【摘要】任務(wù)型教學(xué)法是近年來較為流行的教學(xué)方法。它有著諸多優(yōu)勢，在培養(yǎng)和提高學(xué)生閱讀能力方面作用顯著。本篇論文具體的研究分為三個部分。第一部分回顧了研究的背景及意義。第二部分闡述了相關(guān)理論，主要包括任務(wù)型教學(xué)法和相互作用模式。第三部分闡述了英語閱讀的三個過程：閱讀前、閱讀中、閱讀后。并為每個過程設(shè)計任務(wù)，證明任務(wù)型教學(xué)法對學(xué)生英語閱讀能力和興趣提高的重要作用。

【關(guān)鍵詞】任務(wù)型教學(xué)法；相互作用模式；任務(wù)設(shè)計

【Abstract】Task-based Teaching Methodology has been a popular teaching method in recent years. It has many advantages and plays an important role in cultivating and improving students’ reading ability. The thesis includes three parts. In the first part， the author reviews the background and significance of the study. In the second part， the author expounds some theories which connected with Task-based Teaching Methodology and Interactive Model. In the third part， the author expounds and analyzes three English reading processes： pre-reading， while-reading and post-reading and tasks are designed for every process to prove that Task-based Teaching Methodology is helpful to improve students’ reading abilities and reading interests.

【Key words】Task-based Teaching Methodology； Interactive Model； Tasks designs

【作者簡介】李力，臨汾市文化藝術(shù)學(xué)校。

1. Introduction

1.1 Problems in English Reading Class

Nowadays， increasing people in every field have chance to use English， so it’s really urgent for us to learn English. Reading is a good way of learning English. Through reading， people can get information， enlarge vocabulary， acquire knowledge， enjoy pleasure and broaden horizons. It is critical to cultivate students’ reading ability for English teachers. However， there are still some problems in English reading instruction.

In China， the traditional teaching method still exists in English reading classes. Most of English teachers pay more attention to language forms instead of language skills. They emphasize the memory of grammars， words， and phrases in reading materials rather than analysis. Only what students need to do is to memorize language points by following their teachers passively. In most cases， students depend on teachers’ translation and explanation instead of absorbing knowledge by themselves.

What’s more， the English teaching is exam-oriented aiming to high scores for students. Therefore， students have more answering skills than reading skills in class.

1.2 Purpose and Significance of the Research

The purpose of research is to show how to use Task-based Language Methodology effectively to improve students’ English reading ability. From the problems in traditional English reading teaching class， we can clearly realize the present situation of English reading teaching in our country. Most of English teachers use the traditional teaching methods in English reading instruction. The efficiency of teaching is low. Compared with the tradition methods， the Task-based Teaching Methodology embodies the new concept of learning and teaching. It can arouse the students’ interests in learning English and cultivate their reading ability.

Task-based Teaching Methodology started in the 1980s. It is students-centered and emphasizes the model of “l(fā)earning by doing”. In our country， Task-based Teaching Methodology was written and presented by New Curriculum in 2011. “English Curriculum Standard” focuses on topics， taking structural and functional projects as the main line， organizing and arranging activities for listening， speaking， reading and writing， and achieving teaching goals through “task-based” activities and project completion. This new type of teaching method， TBTM， reforms English reading teaching， which is students-centered rather than teachers-centered. In the process of doing tasks， students’ reading ability is improved and their reading interests are cultivated helping them to form active reading attitude. It is no doubt that Task-based Teaching Methodology has a great significance in English reading.

By studying the Task-based Teaching Methodology， the author intends to support some useful references to English teaching.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Previous Research on Task-based Teaching Methodology at Home and Abroad

TBTM is one of the most influential teaching methods. Many researchers have studied it since 1980s. There are some representative figures at home and abroad.

