Applying task based instruction in teaching reading skill to nursing students

luận văn, khóa luận, chuyên đề, báo cáo, đề tài, thạc sĩ

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

PHAN THỊ MAI

APPLYING TASK-BASED INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING

READING SKILL TO NURSING STUDENTS

ỨNG DỤNG ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH THEO NHIỆM VỤ TRONG VIỆC DẠY ĐỌC HIỂU CHO SINH VIÊN NGÀNH ĐIỀU DƯỠNG

Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching

Code: 60.14.10 Master thesis in Education Supervisor: Trần Bá Tiến M.A

Vinh, 2011

For the completion of this assignment, I have been fortunate to receive invaluable contributions from many people First of all, I would particularly like to express my deepest gratitude to my teacher, Mr Trần Bá Tiến for his enormously useful advice, constant and tireless helps Thanks to his advice and encouragement,

I was motivated to enter interesting but challenging foreign language teaching methodology Secondly, I wish to express a word of thanks to the Dean and the teachers in the Post-Graduation Department Last but not least, I am grateful to my beloved family and my dedicated friends for their valuable support.

September 2011

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Figure 2.1 The Willis TBI framework

Table 4.1 The survey program

Table 4.2 Teachers’ viewpoints about the importance of reading skill

Table 4.3 Teachers’ sense of initiative to find extra materials and the opinion on nursing issue as popular topic

Table 4.4 Teachers’ selections of topics

Table 4.5 Teachers’ viewpoint on the use of CLT in teaching reading

Table 4.6 Teachers’ understanding about task and TBI

Table 4.7 Teachers’ viewpoints on applying TBI

Table 4.8 Teachers’ experiences in applying TBI in teaching reading

Table 4.9 Teachers’ frequency of applying TBI in teaching reading

Table 4.10 Teachers’ reasons of choosing or avoiding TBI in teaching readingTable 4.11 Students’ liking of using English reading text

Table 4.12 Students’ preferences of reading sources

Table 4.13 students’ preferences of topics being used

Table 4.14 Students’ reasons for reading text

Table 4.15 Students’ confidence in reading an English text

Table 4.16 Students’ preferences on teachers’ techniques of teaching reading

Table 4.17 Students’ appreciation on the usefulness of using extra reading materials

in class

Table 4.18 students’ satisfaction with using extra reading materials

Table 4.19 Comparison of levels of students’ marks

Table 4.20 Students’ results of test analyzed by Microsoft Excel

Chart 4.1 Teachers’ viewpoints about the importance of reading skill

Chart 4.2 Teachers’ sense of initiative to find extra materials and the opinion on nursing issue as popular topic

Chart 4.3 Teachers’ selections of topics

Chart 4.4 Teachers’ viewpoints on using CLT in teaching reading

Chart 4.5 Teachers’ understanding about task and TBI

Chart 4.6 Teachers’ viewpoints on applying TBI

Chart 4.7 Teachers’ experiences in applying TBI in teaching reading

Chart 4.8 Teachers’ frequency of applying TBI in teaching reading

Chart 4.9 Teachers’ reasons of choosing or avoiding TBI in teaching reading

Chart 4.10 Students’ different learning levels

Chart 4.11 Students’ experiences in teaching English reading texts

Chart 4.12 Students’ liking of using English reading text

Chart 4.13 Students’ changes in the frequency of reading

Chart 4.14 Students’ preferences of reading sources

Chart 4.15 students’ preferences of topics being used

Chart 4.16 Students’ reasons for reading text

Chart 4.17 Students’ confidence in reading an English text

Chart 4.18 Students’ preferences on teachers’ techniques of teaching reading

Chart 4.19 Students’ appreciation on the usefulness of using extra reading materials

in class

Chart 4.20 Students’ satisfaction with using extra reading materials

Chart 4.21 Students’ preferences of developing reading habit

Chart 4.22 The differences of testing results between the two tests

The study focuses on the use of extra English reading materials basing on theeffective task-based instruction Task-based instruction has been attributed as agrowingly widespread manifestation of Communicative Language Teaching Itprovides a supportive language learning atmosphere to students as well asstimulates learner’s needs and interest Additionally, Task-Based Instructiondevelops the integration of skills in the classroom, esp interaction skills TBI alsomotivates learners intrinsically, promotes learner’s academic progress and createscooperation in learning In this thesis, extra reading materials are employed for non-major students All of the reading texts are introduced basing on the perspective oftask-based instruction The reading texts are applied in reality to testify itsfeasibility and effectiveness After learning reading with Task-Based Instruction theresults are marked and reported The appointed subjects are non-major students ofnursing and teachers of English in Vinh medical University Collected data areanalyzed thoroughly and plausibly through questionnaires, interviews, pre-test andpost-test with the hope to provide a convincing result All the pertinent facts areincluded with a view to forming a thorough and decent study The findings indicatethat the application in TBI to teach reading skill to nursing students in deedharvested certain success and can be applied to other classes of the equivalentlevels Hence, students appear to gain considerable progress as well as developpositive attitudes towards the reading skill This is hoped to be a concretecontribution of the research

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I, Phan Thị Mai confirm that the work presented in this research has been performedand interpreted solely by myself I confirm that this work is submitted in partialfulfillment for the degree of MBA in Vinh University and has not been submittedelsewhere in any other form for the fulfillment of any other degree or qualification.Word Count (excluding acknowledgements, list of tables and charts, abstract andappendices): 27, 029

Signature: _Phan Thị Mai

Dated: _November 11th 2011 _

TABLE OF CONTENT

TABLE OF CONTENT 1

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 4

1.1 Rationale 4

1.2 Objectives of the study 5

1.3 Scope of the study 5

1.4 Method of the study 5

1.5 Research questions 6

1.6 Organization of the study 6

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 Teaching and learning foreign language 7

2.2 Communicative language teaching 8

2.3 Integrations of the four skills 10

2.3.1 Content- based instruction 10

2.3.2 Theme-based instruction 11

2.3.3 Experiential learning 12

2.3.4 The episode hypothesis 12

2.3.5 Task-based instruction 13

2.3.5.1 Task 13

2.3.5.2 Task-based instruction 15

2.3.5.2.1 Definitions 15

2.3.5.2.2 Characteristics 16

2.3.5.2.3 Framework of Task-based Instruction 18

2.4 Teaching reading 21

2.4.1 Definition of reading 21

2.4.2 The Process of Reading 21

2.4.3 Metaphorical models of reading 22

2.4.3.1 Bottom-up model 22

2.4.3.2 Top-down model 23

2.4.3.3 Interactive models 25

2.4.4 Schemata Theory and Background Knowledge 25

2.4.5 Affect and Culture 27

2.4.6 Extensive Reading 28

CHAPTER 3 TASK DESIGN FOR A READING LESSON 29

3.1 Principles of task-design 29

3.2 Four components of a language learning task 29

3.2.1 Goals: 29

3.2.2 Input: 29

3.2.3 Activities 31

3.2.4 The roles for teacher and students 31

3.3 Task design 32

3.3.1 Selecting text 32

3.3.2 Pre-task stage 33

3.3.3 Task cycle 34

3.3.4 Language focus 37

CHAPTER 4: 40

AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENT ATTITUDE AND PROGRESS IN LEARNING ENGLISH WITH EXTRA READING MATERIALS 40

