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Task Design

The document discusses the notion and components of task design in language learning. It provides definitions of task from dictionaries and pedagogical perspectives. A task is an activity carried out through language processing or understanding. It refers to classroom work that facilitates language learning, from simple exercises to complex activities. According to Nunan, task design should include content, materials, activities, goals, students, and social context. Key components of a task are the goal, input data, activities, learner roles, teacher roles, and setting. The roles specify relationships between participants, and the setting refers to classroom arrangements.

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Syakira Shafey
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
90 views8 pages

Task Design

The document discusses the notion and components of task design in language learning. It provides definitions of task from dictionaries and pedagogical perspectives. A task is an activity carried out through language processing or understanding. It refers to classroom work that facilitates language learning, from simple exercises to complex activities. According to Nunan, task design should include content, materials, activities, goals, students, and social context. Key components of a task are the goal, input data, activities, learner roles, teacher roles, and setting. The roles specify relationships between participants, and the setting refers to classroom arrangements.

Uploaded by

Syakira Shafey
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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It is known that a textbook contains many kinds of tasks; beside

it also contains some text. Here, the researcher will try to


analyze some components that related to "designing task" it
covers the notion of task and the components of task.
a. The Notion of Task
There are several notions of task. The first notion is
taken from a dictionary of applied linguistics as follows: An
activity of action which is carried out as the result of
processing or understanding language. For example,
drawing a map while listening to a tape, listening to an
instruction and performing a command, referred or as a
task. Task may or may not involve the production of
language. A task usually requires the teacher to specify
what will be regarded as successful completion of task.
The second definition, the meaning of task inclines to
pedagogical perspective. Task is defined in term of what
the learner will do in the classroom rather than in the
outside world. "Task" is therefore assumed to refer to a
range of work plans which have the overall purpose of
facilitating language learning from the simple and brief
exercise type, to more complex and lengthy activities such
as group problem solving or simulations and decision
making.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------b. The component of a task
According to Nunan (1989: 11) task contain some
input data which may be verbal or non-verbal. Further, the
activity which is derived from the input and sets out what
the learner are to do in relation to the input. Tasks will also
have implicitly or explicitly a goal and roles for teachers
and learners. According to Nunan (1989: 11), there are six
components of a language learning task as follows:
GAMBARRRR

From the framework above, it can be said that the


task is a piece of meaning focused work involving learners
in comprehending, producing, and/or interacting in the
target language, and that tasks are analyzed or
categorized according to their goals, input data, activities,
setting and roles (Nunan, 1989: 11).
Candin in Nunan (1989: 47) suggests that task should
contain input, roles, setting, actions, monitoring,
outcomes, and feedback. Input refers to the data
presented for learner to work on. Roles specify the
relationship between participants in a task. Setting refers
to the classroom and out of the classroom arrangement
entailed in the task. Actions are the procedures and subtask to be performed by the learners. Monitoring refers to
the supervision of the task in progress. Outcomes are the
goals of the task, and feedback refers to the evaluation of
the task.
Further, Shalvelson and Stern in Nunan (1989: 47)
also suggest that task design should take into
consideration the following elements:
Content: the subject to be taught
Materials: the things that learners can observe or
manipulate
Activities: the things learners and teacher will be
doing during the lesson
Goals: the teachers' general aim for the task
Students: their abilities, need, and interest are
important
Social Community: the class as whole and its
sense of group
The descriptions of six task components are
explained by Nunan as below:
1) Goal
Goals are the general intention behind any given
learning task. Goals may also relate to a range of general
outcomes (communicative, affective, or cognitive) or may
describe teacher or learner behaviour.

Another point is that goals are not always explicitly


stated, In addition there is rarely one to one relationship
between goals and task. In some cases, a complex task
involving a range of activities might be simultaneously
moving learners toward several goals (Nunan, 1989: 4849)
2) Input
Input refers to the data that form the point of
departure for the task. In fact, input for communicative
task can be derived from some sources. Hover in Nunan
(1989: 53) suggest the following: letter, newspaper
extract, pictures stories, business card, memo note, menu,
diary, recipe, notice board time, photograph, family tree,
postcard, hotel brochure, curriculum vitae, etc.
Hover's list of sources of input is a bit authentic,
which concord with Skehan's criteria: task has some
connections with real world activities. The target to learn a
language is to use it in the real world, so using authentic
materials in the reading task is pretty necessary.
3) Activities
Activities specify what learners will do with the input
which forms the point of departure for the learning task
(Nunan, 1989: 59). Nunan proposes three general ways of
characterizing activities: rehearsal for the real world, skill
use, and fluency/accuracy. Prabhu, Clark and Pattison in
Nunan (1989: 66) mention three principal activity types
such as information-gap activity, reasoning-gap activity,
and opinion-gap activity.
Further, Partison in Nunan (1989: 68) offers seven
activities types as following: questions and answers,
dialogues
and
role
plays,
matching
activities,
communication strategies, pictures, and picture stories,
puzzle and problems, discussions and decisions.
4) Learner roles
According to Nunan (1989: 79), role refers to the part
that learners and teachers are expected to play in carrying
out learning tasks as well as the social and interpersonal
relationships between the participants.