2.1.1 Previous Research on Task-based Teaching methodology Abroad

Prabhu， an Indian linguist， was the first person to conduct Task-based Teaching Methodology. He launched a five-year communicative experiment for teaching approach in Banglore from 1979 to 1983. In his experiment， he emphasized the concept of “l(fā)earning by doing” and the view that classroom activities were in the form of “tasks”. In 1987， he defined firstly the nature of TASK in “Second Language Pedagogy”. He stressed that teachers didn’t need to pay much attention to teaching students grammars. Students could understand grammars when they focused on the main idea of a reading material. After that， many linguists have been involved in the research. It is gradually becoming mature in theory.

In 1989， TBTM made a breakthrough. David Nunan， an Australian linguist， published a book named “Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom”， which marked the formal formation of TBTM. In his book， he introduced the basic theory of Task-based Teaching Methodology and the design of communicative tasks in foreign language teaching. In addition， the book also covered with a number of Task-based Teaching Methodology syllabus of other countries.

In the 1990s， Task-based Teaching Methodology was in dominant position in international English education. In 1996， Willis presented the framework of Task-based Teaching Methodology in his book “A Framework for Task-based Language Teaching”. He divided the process of Task-based Teaching Methodology into three stages： pre-task， task cycle and language focus. In the pre-task stage， teachers create the related situations and introduce topics and tasks. In the task cycle stage， students have chance to use language， finish tasks and report the final results to class. In the post-task stage， teachers help students to analyze language points .

In 1996， Skehan put forward the framework of Task-based Teaching Methodology which includes pre-task phase， during-task phase and post-task phase. Based on the previous theories， Skehan also gave five definitions of task. He achieved a new development of TBTM.

2.1.2 Previous Research on Task-based Teaching Methodology at Home

Although many scholars and experts abroad have made a number of researches since 1980s， in our country， it is still at the experiment stage.

In China， the Task-based Teaching Methodology appeared firstly in Hong Kong. In 1996， Hong Kong Education Department took Task-based Teaching Methodology as one of the main teaching methods in primary and middle schools’ English syllabus.

Wu Xudong， Xia Jimei， Kong Xianhui and so on. They were a group of scholars who studied Task-based Teaching Methodology at the early period of domestic researches. They introduced and analyzed the concept and the basic theory of Task-based Teaching Methodology in detail. （Liu， 2011） In 1998， Professor Xia Jimei published “The Theoretical Basis and Schema Comparison of the Problem Teaching Method and Task-based Teaching Method” in which she firstly analyzed Task-based Teaching Methodology.

In 2003， Gong Yafu and Lou Shaoxi introduced the theoretical bases of Task-based Teaching Methodology， the types and the design of tasks， the principles and features of TBTM， curriculum standards， syllabus and so on.

In 2004， Chen Xiaotang published “Task-based Language Teaching”， which described the ideas of Task-based Teaching Methodology and the practical operation processes systematically. It is still popular among primary and middle schools’ teachers. （Lou， 2015）

Professor Lu Ziwen is the first person who combined Task-based Teaching Methodology with our national conditions. He teaches in Central China Normal University. He advocated the “real application of task-based teaching method” since 1998. In 2005， he elaborated the theory of real tasks in primary and middle schools.

In 2011， “English curriculum standard” stressed the practice of language and the cultivation of students’ language use ability， and encouraged teachers to use TBTM. In order to let students use language to communicate in the real environment， teachers should create real contexts. Teachers not only emphasize language accuracy， but also emphasize students’ ability of language use. In 2012， People’s Education Press published “Go For It”. The textbook advocated Task-based Teaching Methodology. The contents in it are combined with students’ real life， which is easier for students to acquire relative language knowledge and language skills.

2.2 The Task-based Teaching Methodology

2.2.1 The Definition and Characteristics of Task-based Teaching Methodology

Task-based Language Teaching has been enjoying wide popularity in the field of teaching. On the basis of the Communicative Approach， Task-based Teaching Methodology was proposed in 1980s， and it was introduced into China in 1990s. （Goodman， 1967） It is a teaching method which is widely used in foreign language teaching. It emphasizes “l(fā)earn by doing” which means that students use target language to complete tasks. （Wang， 2014） It is students-centered. Teachers are monitors and facilitators. It is meaning-focused. Teachers pay more attention to language meaning than language form.