4.1 Learner’s motivation and attitude 40

4.2 Learner’s progress 42

4.3 Methodology 42

4.3.1 Research setting 42

4.3.2 Descriptions of Subjects 44

4.3.3 Instrumentation 44

4.3.3.1 Survey questionnaires 44

4.3.3.2 Interviews with the teachers 46

4.3.3.3 Testing Reading 46

4.3.4 Procedure 47

4.4 Findings 48

4.4.1 The Results of the Interview and Survey Questionnaire for Teachers 48

4.4.1.1 Teachers’ teaching profile 48

4.4.1.2 Teachers’ viewpoints about reading skill 48

4.4.1.3 Teachers’ Understanding about Task and TBI 55

4.4.1.4 Teachers’ Viewpoints on Applying TBI 56

4.4.2 The results of the Survey Questionnaires for Students 64

4.4.2.1 Students’ English learning profile 64

4.4.2.2 Students’ progress 67

4.4.2.2.1 Students’ changes in reading habit 67

4.4.2.2.2 Students’ progress in reading English materials 73

4.4.2.3 Students’ attitudes 75

4.4.2.3.1 Students’ preferences on teachers’ techniques 75

4.4.2.3.2 Students’ appreciation on the usefulness of using extra reading materials in class 77

4.4.2.3.3 Students’ satisfaction with using extra reading materials 79

4.4.2.4 The results of Reading Test 81

4.5 Discussions 85

CHAPTER 5: 91

CONCLUSION AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS 91

5.1 Summary 91

5.2 Pedagogical implications 93

5.3 Suggestions for further research 95

REFERENCES 97

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

In the context of national industrialization and modernization, along with thepolicies of international integration, foreign languages in general and English inparticular are of paramount importance At the 9th Congress (in 2001) our Party hadthe policy of “actively integrate into regional and international economy” Inaddition, at the end of that year, the Politburo of the Party Central Committee issued

a resolution on integrating international economy These facts show the importance

of integration and the dire need for foreign languages, especially for English in ourcountry In deed, the need for English has, today, been grown higher than everbefore English serves the demand of cooperation, integration, and nationaldevelopment Therefore, it is necessary to take a close look on the teaching andlearning English of every discipline as well as figure out suitable and favorablesolutions to facilitate those processes, among which applying an appropriate methodshould be taken into consideration

TBI is a growingly widespread manifestation of Communicative LanguageTeaching in the present time As far as it concerned, Communicative languageteaching is documented as learner-generated It signifies the importance of thestudents’ needs and desires and the relation between language in class and in reallife Accordingly, TBI emphasizes on language processes and designing tasks todevelop communicative interactions

Additionally, according to Willis, there are four conditions attributed to lead

to successful language learning The input of real language in use should be rich butcomprehensible The purpose for using the language is to perform or to do things It

is also advisable to motivate students to listen, read, speak and write the language.Besides, instructions in the language is firmly significant, for instance, theinstruction focuses on form, and so forth Obviously, TBI supports these conditions

in a classroom environment

By applying task-based learning, the educators can create a course aroundcommunicative task that contribute a lot to students in their real-world activities.For the above-mentioned reasons, the author aims at conducting the study entitled

“Applying Task-based Instruction to Teach Reading Skill for Second-year NursingStudents” The author hopes that the study will be a contribution to current in- usetextbooks

1.2 Objectives of the study

The thesis aims to find out effective ways to teach reading skill to nursingstudents in Vinh Medical University

1.3 Scope of the study

The title of the paper “Applying Task-based Instruction to Teach ReadingSkill for Second-year Nursing Students” reflects the scope of the study The studyfocuses on reading skill of nursing students of intermediate levels

1.4 Method of the study

For the fulfillment of the thesis, two methods are employed, namelyqualitative and quantitative methods The procedure is characterized by test (pre-and post test), questionnaires (pre and post questionnaires), and in-depth interview

All the students in class are taught reading skills basing on the perspective oftask-based instruction in three months First of all, they are sitting for the readingtest (pre-test) in order to prepare for a record of the previous reading teachingmethod as well as to measure their proficiency reading level Then, each of students

is delivered with reading text in the spare time of English lesson After being lead inthe text by guiding questions, discussion, brainstorming activities, vocabulary pre-teaching and so forth, students have chance to deal with their reading texts under theteacher’s instruction After that, students may speak out the answers for theexercises The follow-ups are the discussion, presentations or the writing task

After the first four week of training, students have opportunities to expresstheir opinions and preferences in the first questionnaire The second questionnaireand post-test are handed to them after another four weeks of training These tests are

designed with an aim to gauging the students’ progress and development in readingskill as well as their preferences Meanwhile, questionnaires for teachers are sent inperson or through mail After collecting and synthesizing questionnaires, severalimportant points in the questionnaires are discussed in order to make sure theteachers’ implications.

1.5 Research questions

The author will endeavor to shed lights on the following questions:

- What are the teachers’ perceptions of TBI and the actual situation of teachingreading in Vinh Medical University?

- How TBI helps students in their reading skill?

1.6 Organization of the study

The study consists of the following parts:

Chapter 1 consists of the rationale, aims, scope, significance, method, limitation, organization as well as the research questions of the study Chapter

2 covers all the background preliminary of the research: teaching and learning foreign language, communicative language teaching, integrations of the four skills and teaching reading In chapter 3, a sample reading lesson is designed based on the principles of tasked based instruction as well as of designing interactive reading techniques Chapter 4 deals with an investigation into student motivation and attitude and progress in learning English with extra reading materials Chapter 5 includes the conclusion and the pedagogical implications for the teachers

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Teaching and learning foreign language

Language acquisition, whether first or second languages, is considered to beone of the most interesting and important fields in human development Theseprocesses require much patience In this process, the learners have to shiftthemselves from the first-language confines to second-language ones Learners have

to emerge themselves wholly into second-language climate, namely a newlanguage, a new culture, a new way of acting, thinking and feeling and so forth Allthat the learners can do to acquire a second language successful is to have “totalcommitment, total involvement, a total physical, intellectual, and emotionalresponse” [10, p1] Hence, for fruitful results in second language learning thelearners have to go beyond the boundaries of classroom To start with, the authorwill provide a brief overview of teaching and learning foreign language There havebeen many definitions over the concepts of teaching and learning However, thosedefinitions fall short in covering aspects of such complicated concepts Brown [10,p7] has delivered more appropriate definitions of learning and teaching According

to Brown, learning is:

 “Acquisitions or getting

 Retention of information and skill

 Retention implies storage systems, memory, and cognitive organization

 Learning involves active, conscious focus on and acting upon eventsoutside and inside the organism

 Is relatively permanent but subject to forgetting

 Involves some forms of practice, perhaps reinforced practice

 Is a change in behavior”

Brown views teaching in accordance with learning: teaching is guiding andfacilitating learning, enabling the learner to learn, setting the conditions forlearning Teaching cannot be fully defined beyond the regime of learning By

having notion of the way the learners learn can the teacher specify his philosophy ofeducation, his style of teaching, as well as his approach, methods, and techniquesused in classroom Importance of a judicious definition of teaching may uncover thegoverning principles for selecting certain methods and techniques of teaching.Teaching and learning share a close-knit relation in which one can be understood byreferring the other

2.2 Communicative language teaching

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is assumed to be rooted from thechanges in the British language teaching tradition which dated back from the late1960s The major British approach to teaching English as a foreign language wasintroduced by Situational Language Teaching until then Language, thus, wasconsidered as a system of rules and was taught by exercising basic structures inmeaningful situation-based activities The learners had to complete the task ofacquiring these rules by means of their favor After that, in the early 1980s Canaleand Swain further expanded CLT They assumed communicative competence as

“the underlying systems of knowledge and skills required for communication.” [12],[13] The following is their model:

- Grammatical competence: using a structured comprehensible utterance (includinggrammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling)

- Socio-cultural competence: using socially-determined cultural codes inmeaningful ways, normally called “appropriacy”

- Discourse competence: shaping language and communicating purposefully indifferent genres, using cohesion and coherence

- Strategic competence: enhancing the effectiveness of communication, andcompensating for breakdowns in communication

In spite of not giving instructions of teaching in classroom, this linguistic model can postulate factors create natural communication It can serve asguidelines for language instruction According to Nunan CLT has five typicalfeatures [40]:

socio-1 An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the targetlanguage.

2 The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation

3 The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language butalso on the learning process itself

4 An enhancement of the learner’s own experiences as important contributingelements to classroom learning

5 An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activitiesoutside classroom

Owning to these five features CLT is documented as learner-generated Itplace importance on both the students’ needs and desires and the relation betweenlanguage in class and in real life Both content-based and task-based programs seemore successful realization of communicative principles [69, p 66] In addition,Nunan believed that learner was to “master the structures of the language, and inthis process, considerations of meaning were seen almost as peripheral” [41, p9].CLT has been “generalized umbrella terms to describe learning sequences” with anaim to enhance student’s ability to communicative [29, p86] CLT sets purposes ofmaking communicative competence the goal of language teaching and developingprocedures for the teaching of the four language skills that knowledge theinterdependence of language and communication [66, p75] In CLT learners arestimulated to involve themselves in meaningful communication using the targetlanguage It is advisable that students have a purpose for communicating, and focus

on the content rather than language form, and use a variety of language rather than alanguage structure Added to this, activities in CLT appear to direct students to real

or realistic communication In such communication, the success in achievingcommunicative tasks is acknowledged to be more significant than the accurate use

of the language [29, p85] CLT has, in fact, been acknowledged to leave “anindelible mark on teaching and learning” Its results are realized in the utilization ofcommunicative activities in classrooms all over the world [29, p86]

2.3 Integrations of the four skills

The four skills – reading, listening, writing and speaking- have been datedback for more than six decades In the old fashion, they were treated separately.However, people have been realized the integration of the four skills as well asimportance in language learning Thus, a reading lesson has now been taught in acorrelation with speaking, listening and writing skills Brown demonstrated that alesson of reading might include [11]:

 “a pre-reading discussion of the topic to activate schemata

 Listening to a lecturer or a series of informative statements about the topic

of a passage to be read

 a focus on a certain reading strategy, say, scanning

 Writing a paraphrase of a section of the reading passage”.

There are five common models that help teacher to maintain an skills focus in his teaching They are content-based instruction, theme-basedinstruction, experiential learning, the episode hypothesis, and task-based teaching.All of these models distract the learners from the isolation of the skills of language,and focus them on the meaningful purposes of using language

integrated-2.3.1 Content- based instruction

Content-based instruction (CBI) rooted in minority language education in theUSA with a capsulization as “the teaching of content or information in the languagebeing learned with little or no direct effort to teach the language itself separatelyfrom the content being taught” [33, p65] Richard added that content-based syllabus

is one that is “organized around themes, topics or other units of content” [48, p157]

Undoubtedly, CBI increases intrinsic motivation which is documented toplay a critical role to learning of any kind Brown has shown that “content-basedclassrooms may yield an increase in intrinsic motivation and empowerment” This

is due to the fact that students only pay much attention to the subject matter that isimportant to their lives In this case, they are apt to go beyond the extrinsic factorssuch as rewards, grades, etc According to Stryker & Leaver, teacher applies

content-based approaches may have “the potential to enhance students’ motivation,

to accelerate students’ acquisition of language proficiency, to broaden cross-culturalknowledge, and to make the language learning experience more enjoyable andfulfilling” [54, p5] It is note-worthy that content-based instruction gives chances tothe occurrence of complete integration of the language skills

Content-based instruction is fundamentally different from task-basedinstruction It usually “pertains to academic or occupational instruction over anextended period of time at intermediate-to-advanced proficiency levels” [11, p235].Obviously, unlike task-based instruction which uses content to teach the language,CBI can be easily understood as the use of language to teach content Thus, it is theteaching a language around a theme or topic Likewise, it is not around a subjectmatter like mathematics or biology as it has been done elsewhere [26] There areseven principle points of CBI (Plourde and Silina 2002, cited in [69, p7]), namely,use tasks that emphasize higher thinking skills, support content – relia, video, etc,vary the ways to teach content, support content linguistically, explainrationale/objectives and recap/review the lesson, teach vocabulary as a separate

skill, and connect learners’ background/experiences to the content.

2.3.2 Theme-based instruction

Content-based instruction has two versions, namely strong and weak forms

In strong form, a subject matter area is the primary focus, and language is ranked interms of secondary and subordinate interest In weak version, content and languageobjectives are of equal value Subject-matter area, along with language skills is paidmuch attention This weak version expresses itself to be theme-based or topic-basedteaching Added to that, theme-based instruction structures a course around themes

or topics Hence, theme-based curricula can yield myriad interest of students in aclassroom and “can offer a focus on content while still adhering to intuitional needsfor offering a language course per se” [11, p236] Brown presented several possibletheme-based activities [11], such as: use environmental statistics and facts forclassroom reading, writing, discussion and debate, carry out research and writing

projects, have students create their own environmental awareness material, arrangefield trips, and conduct simulation games.