Learner roles are related to the functions and status


of the teacher. The wide varieties of learners' role which
are possible in the language class are as following:
The learner is the passive recipient of outside
stimuli
The learner is an interactor and negotiator who is
capable of giving as well as taking
The learner is a listener and performer who has
little control over the content of learning
The learner is involved in a process of personal
growth
The learner is involved in a social activity, and
the social and interpersonal roles of the learner
cannot be divorced from psychological learning
processes
Learners must take responsibility for their own
learning, developing autonomy and skills in
learning how to learn
(Nunan, 1989: 80)
The last point raises the important issues of learners
developing an awareness of themselves as learners.
According to Willing in Nunan (1989: 81) different learners
will benefit from different learning strategies and they
should be encouraged to find out and apply those
strategies which suit them best.
5) Teacher Role
Learner roles are closely related to the functions and
status of the teacher. Giving the learners a different role, it
also requires the teacher to adopt a different role.
Teachers' role is as an active creator of his or her own
materials, classroom activities and so on.
Breen and Candlin (as cited in Nunan, 1989: 87) adds
that teacher has three main roles in the communicative
classroom as facilitator, participant, and observer.
6) Setting
Settings refer to the classroom arrangements
specified or implied in the task, and it also requires

consideration of whether the task is to be carried out


wholly or partly outside the classroom (Nunan, 1989: 91).
Setting will be a vital factor influencing roles and
relationships. Wether the task is on individual, pair, group,
or the whole class basis decides the relationship between
learners or between the teacher and learners.
Nunan (1989: 92) categorizes two different aspects of
the learning situation: mode and environment. Learning
mode means whether the learner is operating on an
individual or group basis. Then environment refers to the
where the learning actually takes place.

COMPONENT OF THE TASK


According to Nunan in Putra (2014:35), task design should consist of the following
components. First is content. Content means that the subject that will be taught. Second is a
material. The material is the things that learners can observe or manipulate. The third is
activity. The activity in the task is the things that the learners and teacher will be dong during
the learning process in classroom.
The next component is goal. Here, a goal refers to the teachers general purpose for the task.
The fifth is students. In conducting the task, student is the important role to measure whether
the task is succeed or fail because it should suitable with their abilities, need, and interest.
The last is social community. It relate with the class and it sense of a group in doing the task.

THE NOTION OF TASK DESIGN


There are many definition of task from several sources. In oxford Advance Learners
Dictionary, task is a piece of work to be done or undertaken. It means that task is an activity
that is taken as the outcome of processing or understanding language. For example, when the
learners are going to do a performance task, they should learn the focus of the task. Then they
should create their own context and write the directions that given by their teacher. As the
result of this process, the learners are expected do the performance task successfully.
Another definition from Lee (2000:32), that a task is a classroom activity or exercises that has
an objective attainable only by the interaction among participants. Then, task also used as

mechanism for structuring and sequencing interaction. Task is the terms of what learner do in
the classroom such as reading task, listening task, speaking task, and writing task.
When the teachers have considered the defining features of real communication, they should
analyze what makes some communicative tasks succeed and others fail. The task will also
have a goal and role for teacher and learners. It can be seen in analyzing communicative task
framework below
Gambar
From the frame work above, it can be said that the task is a piece of
meaning focused work involving learners in comprehending, producing, and/or
interacting in the target language, and the tasks are analyzed or categorized
according to their goals, input data, activities, setting, and roles (Nunan,
1989:11).
According to Nunan in Putra (2014:34), the tasks is the core of meaning
focused work involving learners in comprehending, producing and interacting
in the target language, and that task are analyzed or categorized according to
their goals, input data, activities, setting, and roles.
To help the difficulty of a task, Lee (2000:35-36) defines that the teacher
should consider the following demand placed on the learners:
a) Linguistic complexity are involves vocabulary, grammar, textual/genre
conventions.
b) Communicative stress are involves face-threatening topic or task, number
of people involved, relationship are those involved.
Cognitive demands are involves familiarity with the topic, memory requirements, and
processing demands

CHARACTERISTIK OF GOOD TASK

According to Cadlin (1987, in Nunan, 1989:47), a good task is the task that consists of input,
roles, setting, actions, monitoring, outcomes, and feedback. It also includes the elements of
content, materials, activities, goals, students, and social community. Referring to the
description, Nunan (1989:48) claims that there are six components of a good task. They are
goal, input, activities, teacher roles, learner roles, and setting.

a. Goal

Goal is the main purpose to be obtained of conducted tasks. It


is dealing wit h
communicative,
1989:48).

affective,

and

cognitive

output

(Nunan,

b. Input
Input is everything used in the tasks which can be taken from
drawings,
family trees, shopping lists, magazine quizzes, and so forth
(Nunan, 1989:53).

Meanwhile, Hutchinson and Water (1987:108) say that input


maybe a text,
dialogue, video recording,
communication data,

diagram

or

any

pieces

of

depending on the needs that have been defined in the needs


analysis.
c. Activities
Brown (2001:129) states that an activity refers to anything
learners do in
classroom.
d. Teacher Roles
Role is described as the action of the teacher and students play
in the
language learning (Nunan, 1989:79). In addition, Brown (2001:
167-168) describes the teachers roles as controller, director,
manager, facilitator, and resource.
e. Learner Roles
Richard and Rodger (1986, in Nunan, 2004:64) mention that
learners role as the objects of conducted task in the materials
which perform the activities in the tasks under the instruction
given by teacher. Ideally, learner has roles as participant, actor,
listener, controller, and so forth, based on the conducted
activity.
f. Setting
According to Wright (1987, in Nunan, 2004:71), setting is the
arrangement of the task which can be done individually, in
pairs, in groups, or in a whole class mode.

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