In order to make effective use of TBTM， teachers also need to clearly understand definition of task. Generally speaking， tasks can be everything happening in our life. （Lv， 2011） By now， a number of linguists and scholars have defined “task”. There isn’t absolutely definition of task.

“In other words， by task is meant the hundred and one things people do in everyday life， at work， at play， and in between ” （Long， 1985）. Skehen （2001） “A task is an activity which requires learners to use language， with emphasis on meaning， to attain an objective”.

All the definitions of task are defined from different aspects. In author’s opinion， the task is a piece of classroom work which is based on the real world. Students learn relative language knowledge and language skills by completing various tasks. Every task usually has some objectives， proper contents and a specific teaching process.

There are some characteristics of Task-based Teaching methodology.

Interaction in target language. Various tasks in Task-based Teaching Methodology can’t be done without communication. Through conveying information to others， students practice the use of language to improve communication skills.

The use of authentic materials. The real materials enable students to understand the use of language in a relaxed environment without any constrain. Students can learn how to use language in real life through the introduction of authentic materials.

An emphasis on the processes of tasks. In the processes of doing tasks， students learn and use new language， review old knowledge and improve cooperation ability.

Students-centered. Students are learning subjects in Task-based Teaching Methodology classes， while teachers are just monitors. Students finish tasks by themselves or in groups. It is helpful to improve students’ abilities of cooperation and language use.

2.2.2 The Principles of Task-based Teaching Methodology

Nunan put forward five principles of the Task-based Teaching Methodology. The author summarized them in the following.

The authenticity Principle. The authenticity not only refers to the authentic language materials but also refers to the authentic teaching environment. Language input materials should be similar to the real world. Teachers should try to build real language environment for students. Tasks performed by students should be close to the activities in real life. It can evoke students’ learning interests.

The form-function principle. The meaning and form are both important. Teachers should pay attention to combining form with function well and try to keep a balance between them.

The task dependency principle. Tasks are designed according to the degree of difficulty， which is beneficial for students to master language knowledge and language skills gradually.

The scaffolding principle. In the early period of language learning， teachers can give students some help and guidance so that students can improve their ability of using language under the teachers’ assistance， which can evoke their interests. With the improvement of students’ abilities， teachers can end guidance and help. Students can finish learning tasks by themselves.

The learning by doing principle. Students learn language by using it to finish tasks. When they participate in classroom activities， they enjoy and carry out tasks. They mainly focus on the meaning expressions. Because they want to convey information. They have more chance to input and output language. They can improve language ability effectively by using it.

2.2.3 The Framework of Task-based Teaching Methodology

Among many famous frameworks of Task-based Teaching Methodology， Willis’s framework enjoys more popularity in the field of teaching. Willis proposed that the framework of Task-based Teaching Methodology should include three stages： the pre-task， the task-cycle and the language focus.

The pre-task stage. In this stage， the main purpose is to arouse students’ interests and curiosity. Teachers introduce the topics and tasks to students. Teachers can provide some related information or background knowledge about the texts for students to help students predict the contents. If necessary， teachers can teach some new words or sentence structures in advance.

The task-cycle stage. In this stage， the main purpose is to finish the tasks. Firstly， students are subjects. In this process， language meaning is emphasized. Teachers are monitors and facilitators. They give students necessary help and guidance. Then students change the focus from meaning to form when they prepare to show their answers to others. Finally， teachers choose some students to give presentations and give them some comments and advice.

The language focus stage. In this stage， the main purpose is to master language form. Teachers help students to analyze grammars， sentence structures and some language difficulties. In this stage， students have a better understanding on the meaning of reading materials better and learn some linguistic knowledge.