2.3.3 Experiential learning

Experiential learning involves activities which enquire learners to processwith their both left and right brains Salient characteristics of experiential learningare to give students “concrete experiences through which they discover languageprinciples (even if subconsciously) by trial and error, by processing feedback, bybuilding hypotheses about language, and by revising these assumptions in order tobecome fluent” (Eyring 1991: p347, cited in [11, p238]) Thus, students havechances to engage in solving the problem using their concrete experiences Teacher

no longer explains the work of language, but provides situations for students topractice Experiential learning in fact is paired with two substantive principles ofeffective learning: (a) one learns best by doing, by active experimentation, and (b)inductive learning by discoveries activates strategies that enable students to takecharge of their won learning progress [11, p239]

2.3.4 The episode hypothesis

John Oller coined the term “episode hypothesis” in order to hypothesize that

“text (i.e discourse in any form) will be easier to reproduce, understand, and recall

to the extent that it is structured episodically” (1983: p12, cited in [11, p240]) Inother words, learners can easily absorb the language if they are exposed to thesentences that are interconnected and linked episodically The episode hypothesisdoes not cease at simple “meaningful” learning, but inspires learners to focus more

on the content This will helps students to create “expectancies” when they meetsentences that are connected logically or episodically Brown presented severalpossible ways of using episode hypothesis to integrated-skills teaching [11, p241]:

 “Stories or episodes challenge the teachers and textbook writer topresent interesting, natural language, whether the language is viewed

as written discourse or oral discourse

 Episodes can be presented in either written or spoken form, thusrequiring reading and/ or writing skills on the students’ part.

 Episodes can provide the stimulus for spoken or written questions thatstudents respond to, in turn, by speaking or writing

 Students can be encouraged to write their own episodes, or tocomplete an episode whose resolution or climax is not presented

 Those written episodes might then be dramatized in the classroom bythe students”

 there is some communication problem to solve

 there is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities,

 task completion has some priority,

 The assessment of the task is in terms of outcome”

Likewise, Willis defines task as “a goal-oriented communicative activitywith a specific outcome, where the emphasis is on exchange meanings notproducing specific language forms” [60, p36] Richard and Schmidt share anotherdefinition, in which task refers to an activity “which is designed to help achieve aparticular learning goal” [49, p539] Tasks set specific objective which is supposed

to be attained in a fixed time In order to achieve the goal of the tasks, students maychoose whatever language forms they like In such tasks, meaning is emphasized,rather than form

Two main groups of task are distinguished: closed task and open task Theformer composes of highly structured tasks with specific goals and relativelypredictable language forms For example, students are allowed to work in pairs, finddifferences between pictures and jot down what they find Generally, the

instructions are delivered in a precise way and the information is limited.Additionally, the possible outcome is unique, and students have only one way toattain it Nonetheless, the later denotes loosely constructed tasks with a less specificgoal and less predictable language forms For instance, the possible task mayrequire students to compare memories of childhood journeys, or exchangeanecdotes on a theme Furthermore, Willis presents six task types including: listing,ordering and sorting, comparing, problem-solving, sharing personal experiences,and creative tasks [60, p26-28] She proposes that setting an easy task should comebefore others that can stimulate learners to center on various aspects in alinguistically dense or complex text In contrast, for easy text, it is advisable tomake challenging or demanding tasks like implication or inference comprehension

“It is more realistic to grade the tasks rather than the text” [60, p72]

Real-world or target tasks and pedagogical tasks are distinguished in based teaching [39], [41] Target tasks are the ones that students must completebeyond the classroom, i.e learners typically carry out outside the classroom As far

task-as it concerned, language teaching htask-as paramount purpose of winging learners to dothings using the language Performance of real-world tasks is wished to be rehearsed

in classroom time In other words, classroom is the environment to practice realtask “The hundred and one things people do in everyday life, at work, at play, andin-between” is now called a “task” [Long in 41, p24] Thus, a context is thespecification of a task and the task provide the students with specific context Thereal-world task may include making reservations, deciding where to go on holidayafter reading the brochure, etc [69, p10] or “giving personal information in a jobinterview” [11, p242] Meanwhile, the pedagogical tasks are the nucleus of theclassroom activities They are not things that students rehearse for performance inreal life, but things that learners deal with in classroom context Pedagogical tasksinvolve techniques that are designed to show how students can do the target task,viz they provide learners with skills and techniques to perform target tasks outsidethe classroom Also, according to Trần Bá Tiến pedagogical tasks are believed toraise the facilitation for the development of a learner’s general language proficiency

[69, p9] He suggested several pedagogical tasks including doing a jigsaw reading,

or solving a problem in small groups in class

According to Brown there is a distinction between target and pedagogicaltasks in “specific goals that point beyond the language classroom” [11, p243].Nevertheless, they share the commonality in including both formal and functionaltechniques Nunan presents three types of tasks that can help to stimulate studentinteraction, including information gap (e.g., find out what is missing in twopictures), reasoning gap (such as find what is wrong with a picture), and opiniongaps (such as rate your favorites and tell why) [39]

As far as reading is concerned, a list of features of good reading tasks isintroduced by Davies [21]

* Typically make use of authentic and challenging texts;

* Provide students with a rhetorical or topical framework for processing andanalyzing the text;

* Frequently involve an oral reading of the text by the teacher or a student followed

by silent reading and re-reading of the text;

* Involve the students interacting with the text and with each other;

* Involve students with direct analysis of the text in stead of indirect questionanswering;

* Frequently involve the transfer of information from text to a visual ordiagrammatical representation [41, p262]

These principles reveal the differences between the traditional and in-useapproaches to reading comprehension In truth, the in-use approach assumes thatreading is a process of reader-text interaction Meanwhile, the traditional oneusually put the emphasis on post-reading exercises This also explains for the factthat the in-use approach fares better than the traditional one

2.3.5.2 Task-based instruction

2.3.5.2.1 Definitions

Task-based instruction (TBI), which is also called task-based languageteaching, dated back from early 1980s and came into being in the aspect of secondlanguage learning for the reasons of laying emphasis on learning processes anddesigning tasks to develop learner’s communicative interactions [35] In fact, it was

N Prabhu who exerted the populization of the idea of TBI He postulated that ifstudents are focused to consider about a non-linguistic problem while centering on aparticular language forms, there is likelihood that they learn the language [29, p86].TBI is a growingly widespread manifestation of Communicative LanguageTeaching in the present time There have been many definitions over task-basedinstruction Nunan defines task-based instruction as “An approach to the design oflanguage course in which the point of departure is not an ordered list of linguisticitems, but a collection of tasks” [41, p24] Long offers other interpretation of “task-based” as “a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for somereward [35, p89] Thus, examples of tasks include painting a fence, dressing a child,filling out a form, buying a pairs of shoes” Brown offers the following definition:

