagogic undertaking sequence” ( Robinson, 2007 in Steenkamp et al. , 2011:18 ) , and it has to make with the undertaking itself. Therefore, it can be manipulated and predicted in progress. Furthermore, Robinson claims that “the greater the cognitive demands of a undertaking, the more they engage cognitive resources ( attending and memory ) an so are likely to concentrate attending on input and end product which will hold public presentation effects” ( Manolopoulou-Sergi et al. , 2004:176-177 ) .

Along these lines, I focused on the factors that influence cognitive complexness such as ± individual undertaking, ± prior cognition, ± planning clip, ± there and now, ± concluding and more ( see Appendix III ) . In peculiar, the undertakings presented in the old subdivision are sequenced this manner chiefly because I want scholars to set about activities which become progressively demanding, i.e. traveling from comprehension-based activities ( saber saw reading/ Task 1/ see Appendix II ) to controlled production activities and exercisings ( pros and cons of nomadic phones/ Task 2/ see Appendix II ) and eventually to activities affecting reliable communicating and interaction ( carnival/ Task 3/ see Appendix II ) . Additionally, undertakings with closed results ( Task 1 ) should be presented before more open-ended undertakings ( Task 3 ) as they will be easier to carry through and participants can direct their effects more purposefully as there is merely one correct reply ( see Appendix IV B ) . Furthermore, undertakings affecting duologues should continue those affecting soliloquies every bit good as describing speeches/ presentations that might be extremely complex for scholars and need truth and eloquence to be accomplished. All three undertakings include consciousness-raising activities ( listening or reading transcripts of comparing, see Appendix II ) so as to “diminish the cognitive burden of the chief undertaking which comes afterwards. Therefore, scholars can be induced to remember conventional cognition they already have which is relevant to the undertaking they will make” ( Manolopoulou-Sergi et al. , 2004:180 ) .

Similarly, the undertakings require mention largely to events go oning now as the attending is drawn on learners’ eloquence although much more cognitively demanding mention to events go oning elsewhere in clip and infinite could be added.“There is flexibleness in timing and grouping, with alternate functions being assigned to pupils at different times, and groups being rearranged in different ways, to supply more chances for students to ordain different roles” ,( Carless, 2002:394 ) . Another factor taken into history in sequencing undertakings is one manner or two manner constellation of information. “In a one-way constellation, all of the information related to the undertaking is given to one scholar who must pass on it to the other. In a bipartisan constellation the information is related to the undertaking is distributed among all of the scholars who must portion and incorporate it. In this respect, one manner undertakings promote less dialogue of intending than two-way undertakings which affects the complexness of the tasks”( Ahmadi, 2014:338 ) , and hence should continue bipartisan undertakings. Finally, clip force per unit area put on pupils ( which will overload students’ attending ) and the support they have from their instructor or other scholars ( more support will perchance ease the undertaking ) are taken into history. Gradually increasing the complexness of undertakings is of import as it “may motivate scholars to look for more and more aid in the input, go toing to facilitative signifiers made salient by teacher intercession” ( Manolopoulou-Sergi et al. , 2004:178 ) . However, what is more of import for me is to increase the complexness of pedagogic demands in order to bit by bit come close the complexness of the existent universe.

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