2.3 The Differences between Task-based Teaching Methodology and Communicative Teaching Methodology

TBTM is developed from CTM which emphasizes the interaction between the mean and the ultimate goal of study. The author thinks it’s necessary to distinguish the two teaching methodologies. The author hopes to provide some references for teachers.

CTM pays more attention to communicative processes. It doesn’t care about that whether classes have specific goals and definite results or not. However， TBTM emphasizes goals and results. TBTM classes have goals which teachers and students both know at the beginning of tasks. And the degrees of completing tasks are judged according to the results.

CTM centers on learners. TBTM centers on learning. CTM is learner-centered. To some extent， TBTM includes CTM. CTM emphasizes the need of learners. Teachers try to provide more chances for students to communicate in target language. Through practicing English in class， students learn how to communicate with others in real life. TBTM is learning-centered. Teachers provide students with a serious of tasks in class. In the process of completing tasks， students learn new language knowledge and learn how to communicate with others in English.

The differences between “practice” in CTM and “task” in TBTM. First， “task” has goals， including the non-language goals and the teaching goals which teachers want students to achieve after tasks. However， “practice” usually only has teaching goals. What’s more， the results of tasks are usually non-language such as graphic， report and so on. The ways of finishing tasks and the language used in tasks are not limited. But practices in CTM end with the form of language.

Students learn language through communication in CTM. Students learn language through completing tasks in TBTM. The teaching process is a communicative process in CTM classes. Teachers try to create language environments for students to practice language and design language situations according to teaching plans such as greeting， conversation， invitation， telling story and so on. In TBTM classes， teachers design many tasks. They require students to use all foreign language knowledge which they have acquired to solve questions and finish tasks.

CTM pays attention to language environments and the function of actions， body languages and facial expressions. TBTM emphasizes the link between classroom tasks. A class has a big task. The big task can be divided into different and small tasks according to the degrees of difficulty.

TBTM is the development of CTM. There are similarities and differences between them. Teachers should distinguish them and use TBTM in class correctly.

2.4 The Models of Reading

English reading plays an important part in English reading class. Through reading activities， students are able to get information， gain language input， broaden horizons and improve comprehension ability. According to Goodman （1967）， reading is a psycho-linguistic process. Readers decode articles which are encoded by the writers in a form of printed messages. Then readers have a deep understanding by connecting the texts with their own background. So reading is the interaction of new information and old information.

What is the real reading process？ Many psychologists have tried to find out the answer since 1950s. There are three respective reading models in the following.

Model of the bottom-up reading. This is a reading process from part to entirety （letter-word-sentence-meaning）. Gough （1972） called this model “Bottom-up model”. This model is also named text-driven reading model. This model pays attention to understandable words， phrases and paragraph. When students read some simple articles， they can use this model to read the articles word by word. But affected by this model， most teachers stress language points， grammars， words， while ignoring the meaning and skills of reading. Many students look up the words in a dictionary when they don’t know the words and they can’t continue reading when they meet some difficulties. This model focuses much on linguistic factors. It is difficult for some students to understand the texts. Gradually， students will lose their interests in English reading.

Model of the top-down reading. K.S. Goodman （1967） thinks that reading is not a process of precise perception. He pointed out that reading is a process in which readers use acquired knowledge to predict what they are going to read according to part of the reading materials of texts. Then， they read the texts to verify their predictions. Reading is not a process in which students receive the information passively， but the process in which students take part in reading actively. When students read a title “environment pollution”， they will predict the content of the text. “Is it air pollution or water pollution？” As the reading activities goes on， students know whether their predictions are correct or not. This is “Top-down model”.

To a certain extent， it is reasonable. But to play the psycho linguistic guessing game well， students need to have enough background knowledge. In this way， some beginners have difficulty in using this model. And teachers put much emphases on students’ background knowledge while paying little attention to linguistic knowledge. It hinders the improvement of students’ reading ability.