“TBI is a perspective within a CLT framework that forces you to carefully considerall the techniques that you use in the classroom in terms of a numbers of importantpedagogical purposes” [11, p50] Additionally, Stryker and Leaver claim that “TBIhas been combined CBT very successfully in ESL and EFL programs to pairstudents to exchange information and to solve problems – that is negotiating formeaning” [54, p16] A task-based syllabus is organized around different tasks andactivities in which learners use their target language to perform Learners are notdelivered with a language structure, but a task or problem that they have to dealwith [29, p86] A TBI syllabus “is organized around tasks, rather than in terms ofgrammar, vocabulary or functions” [49, p541]

2.3.5.2.2 Characteristics

According to Brown, task-based instruction “puts task at the center of one’smethodological focus” [11, p50] TBI attributes the process of learning to a set ofcommunicative tasks which are attached immediately to “the curriculum goals they

serve, the purposes of which extend beyond the practice of language for its ownsake” Nunan offers a recapitulation of characteristics of TBI as follows [40, p279]:

1 An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the targetlanguage;

2 The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation;

3 The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language,but also on the learning process itself;

4 An enhancement of the learners’ own personal experiences as importantcontributing elements to classroom learning;

5 An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activationoutside the classroom

Meanwhile, recent research reveals three typical features of TBI TBI is inaccordance with a leaner-centered educational philosophy Learners in task-basedclasses, thus, are “free to choose whatever language forms they wish to convey whatthey mean, in order to fulfill…the task goals” [60, p24] The experiential andhumanistic traditions are what this approach roots from and reflects, as well asreflects the changing conceptions of language itself [69, p8] Besides, goal,procedure and specific outcome are particular components of TBI TBI is also not infavor of linguistic forms but content-oriented meaningful activities In thisapproach, students play the central role and teacher acts as a facilitator of thelearning process The tasks are designed in the way that stimulates students’ interestand communication It is note-worthy to notice that the task-based performance isassessed according to two categories It is assessed in terms of either theobservation of behavior in reality or a simulation of a real-life activity in classroomsetting There are a variety of ways of assessing task-based performance, namelythrough production tasks like role plays, discussion tasks and simulations Wajnrybproposes another way of assessing through observation schedules, in which teacherscan check the ability of students in terms of their contribution in small group [57].According to Nunan, journals, diaries and learning logs are attributed to be helpful

Students are assigned to response to key questions weekly, which establishes thegrowth measurement [42, p157-158) However, in 1994, Johnson and Johnsonbelieve students may help valuate the development of each other [31] Kemp andToperoff suggest portfolios as a way of assessing task-based performance [32].

2.3.5.2.3 Framework of Task-based Instruction

Nunan, Davies, and Willis draw out the framework of task-based instruction[21], [40], [60] However, Willis’ framework, which she introduced in heroutstanding “A Framework for Task-Based Learning”, is considered to be the mostextensively prominent one Accordingly, task-based instruction can simplyunderstood as a kind of “deep-end” strategy (Johnson, 1982) or “like a sort of PPPupside down” (Willis, 1994: p19, cited in [29, p87]) In this framework, there arethree stages in the procedures of task-based language teaching [60]

Figure 2.1: The Willis TBL framework [60, p52]

This framework is aimed at creating the optimum conditions for languagelearning According to Willis there are three essential conditions and one desirablecondition including exposure to the target language, opportunities to use the targetlanguage for expressing meaning, motivation to engage with exposure and use whatthey know and focus on language form to prevent fossilization [61]

Language focus

Analysis Practice

Task cycle

Task Planning Report

Pre-task

Introduction to topic and task

- Pre-task: The aim of this stage is to provide the learners with clear

information of what they are going to deal with Teacher explores the topic byintroducing the topic, giving task instructions, highlighting useful words andphrases, or recalling some language useful for the task

- Task cycle: This stage involves three steps namely task, planning and

report First, students do the communication task in pair or in small group usingwhat they have in the first stage Then students prepare a short oral or written report

to report the whole class about what they have done and discovered, etc.meanwhile, the teacher may offer help if necessary; finally some groups presenttheir reports to the class, and teacher may give the feedback Others groups listenand compare results

- Task: the task should be a goal-oriented activity and the learners are to achieve areal outcome Thus, they may freely select the language forms of their favor toperform tasks It should be noted that the emphasis of the task is put on the meaningrather than the form Closed tasks are strongly recommended at this stage for itsbeing highly structured with specific goals and relatively predictable languageforms Additionally, teacher monitors with prudence and provides help so thatstudents can communicate in their target language Correcting errors is excluded atthis stage Students now have chance to lay head together to deal with their task.Each group should have a leader who guarantees that every member of group haveopportunity to speak out their idea in the language as well as check the necessarytime for discussion

-Planning: After having completed the task, students are allowed to prepare for theirreport The emphasis is now shifted to organization and accuracy Likewise, teacheralters his role to advising students on their language and correcting errors Willisintroduces six main types of task which have been presented above [60, p26-28].Nunan give suggestions of ordering tasks from reception to production, andreproductive tasks before creative tasks so that the learners acquire the languagemore easily [41] It is note-worthy that in reproductive tasks, learners are providedchances to master the forms, meaning and function Students are to reproduce

models withdrawn from text books or given by teachers The reproductive tasks areserved as a basic for creative tasks, in which learners are to recombine thosefamiliar elements in a new way [42, p35-38]

- Report: this is time for some or all representatives from groups to deliver theirreport to whole class The others listen, compare or give comment Teacher canrephrase without correcting the language He/she should pay attention to thecomprehensibility and meaningfulness of the students’ presentations

- Language focus: In the first two stages, meaning is of primary concern.