Model of the interactive reading. The interactive model combines the bottom-up model and top-down model. Here is a representative proponent： Rumelhart. He put forward the interactive model. He thinks in the process of reading， people get information by two ways. First， readers use top-down model to predict the contents of texts. Then readers verify their predictions by using bottom-top model to read the texts. Readers decode the linguistic representations and predict contents according to their background. Linguistic knowledge and background knowledge are both important. They can complement each other. For example， if readers don’t have enough background knowledge， they can use their linguistic knowledge to help them understand texts. If readers have enough background， they can use their background to guess what the texts tell.

Obviously， interactive model overcomes the disadvantages of bottom-up model and top-down model. And it combines the advantages of them. It is more helpful for students to use it in their reading process. Teachers should implement the model in students’ reading practice.

3. The Three Reading Stages in English Reading Instruction

According to Rumlhart’s Interactive model and Willis’s framework of Task-based Teaching Methodology， the author divides reading instruction into three processes： pre-reading， while-reading and post-reading.

3.1 The Main Tasks in Pre-reading Stage

Interest is the best teacher of students. Students can understand texts better with interests， then English reading teaching is easier to go on in class. So the main goal in pre-reading stage is to stimulate students’ interests and arouse students’ motivation. In English textbook “New Senior English for China Student’s Book 2”， the part of reading includes three small parts. The pre-reading is the first part This part is usually presented in the form of questions. Some questions require students to predict the contents according to the titles or pictures. In Book 2， Unit 3 “Computers”， the first question in pre-reading is “ Look at the pictures and title below. Predict what it is going to be about.” Some questions connect the contents of texts with students’ real life. For example， in Unit 1 “Cultural relics”. The question in pre-reading is “Have you ever seen a piece of amber？ What do you know about it？ ”From the designs of pre-reading questions in senior schools’ English textbook， the author finds that the ultimate goal in pre-reading is to arouse students interest. Unless these questions in textbook， teachers also can design some other tasks.

In order to stimulate students’ interest and evoke their enthusiasm， there are some tasks designed for pre-reading stage in the following.

The simulation of real life. Teachers connect texts with students’ real life. Teachers can ask students some questions connected with the topics of texts. Students answer questions according to their own real life. The author takes “ Computer” （Unit 3） as an example. At the beginning of the class， the teacher tells students： “What do you do with computers？” Then students discuss the activities they have with computers. The interaction helps to arouse students’ interest in the text reading.

Before reading， teachers can give students some questions. Then they read articles with questions， which helps students to read articles more effectively. For example， before reading the text “Computer”， the teacher asks students question “what is the meaning of ‘I’” according to article “Who Am I”. The question helps students to familiar with the text and make an effective prediction.

Brainstorming. Teachers should encourage students to guess according to students’ background information. In the text “Computer”， teachers can let students guess what is the next step of computer？ This is an effective way to make the best use of students’ background knowledge to predict the contents of texts.

The above three ways all include a kind of reading skill： predicting. It plays an important part in reading comprehension. It enables students to be aware of goals in reading process. By predicting， students will have more interests in reading. There are many types of prediction. Students can predict according to titles or pictures. They predict meanings of unknown words according to contents or based on word formation. They predict types and purposes of texts. It is not important for students to predict correctly， but it is important to improve students’ ability of comprehension.

3.2 The Main Tasks in While-reading Stage

The main task in this stage is to cultivate students’ reading ability， which includes the ability of getting， handling and analyzing information in English and using correct reading skills. Thus， teachers should pay attention to teaching students reading skills. There are three tasks in the following.

Skimming. Skimming is one of the main reading skills. It is a kind of fast reading. In Oxford English dictionary， skimming means “ to read sth quickly in order to find a particular point or the main points”. According to the explanation， skimming is to read quickly to get the main ideas of texts. So students don’ t need to read texts word by word. In fact， this is a way to read the text as an entirety. We can find the gist of texts according to key sentences. The author takes “Computer” as an example. This article is selected from Book 2 Unit 3. Teachers ask students to read the article quickly in a limited time to find out the key sentences of each paragraph. After finishing the task， students communicate with each other in groups. It is helpful for students to understand the text better through discussion.

Scanning. Scanning is also a way of fast reading. In Oxford English dictionary， scanning means “to look quickly but not very carefully at a document etc.” Thus， scanning means that to find out the specific information or facts， such as， who， what， when， where， readers need to read texts quickly. When scanning， students don’t need to read texts from the beginning to the end of text. They can find key words and ignore irrelevant parts. This method applies to read advertisements. Scanning is also used to guess the meaning of words and scan for certain information and so on. When students are scanning， they should think the gist of texts and the attitudes of authors at the same time.

In the process of teaching the text “Computer”， teachers use questions and discussions methods. To cultivate their scanning skill， teachers ask students to read the text again with questions. In this part， teachers should encourage students to answer questions actively and not focus much on their language form.

Careful reading. Careful reading means that students read texts word by word. Through reading carefully， students will understand texts’ structures better， organizations and writers’ intentions. Students solve some difficult language points in groups or under teachers’ guidance. In addition， Teachers can help students have deep-level understanding.

For example， in “Computer”， teachers can guide students to think deep-level questions： what are advantages and disadvantages of computers？

3.3 The Main Tasks in Post-reading Stage

Post-reading is a stage to consolidate， review and develop what students have learnt in the former two processes. Teachers should design tasks to help students to practice the language features and use new language. The author summarizes some tasks in the following.

Exercising. This task is used frequently in English reading class. Students can review the contents of texts， consolidate grammars and practice using language. There are some common question types： translation， multiple choice， filling in the blanks according to text， rewriting sentences in another way and so on.

Writing. Teachers ask students to continue writing the article in their own words. Or students can write articles according to the texts’ topic. For example， students write the 4th paragraph about who am I， “In the future， I will be…” It can improve student’s writing skills and express their views towards the topic. Meanwhile， it can enrich students’ imagination.

Discussion. In English class， discussion is easy to be carried out. The discussion is related to the topics of texts. Students discuss the topic with others in English， which arouses their interests and evokes the desire of expression. For example， after reading “Who am I”， teachers design a theme discussion about influence of artificial intelligence. By discussing in groups， students learn how to express their ideas， and learn to get along with others and communicate with others.

Retelling. In senior school， retelling is a very effective method for students to memorize the contents of texts and improve their abilities of oral expression. Teachers should design tasks flexibly according to different topics and the degrees of difficulty. Teachers can give students some prompts by using pictures， key words， outlines， questions and so on. For example， the teacher asks students retell the text as a tour guide in Unit 3， （Journey down the Mekong）.

In a word， English teachers should design tasks flexibly according to different purposes in three processes（pre-reading， while reading and post reading） in the process of reading teaching.

4. Conclusion

On the basis of theories， the author analyzes the present situation and problems in English reading class teaching， and elaborates the application of Task-based Language Teaching methodology in English reading teaching by taking “ Crossing the River to School” as an example. The thesis proves that Task-based Teaching Methodology has many advantages.

Compared with CTM， TBTM absorbs the advantages of CTM and develops it. To use TBTM to organize English teaching， teachers not only need to pay attention to the essence of language communication， but also need to emphasize the coherence of tasks. TBTM can also promote students’ reading interests. Students are not only listeners but also participants. In the process of participating， students’ enthusiasm and motivations gradually turn stronger. They take part in the reading tasks actively. Tasks are designed according to the degree of difficulty. It is reasonable to motivate students to complete all tasks. What’s more， students usually do tasks in groups rather than by themselves. Thus， TBTM enhances students’ cooperative awareness. And TBTM focuses on students， which stresses students’ individual characteristics. Students have more chances to use English in English class. It helps students improve their ability of speaking English and learning English texts.

The author has made great efforts to the study and hopes it can provide some references for English teachers in junior middle schools.

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