However, in this stage, students have to pay attention on the form This stageinvolves analysis and practice Some relevant parts from the text are highlighted forstudents to analyses They identify and process specific language features of the text

in terms of form and use consciously Also, they can ask questions about languagefeatures Then teacher appoint the language areas for students to practice inaccordance with their needs Students practice new words, phrases and structures tohave a consolidation of language form as well as make a note of language which isuseful to their learning It is obvious that language points and grammar items areoften disregarded in a reading lesson However, a reading class will be a success ifteacher is constantly concerned with grammar Grammar should be taught in acontext, implicitly or explicitly At times, a composition is assigned for students atthis stage In TBI language classroom, meaning is centered rather than form Thus,only by dealing with tasks and absorbing the meaning or messages can the studentslearn the language

According to Nunan there are 7 principles, namely scaffolding, task dependency,recycling, active learning, integration, reproduction to creation, and reflection [42,p35- 38] Additionally, Ellis documents that there are myriad advantages of task-based teaching such as task-based teaching offers the opportunity for ‘natural’learning inside the classroom, it emphasizes meaning over form but can also caterfor learning form, it is intrinsically motivating, it is compatible with a learner-centered educational philosophy, and it can be used alongside a more traditionalapproach

2.4 Teaching reading

2.4.1 Definition of reading

It is common knowledge that defining reading in just a single sentence is noteasy Alderson offer a definition of reading as “…an enjoyable, intense, privateactivity, from which much pleasure can be derived, and in which one can becometotally absorbed” [1] Grabe and Stoller share another idea that reading is “ theability to draw meaning from the printed page and interpret this informationappropriately” [24] Likewise, reading is considered as a receptive language process

as well as the chain process in which readers recognize, interpret and perceptwritten or printed material [69, p11] In the same manner, Hafner and Jolly believethat “reading involves the identification and recognition of printed and writtensymbols which serve as stimuli for the recall of meanings built up through pastexperiences and further construction of new meanings through the readers’manipulation of relevant concepts already in his possession” [25] Reading is alsodefined basing on the matter of interaction between the thought and the language,between the reader and the text, between the eyes and the brain as Carrell, Devine &Eskey denote that there exits an important interaction between language and thought

in reading [18] This is due to the fact that the writer represents the linguisticsurface and the reader has to decode the meaning behind Likewise, reading isconsidered as a sort of conversation between the reader and the text [8], [15].Harmer claims that reading is a mission carried out by the eyes and brain, in which

the eyes receive messages and the brain interpret them [27, p153] Whatever

definitions about reading are, they help to reveal the characteristics and nature ofreading

2.4.2 The Process of Reading

According to Pham Phương Luyện [67, p100] in reality, we always havespecific purposes when reading any texts, and the ways of reading variesaccordingly to different reading purposes In addition, the writer usually producestexts that contain subliminal messages and the reader has to interpret them using

their own strategies They, thus, have a variety of ways to decode the text so thatthey can discover the message behind the words [29] Schema, viz backgroundknowledge, is of prime importance in which shared knowledge between the writerand the reader help to the comprehension of the text The writer uses his ownbackground and linguistic knowledge to establish the message, meanwhile thereader uses them to decode and grasp the intended meaning from the text This is, inshort, an active cognitive system that operates on printed material for understandingthe text [19] Similarly, Macleish indicates that it is the reader who gets the soundsfrom the printed page and reading process has two correlated directions The writerencodes from the sounds to orthography and the reader decodes from orthography

to sounds and a similar process from sound to meaning [36, p43]

2.4.3 Metaphorical models of reading

Recent research shows that reading is an active skill undeniably [18]; [59,p53] an active process where readers may automatically make a relation betweenthe information in the text and what they already know or gain in reality Now thereaders are “ typically described as ‘extracting’ meaning from a text” [59, p22].Explaining for this fact, Carrell and Eisterhold emphasized that reading processintertwine both the world knowledge and various types of the language knowledge[15] The comprehension of the reading text is basing on their interaction It isworthy to note that reading has been recently described as interactive rather thanactive Wallace judges that bottom-up model reader is often passive, the top-downmodel reader is often active, and interactive model reader is interactive According

to Grabe and Stoller there are three metaphorical models of reading, namelybottom-up, top-down, and interactive processes [24]

2.4.3.1 Bottom-up model

According to Paran and Alderson the bottom-up process of reading isdescribed as a serial model in which the reader orderly manipulate such activities:starting with printed word, recognizing graphics stimuli, decoding them to sound,recognizing words, and decoding meanings [1], [44] In other words, the reader has

to manage with each letter when he encounters There should be a matchingbetween these letters, or graphemes with the phonemes of the language and readerare supposed to know this Words are forming basing on the coordination of thesephonemes and only by translating from one form of symbolic representation toanother can the meaning be exhibited [69, p12] Hence, bottom-up model is a “data-driven operations” which have many calls on “sophisticated knowledge of thelanguage itself” [11, p299] In fact, by developing a “piece-by-piece mentaltranslation” of the text information, the reader can undergo a mechanical pattern[24] In this process, reader is supposed to notice the letters, then the words andgrasp the meaning conveyed by the writer by create a link from those they havenoticed In a word, reading process is fundamentally a matter of “decoding a series

of reading symbols into their aural equivalents” [69, p12) The following is anmanifestation that illustrate for the working of bottom-up model (by Cambourne,cited in [40, p.64]

Print→ every letter (discriminated) → phonemes and graphemes (matched) → blending→ pronunciation→ meaning

Notwithstanding, this model reveals its shortcomings in accounting thatreader has to undergo lower level decoding process before he can reach to thehigher level process Thus, meaning is not paid much emphasis in this process [40,p252] Additionally, there is a contrast to this process in recent research into humanmemory and speech processing [40]

2.4.3.2 Top-down model

Top-down model is described as conceptually driven It accounts for the factthat reader uses their own intelligence and experience to comprehending a text Incontrast to bottom-up model, reader should utilize his background knowledge if hehas a wish to understand the text The starting point may involve a set of hypotheses

or predictions or even expectation about the text meaning, and then there should betasks for reader to sample information as well as to discover if his predictions andexpectations should be confirmed or dismissed Hence, according to Trần Bá Tiến

reading is no longer a process of decoding form, but a process of reconstructingmeaning and only when other means defeated, does the reader adduce to decodingprocess [69, p12] Alderson believed that the focus of top-down approach is thecrucial role of schemata, and the reader’s contribution to the incoming text [1] Thefollowing is the illustration of top-down model (by Cambourne, cited in [40, p65]).

Past experience, language, tuitions and expectations → Selective aspects of print → meaning → Sound, pronunciation if necessary

Nonetheless, there are several limitations of top-down model Eskey 1988,figures out that thanks for the context clues, the reader can predict the meaning andlink them to their own background knowledge (cited in [47]) Notwithstanding, notall the readers can do this apart from those are skillful and fluent at reading.Besides, Nunan added that this approach limit the lower level processes to thehigher level ones [40, p67] Stanovic claims that in top-down model reading processundergoes many generation of hypotheses about up-coming text elements and that it

is decoding process that requires less time than undergoing generation ofhypotheses (1980, cited in [69, p13]) Therefore, Nunan assumes that at the earlystage of reading, a phonics approach [bottom-up model] is seemingly “the mosteffective and efficient way to teach reading” [41, p254] Added to this, he confirmsthat each reader owns his typical reading strategies and reading teacher had bettervarying the techniques to suit different tastes

Christine Nuttall exemplifies for the differences between bottom-up and down models [43, p16-17] Bottom-up process is compared as a scientistinvestigates all the minute and tiny details of phenomenon with a microscope inhand Meanwhile, a top-down process is imaged with eagle’s eyes that observe thelandscape below Similarly, Harmer denotes that difference [29] According to him,the top-down is illustrated as wholly looking such as looking at a forest or lookingdown on something from above, while the bottom-up model as examining theindividual trees in a forest

top-2.4.3.3 Interactive models

The interactive model comes into being on the criticism against bottom-upand top-down models It is Stanovic who proposes this interactive-compensatoryapproach with a view to bridge the gap between the bottom-up and top-downmodels In deed, interactive model is a combination of elements from both bottom-

up and top-down models [5] In this model, reader gathers information from manydelivered sources in order to grasp texts Despite being at one level, reader canallege the knowledge and skills from the other model The reader is supposed torecognize the letters quickly as well as to grab the main ideas by skimming In hisview, Nunan expresses: “Reading is an interactive process in which the readerconstantly shuttles between bottom-up and top-down processes.” [40, p 254]

2.4.4 Schemata Theory and Background Knowledge

Schemata are information, knowledge, emotion, experience, and culture thatthe reader brings them to the printed words [11, p299] Background knowledge isalso called prior knowledge is assumed to have two main components, namely “ourassimilated direct experiences of life and its manifold activities, and our assimilatedverbal experiences and encounters” [55, p83] According to Nuttall; Wallace bycombining the information from the text and their own schemata can the readerunderstand the text [43], [59] Schema theory involves the reading process, in whichthere is a combination between the text they are dealing with and the previousexperiences According to Trần Bá Tiến it “deals with what readers bring to thetext they read” and has vital role in bottom-up processes [69, p13] Alderson gives adefinition of schemata as “interlocking mental structures representing readers’knowledge” (cited in [69, p13]) Basing on this theory, reader may understand thenew information or not entirely depends on the framework that our knowledge andexpectations about the world If that information is fit to what reader expects orlearns, the reader is capable of absorbing it and vice versa (ibid.) Due to the factthat “a text does not by itself carry meaning” [11, p299], it only gives directions forthe readers for meaning retrieval or construction from their acquired knowledge inthe past [15, p556]

There are two categories of schemata, namely content and formal schemata[1], [14], [15], [17], Barlett (in [53]) The former is all what belongs to ourknowledge about people, the world, culture, and the universe The later includesbackground knowledge about discourse structures, viz formal and rhetoricalorganizational structures of different types of texts Content schemata providereader knowledge to understand the passage [1], meanwhile the interaction betweenthe reader’s formal schemata and rhetorical organization of a text have impact onthe reading comprehension [16] Another type of schemata is cultural schematawhich rooted in “the context of our basic experiences” [62, p87] and is all what weknow about cultural aspects of the target language As aforementioned, schemataare cultural specific, thus, cultural schema is culture-specific knowledge of theworld and Trần Bá Tiến assumed that readers carry different schemata and these canalso be cultural-specific [69, p14] As a matter of fact, it is essential to haveplausible culture schemata and scripts in order to capture meaning of a text

According to Anderson et al within the border of reading process

“comprehension of a message entails drawing information from both the messageand the internal schemata until sets are reconciled as a single schemata or message”(in [53, p2]) Further more, Wallace put the emphasis on the first part of a textwhich is to activate schemata as well as be confirmed or disconfirmed by thefollowings [58] Notwithstanding, basing on Swales’ opinion this process evenoccurs sooner because “the environment sets up powerful expectations we arealready prepared for certain genres but not for others before we open a newspaper, ascholarly journal…” [55, p88] It is notable that misunderstandings may occur ifthere are differences between writer intention and reader comprehension This isdue to the fact that learners have different life experiences in comparison with thewriter’s “model reader”

Schemata may either facilitate or hinder the reading process In deed, beingculturally specific and not part of a particular reader’s cultural background, aparticular content schemata appears to absent in readers [15, p80] Sharing the sameview, Steffensen and Nunan confirmed the importance of cross-cultural aspect of

reading comprehension [41], [52] Thus, “helping them build backgroundknowledge on the topic prior to reading through appropriate pre-reading activities”

is of great significance to students (Carrel in [53, p3]) There is a variety of waysbuilding appropriate schemata, namely lectures, visual aids, demonstrations, reallife experiences, discussions, role-play, text previewing, introduction and discussion

of key vocabulary, and key concept association with activities Added to this,formal schemata may also fall short in helping students to read Aslanian denotesthat over-use and under-use of schematic knowledge structure, not just lack ofschemata knowledge, can affect the reading comprehension in terms of makingeasier or more difficult (cited in [69, p15]) To illustrate this point Aebersold andField (in [53, p3]) proved that learners of lower level students (adult learners) mayrich of schemata but fail to discuss them in target language due to the lack oflinguistic skills To this end, first language as well as the introduction of vocabularycan be useful In short, reading comprehension is a complex process which requires

a variety of factors involved for finding the subliminal message Schema theory isone of those factors Hence, teachers should pay attention to pre-reading activitiesfor constructing absent schemata and triggering resident schemata

2.4.5 Affect and Culture

Affective factors are proved to have crucial role in second language learning[11, p300] Many successful language learners are attributed to have to “love” forreading Motives, needs, attitudes, and emotional states are things called “affect”[66, p17] For instance, Dole, Brown and Trathen state that to the students who havehigh self-esteem, instructions appear to be more effective (1996, cited in [11,p301]), and Bamfort and Day shared their view that the autonomy that the studentsattained in their learning process may act as a strong motivator (1998, cited in [11,p301]) In addition, culture actively emerges itself into the success of languageleaner Fitzgerald claims that the final fruitful results of second language learnersare not due only to the cognitive factors but also the culture (1994, cited in [11,p301]) Culture is defined as a way of life which typifies a group of people in afixed period of time in terms of their ideas, customs, skills, arts, and tools [10], [19]

Recent research has shown that even though there is an increase in the number ofnon-native English speaker, they appear to not pay much attention to the learningculture of the language they are orienting [2], [38] Alptekin goes to conclusion that

if the teaching of English culture does not have plausible aims, that teaching isimpossible [3], [4]

2.4.6 Extensive Reading

In addition to research on reading a second language in terms of bottom-upand top down processing, schemata theory, affect and culture, there is anotherresearch on the power of extensive reading that contributes much for the success of

language learner Extensive reading, or as Krashen suggests free voluntary reading

is “a key to students gains in reading ability, linguistic competence, vocabulary,spelling, and writing” [11, p301] Also, general competence in language learningappears to have close-knit relation to the reading for leisure and reading regardless

of new words (ibid.)

CHAPTER 3 TASK DESIGN FOR A READING LESSON

3.1 Principles of task-design

According to Nunan there are three principles of task design that the teachersshould follow when designing tasks They are the authenticity, the form/functionand task-dependency principle [41] Firstly, designing a task requires authenticity.According to Wallace authentic texts are “real-life text, not written for pedagogicpurposes”; therefore, they are “real” language [58, p145] When learning these text,are the learner exposed to the natural language Secondly, there is alwaysrelationship between the form and function One linguistic form may perform manyfunctions, which cause misleading to the learners under certain circumstances.Hence, any task designed around using inductive and deductive reasoning may be ofgreat help for students to brush up on such complicated connection between theform and function Last but not least, the principle of task-dependency claims thattasks should be pillowed on each other in order to form a successive chain of tasks.The following task should be dependent on the preceding tasks This may create akind of pedagogical ladder that helps learners to escalate to the highercommunicative performance levels

3.2 Four components of a language learning task

Nunan claims that a language learning task should involve four components[39, p47]:

1988), levels of students, interesting content (River 1988: p50) (cited in [6]), and its authenticity [39, p54].

In retrospective, textbook play a vital role in any language learning process,especially in ELT An almost universal factor of ELT is the textbook and it appears

to be that no teaching-learning situation occurs without an appropriate textbook [30,p315] Besides, textbook can “allow for greater autonomy” for learners (Crawford,cited in [51, p83] However, school textbooks appear to not follow the modern andhumanistic methodology, but an old and out-of-fashion one They often spoon-feedlearners’ heads with a lot of information and give them no chance of using them inpractice Moreover, as Littlejohn indicated, textbook restricts the teacher’s role to

“one of managing or overseeing preplanned events” (cited in [30, p316]) It isobvious that implementing a series of textbook is not sufficient for effective Englishlearning and teaching Added to that, there is no special kind of book with a holisticapproach that can compensate for the inefficiency of the textbooks on the bookmarket as “use of appropriate teaching materials can advantage both teachers andlearners” (Crawford cited in [51, p84]) Hence, the utilization of extra readingmaterials may bridge over these obstacles and facilitate the language learningprocess More importantly, extra reading material may vary from those drawn insupplementary books, newspapers, magazines to those retrieved from the internet,the mass media, etc They can also vary in themes and topics The topics should beselected and elaborated with prudence because they act as the stimulating factor tostudents in achieving the language Topics may be about health or foods, friendship

or fashion, etc with this storehouse of topics, teacher should determine which onemost suits his students The important point to bear in mind is that the more variousand plentiful the topics are, the more likely that the students are engaged in them.Materials are considered to be effective when they satisfy the following conditions:language is functional and must be contextualized, language development requiresleaner engagement in purposeful use of language, and the language used should berealistic and authentic

Realistic and authentic materials have prime importance in language learningprocess They not only “highly motivating, giving a sense of achievement whenunderstood and encourage further reading” but also “reflect the changes in the use

 Effective teaching materials foster learners autonomy

 Materials need to be flexible enough to cater to individual andcontextual differences

 Learning needs to engage learners both affectively and cognitively”

3.2.3 Activities

Activities are defined as what students do with the text in reality Pair workand group work are advisable at this stage Group work is valuable in which it givesstudents more talking time and chances to create interactions and relationships(Long 1990, cited in [6]) Brumfit (1984: p77, cited in [6]) documents that groupwork is “linguistically necessary” for its enhancement in learners’ interactions

3.2.4 The roles for teacher and students

According to Liu, teachers should be “a fount of knowledge, which isdelivered without any concession to students and which students must struggle toattain [34, p5] As Ellis indicates teachers “act more as a facilitator” in ELT context[22, p215] More specifically, as aforementioned, teachers in task-based contextshould locate themselves within two identity umbrellas of a facilitator, anindependent participant, an organizer of resources More interestingly, teachers can

be a resource themselves It is advisable that teacher should not a person whoalways spoon-feeds students with knowledge, but provide the chance to interactwith materials, with teachers and with one another Students’ role in a task-based

language class may shift interchangeably from negotiator, interactor, communicator,and so forth In TBI class, students are encouraged to negotiate, interact andcommunicate with each other to achieve the language goals.

3.3 Task design

The author has a wish to design a task basing on the interactive model- bothbottom-up and top-down models are employed In the very first of the readinglesson, the top-down model is recruited in order to activate the backgroundknowledge of the text content from the students Then, bottom-up model isexploited when students are supposed to deal with the structures of the reading text

3.3.1 Selecting text

Selecting reading text requires teacher much preoccupation Its topic should

be in favor of students’ need and interest The following is an example of a readingtext which concerns about health

The D element

(http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/health/243219/the-d-element)

 Published: 21/06/2011 at 12:00 AM

 Newspaper section: Life

Vitamins in general cannot be produced by our body Wehave to rely on food as a source of vitamins However, vitamin D

is different from other vitamins, as our body can generate some

of it through the skin via contact with sunlight

Recently, many studies show that vitamin D, apart from

strengthening bones, can also be beneficial in other ways It can

lower risks for some types of cancer, diabetes, high blood

pressure and even weakened muscles in older people Vitamin D

can slow down the ageing process of the muscles These benefits

are from studies done using supplementary vitamin D, which

results in a higher dosage of vitamin D compared to what people

in general get

3.3.2 Pre-task stage

Since this stage acts as a trigger for students to activate their backgroundknowledge, teacher should make sure that all the students are engaged into theactivities There are many possible activities that the teacher can employ tointroduce the new topic to the students Teacher can either have students play games

or hold brainstorming activities or use leading questions Also, through giving taskinstructions and figuring out useful words and phrases, teacher may facilitatelearning process to students and provide them a brief overview of the new lesson.Another useful activity is to relate what the learners have acquired with what theyare going to learn, which help students to consolidate as well as receive new lessonwith ease However, at this stage new structures are not pre-taught

In addition, it is note-worthy that every preparation is valuable Both of teacher andstudents should be well-prepared for their new lesson beforehand It does not matter

if the students have to work much harder than teacher because they are the learners,not the teacher Due to the aim of this stage is to create student’s motivation whichcan last through the new lesson; the prime focus should be placed on engaging allthe students into the lesson By involving all the students into the activities canteacher create student’s interest and engagement Through this stage, studentssought to exhibit their communicative ability of the language Teacher had bettertake advantage and cultivate this stage in order to have fruitful results Suchactivities are supposed to facilitate the reading process as well as focus students’attention on the reading text In this stage, teacher may provide a brief instruction tothe text, presenting vocabulary and giving guiding questions Only active

vocabulary should be introduced, such as these new words: generate, rely on,

contact, strengthen, dosage and supplementary The meaning of words can be

delivered visually (drawing, using realia or real objects, pictures, flashcards orcharts, mime or facial expressions) or verbally (paraphrasing/defining, givingantonyms, semantic field, guessing from contexts, from stems and affixes,translations, and so forth) [66, p28-31] The following are suggested guidingquestions: