A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment 9789629374648, 9789629371357

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment Editor Anne MA Contributors Alice CHOW Icy LEE Benjamin LI Anne MA May PANG Elizabeth WALKER

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©2008 City University of Hong Kong All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, internet or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the City University of Hong Kong Press. First published 2008 ISBN: 978-962-937-135-7 Published by

City University of Hong Kong Press



Tat Chee Avenue



Kowloon, Hong Kong



Website: www.cityu.edu.hk/upress



E-mail: [email protected]

Printed in Hong Kong

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Contents

Acknowledgements

vii

Preface

ix

Introduction

xi

Contributors

xiii

List of Illustrations

xv

1.

“Tasks” in Language Teaching and Learning

Icy LEE

Part 1

What is a Task?

2



Part 2

Learning English through Tasks: Rationale of TBL

6



Part 3

Principles for Implementing Task-based Learning

7

2.

Teaching and Planning for Task-based Learning

Anne MA

Part 1

What is a Scheme of Work?

12



Part 2

Considerations for Task-based Planning

16



Part 3

Planning for the Year/Term

16



Part 4

Format of a Unit of Work

25



Part 5

Evaluating a Unit of Work

25



Part 6

Designing a Unit of Work for Task-based Learning

26

3.

Grammar Teaching and Task-based Learning

May PANG

Part 1

Re-examining Definitions of Language and Beliefs about Language Teaching 40



Part 2

Integrating Grammar Teaching in Task-based Learning

47



Part 3

Material Design for Grammar Teaching

57

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4.

Planning and Teaching Task-related Grammar

Elizabeth WALKER

Part 1

What is Grammar and What is Task-based Grammar Teaching?

72



Part 2

How Can I Plan Which Grammar to Teach in a Task?

74



Part 3

How Can I Apply the 5-step Planning Process

77



Part 4

What Strategies Can I Use to Explicitly Teach the New Grammar Identified?

83

5.

Task-based Assessment

Alice CHOW and Benjamin LI

Part 1

Purposes of Assessment

102



Part 2

Current Thinking about Language Assessment

104



Part 3

Relationship between Learning and Assessment

108



Part 4

Task-based Assessment

111



Part 5

Developing Assessment Criteria

116



Part 6

Collecting Evidence of Learning and Giving Feedback

124



Part 7

Recording and Reporting

127

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Acknowledgements

Our special thanks go to Professor William Littlewood for writing the preface for the book and for his positive encouragement to our work; to Dr. David Bunton and Dr. Jack Caldwell for reviewing the book and providing illuminating comments and suggestions at the initial stage; to a number of blind reviewers for their constructive feedback at the later stages of our preparation of the manuscript; to Professor Bernard Luk for his unflagging support and advice; and to Ms. Amaly Ho for all kinds of administrative and editorial support essential to the publication of the book. We would like to thank our colleague, Dr. Annie Tong, and ex-colleagues, Dr. May Lee, Dr. Angela Mok and Dr. Vivienne Yu, for their contribution to the school-based staff development workshops and professional teacher education courses on task-based learning. It was the shared mission, the mutual support, and the enriching experience we gained through team work that triggered the birth of this book. We are also grateful to the English Section of the Curriculum Development Institute and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority for allowing us to reproduce some of their materials in this book. Last but not least, we wish to thank the City University of Hong Kong Press for publishing the book and the Hong Kong Institute of Education for the Special Projects and Initiative Fund which started off the project.

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Preface

An important feature of the development of English language teaching in Hong Kong over recent years has been a gradual move away from teacher-centred to learner-centred classrooms. The former are organized in a familiar traditional way: the teacher controls almost everything that goes on and focuses mainly on transmitting pre-determined language knowledge to the class; success is measured largely by how well the students can absorb and use this knowledge. The latter introduce new aims and forms of organization which are often less familiar to teachers. In the learner-centred classroom, the starting point is not so much the nature of the knowledge to be acquired (though this is still of course important) as the nature and needs of the learners who wish to acquire it. We are more aware than before that these learners are all different in crucial ways: in ability, attitude, learning style, personality, and countless other ways. They do not learn simply by absorbing pre-determined material but need to interact with it and process it, so that they can construct their own internal representations of it. And if the language they learn is to become truly internalized and available for use, they need to experience it not just through decontextualized samples, but in situations where they can use it for real communication. The approach which — in Hong Kong as well as in numerous other parts of the world — has been developed to respond to these new perceptions is the task-based approach. In the task-based approach, “tasks” in which learners use the language to achieve real purposes through real communication play a central role. Three aspects of this role are especially important. First, tasks connect classroom learning to the world in which the learners will need to use their English. This has powerful potential for motivating learning and ensuring that it is relevant. Second, through providing contexts for the communicative use of language, tasks activate mechanisms for acquiring language and developing the ability to use it. Third, they offer a means of organizing language learning not around separate elements of language (e.g. vocabulary and grammatical structures) but around those aspects of communication which are the real goal of learning. One of the features of any educational innovation is that it can only succeed if it is clear to teachers how they can integrate it into their own practice and implement it in the classroom. The task-based approach has presented challenges in this respect. At the level of basic principles, for example, there have been debates about the basic concept of “tasks”. How strong must the focus on communication be, before we can say that an activity is a task? Does contextualized practice satisfy the definition? What role should be given to activities which are not tasks (i.e. to what are often called “exercises”), such as practising grammar and memorizing vocabulary? At the practical level, some teachers have found it difficult to reduce their control of the class (as it may sometimes seem) and allow the students to interact independently. The issue of task-based assessment is a further source of

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worry, especially in an environment like Hong Kong where much assessment is regarded as very “high-stakes”. There is no clear-cut answer to these issues, just as there have been no clear-cut answers to so many other language teaching issues that have occupied us in the past. However, the present A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment is an important guide towards clarifying them and helping us to reach the practical solutions that are required for classroom implementation. In the first chapter, the basic concept of “task” is discussed and the underlying principles of the task-based approach are also clarified. This provides the indispensable overall conceptual framework for what will follow. In the next chapter, the reader is taken into the practical domain of planning a task-based curriculum. It is a “hands-on” approach in which readers are asked, for example, to evaluate and design their own schemes and units of work. Here (as indeed throughout the Guide) we never lose sight of the Hong Kong context and the specific recommendations that are included in the Hong Kong syllabuses and curriculum guides. Chapters Three and Four go further into the detail of classroom practice and deal especially with grammar teaching and its role in a task-based approach. In this way, readers are helped not only to relate their understanding of task-based learning to their work in Hong Kong but also to integrate it with familiar practices that have always underpinned their teaching and remain valid components of the new approach. In the final chapter, the practical focus is maintained as the authors discuss the principles and practice of assessment as this is conducted in a task-based approach. Mention has already been made of the special value of the Guide in helping to relate task-based learning both to the Hong Kong context and to previous familiar practices in English language teaching. This is facilitated by a further feature which should be highlighted here, namely, the abundant provision of practical activities which facilitate this process. The emphasis throughout is not limited to presentation of new ideas but even more on helping the readers to integrate these ideas into their own thinking, so that they are better able to use them to construct their own “theory of practice” to guide their teaching. In this way, not only is the book about the task-based approach but it is itself an implementation of it.

Professor William LITTLEWOOD Department of English The Hong Kong Institute of Education

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Introduction

This book originated from a genuine need of the secondary teachers of English in Hong Kong to understand what it means by implementing a task-based curriculum in the English classroom. Since the introduction of a task-based approach to the English language curriculum in the CDC syllabus for English language (Secondary 1–5) (Curriculum Development Council, 1999) and the recent education reform initiatives of the Key Learning Areas (Curriculum Development Council, 2002), academic staff of the English Department at the Hong Kong Institute of Education have been invited to run different school-based staff-development workshops and professional teacher education courses to help teachers understand the basic principles of task-based teaching and its application in the language classroom. The frequent requests for support indicate schools’ concern to improve the quality of English teaching and learning and teachers’ need to be better equipped to integrate and implement task-based teaching into the curriculum in the light of the ongoing curriculum change. The book is presented in the form of a self-learning package. It aims to support and empower frontline teachers in implementing a task-based approach in the English classroom systematically and at the same time, not losing sight of the importance of grammar teaching within the framework of tasks. The five chapters are organized to help teachers understand how existing practices, in particular grammar teaching, can be integrated meaningfully in the task-based curriculum. The focus of each chapter is as follows. Chapter One is an introduction to the concept of “task” in English language teaching and learning. It explores the rationale of task-based learning and delineates the principles for implementing taskbased learning. Chapter Two provides detailed guidelines and procedures in planning for task-based teaching. Samples of units of work are included to illustrate the key components of a unit plan. Chapter Three addresses a major concern of many English teachers, which is the role of grammar in task-based teaching. It revisits the form, meaning, and use dimensions of language and provides readers with a methodological framework for grammar teaching and task-based learning by flexibly varying the challenge for learning in communicative contexts. Chapter Four further illustrates, through practical examples, how grammar teaching can be conducted through meaningful tasks in more authentic contexts, e.g. in dealing with children’s literature or film. The book ends with Chapter Five which focuses on task-based assessment and discusses the importance of viewing assessment as an integral part of the learning, teaching and assessment cycle that serves a variety of purposes. Practical suggestions on developing assessment tasks and assessment criteria are provided and various ways of reporting are explored. The package is written in an approach which enables teachers in schools to reflect upon their current practice and to learn about a task-based approach to teaching English through

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input of ideas and sections such as activities, suggested answers/comments, exemplars and references. Each chapter begins with a set of objectives to help teachers understand what they can gain from the chapter and ends with a list of chapter highlights. The chapters on different topics can be readily used for independent self-study or school-based staffdevelopment programme run by the teachers themselves. The materials are also useful for student-teachers learning about ELT task-based curriculum planning, grammar teaching and assessment.

The Editor

REFERENCES Curriculum Development Council (1999). Syllabuses for secondary schools: English language (Secondary 1–5). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer. Curriculum Development Council (2002). English language education: Key learning area curriculum guide (Primary 1 – Secondary 3). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Alice CHOW

BA, CertEd, BEd, MEd, PhD

Alice Chow is an Associate Professor of English at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. She has served as a secondary school teacher and a school inspector, and is involved in pre-service and in-service teacher education. Her research interests are in English language teaching methodology, mentoring and professional development.

Icy LEE

BA, DipEd, MA, PhD

Icy Lee is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She has taught English in Hong Kong and ESL in Canada. Her publications have appeared in a number of international journals such as ELT Journal, Journal of Second Language Writing and Assessing Writing. She has also published textbooks and resource materials for secondary English teachers in Hong Kong. Her main research interests include ESL writing, second language teacher education and teacher development.

Benjamin LI

BA, PGD(TESL), MA(TESL), EdD, MIL, DipRSA(TEFL)

Benjamin Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. He had taught in both primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong before becoming a teacher educator. His research interests include teacher knowledge and competence, teachers’ learning process, ELT curriculum development and school-based curriculum tailoring.

Anne MA

BA, CertEd, MA, PhD

Anne Ma is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. She was an English language teacher in a local secondary school and has been a teacher educator for more than ten years. Her major teaching and research interests include developing reading and writing skills, children’s/adolescent literature and language arts and ELT curriculum development.

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May PANG

BA, PGDE, PGD(TESL), MA(TESL), PhD

May Pang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Her main research interests include ELT methodology and curriculum development, theories of SLA, teacher knowledge and second language teacher education. Further to her extensive experience of teaching English in local schools, she has been a teacher educator at the Institute for more than ten years.

Elizabeth WALKER

BA, Dip Ed(Modern Languages), Dip (TEFLA), PhD

Elizabeth Walker is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. She has served as a secondary school foreign language educator in Australia and Hong Kong. Her research interests and publications are in the areas of language teacher development and application of corpus linguistics in language classrooms.

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List of Illustrations

TABLES Table 2.1

Secondary One (S1) scheme of work (1)

13

Table 2.2

S1 scheme of work (2)

14

Table 2.3

A short unit for the first week of Secondary One (S1)

Table 3.1

Different dimensions of language

43

Table 3.2

A table for recording students’ problems and possible reasons

46

22–24

Table 3.3 A table for recording the learning challenge of grammatical structures

50

Table 3.4

54

A methodological framework for teaching grammar

Table 3.5 A table for conducting a simple analysis of student activities provided in Appendices I–V

55

Table 3.6 An example of a consciousness-raising (CR) problem-solving activity

58

Table 5.1

Examples of authentic assessment tasks

114

Table 5.2

Examples of grammar test types

115

Table 5.3

Analytic rating scale for oral performance in an interview

118

Table 5.4

Analytic rating scale for grammatical ability

119

Table 5.5

Sample holistic scoring rubic for writing

119

FIGURES Figure 1.1 The unique features of a task as conceptualized in the local English curriculum

4

Figure 2.1

Relationship among modules

17

Figure 2.2

Relationship among tasks, extended tasks and projects

17

Figure 3.1

Teaching the three dimensions of the passive voice

49

Figure 3.2 An example adapted from Harmer (1991) illustrating materials for controlled practice

59

Figure 5.1

Relationship between learning and assessment

110

Figure 5.2

Ordered criterial questions for EBB scales

122

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

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1

“TASKS” IN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING ICY LEE

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Part 1

What is a Task?

2

Part 2

Learning English through Tasks: Rationale of TBL

6

Part 3

Principles for Implementing Task-based Learning

7

Chapter Highlights

8

References

9

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment



Objectives To define “tasks” and “task-based learning”; To explore the rationale of task-based learning; To delineate the principles for implementing task-based learning.

Task-based learning (TBL), as the name suggests, is a kind of learning that is based on “tasks”. In order to understand what TBL means and how it works in the English curriculum, several fundamental questions need to be addressed: What is a “task”? Why should students learn English through tasks? How should tasks be used in the English classroom?

1.

WHAT IS A TASK?

To start with, it must be acknowledged that in both the research and pedagogic literatures, there is yet no complete agreement as to what constitutes a “task” (Crookes, 1986). Broadly speaking, a “task” is “any activity that learners engage in to further the process of learning a language” (Williams & Burden, 1997, p. 168). This definition of “tasks” would include any activity used to promote language learning. A more useful and salient definition within the context of TBL is the more specific one provided by Skehan. Here a task is defined as an activity in which: meaning is primary; there is some sort of relationship to the real world; task completion has some priority; and the assessment of task performance is in terms of task outcome. (Skehan, 1998, p. 95) In the Hong Kong English curriculum, the concept of TBL embodies the specific rather than the broad definition of a task. In other words, the focus of TBL is primarily on meaning and communication. “Tasks” are “activities that call for primarily meaning-focused language use” (Ellis, 2003, p. 3), while “exercises” are “activities that call for primarily form-focused language use” (Ellis, 2003, p. 3). An example of a task is an activity that involves learners in a discussion so as to reach a consensus regarding where to eat. An example of an exercise on a related topic would be an activity that asks learners to learn some vocabulary about food and then to complete a blank-filling exercise.

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Below I illustrate the defining features of a task using the above example of a discussion that involves learners in making a decision about an eating place. A task: focuses on meaning, and hence is meaningful — e.g. to exchange opinions so as to reach a consensus about an eating place; has a context, and hence promotes purposeful use of language — e.g. a real context in which students have different preferences for food and eating places; involves real-world processes of language use — e.g. students expressing different opinions about eating places, negotiating, agreeing, disagreeing and compromising; engages cognitive processes — e.g. students reasoning, evaluating opinions and engaging in critical thinking; and has a clearly defined communicative outcome — e.g. a decision (i.e. an eating place). Let us turn to the Hong Kong English syllabus for secondary (Curriculum Development Council, 1999, p. 43) and look at how a defined. Although phrased in a different way, the Hong Kong definition of incorporates the spirit of TBL described in the above. There are five characteristics of a “task” (also see Carless, 2003):

schools task is “tasks” distinct

A task has a purpose, involving more than simply the display of knowledge of skills; It requires a context, which may be real, simulated or imaginary; It involves learners in a mode of thinking and doing, stimulated by the purpose and context; It leads to a product, which can be tangible or intangible; and It requires learners to draw upon their framework of knowledge and skills. The framework of knowledge and skills refers to five fundamental intertwining ways of learning and using knowledge of skills (Curriculum Development Council, 1999, p. 42), namely:

communicating; conceptualizing; inquiring; problem-solving; and reasoning.

In other words, when engaged in a task, students communicate and interact with each other, form and express ideas and concepts, investigate, solve problems and exercise their logical reasoning.

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

The figure below presents the unique features of a task as conceptualized in the local English curriculum.

Figure 1.1. The unique features of a task as conceptualized in the local English curriculum

PURPOSE

Doing and thinking

Framework of knowledge and skills Communicating Conceptualizing Inquiring Problem-solving Reasoning CONTEXT

PRODUCT

It is important to keep in mind that while tasks students perform in first language (L1) are authentic and real-life, tasks in the second language (L2) classroom are not always and do not need to be completely authentic. Nunan (2004) distinguishes between pedagogical tasks with a rehearsal focus (i.e. bearing a direct relationship to real life) and those with an activation focus (i.e. activating a range of language functions and structures used in real life, such as agreeing, disagreeing and making suggestions). Writing a job application letter is an authentic, realworld task with a rehearsal focus, whereas engaging in a balloon debate to throw out unwanted people is a pedagogical task with an activation focus, where students practise functions and structures they would need to use in real life (e.g. agreeing, disagreeing and debating). In the L2 classroom, both kinds of tasks can be used.

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1

Activity 1

“TASKS” IN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING



Analysing an exemplar task

Read the following task and analyse it in terms of the five characteristics of a “task” described above. Write brief notes in the space provided. Learners get into groups of four and express their own opinions on qualities that can help maintain friendship through a game. They choose three qualities that they treasure most. They then study some cases and identify the problems or qualities that ruin friendship. After their discussion, learners write down 10 do’s and 10 don’ts which serve as some guiding principles when they want to make friends with others. What is the purpose of the task?

How would you describe its context?

What is the product upon completion of the task?

What kind of thinking and doing is involved?

What kinds of knowledge and skills do learners draw upon while they are working on the task?

Comments on Activity 1 What is the purpose of the task? To come to a better understanding of the qualities that help people maintain friendship How would you describe its context? A real context that requires learners to make references to their daily life experience What is the product upon completion of the task? A list of do’s and don’ts that serve as guiding principles for making friends

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

What kind of thinking and doing is involved? Learners reflect on the notion of friendship through playing a game, studying some cases, sharing and discussion. Learners engage in different levels of thinking — e.g. descriptive (describing the qualities they treasure most), interpretive (interpreting and identifying problems) and evaluative (evaluating the qualities that ruin or help maintain friendship). What kinds of knowledge and skills do learners draw upon while they are working on the task? Communicating — e.g. sharing with group members about qualities they treasure most Conceptualizing — e.g. forming ideas about what true friendship is Inquiring — e.g. asking questions about the factors that ruin friendship Problem-solving — e.g. thinking about ways to overcome problems in friendship Reasoning — e.g. discussing the do’s and don’ts in making friends

2.

LEARNING ENGLISH THROUGH TASKS: RATIONALE OF TBL

In trying to understand TBL, another crucial question to ask is: why should students learn English through tasks? Exercises also enable students to learn English. Why should tasks be used? What do we understand by “learning English through tasks”? What is the nature of learning involved in TBL? While exercises draw student attention to the form of the language, tasks focus on the meaning and use of language. Exercises engage students in formfocused learning aimed to develop linguistic competence, whereas tasks engage students in experiential learning aimed at developing communicative competence. Linguistic competence, which refers to “knowledge of the language itself, its form and meaning” (Hedge, 2001, p. 46), involves a knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, etc. It is only one facet of communicative competence, which describes “the ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of a language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but also to know when and where to use these sentences and to whom” (Richards, Platt & Weber, 1985, p. 49). TBL is predicated on the belief that through engaging in tasks, rather than focusing attention on the formal system of the language, students would be able to develop their communicative language ability. This, however, does not mean that exercises and tasks are mutually exclusive. In fact, it is important to provide support and scaffolding through a focus on form so as to help students complete the tasks using

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1

“TASKS” IN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING



appropriate language. Form-focused activities such as exercises and explanations can be used to prepare students before they start working on tasks, support them during the performance of tasks (e.g. when language blockage occurs), and extend their hypotheses about how L2 works (which may emerge during language use in task-based activities) after tasks are performed (Stern, 1999; Tomlin, 1994). Although learning takes places through both exercises and tasks, it must be emphasized that the nature of language learning in TBL is distinct from that involved in exercises. In TBL, students learn to use English purposefully, meaningfully and appropriately. Specifically, through TBL, students learn to: use language as a means rather than an end itself, since the focus is on meaning rather than form; exchange information, express opinions, solve problems, etc.; communicate through interaction and negotiation of meaning; make decisions about what they learn and how they will learn; focus on the process of learning; use their personal experience to contribute to learning; evaluate their own learning; and relate classroom language learning with language use outside the classroom.

3.

PRINCIPLES FOR IMPLEMENTING TASK-BASED LEARNING

Given the significance of tasks in helping students learn English, how should they be used in the English curriculum? Three main principles are proposed below. First, although there are good reasons to use tasks in the language classroom, they cannot and should not replace exercises. It is theoretically and pedagogically sound to use tasks alongside exercises (Ellis, 2003; Estaire & Zanon, 1994). Exercises draw student attention to the formal features of language, while tasks place an emphasis on the purposeful, meaningful and appropriate use of language. In implementing TBL, it is important to ensure that students focus primarily on meaning and yet there should be opportunities for focusing on form. The focus on form can take place at any stage of a TBL lesson — e.g. pre-task, during-task, or post-task stage. Chapters 3 and 4 will specifically examine how grammar teaching can be incorporated into task-based lessons. Second, the choice of tasks is a crucial consideration. While tasks should provide an intellectual challenge and appeal to students’ interest and imagination, it is important to ensure an appropriate level of difficulty. Tasks which are boring,

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

too difficult or too easy are likely to diminish students’ interest in TBL. Teachers should also consider how best to sequence tasks. Using the task dependency principle (Nunan, 2004), teachers can exploit tasks that build on previous ones, moving generally from receptive to productive tasks, and from productive to creative tasks. Third, tasks should involve and promote active learning. Teachers have to make sure that students take an active role in TBL and that teacher-focused work should not dominate the teaching and learning process. To promote learner autonomy, students should be encouraged to take risks. They could be asked to evaluate their performance and progress and set goals for further improvement, so that they learn to take responsibility for their own learning. This chapter has looked at how tasks are defined, the rationale of TBL and some principles for TBL. Chapter 2 will elaborate on the implementation of tasks by looking at how teachers can plan for TBL in their classroom.

Chapter Highlights In implementing TBL, teachers should bear in mind the following principles: Provide opportunities to focus on form to support learning. Prepare tasks that provide intellectual challenge. Ensure an appropriate level of task difficulty. Provide tasks that appeal to students’ interest and imagination. Focus on developing confidence and providing a sense of achievement. Require students to take an active role. Encourage risk taking. Provide opportunities for students to evaluate their learning and take responsibility for their learning.

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REFERENCES Carless, D. R. (2003). Factors in the implementation of task-based teaching in primary schools. System, 31(4), 485–500. Crookes, G. (1986). Task classification: A cross-disciplinary review. Technical Report No. 4. Honolulu: Center for Second Language Classroom Research, Social Science Research Institute, University of Hawaii. Curriculum Development Council. (1999). Syllabuses for secondary schools: English language (Secondary 1–5). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer. Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Estaire, S. & Zanon, J. (1994). Planning classwork: A task-based approach. Oxford: Heinemann. Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hedge, T. (2001). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Richards, J., Platt, J. & Weber, H. (1985). Longman dictionary of applied linguistics. Harlow: Longman. Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Stern, H. H. (1999). The language syllabus: Functional analysis. In P. Allen & B. Hanley (Eds.), Issues and options in language teaching (pp. 155–176). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Tomlin, R. S. (1994). Functional grammars, pedagogical grammars and communicative language teaching. In T. Odlin (Ed.), Perspectives on pedagogical grammar (pp. 140– 178). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Williams, M. & Burden, R. L. (1997). Psychology for language teachers: A social constructivist approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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2

Teaching and Planning for Task-based Learning Anne MA

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Part 1

What is a Scheme of Work?

12

Part 2

Considerations for Task-based Planning

16

Part 3

Planning for the Year/Term

16

Part 4

Format of a Unit of Work

25

Part 5

Evaluating a Unit of Work

25

Part 6

Designing a Unit of Work for Task-based Learning

26

Chapter Highlights

26

References

27

Appendices

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment



Objectives To understand key components and procedures in designing a scheme of work for task-based learning; To evaluate some samples of units of work; To plan a unit of work.

1.

WHAT IS A SCHEME OF WORK ?

What are some of your considerations when you are planning for the teaching of English to a class of students for one term? As you address your considerations through working out the details and listing them down systematically in the form of a written plan, your document will become a scheme of work. A scheme of work is a document that consists of an ordered list of components specifying the things to be taught through a course of study. It provides important guidelines to support the short, medium and long-term planning of a subject curriculum for a target level of students. The major components included in the syllabus may be either content items (words, structures, topics) or process ones (tasks, methods) (Ur, 2000).

Activity 1

Components of a Scheme of Work

Read the two schemes of work (Table 2.1 and Table 2.2) adapted from local secondary schools and answer the following questions. a. What are the components of the two schemes of work? b. What is/are the organizing focus(es) (i.e. the focus around which other components fall into place) of each of the schemes of work? c. Are the schemes of work informative? Is there any other information that you would like to get from a scheme of work?

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Table 2.1. Secondary One (S1) scheme of work (1)

Cycle

No. of lessons

1. Classroom English

1

4

2. Dictionary Use

1

2-3

3. Basic Grammar

2–4

27

Module

Content • Materials from handouts & other sources, e.g. Bridge Programme • Selecting relevant meanings of words • Basic understanding of phonetic symbols • Understanding of parts of speech, regular & irregular verb tables XXX Grammar Bk 1: • Lessons 1–5 Nouns + Assessment • Lessons 13–15 Pronouns + Assessment • Lessons 6–8 Adjectives + Assessment • Revision XXX Grammar Bk 2: • Lessons 1–5

4. Pronunciation

1–8

8

• All vowels & consonants (Handout) • Nursery rhymes (Handout)

5. General English

5–6

15

ABC General English Bk 1: • Unit 1 “Introducing Myself” • Unit 2 “My School” • Unit 3 “My Favourite Things” Dictation I: • Vocabulary 40% Unit 2 (p.16) + occupations (Handout) • Passage 60% Unit 1 (p. 2) Dictation II: • Vocabulary 40% Unit 3 (p. 30) • Passage 60% Memory dictation of Unit 2 (p. 20) (Marking Scheme: Full mark = 100% Deduct 3% @ spelling mistake Deduct 1% @ punctuation mark) ABC Listening Book Bk1: • Unit 1 • Unit 2 • Unit 3

6. Writing

6–7

10

Process Writing Approach • pre-writing • drafting / redrafting • publishing

7. Reader & Extensive Reading

1–8

8

Reader • XYZ Reading Kit Extensive reading • Students (Ss) complete reading a chosen story within an assigned period of time at home • Assessment

8. Revision (Including Oral & Dictation Examination) TOTAL

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8

11

8 cycles

88 lessons

Pending

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14

Shopping

Interesting places

25

26

27

12

24

13

11

5

23

22

21

Friends & family

9

19

Weather

8

18

20

6

17

10

A guided tour

Shopping

A family reunion

Success story

A letter

A day in the country (supplementary text)

Saturday evenings The youth club

Can I help you?

Sally’s day out

At the cinema A birthday party (supplementary text)

Interesting places in HK

Shopping

Composition correction

A story

Revision, Final examination

Describing places, project work

Likes and preference, which one? made of

Asking for, giving instructions

Present perfect, past tense

A letter

A picnic

Composition correction

Picture composition

Composition correction

Easter Holiday Present perfect tense, letter writing

Test

Frequency adverbs

Future tense, want, hope to, want me to

Going to, because, direction

My birthday party

Past tense, telephone conversation, infinitive of purpose

Entertainment

Composition (2 periods/cycle)

15, 16

Textbook Unit New Year Holiday, revision and examination

Theme

Function & Structure (2 periods/cycle)

13, 14

Cycle

Comprehension Passage + Dictation (3 periods/cycle)

Table 2.2. S1 scheme of work (2)

Listening 13

Listening 14

Listening 12

Oral Practice p. 28

Listening 5

Oral practice p.18–19

Listening 9

Listening 8

Oral practice p. 9

Oral practice p. 25

Oral/Listening (1 period/cycle)

18. Tourism in HK

9. Clothes

13. Martin as a waiter

6. Questions

Quiz

5. The Ocean Park

16. Only once a week

Quiz

14. Out and about in HK

20. Cooking

ETV (1 period/cycle)

Group presentation

Group presentation

Ch. 10

Ch. 9

Ch. 8

Ch. 7

Ch. 5, 6

Ch. 4

Ch. 3

Ch. 1, 2

Reader (1 period/cycle)

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Comments on Activity 1 Different teachers may put into their schemes of work different components as they see fit. The components that are common to the two schemes of work shown are the time schedule expressed as “cycles” and the content components expressed as “module”, “content”, “theme”, “textbook units”, “composition”, “oral/listening” and “ETV”. The scheme of work in Table 2.1 is organized according to modules. A closer look at the modules suggests that the focuses are on grammar, language skills and study skills. Since this is a Secondary One (S1) scheme of work for the first 8 cycles of Term One, the organizing focuses are chosen to help prepare students for the study in the initial year of their secondary school. Apart from the prescribed textbook, the scheme of work adopts a wide variety of resource materials, e.g. dictionary, handouts, story books, grammar books and reading materials from a reading kit. Process writing as the method for teaching writing and some assessment guidelines (for dictation) are included. The scheme of work in Table 2.2 is organized according to units in the textbook. The textbook units are chosen and re-ordered so that those with a similar theme are grouped together. It is suggested that ETV programmes with related themes be used on a weekly basis. The rest of the content components are basically lifted from the textbook. In other words, this scheme of work is generally theme focused with the textbook as the major resource material. The two schemes of work, however, do not include explicit objectives. This makes the purpose of learning unclear. In the first scheme of work, the arrangement of learning in the form of selected focuses on different aspects of language reflects a segmented view of language learning. In the second scheme of work, there is an attempt to arrange learning based on similar themes using the textbook as the major source of material. The focus on content instead of process (e.g. methods and activities) of the two schemes of work, however, may suggest a laissez-faire policy in classroom pedagogy. As the scheme of work is an important document for teachers for implementing the planned curriculum and also for other stakeholders (e.g. panel chairpersons, principals, inspectors) for various purposes, its components and organization should reflect the principles underlying the curriculum plan and the objectives to be achieved.

Activity 2

Reflection on your scheme of work

Look at a scheme of work for English developed by you or your colleagues and consider the following. a. Is it content oriented or process oriented? b. In what broad direction would your students’ learning be heading (i.e. What are the overall objectives)? Continued on next page

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

Activity 2 — Continued

c. What resources are suggested and how are they organized? d. What pedagogical approach is suggested to achieve the learning objectives? e. How do you know whether your students are learning effectively and moving in the right direction? f. What are the principles underlying the planning of your scheme of work?

2.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR TASK-BASED PLANNING

If a task-based English language curriculum is adopted in your school, what should be the considerations for planning? According to the English Language Syllabus (CDC, 1999a), task-based instruction involves fostering students’ motivation to learn by making the learning purposeful, contextualized, interesting and challenging through tasks. At the same time, the teacher needs to plan for an appropriate level of support in language, skills and areas of knowledge to facilitate students in doing the tasks, which no longer means strict adherence to a predetermined linear series of language structures and sub-skills set out in a coursebook. It involves judgement as to where learners are, what they need next, and what differences they have in their ways of learning. It requires flexible approaches to teaching and to the use of resource materials.

Now think about these questions:

a. Should a task-based scheme of work be content or process oriented? b. What should be the organizing focus of a scheme of work developed on the principles of task-based learning? As suggested by the term “task-based” learning, the organizing focus of a taskbased scheme of work is “tasks”. As tasks are set in contexts under different themes (grouped under units and modules, see Part 3 that follows), students’ knowledge of the theme/context and their language, skills and strategies for completing the task will be utilized and developed in the process. It is, therefore, desirable for a task-based scheme of work to capture both content (e.g. language functions and structures, vocabulary, text types) and process (task procedure).

3.

PLANNING FOR THE YEAR/TERM

A task-based scheme of work is made up of tasks grouped under units which are thematically or conceptually related to the modules selected for the school term/ year. Below is a diagram showing the relationship among modules, units and tasks:

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Figure 2.1. Relationship among modules

Module

Unit

Task

Unit

Task

Task

Task

Unit

Task

Task

Task

Extended tasks and projects can be further developed from tasks. Below is a diagram showing the relationship among tasks, extended tasks and projects:

Figure 2.2. Relationship among tasks, extended tasks and projects

Task

Task

Extended Task

Extended Task

Source: Curriculum Development Council (1999, p. 4)

A scheme of work should best be planned on a term basis and reviewed periodically so that adjustment might be made when needed. The following is a suggested framework for planning a scheme of work (cf. also Estaire & Zanon, 1994 and CDC, 1999a, pp. 34–36). Read the different stages of the framework together with the Exemplar Unit of Work (i.e. one unit in the Scheme of Work) that follows (see pp. 22–24). Apart from presenting the various content and process components, the Exemplar includes a “Considerations” column, which serves to illustrate in detail the thinking process involved during the different stages of planning. It does not suggest by any means that teachers writing the scheme of work need to spell out the considerations in full as shown.

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

Stage 1: Planning an overview of modules, units and tasks for the term

Brainstorm or select themes suitable for the level of students from the textbook, resource books or the syllabus (see Appendix I for example).



Interesting and relevant themes will lead to better motivation and involvement in learning. Therefore it is important to consider the following when selecting themes: interests, experience and the language proficiency level of the students things in general that people do, learn, think, imagine or dream about and discover (e.g. shopping, travelling) specific situations in which different functions are carried out through language (e.g. finding one’s way around town)



Organize the themes as modules, units and tasks through a mind map (see Appendix II for example).



Consult the school calendar, determine the modules, units and tasks for a term and work out a draft overview (see Appendix III for example).



Do the detailed planning one unit at a time.

Stage 2: Determining the end product(s) of each task

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The tasks in each unit should be meaningful and resemble authentic tasks that people do at school and/or outside school.



Once the tasks are decided, determine the end product(s) of each task because the other components of the unit (e.g. the language to be used, the skills to be practised, the procedures to follow) will all be derived from it/them.



The end product(s) of a task should be tangible and produced at a certain point, but usually towards the end of the task.



It is essential that the students know from the beginning of the task what the final product(s) will be to ensure motivation and involvement.



In the task process, the teacher should be flexible enough to change the product(s) as necessary according to students’ response.

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Stage 3: Determining the targets

The chosen targets should represent realistic goals that students can achieve at the end of the task.



It is useful to use action verbs (e.g. to identify, to develop, to present) to formulate the targets. The list of dimension/strand* targets in the CDC English Language Syllabus (CDC, 1999a, pp. 9–12) is a useful guide. Targets adopted from the list should be rephrased so that they are more relevant to the task. The list of targets in the Syllabus is not exhaustive.



Teachers should also feel free to develop the task targets in their own words as appropriate, bearing in mind that the targets should reflect the overall purposes of the task rather than stating the teachers’ own pedagogical objectives or the language objectives (see discussion of language objectives in Stage 4 that follows).



Don’t include more than 3 to 4 targets for each task. It is unrealistic to expect students to achieve too many targets in one task.



Consider if there should be a balanced distribution or particular focuses of targets of different dimensions/strands in each unit. (For this purpose, it is useful to adopt the acronyms of the dimensions/strands in the CDC Syllabus for easy reference.)



These targets will also help teachers to assess the quality of students’ task performance.

Stage 4: Planning the process

Consider the task in detail and work out the procedure (e.g. motivation, grammar work, concept building) which will enable students to complete the task and produce the final end product(s).



State the procedure from the learners’ perspective. The teacher’s role is to provide the necessary guidance and support in the process to facilitate students’ completion of the task



Provide opportunity for developing a range of thinking and doing processes through the task (see examples of types of tasks in Appendix IV).

* The dimension/strand targets in the CDC Syllabus define the purposes of learning English—for interpersonal communication, for developing and applying knowledge, and for responding and giving expression to experience.

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This stage always goes hand in hand with Stage 5, i.e. determining the content to be combined with the process to ensure students have the necessary input, practice, revision, consolidation of the necessary knowledge, language and skills for carrying out the task.



Determine the linguistic content that students need in order to complete the task and decide when to provide the language support (e.g. pre-teach the language before the task / provide language support and help during the task / provide feedback and consolidation work on language use after the task).



Consider ways of catering for learner differences.



Identify tasks that could be developed into projects and allocate time for project work.



Plan the time needed for the tasks.



Identify relevant resource materials needed for the task.

Stage 5: Specifying the contents (Learning Objectives)

A communicative task usually requires students to use language and skills integratively. It is impossible to teach all linguistic items and skills that might be used in the process. Think about what the students already know and what the core items are for them to learn or further develop in order to carry out the task.



Specify in the plan only content which the teacher will teach or draw students’ attention to during the task procedure.



Consider also whether procedural language (e.g. language for starting a group discussion) will be taught for students to plan, organize and carry out the tasks.



Specify the relevant linguistic content: Language items and communicative functions (see CDC 1999a, pp. 18–23, pp. 169–177) Vocabulary items Language skills (see CDC 1999a, pp. 23–27, pp. 178–185) Text types (see CDC 1999a, p. 15, p. 165)



Specify other relevant content: Attitudes (See CDC 1999a, pp. 29–30, p. 189; CDC, 2002, pp. 69–73) Generic skills (see CDC 1999a, pp. 27–29, pp. 185–188; CDC 2002, pp. 38–68)

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Sequence the tasks in a way which allows skills, knowledge and language to be developed, revisited and extended.

Stage 6: Planning evaluation: assessment instruments and procedure

Assessment of students’ response to the activities and their performance should be on-going (formative).



The teacher can gather information through observation about students’ motivation, participation, interaction, involvement and attitude as they carry out the task.



Students could be guided to self assess and/or peer assess so as to learn to take greater student responsibility in learning.



The quality of students’ performance as shown in the end product(s) also provides much information about their progress towards achievement of the language objectives.



On the basis of the above, the teacher can evaluate the suitability of materials, the appropriateness of the language objectives and the effectiveness of the task procedure and teaching approach, and make changes in the process or in the scheme of work as appropriate.



Identify or design tasks which could be used as summative assessment tasks (see Chapter 5 for detailed discussion about formative and summative assessment tasks).

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

Exemplar Unit of Work Table 2.3. A short unit for the first week of Secondary One (S1)

Module

The Unit Plan

Considerations (the thinking process NOT supposed to be included in the actual scheme of work)

Getting along with others

Stage 1

Unit

Sharing, Co-operation, Rivalry

Task

Choosing a club

Lessons

Product(s)

3–4

• The thematic area should be relevant to S1 students and a good choice of task will motivate students to use and learn the language. • The task “Choosing a club” is proposed for the first week of the term, as many school clubs will recruit members in the beginning of the school year. S1 students who are new to the school will be interested to find out more about the clubs so the task is relevant to them.

• Information sheet about clubs in the school

Stage 2

• Tallied record of class choices of school clubs

• It is important that students know about the clubs available in the school. So one of the products is an information sheet about school clubs completed on the basis of the input students receive. Information collecting is what people do every day when they want to know more about something.

• Short written report (150 words) summarizing clubs and activities, class choices and individual choice(s).

• Students will be making decisions on their own choice of school clubs. They may also be interested in knowing their classmates’ choices. So the second product is the tallied record of class choices of school clubs and the final product is student’s individual report of their group members’ choices and their own choice. • With these outcomes specified, the teacher can then work out other components of the task, such as the language needed for accomplishing the task and the procedure leading to the products. Targets

*IDa—to establish and maintain relationships and routines in school IDb—to exchange points of view about interest in and preferences for school clubs KDa—to find out, select, organize and present information on class choices of school clubs KDb—to interpret and use information through describing, classifying, explaining, summarizing and drawing conclusions.

Stage 3 • This task is to be done in the beginning of a new school year in a new school for most students. The task allows the students to get to know more about the school and to interact with their classmates to establish relationships and to know about each other’s interests and preferences, so two relevant targets from the Interpersonal Dimension/ Strand are chosen. • The task also requires students to find out more about school clubs, comprehend, interpret and use the information for making choices, to tally data about the class choices and to summarize the result in a report, so two other relevant targets from the Knowledge Dimension/Strand are chosen.

* The acronyms stand for the various dimension/strand target items in the CDC English Language Syllabus (CDC, 1999a: 9–12). ID stands for Interpersonal Dimension/Strand, KD stands for Knowledge Dimension/Strand and ED (not shown here) stands for Experience Dimension/Strand. The small letter stands for the order of the target item on the list. Teachers should also feel free to write their own task targets as appropriate. The target items in the Syllabus are a source of reference.

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The Unit Plan Procedure

1. Identifying names of clubs and modelling the teacher’s pronunciation of these names. 2. Listening to S6 students on tape promoting their clubs and completing an information sheet with details about the clubs. 3. Interviewing S2 students and making one’s choice of clubs to join. 4. Finding out and tallying the class choices of clubs with the teacher’s guidance. 5. Analysing a short model report with the help of the teacher’s explicit instructions on the text structure and the typical language items found in the report. 6. Co-constructing a written summary of class choices with the teacher. 7. Telling choices to others in a group of 4 to 6 students. 8. Writing an individual report of the range of school clubs, group choices and individual choice(s).

Resources

• Pamphlets/posters of school clubs, if available. • Audio-tape introducing school clubs • Teacher-developed worksheet for listening activity • Short written report in XXX U2, p.10

Language Function & Structure

Learning Objectives

Vocabulary Club names/activities, e.g. English Society, Art Club, Photography Club, Library Club, Red Cross ….

• Asking simple questions to find out about school clubs and choices: e.g. What club do you belong to? What do you do? When do you meet? Is it fun? What clubs are you going to join? • Using the simple present tense to make general statements about school clubs: e.g. Our school has many school clubs. They are ….

23

Considerations (the thinking process NOT supposed to be included in the actual scheme of work) Stage 4 • It is always useful to arouse students’ motivation by tapping into their past experience. The focus on vocabulary identification and pronunciation can be easily tied into this process so that students can talk about their experience of extracurricular activities in primary school and will be able to understand and talk about school clubs and activities in the lesson procedure that follows. • There are many different ways to help students get to know more about the school clubs. The teacher can provide the information through authentic texts, e.g., pamphlets or posters. The students can be asked to look for the information themselves, or students of higher forms can be invited to talk about the clubs and to share experience. The teacher will have to decide the most appropriate means to provide input to the students. • As this is the first time students do a class survey together, the teacher plays a more leading role in demonstrating the tallying of choices and constructing a written summary of class choices through negotiation of meaning and language with the class. • With the model set by the teacher and the language support given, students write their individual report on the basis of group and individual choices. • Consider ways to cater for learner differences. For instance, in Step 8, the teacher can require everyone to report on the group choices and individual choice following the given model. Students who finish their work early or who are more proficient and confident language users can be asked to extend their writing to include reasons for their choice of clubs.

• • Using “going to” to express intention: e.g. In our class, most students are going to join the … Club. … is also popular. Not many students are going to join the … Club. • • Using connectives to give reason (if needed): e.g. I am going to join the … Club because I am interested in …. I am not going to join any clubs because the time is not suitable.

The number of lesson needed for the task may vary according to the extent of language input that students need before carrying out the task. The teacher can make use of a variety of resources such as textbook, supplementary materials adopted/adapted from resource books and school-based materials developed by teachers.

Continued on next page

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Table 2.3. — Continued

The Unit Plan

Language & Generic Skills Attitudes

Text-type

Learning Objectives

Speaking • pronouncing names of clubs • asking for information

Assessment

Listening • identifying key ideas in a conversation • extracting information and ideas in spoken texts Writing • writing a report based on appropriate format and language Information skills • collecting and storing information systematically • tallying simple data of choices Collaboration skills • working with others to exchange information and to negotiate meaning

• Brochures/posters of school clubs (if available in the school) • Information sheet of school clubs • Report

Considerations (the thinking process NOT supposed to be included in the actual scheme of work) Stage 5 • Decide whether to introduce all the school clubs/activities or just those that are open to the S1 students. • Decide the language focus depending on the level of the students. For instance, in Step 3 of the Procedure section above, classes which are not ready to engage in the oral interview may have to skip the activity or be allowed to do it informally with the S2 students in their mother tongue during nonclass time. Classes that can do the oral interview in English with some language support can be given some practice on questions and answers before the actual interview. In other words, the language focus of the task should be adjusted according to the language level of the students. • Consider also whether procedural language will be taught for students to plan, organize and carry out the tasks, e.g. the language to interact with other group members when they tell each other their choices, like “How about you?” “Me too.”.

• A sense of belonging to the school • Keenness to participate in activities

• Checking of information sheet (worksheet) after listening activity • Observing students’ performance during interview with S2 students • Observing group work • Reading and commenting on students’ written reports

Stage 6 • On-going (formative) assessment can be done through checking the tangible products such as the information sheet and the students’ written report. • Intangible products such as motivation in the task, interaction with peers, attitude towards learning can be assessed through observation of students’ performance when they listen to the tape and exchange their club choices in the group. • The teacher may need to adjust the task process based on the ongoing feedback from students.

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FORMAT OF A UNIT OF WORK

There is no standardized way of presenting a unit of work. As long as it shows the essential components of the plan and is reader-friendly, the purpose is served. The exemplar unit in Appendix V is an attempt to illustrate a unit of work with details of the necessary components relating to the same task presented together for easy cross referencing. Read the unit of work to see if it is easy to understand and provides a blueprint for the teacher to work with.

5.

EVALUATING A UNIT OF WORK

In the following activity, you will closely examine a unit of work. The purpose is to raise your awareness of how to plan a unit of work so that the various components in the unit are coherent and can bring about meaningful and effective learning.

Activity 3

Checklist for evaluating a unit of work

Read the unit of work provided in Appendix VI in detail. Evaluate it with reference to the following checklist. Compare your answers with those of your colleagues. Read the table of suggested evaluative comments of this unit of work provided in Appendix VII after your discussion to see if you share the same views. a. Are the tasks within the unit of work thematically linked? b. Do the tasks provide opportunities for purposeful language use? c. Are the targets relevant to the tasks? d. Is there a range of targets (knowledge, interpersonal, experience) within the unit? (If not, make sure there is a range of targets in the scheme of work.) e. Are the language objectives (which include language structures and functions, vocabulary and skills) clearly stated? Are they relevant to the tasks? f. Is there a balance of the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and are any generic skills included? g. Is there any reinforcement of concepts, skills and language? h. Are a variety of resources and activities included? i. Are a variety of assessment procedures included? j. Has a project been built in? (This is likely to be more relevant to the evaluation of a scheme of work rather than a unit of work.)

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6.

DESIGNING A UNIT OF WORK FOR TASK-BASED LEARNING

Now it is time for you to experiment with planning for task-based learning.

Activity 4

Designing a unit of work

a. Select one unit (from a textbook that you are familiar with or from Appendix I). Develop a unit of work for a particular form level, which includes the necessary components and takes into consideration the points raised in the checklist in Part 5 above. You can adopt the exemplar format of the unit plan presented in Part 3 (pp. 22—24) or Appendix V or any other format which you think is clear and easy to use. b. Exchange your finished units of work with other groups and give feedback on one another’s work with reference to the checklist in Activity 3.

Chapter Highlights In planning a task-based curriculum, teachers should bear in mind the following: The organizing focus of a task-based scheme of work is the tasks. From the products of tasks, other components of the scheme, such as the learning targets, learning content (e.g. language functions/ structures, vocabulary, text–types, skills), learning procedure (e.g. exercises, activities) and assessment procedure are derived. Grammar/vocabulary teaching and other means of language support should be built into the learning process according to the language level of the students and the nature of the tasks. After planning, it is important to check for the overall coherence of the various components of the plan and the balance of dimension/ strand targets and task types. The planning should be flexible enough to allow for adjustment as a result of ongoing formative assessment of students’ progress and evaluation of the learning procedure and materials.

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REFERENCES Curriculum Development Council (1999a). Syllabuses for secondary schools: English language (Secondary 1–5). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer. Curriculum Development Council (1999b). Task-based learning and an exemplar module for Key Stage 3 in support of CDC Syllabus for English Language (Secondary 1–5). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer. Curriculum Development Council (2002). English language education: Key learning curriculum guide (Primary 1–Secondary 3). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer. Ellis, R. (2005) (Eds). Planning and task performance in a second language. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Pub. Co. Estaire, S. & Zanon, J. (1994). Planning classwork: A task based approach. Oxford: Heinemann. Nunan, D. (1989). Developing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University. Nunan, D. (1999). Second language teaching and learning. Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle. Ur, P. (2000). A course in language teaching: Practice and theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Harlow: Longman.

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Appendix I

Suggested Modules and Units for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4

Getting Along With Others ● Friendship and Dating ● Sharing, Co-operation, Rivalry Teenage Life ★ Leisure and Hobbies ★ Growing Up ★ Being Fashionable

★

Suggested Units for KS3

■

Suggested Units for KS4

●

Suggested Units for KS3 & KS4

Study, School Life and Work ● Study and Related Pleasure/Problems ■ Experiments and Projects ■ Occupations, Careers and Prospects Rights and Responsibilities ★ At Home ★ In a Group (Class, Peer, School, Neighbourhood) Cultures of the World ● Travelling and Visiting ● Customs, Clothes and Food of Different Places Wonderful Things ● Successful People and Amazing Deeds ● Great Stories ● Precious Things Nature and Environment ● Protecting the Environment ● Resources and Energy Conservation Social Issues ■ Crime ■ Human Rights (personal rights, civic rights, respect) Communicating ■ The Media and Publications ■ International Network (Internet) Technology ■ Changes Brought about by Technology Source: Curriculum Development Council (1999a, p. 226)

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Appendix II

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29

An Exemplar Module for KS3

Cultures of the World

*

Task 1 Eye on the World

Customs, Clothes and Food of Different Places

Task 2 A Day in the Life of ...

*

Task 3 Food Festival (Graded Task)

Travelling and Visiting

Task Where go the Boats?

Task *

Extended Task Hong Kong Corner

Project Proposal for a Travelling Award

Source: Curriculum Development Council (1999b, p. 7) * Some boxes are left blank to illustrate that more units and tasks can be added under the module at the teacher’s discretion.

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Wk1

2

At Home

Rights and Responsibilities

4

7

8

# Cheating

# How Much is Enough? # Keeping Fit and Healthy

6

# Comics and Cartoons

9

Tasks for October 20XX 11

12

13

Tasks for November 20XX

# Be Considerate

# Giving a Helping Hand # Should Everything be Known?

10

N.B. The above is an Exemplar Scheme of Work for the first three months of Secondary One (S1). The starting point for the Scheme of Work is the task “Choosing a Club” to meet the immediate needs of S1 learners. It is followed by a task from the unit “Friendship and Dating”. This is done to recycle concepts presented in the KS2 module “Relationships”. Tasks are then chosen to extend learners’ previous knowledge from self to families, friends and the wider community.

# Going to the Movies # Sports and Games We Play

# Writing to a Pen Friend

Source: Curriculum Development Council (1999a, p.190)

In a Group

Study and Related Pleasure/Problems

Being Fashionable

Leisure and Hobbies

Friendship and Dating

3

5

Terms & Year: First Term 20XX - XX

Tasks for September 20XX

Sharing, # Choosing a Club Co-operation, Competition, Rivalry

Units

Year Level: S1

Exemplar Scheme of Work: Overview of Modules, Units and Tasks

Study and School Life

Teenage Life

Getting Along with Others

Modules

Key Stage: 3

Appendix III

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2

Appendix IV

Types of Tasks

Teaching and Planning for Task-based Learning

31

Eight Types of Tasks

Thinking & Doing Processes

Product

Listing

Recalling of specific information, brainstorming, fact-finding

e.g. completed lists, mind map

Ordering & sorting

Sequencing, ranking, categorising, classifying

e.g. ordered information, procedure, data sorted according to specified criteria

Describing

Explaining, translating, demonstrating, paraphrasing, restating

e.g. definition, translated text, instruction

Comparing

Matching, finding similarities, finding differences

e.g. comparison table, diagrams matched to texts, essay involving written comparison

Problem solving

Analysing real or hypothetical situations (presented as case study, puzzles, incomplete information, simulations), reasoning, decision making

e.g. solution(s) to the problem

Evaluating

Judging, forming opinions, justifying, critiquing, recommending, verifying, assessing

e.g. debate, film critique, book commentary

Sharing personal experience

Narrating, describing, exploring, recounting and reflecting on attitudes, opinions, reactions

e.g. diary, letter, anecdote, casual social talk

Synthesizing & Creating

All of the above and analysing, interpreting, modifying, generalising, imagining, proposing, inventing, composing

e.g. project, poem, story, play, research report, proposal

Source: Adapted from Willis’ Six Types of Tasks (Willis, 1999, pp.149–154)

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IDb: to converse and exchange points of views

Task 1: Select teenage products for the sales counter

End product: • A proposal with an agreed list of products recomended for the sales counter with supporting reasons

Attitude: to show understanding of and respect for different points of views

KDd: to consider related factors, explore opinions, solve problems, explain and justify the solutions

Targets & Attitudes

Task & Products

Products: • A list of teenage products • Criteria for selection • Verbal support of one’s suggestions with reasons

Level: S3

6. Write a proposal for the organizer—list the items, recommend the price range and provide reasons.

5. Discuss in small groups which 4 of the suggested items are to be selected for the sales counter.

4. Practise language needed for making suggestions with reasons.

3. Make own choice of 4 products, give reasons to support the choices.

2. Suggest criteria for the selection of products to be sold on a sales counter for charity.

1. Brainstorm words related to teenage products using a word web.

Activities

2. To agree or disagree e.g. I agree with… because….; The reason why I like this is ….; I don’t think this will sell because…..

1. Making suggestions with reasons e.g. I suggest that…. The reason(s) why I choose this is/are that .… • it is trendy. • it is very popular these days. • teenagers want to look like their peers. • the price is reasonable.

Functions/ Structures

Theme: School Life

Adjectives describing products, e.g. attractive, trendy, cool, latest

Words related to criteria of selection, e.g. design, popularity, quality

Words related to teenage products, e.g. stationery, accessories, sports equipment

Vocabulary

Skills

Problem solving • suggesting and comparing possible outcomes, justifying options and making decision

Critical thinking • identifying and expressing main ideas, problems or central issues, to justify one’s views

Writing • giving reasons

Speaking • making suggestions • agreeing/disagreeing • discussion skills, persuading

Listening for specific information

Language Objectives

Proposal worksheet

Selection criteria (to be determined by the group)

Samples of teenage products (authentic materials collected by students)

Word web (to be developed by class)

Text-types & Resources

Unit: Organizing a sales counter for charity

Unit of Work (An Alternative Format)



Year:

Appendix V

Display: Put the proposals on the notice board for students to appreciate one another’s work.

Peer assessment: • Exchange with one group the completed proposal with the products selected, the reasons and the price range listed • provide verbal/ written comments (in Chinese or English)

Assessment Procedures

2/3

No. of lessons

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Attitude: • to appreciate the use of English by others • to develop enjoyment in creative language use

EDc: to give expression to imaginative ideas through creative writing

KDe: to clarify and develop ideas in a written text

IDd: to participate with others in planning, organising and designing an advertisement

Task 2: Making advertisements

End product: Advertisements for 2 products

Targets & Attitudes

Task & Products

9. Select the best design.

8. Present advertisements through OHTs.

7. Group work • discuss, plan, and design advertisements for 2 products to be sold on the charity sales counter.

6. Vocabulary exercise • choose exciting words to make an advertisement more persuasive.

5. Match slogans and headlines with the products.

4. Answer concept questions to generalize the common features of advertisements.

3. Exchange information.

2. Read different advertisements to identify the features of the advertisements.

1. Collect samples of advertisements.

Activities Writing slogans/ headlines, using: • statements e.g. This is the way to success. • imperatives e.g. Go for it! • rhetorical questions e.g. Don’t you think it’s time for a change? • adjectives and formulaic expressions to pay a simple compliment e.g. Never have I seen such a big offer.

Functions/ Structures

Comparative adjectives, e.g. faster, smoother, smarter, more efficient

Persuasive words, e.g. appealing, impressive, wonderful

Vocabulary

Skills

Collaboration • assuming different roles in group work • working cooperatively and treating others’ suggestions positively to complete a task

Writing • creative, precise & persuasive writing

Speaking • exchanging information • making suggestions • agreeing/ disagreeing • discussion skills, persuading

Reading • identifying & interpreting information

Language Objectives

OHTs for students to present their advertisements

Language worksheet (teacher developed material)

Samples of ads. (to be collected by students)

Text-types & Resources

Peer assessment: Voting for the best design of advertisements

Teacher observation of students’ group discussion

Assessment Procedures 4/5

No. of lessons

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1. Use posters for motivation. 2. Read a magazine article on “Kinds of friends”. 3. Class discussion about the article based on comprehension questions designed by the teacher.

1. Listen to the song “You’ve got a friend”. 2. Do worksheet—a cloze exercise on the lyrics. 3. Go over answers with students. 4. Discuss questions on the song and share one’s experience of making friends in groups. 5. Lyrics writing (optional).

• to explore the importance of having genuine friends • to share with others one’s own experience of making friends

2. The importance of friends

Activities

Idiomatic expressions e.g. • down and troubled • a helping hand • keep your head together

Adjectives e.g. genuine nodding

Uncountable nouns e.g. companionship, solitude, merrymaking

Countable nouns e.g. acquaintance, companion

Expressions related to feelings, e.g. • to cheer up • a low mood • troubled • to stay calm

Words to analyse songs e.g. lyrics, chorus, stanza

Words related to friends, e.g. nodding acquaintance, bosom friends, playmates, close companion, travelling friends, good friends, companionship

Vocabulary

Language Objectives

Unit: Making Friends

Functions/Structures

Theme: Teenage Life

• to identify the differences between acquaintances, ordinary friends, playmates, good friends and bosom friends

Targets & Attitudes

Level: S4

Unit of Work for Evaluation

1. Kinds of friends

Task & Products

Year:

Appendix VI

Listening & speaking

reading & speaking

Skills

Resources: cassette tape, tape recorder, worksheet

Text-type: song lyrics “You’ve got a friend”

Article: “Kinds of Friends”

Text-type: magazine

Text-types & Resources

Assessment Procedures

1

1

No. of lessons

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1. Suggest characteristics of well-liked persons. 2. Pyramid groupings: in pairs and groups of 4, agree on at least 5 characteristics of a well-liked person. 3. Each student shares in groups the qualities that they would like to have. 1. Brainstorming ways to cultivate friendship. 2. Guessing game. 3. Appreciation of 2 poems. 4. Design a poster for display (group work) on cultivating friendship. 5. Write a short poem on friendship.

• to explore ways of developing friendship • to encourage students to develop friendship with more people

4. Cultivating friendship

Activities

• to elicit from students the ways of winning friendship

Targets & Attitudes

3. Winning friendship

Task & Products

Words related to developing friendship, e.g. cultivate, nourish, bloom, fragile

Words related to personality, e.g. courageous, generous, sensitive

Adjectives & expressions describing personality types, e.g. standby friends, tolerant, generous

Appreciation of figurative language, e.g. • friendship is like a flower • friendship is like a fairy wing

Vocabulary

Functions/Structures

Language Objectives

Listening, speaking, listening & writing

Listening & speaking

Skills

Poems: “The flowers of friendship” “On friendship”

Worksheet

Text-types & Resources

Informal assessment: • Give a grade to each poster with comments • Teacher & peer feedback on the poems

Informal assessment: • Recording group discussion and pointing out common errors

Assessment Procedures

2

1

No. of lessons

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

Appendix VII

Evaluation of the Unit of Work in Appendix VI

.

Evaluation Questions

Possible Responses

1. Are the tasks within the unit of work thematically linked?

Yes, they are all related to the theme friendship.

2. Do the tasks provide opportunities for purposeful language use?

This is not entirely clear, because: 1. The products of each task are not spelt out explicitly. 2. The first task “Kinds of friends” does not appear to be a communicative task as what the students are asked to do at the end is to discuss some comprehension questions of an article. The communicative purpose for doing the task is not clear.

3. Are the targets relevant to the tasks?

• The distinction between targets and attitudes in the “Targets and Attitudes” column is unclear. • Items such as “to elicit from students the ways of winning friendship” (See Task 3 “Winning Friendship”) and “to encourage students to develop friendship with more people” (see Task 4 “Cultivating friendship”) seem to fall under “Attitudes”. • The targets/attitudes should be phrased from the perspective of what the students can do/develop at the end of the task, rather than what the teacher can achieve. Therefore, the items just mentioned can be rephrased as “to develop strategies and positive attitude towards winning friendship” (Task 3) and “to respect others and to develop friendship with more people” (Task 4). • Other items could be rephrased to align with the dimension targets better, e.g. “to identify the differences between acquaintances, ordinary friends, playmates, good friends and bosom friends” (see Task 1 “Kinds of Friends”) could be rephrased to “KDc: to identify and discuss differences between different types of friends in written texts, form opinions and express them”.

4. Is there a range of targets (knowledge, interpersonal, experience) within the unit? (If not in this unit, make sure there is a range of targets in the Scheme of Work.)

• The tasks do help students to work towards targets of all three dimensions, but they are not listed. Apart from the knowledge dimension target suggested above, targets of the interpersonal dimension and experience dimension can also be included, e.g. “IDb: to converse and exchange points of view about qualities one would like to have for gaining friendship” is relevant to Task 2, and “EDa: to develop a response to the poems on friendship through understanding and appreciating figurative language” and “EDc: to express one’s reactions to the theme friendship through writing a short poem” can be incorporated into Task 4.

5. Are the language objectives (which include language structures and functions, vocabulary and skills) clearly stated? Are they relevant to the tasks?

• The vocabulary items are quite clearly listed.

6. Is there a balance of the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and are any generic skills included?

Yes, there appears to be quite a good balance of the four language skills. Generic skills are not included though.

Task-based_02.indd 36

• There appear to be some overlaps between items listed under “Functions/ Structures” and “Vocabulary” (see the first and the third task). • The skills stated can be more specific, e.g. in Task 2, the skills can be stated as “Listening: to understand and interpret meaning, feeling and attitudes of a song” and “Speaking: to convey ideas and information and to describe experience in conversations”.

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Evaluation Questions 7. Is there any reinforcement of concepts, skills and language?

Teaching and Planning for Task-based Learning

37

Possible Responses • The sequence of the tasks enables students to explore the theme from the objective concept building level (i.e. identifying the different types of friends, listing characteristics of well-liked persons) to a more subjective experience sharing and creative expression level (i.e. sharing experience of making friends, personal qualities that one would like to possess and writing a personal poem). • The tasks allow students to build on their existing knowledge, language and skills, to further extend them, and there are also plenty of opportunities for these to be reinforced in the 4 tasks.

8. Is a variety of text-type, resources and activities included?

• Yes, the input and output materials reflect a variety of text-types, e.g. magazine article, song, poems and poster. • The source of these materials ought to be stated clearly for easy reference. • There also appears to be a range of activities. It is unclear, however, when and how the language needed for doing the task is taught. • There is some inconsistency in the way the activities are phrased. Some are phrased with an action word describing what students do (e.g. “Listen to the song …” — Task 2), some are phrased with an action word describing what the teacher does (e.g. “Use posters for motivation” —Task 2), and some simply state the activity (e.g. “Guessing game” —Task 4) without details. To avoid confusion, it is better to write these statements in a more consistent format.

9. Is a variety of assessment procedures included?

• Formative assessment procedure is missing for the first two tasks.

10. Has a project been built in? (This is likely to be more relevant to the evaluation of a Scheme of Work rather than a unit of work.)

• This is not evident in this unit of work.

Task-based_02.indd 37

• It is suggested that students’ group discussion will be recorded in the assessment of Task 3, but this is not stated in the activities column. It is also unclear whether the assessment focus will be on the use of language in the discussion or the content of the discussion.

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Grammar Teaching and Task-based Learning May PANG

Part 1

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Re-examining Definitions of Language and Beliefs about Language Teaching

40

1.1 What Are Your Beliefs about Grammar and 40 Language Teaching? 1.2 Definitions of Language from the Literature and 42 Implications for Language Teaching 1.3 Reconstructing Conceptions about 45 Grammar Teaching

Part 2

Integrating Grammar Teaching in Task-based Learning

47









2.1 The Three Dimensions of Language as Learning Challenges 2.2 A Methodological Framework for Teaching Grammar

48 53

Part 3

Material Design for Grammar Teaching

57









3.1 Designing Language Activities to Meet Different Learning Challenges 3.2 Teaching Grammar Based on Learner Output

57 61

Chapter Highlights

63

References and Recommended Readings

63

Appendices

65

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment



Objectives To revisit the form, meaning and use dimensions of language and views about grammar teaching; To develop understanding of a methodological framework for grammar teaching and task-based learning; To enhance pedagogical skills of activity design for various language learning purposes.

1.

RE-EXAMINING DEFINITIONS OF LANGUAGE AND BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE TEACHING

This chapter aims to propose a conceptual framework to address the dilemmas between grammar teaching and task-based learning. It consists of three parts. Part 1 first re-examines some common definitions of language from the literature as a background for teachers to reflect on their beliefs about language and language teaching. It reaffirms the importance of teaching grammar as a means to achieve meaning and encourages teachers to revisit the problem of grammar learning and reconstruct their conceptions about grammar teaching. Part 2 first illustrates how the three dimensions of form, meaning and use are applied to language in communication. It then introduces a framework for task-based learning of grammar based on the one proposed by Littlewood (2000), in an attempt to resolve the dilemmas between grammar teaching and task-based learning. Part 3 aims to help teachers develop practical skills in designing communicative language practice activities for different stages of learning along the communication continuum. Principles and practical ideas for teaching grammar based on student output will also be given.

1.1 What are your beliefs about grammar and language teaching? The question that often concerns teachers in the adoption of task-based learning is whether there is a place for the teaching of grammar. To most English teachers grammar is seen as the basis of a language and it seems impossible for students to master the language if they cannot acquire such knowledge about the language. However, “task-based” learning, as a particular approach to implementing the broader “communicative approach” (Littlewood, 2000), puts great emphasis on

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involving students in purposeful interaction with information, often in groups, operating at higher levels, in order to develop their skills and knowledge. Features of “experiential learning” and “activity-based” design of the task-based approach seem to be at odds with the imperative of an analytical understanding of grammar rules. Before we answer this question, it is important for us to go back to think about a very fundamental question pertaining to language teaching: what is language? The main reason is that our answer to this question will provide clues for us to understand the beliefs we hold about language teaching and learning and why we teach language the way we do in the classroom. As Becker (1983) points out, “… (o)ur ‘picture’ of language is the single most important factor…in determining the way we choose to teach one” (p. 219).

Activity 1

Reflecting on language and language teaching/learning

In order to help you relate your thinking about language and language teaching/learning with what we are going to present in the following sections, the first task you may need to do is to take a moment to think about what associations you make with the words “language” and “English lessons”, by completing the following sentences:

When I think of language, I think of…



When I think of English lessons, I think of … When I think of language, I think of…

When I think of English lessons, I think of …

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Put your lists aside. You will be asked to come back to them later and to amend, expand upon or reaffirm them.

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

1.2 Definitions of language from the literature and implications for language teaching Now let us look at a list of definitions of language generated from the literature by Larsen-Freeman (2003): 1. Language is a means of cultural transmission. 2. Language is what people use to talk about the things that are important to them, for example, occurrences in their everyday lives. 3. Language is a set of sound and sentence patterns that express meaning. 4. Language is a set of rules through which humans can create and understand novel utterances, ones that they have never before articulated or encountered. 5. Language is a means of interaction between and among people. 6. Language is the means for doing something or accomplishing some purpose, for example, agreeing on a plan of action for handling a conflict. 7. Language is a vehicle for communicating meaning and messages. 8. Language is an instrument of power. 9. Language is a medium through which one can learn other things. 10. Language is holistic and is therefore best understood as it is manifest in discourse or whole texts. (p. 2) These definitions reflect different features or dimensions of language. If we look at them more closely, it is not difficult to discover that the shifts in these definitions reflect a view of language based on either the functional or the formal dimension of the language. In other words, some of these definitions reflect what a language can accomplish, that is, its functions; whereas others reflect what a language consists of, that is, its linguistic units or forms. Studying these definitions in relation to its functions and forms may allow us to revisit features of a language. This can help us re-evaluate our conceptions about language, hence allowing us to seek better understanding about the relationship between grammar teaching and task-based learning.

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Activity 2

Grammar Teaching and Task-based Learning

43

Identifying the relationships between dimensions of language

Study the definitions of language provided earlier. List the areas of forms and functions of a language that you think language learners need to master in order to become competent users of the language. What implications can you draw about helping language learners develop the ability to use language, whether to develop spoken communication skills, to become literate, or both? The following table may help you conceptualize the relationships between different dimensions of language and what implications such an understanding of language you can draw about your work as a language teacher in the classroom.

Table 3.1. Different dimensions of language The functional dimension of language i.e. what non-linguistic purposes a language can accomplish as a means

The formal dimension of language i.e. its linguistic units or forms Language as

Language as



• Sound / sign / lexical items



•

• a means of cultural transmission e.g. works of literature, poetry, history, etc.



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•



•

Comments on Activity 2 Attempts to reflect along the two directions or dimensions of language may lead us to the common debate on the form-function distinction of language and come up with two basic lists of language abilities that learners should master, as reflected in something like this: The formal dimension of language, i.e. language as: sound / sign / lexical items multiword lexical strings / fixed or semi-fixed patterns

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

sentence patterns grammar structures / word order in sentences rules intonation, rhythm, stress patterns rhetorical patterns genre patterns writing styles The functional dimension of language, i.e. language as: a means of cultural transmission, e.g. works of literature, poetry, history, etc. a way of discussing everyday life, e.g. talking about family, daily routines, everyday situations like shopping, ordering food in a restaurant, etc. a means of social interaction, e.g. interpersonal communication with friends, family, colleagues, customers, public, etc. a means of getting something done, e.g. functions such as agreeing, disagreeing, proposing, clarifying, expressing preferences, etc. a means of negotiation for power, e.g. competencies such as persuading interviewers and opponents in debates or socio-political skills such as negotiating with one’s supervisor, writing letters of protest, staging a campaign, learning civic rights and responsibilities. a medium of thought and learning, e.g. cognitive and metacognitive skills such as reflection, interpretation, analysis, conceptualization, learning content subjects such as geography, science or history, comprehension monitoring in speaking, listening, reading and writing. What seems to be clear from this form-function distinction in language is that it represents a means-to-end relationship. Mastery of language forms at various levels should be seen as a means or resource to achieve the ends, that is, communication and use of language in various contexts, from everyday interaction to socio-political negotiation, or from reading poetry, history or different content subjects to the development of thinking and learning abilities. From this point of view, then, grammar is much more complex than a system of forms and rules and learning grammar does not equate to mastery of a body of fixed knowledge about rules. Grammar is better seen as a skill (Larsen-Freeman, 2003), which involves a dimension of using among various forms an appropriate one to achieve a particular communicative objective, so that the speaker/writer’s intended meaning is effectively conveyed. Hence, grammar may involve an even more important dimension of appropriate use of forms to communicate meaning. We may say that the focus on meaning is as important as the focus on form in communication.

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Based on a similar view of language, we can see that those language educators who strongly advocate teaching grammar as a means to achieve meaning put various suggestions forward. Celce-Murcia and Hilles (1988) suggest that grammar should always be taught with reference to meaning, social factors, or discourse. This echoes Nunan’s (1998) arguments for teaching grammar in context, a way that is seen as the best to understand language because learners will be given an opportunity of seeing the systematic relationships that exist between form, meaning and use when it is manifest in whole texts. Larsen-Freeman (2003) actually sees form, meaning and function as three interacting dimensions of language. A language teacher must decide in which dimension the students are experiencing the greatest learning challenge at any given moment and respond with appropriate instruction. Now let us go back to our earlier question concerning the relationship between grammar teaching and task-based learning. This can be understood as different dimensions of a holistic process of language learning. According to Littlewood (2000), grammar is as important in a communicative approach as in any other approach and so it applies to task-based learning. “The aim of task-based learning is to develop students’ ability to communicate and communication (except in its most simple forms) takes place through using the grammatical system of the language” (p.1). In other words, “communicative competence” is developed alongside the evolving “grammatical competence”. In fact, Nunan (1996) sees such a dynamic or interactive nature of language learning as an “organic” process and suggests adopting an organic approach to the teaching of grammar. From this perspective, learners are allowed to learn various language items and skills simultaneously (and imperfectly). Through lots of opportunities for using grammatical structures in contexts, they will have a greater chance to internalize the relationships between form, meaning and use.

1.3 Reconstructing conceptions about grammar teaching After a review of the different dimensions of language as reflected in various definitions of language, it is useful for us to stop and reflect on our own beliefs about language or grammar teaching before we move onto the practical aspects of the topic. You may re-read your associations with language and English lessons or English teaching and learning to see if you may have neglected some aspects of grammar or language teaching. Perhaps, you can try to explain the problems that English teachers have often complained about in their students’ learning, in particular in the mastery of grammar.

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

Activity 3

Understanding Common Problems of Grammar Learning

In this task, revisit some of the common problems that you have witnessed in your students’ learning of grammar and think about how you might like to explain them now. You may discover that there are many more issues or factors that may need to be taken into account. If so, list them as well.

Table 3.2. A table for recording students’ problems and possible reasons Common problems in learning grammar

Possible reasons in terms of teaching or learning

Comments on Activity 3 Among the many questions you may have raised, perhaps the most commonly asked question is: Why can’t most students apply the grammar rules they have learnt through doing grammar exercises when they are speaking or writing? Yes, it seems like a common phenomenon that what students gain in English (grammar) lessons in the classroom cannot be applied spontaneously in communication. They may well be able to recall the grammar rules when they are asked to do so in tests or examinations. Yet, such knowledge just remains inactive when it is needed in real-time communication within or outside the classroom. An interface between form and meaning/use seems to be missing. According to our review in the previous two sections, learning the grammar of a language involves three dimensions—the form, meaning and use of specific language features. And such knowledge has to be developed in meaningful contexts of use through ample practice before students are able to internalize the relationships between these three dimensions of the language, which is essential for students to develop their ability to use language in communication. Therefore, in order to seek answers to the above question, which has frustrated a lot of language teachers for a long time, we, as teachers or language educators, may need to re-visit our views and practice of grammar teaching.

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Do we just see grammar as forms? Have we helped our learners to see how different parts of the language work? Have we provided our students with lots of opportunities of using grammatical structures in contexts? Have they been given the chance for developing procedural skills for using the language for communication? All these questions may lead us to reflect on our views about grammar and language teaching.

In conclusion, grammar is more than an area of knowledge for language learners to study. It includes knowledge of how to use the language, which some psychologists (e.g. Anderson, 1981) have called “procedural knowledge” or “implicit knowledge” as opposed to “declarative knowledge” or “explicit knowledge”. Therefore, it is more helpful to think about grammar as a skill rather than as an area of knowledge. Then the importance of students’ developing an ability to use the language will stay in focus (Larsen-Freeman, 2003). In fact, many applied linguists believe that learners’ ability to communicate can be developed alongside their evolving knowledge about grammar. As Littlewood (2000) points out, communication, apart from its simplest form, takes place through using the grammatical system of the language; whereas the learners’ knowledge about grammar gets validated and internalized in the communication. In view of such a dynamic relationship between the development of a communicative ability and that of knowledge about the grammatical system in use, a linear approach to language learning may not guarantee success. That means learners do not acquire one target language item at a time, in a sequential, step-by-step fashion. Instead, they can acquire numerous items simultaneously and imperfectly. Through lots of opportunities to explore grammar in contexts, the learners will have the chance to see how and why different forms can be used to express different communicative meanings (Nunan, 1998). In other words, language learning can be seen as an interactive or organic process. The above paragraph presents a summary of the conceptions about grammar and grammar teaching reviewed earlier, which may challenge your own conceptions. How might you construct or reconstruct your conceptions about grammar and grammar teaching in relation to these views?

2.

INTEGRATING GRAMMAR TEACHING IN TASK-BASED LEARNING

Having re-examined the basic definitions of language in Part 1, you may agree with the view that grammar teaching should extend beyond a structural view to include its functional nature. This Part will first examine how the three dimensions of language, that is, the form, meaning and use of language structures are applied in

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communication. Then it will explore how teachers can address these dimensions of grammar as learning challenges in the classroom with the guide of a methodological framework adapted from Littlewood (2000).

2.1 The three dimensions of language as learning challenges Effective use of language in communication involves automatic retrieval of appropriate forms of language and organization of words and structures grammatically to express the intended message, in response to whatever communicative needs that are demanded in the social context at a particular moment. This involves both linguistic and communicative competence, that is, the user not only knows the form and meaning of the language required, but also has the procedural skills of using the language in focus to communicate the required meaning at that particular moment of communication. Hence, effective learning of language should involve three dimensions, that is, form, meaning and use. Let us take the following scenario as an example to understand the importance of mastering the three dimensions of language in second language learning. For example, in the following mini-dialogue, the choice between the bepassive or the get-passive shows little differentiation in meaning. In some cases get is a colloquial alternative to be; yet when the action is unexpected, involuntary or possibly unwelcome, the get-pattern is preferred (Parrott, 2000). A: What was wrong with your phone yesterday? I was cut off when the phone was picked up. B: Oh, really? In this situation, it is obvious that interlocutor A feels frustrated as his or her phone call got cut off because of some unknown reasons. So, a more accurate expression of the message, with a hint of the unpleasant feeling, should be I got cut off instead of I was cut off. Here, the speaker’s linguistic knowledge of the tense and aspect combinations for the passive voice of the past tense is clear, and perhaps so is his/her understanding of the meaning of the passive form, assuming he/she knows that the passive form is needed as the agent is unknown. However, it seems that to be able to communicate more appropriately in this case, knowledge about the passive voice is more than mastering the grammatical structure of the passive form. A good knowledge of the use dimension of the form is as important, which in fact demands much higher language competence and poses a greater challenge to mastery. So, to help language teachers identify the learning challenge more correctly, it is a good idea to map out the form-meaning-use tripartite structure of specific language items in context when planning grammar teaching, like the one for the passive voice below:

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Figure 3.1. Teaching the three dimensions of the passive voice Developing the three dimensions of language in context

Form How is it formed? • With auxiliary verb be or get • Followed by past participle • Add by before agent

LEARNING Understanding through mastering different learning challenges

EXP

• • • • •

Meaning What does it mean? • Focus construction – defocuses agent

ERIENCES

Use When/Why is it used? Agent is unknown Agent is redundant Agent should be concealed Agent is new information (thematic) To provide objectivity, i.e., “scientific voice”

Comm ce unicative language practi

Source: Adapted from Larsen-Freeman (2003, p. 46)

Activity 4

Identifying the Learning Challenge of Grammatical Structures

Consider the three dimensions of the following grammatical structures. Which dimension do you think causes the greatest problem for your students? You may regard that as the greatest challenge. Can you identify the reasons for such a long-term challenge?

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The present perfect tense Verbs taking infinitive and gerund complements Past habituality: used to and would The existential there

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Table 3.3. A table for recording the learning challenge of grammatical structures The three dimensions of learning challenge i.e. Grammatical structures

Form: How is it formed? Meaning: What does it mean? Use:

The greatest challenge to your students / reasons

When/why is it used?

Form: The present perfect tense

Meaning: Use:

Verbs taking infinitive and gerund complements

Past habituality: used to and would

The existential there

Comments on Activity 4 The present perfect tense It seems that the greatest challenge for most students in Hong Kong lies with the use of this tense, though for young learners mastering the form, especially the past participles of irregular verbs may draw on a lot of their resources in learning. For the majority, I think the greatest problem lies with the decision as to when to use the present perfect tense and when to use the past tense. Hence, there is an impression that not that many

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students can master this tense and therefore they seldom use it in their speech. In fact, the choice between these two tenses can be a matter of choice as to what time frame the speaker/writer likes to adopt. For example, a speaker can talk about the same event using a different tense, depending on his/her choice of time frame. I did quite a lot of travelling last year. I went to Hawaii in summer and had some wonderful time lying on the beach of Waikiki. In autumn, I went on a business trip and had a chance to see Canada in autumn, where I saw wonderful scenes of maple trees. This year I don’t know where to go for my vacation. It starts in three weeks’ time. I have actually saved enough money for another trip. Yet, I have been to North America. I have seen Hawaii and Canada. I have also been to most countries in Asia. Perhaps, I can make a more adventurous trip, say to Africa. I would really like to see some countries in that continent. In the first paragraph, the speaker/writer only mentions the events of travelling last year as some kind of background information for what he/she is interested at the moment. So, all the events are mentioned in the past form. In the second paragraph, a present time frame is clearly adopted as the axis of orientation; hence the present perfect is the appropriate tense, even when the events, that is, the trips to Hawaii and Canada were clearly completed the year before. In fact, the simple present is being used to refer to a future event, the coming leave, instead of using the simple future to express future time, as is commonly believed in Hong Kong. Hence, the use of tense in discourse is not just governed by usage, as in the case here with the temporal meaning of the event. It takes other aspects of language use into account as well. The case here is the need to adopt a consistent temporal perspective on an event, like the example here as looking for a place to travel. By doing so, a feeling of coherence can be achieved, or you may say that a texture is created, which would otherwise become disjointed. Such a problem very often lies with learning tenses one by one, and mostly at the sentence level. Students will then be denied the opportunity to see how the tense system as a whole operates at the discourse level, as Larsen-Freeman (2003) puts it: “The problem is compounded because often new tenses are introduced at the sentence level, obscuring the system operating at the suprasentential level” (P. 71).

Verbs taking infinitive and gerund complements The rule on verbs that take infinitives and gerunds as objects in English appears to be arbitrary, as many other grammar rules in English do. So, if students are simply presented with long lists of verbs that take infinitive complements and verbs that take gerund complements or verbs that take both types of complements and are told to memorize such lists without giving them some clues of meaning in association with such categories of verbs, they will definitely be left to learn with difficulty. So, it would be helpful if teachers could present along with the forms of these verbs illustrations of differentiation of meaning as well. According to linguist Dwight Bolinger (1968), the infinitive tends to go with events that are hypothetical, future or unfulfilled; whereas the gerund goes with

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events that are real, vivid or fulfilled. So, for the verb try which takes both an infinitive and a gerund, a meaning difference of whether an attempt has actually been made can be discerned. For example, in the first instance of the following scenario, no calling took place; whereas in the second, at least one call, though unsuccessful, was made.

She tried to call you, but there was no phone anywhere.



She tried calling you, but your line was busy.

Past habituality: used to and would The two structures both have a shared meaning of past habit and they are both modal forms. It is difficult to tell them apart if we simply observe how they are used at the sentence level. If, however, we use both of them at the level of a discourse, there tends to be a difference in use, as can be illustrated as follows: My mom used to be my best counsellor when I had problems. She would always listen to my stories before she revealed any of her views. What she said then would always reflect how I felt, and then she would explain why I would feel that way before she told me about how she would like to handle those problems. She was such a perceptive mom. I really miss her. Used to is often used to mark an episode boundary, as it fairly clearly implies that the time is definitely past; whereas the more contingent form would, together with the simple past, is often used to supply details or elaborate on the topic without reference to the boundary aspect (Suh, 1992).

The existential there The form, meaning, and use of the English existential there can be summarized as follows: Form: how is it formed? • There in subject position • Usually followed by a form of verb to be • The logical subject follows the verb and governs its number • The logical subject is indefinite • A prepositional phrase of location often follows the logical subject Meaning: what does it mean? • Existence • Location Use: when/why is it used? • To introduce new information in end-focus position

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Source: Adapted from Larsen-Freeman (2003)

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As the name of the structure, “existential there”, implies, the word there is used to assert the existence of something or show the location of something, as an introduction of new information. In this case, the new information is placed toward the end of the clause, that is, the end-focus position, with the subject position to be filled by using there. Inaccurate use of this very simple sentence, which is often introduced to young learners at the early stage of their learning, may cause problems in communication. Using Larsen-Freeman’s example (2003), how would you feel if you are on the phone and need something to write with, yet what you hear is “A pen is on the table”? Perhaps, you might feel a bit unhappy because with this form comes the pragmatic implication that this is not new information and that you should have seen it yourself. What you would be pleased to hear should be “There is a pen on the table” because that is the information you would like to receive and you get it in an appropriate form.

2.2 A methodological framework for teaching grammar By now we should be clear that for effective learning of grammar to take place, teaching of language should address the three dimensions of grammar — form, meaning and use. That is the “what” and “why” of teaching, and now we should address the issue of “how”. Based on what we have discussed earlier, the central task for language teachers is to consider how best to help learners develop knowledge about grammar and how to convert this into knowledge of how to use that grammar in communication, where learners will be able to use appropriate language automatically to respond to any message in focus. Johnson (1994) sees these two processes of language learning as forming declarative knowledge and proceduralising declarative knowledge. From this view point, the process of learning to communicate is one of automisation, that is, making the use of language automatic. Having mapped out the two points of the learning process, therefore, we can say that learning a language involves various experiences along a continuum from “focusing on form” to “focusing on use or meaning”. According to the definitions of exercises and tasks adopted in the Hong Kong English language curriculum framework, “exercises” focus on practising forms while “tasks” focus on communicating meanings. This continuum, therefore, goes from “exercises” to “tasks” with various other kinds of activities based on a varying degree of focus on meaning. Littlewood (2000) puts forward a methodological framework, which identifies a five-part continuum for communicative or task-based learning of grammar, where tasks are a particular form of communicative language learning. The continuum starts with form-focused exercises, which he calls noncommunicative learning, extends through various kinds of communicative language activities, which he calls “exercise-tasks”, to authentic communication or tasks on the other end of the line, which represent real life communicative situations where the meanings are unpredictable.

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If we map the three dimensions of language with the five parts of task-based learning of grammar, we can work out the corresponding learning challenge or pedagogic focus for each kind of language learning activity, as suggested in the following table, with progressively greater degrees of control over language and meaning taken up by the learner along the continuum. On the more formfocused end, which is in those non-communicative or pre-communicative learning activities, learners’ mental resources can be largely devoted to the mastery of form as cognitive demand for language processing is reduced when practice mainly involves reproduction of language forms about some kind of shared information provided by the teacher. At this stage, language control is often determined by an Table 3.4. A methodological framework for teaching grammar Internalization of the language system

Continuum of learning Learning Challenge

Noncommunicative learning

Communicative language practice

Structured communication

Authentic communication

• Meaning • Meaning • Meaning • Meaning • Form (personal (personal (determined by (shared (exchange of choice) intentions) the materials information) information or teacher) • Use (focus on • Use (focus on • Form • Use (practise specific task) message in real (determined by communicative • Form communication the materials functions) experiences) or teacher) (determined by • Form the materials • Form (personal choices from (determined by or teacher or language the materials prelearnt) resources or teacher) available)

Conditions • Full attention of language on form use

Nature of learning

Analytic & discrete

Activity types

Exercises

Examples of activity format

Precommunicative language practice

• Awarenessraising activities • Inductive activities • Pattern drills

• Conscious • Practise form • Attention on • Full attention use of form by bridging meaning or on meaning in to talk about an information completion of response to some situation gap for a task objectives the demands or area of communicative of the ongoing knowledge purpose interaction that learners share Situational & structural

Communicative & functional

Experiential & integrative

Exercise-tasks • Picture description • Comprehension questions • Question-andanswer practice

• Information gap activities • “Personalized” questions

Implicit & holistic

Tasks/projects • Structured role-play • Simple problemsolving

• Creative roleplay • Problemsolving • Simulations • Inquiry-based activities

Source: Adapted from Littlewood (2000)

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external source, mostly either the teacher or the textbook materials, hence reducing the processing demand on learners. However, when communication activities are getting more goal-oriented and there is an increasingly greater demand on attention to meaning and message, as created by inclusion of information gap in communicative language practice or an element of personal choice in deciding what to convey in structured-communication, little of learners’ mental energy is left for form. In other words, we can see language learning through unconscious use in communication tasks as an aid to automisation, that is, proceduralising the grammar knowledge learnt (Johnson, 1994; Batstone, 1994).

Activity 5

Understanding the Nature of Language Activities

Based on what we have discussed earlier, gaining a better understanding of the nature of language activities suggested in the coursebook materials can help us make better decisions about what activities to use to help our students acquire the target language at different stages of their learning. Study the language activities provided in Appendices I–V and conduct a simple analysis of these activities using the following table to guide your study.

Table 3.5. A table for conducting a simple analysis of student activities provided in Appendices I–V Student Activity A

Student Activity B

Student Activity C

Student Activity D

Student Activity E

Activity type & format Degree of communicative purpose and contextualization Learning challenge: degree of focus on form/ meaning/use Conditions of language use

Nature of learning

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Comments on Activity 5 Student Activity A: Non-communicative learning Activity A is a non-communicative learning activity using a “discovering” design. In this activity, there is the least degree of communication in relation to the language item in focus, that is, the position of adverbs in English. Perhaps, the element of communication involved is students’ discussion while “discovering” a rule of grammar on the basis of examples. The learning challenge of the activity is purely on form — the rules for placing adverbs in clauses. Here, students are free from any burden of processing meaning or giving real-time responses. They are only required to identify the patterns of placing adverbs in clauses involving various verb forms, and to generalize rules for the positions of adverbs accordingly. For example here, the rules include placing adverbs after the verbs to be or the auxiliary verb if there is one, and between the subject and the main verb. With such a design or condition of language use, learners will be given a chance to pay full attention to form, hence allowing them to develop their knowledge about the positions of adverbs through analysis and induction.

Student Activity B: Pre-communicative language practice This activity is a typical question-and-answer practice in which students have to ask and answer questions to practise the use of interview skills. As provided in the given context, the answers are already known to the students but they have to pay attention to meaning in order to ask and answer questions about the given situation. Hence, the learning challenge involves both form and meaning; yet as the information is provided, students can pay most of their attention to using the given forms to talk about the specific situation selected. Such practice can be described as situational-structural, which is very controlled, yet with some degree of meaning in the design.

Student Activity C: Structured communication This activity can be regarded as a structured communication task, in which students will need to use the future tense to make predictions about the world in 50 years’ time. Here, as the main language form involved is specific, and there are related topics suggested, the task design provides some form of linguistic and conceptual structure to guide the students to work towards the selected objectives as learning outcomes. Yet, within a structured design, students also have a lot of freedom in choosing what to say, that is, there is a personal choice in meaning. As for the use of language, students are given a chance to process meaning when they sort their predictions into “optimistic” and “pessimistic” ones. Hence, a lot of their attention will be drawn to meaning in such a context of making suggestions and expressing opinions. This will give them a chance to experience and integrate language and various skills, in particular, the use of future tense in a meaningful context.

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Student Activity D: Communicative language practice This is a typical communicative language practice activity in which an information gap is created by using two pictures showing a situation at different times. In this way students should interact according to the picture they are given. So, while achieving the communicative function of exchanging information about what Tom has done to tidy his room, students need to pay attention to meaning, by identifying what has been done through bridging information in the pictures. The learning experienced will be communicative and functional, which gives students the chance to see the relationship between the form of present perfect tense and its meaning in context.

Student Activity E: Authentic communication Activity E can be regarded as an authentic communication task in which students are asked to carry out 4 case studies of fellow students who wish to take up part-time work. Based on the case information provided, students need to discuss and reason, make suggestions and report back, evaluate other groups’ ideas and make decisions about their suggestions. The language involved is totally a matter of personal choice from their language resources built up. Students are free to express their personal ideas and thoughts. A spontaneous use of language is also needed, as students’ full attention will be drawn to monitoring the message flow in the ongoing interaction of higher-order thinking activities. Hence, the learning challenge mirrors what would be going on in a real-life task, demanding a high level of the three dimensions of language use. Such a classroom activity provides students with a chance to learn in a holistic and implicit manner.

3.

MATERIAL DESIGN FOR GRAMMAR TEACHING

Based on the methodological framework proposed earlier (Table 3.4), this section will elaborate on some of the major principles and strategies for the corresponding activity design with the help of some practical examples. It will also suggest ideas for incorporating learner output into grammar teaching.

3.1 Designing language activities to meet different learning challenges Non-communicative learning activities The main learning challenge or pedagogical focus for non-communicative learning is to have focused study of the structures, which often entails explicit teaching of grammatical features or rules using various techniques, often resulting in

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forming explicit knowledge about the language. Such explicit knowledge is also distinguished as “knowledge about” or “declarative knowledge” (Johnson, 1994). Some language educators see this as the first stage in the process of proceduralization, an essential process of developing an ability to use language in communication (Johnson, 1994; Ellis, 2002). In broad terms, pedagogical options to develop learners’ explicit knowledge can be put into two categories—practice exercises and consciousness-raising activities. The former involves the learner in repeated production, often in the form of pattern drills, which is primarily behavioural. The latter is more of concept forming, with a main purpose to develop explicit knowledge of grammar (Ellis, 2002). In this section, you will be introduced to consciousness-raising (CR) activities, as a complementary strategy to exercises to equip learners with knowledge about grammar. Though the explicit knowledge thus gained may not result in immediate acquisition, it serves to help the learner to continue to notice the feature in the input, thereby facilitating its subsequent acquisition. Ellis (2002) sees this as a delayed effect of learning. Adapted from Ellis’ example (ibid.), an inductive activity can be designed to raise learners’ awareness about the grammatical differences between for and since by providing them with some corresponding data. They can first be asked to construct an explicit rule to describe the grammatical feature, which the data illustrate, and then to construct a couple of personalized statements to promote its storage as explicit knowledge.

Table 3.6. An example of a consciousness-raising (CR) problem-solving activity 1. Today is December 1, 2007. Here is some information about when four people joined the company they now work for and how long they have been working there. Name

Date joined

Length of Time

Ms Chan

Jan. 1974

33 yrs

Mr Lee

Feb. 1990

17 yrs

Ms Wong

Jan. 2007

11 months

Mr So

Mid Nov. 2007

15 days

2.

Study these sentences about these people. When is for used and when is since used? a. Ms Chan has been working for her company for most of her life. b. Mr Lee has been working for his company since 1990. c. Ms Wong has been working for her company for 11 months. d. Mr So has been working for his company since mid November, 2007.

3.

Which of the following sentences are ungrammatical? Why? a. Ms Chan has been working for her company for 1974. b. Mr Lee has been working for his company for 17 years. c. Ms Wong has been working for her company since January, 2007. d. Mr So has been working for his company since 15 days.

4. Make up a rule to explain when for and since are used. 5. Make one sentence about when you started to learn English and one sentence about how long you have been studying English. Use for and since.



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Such activities can be designed with varying formats. For example, they can make use of situational information, diagrams, charts, tables and so on. They can also be text study or problem solving. Harmer (1991) provides some more examples of discovery techniques.

Pre-communicative language practice activities The main focus for teaching and learning built around conditions for precommunicative language practice is to help learners master pre-selected language structures in context. Learning will be controlled and based on the literal meaning of the information provided. Personalized use of language may be delayed and the functional meaning may not be given due attention as yet. The main challenge of design lies with the creation of contexts in the classroom. As for lesson design, such controlled language practice can be used either as input through presentation or the subsequent practice. Strategies that can be used include various forms of minisituations using pictures, texts, storytelling with the help of e-books/big books or some kind of PowerPoint presentations, charts, graphs or classroom situations, etc. In the following example adapted from Harmer (1991), I would like to illustrate how teachers can create materials for controlled practice or presentation of new language items with drawings/mini-situations.

Figure 3.2. An example adapted from Harmer (1991) illustrating materials for controlled practice

Tim Mary

Obligations

Desires

• Call clients • Write reports • Attend meetings

• Type letters • Answer the telephone • Take notes

• Get a Master’s degree • Get a better job • Marry his girlfriend

• Earn more money • Take a long holiday • Become a movie actress

In this example, the teacher can quickly set up the context using two clip arts of people and write in prompts for what the characters have to do at work and what they would like to do following their desires. Students can then practise talking about the situation by asking and answering: What does Tim have to do at work? He has to call clients. What would he like to do? He’d like to get a better job.

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Communicative language practice activities The main condition for communicative language practice is to have an exchange of information. Hence there should be opportunities for the practice of specific communicative functions though the language structures are pre-determined. The main design strategy is to create contexts where an information gap of some kind is included; hence learners will be given purposes to practice, as there are needs to bridge the gap in information. Common strategies for creating interactive activities include worksheet A and worksheet B design with two incomplete versions of a common set of information which learners need to communicate to complete, chart completion where learners need to question each other and note down the replies, communicative games, general knowledge quizzes, parallel writing which asks learners to write a similar version of a text they have read, etc.

Structured communication tasks Structured communication takes us one step further from communicative language practice towards authentic communication by allowing expressions of personal intentions, that is, a free choice of meaning in communication. Functional meanings are embedded in the completion of goal-directed tasks. Language resources may still be limited to those provided in the coursebook as support, yet students’ attention to form should be defocused and their attention turned to the message involved in completion of the task. Learners should be encouraged to use whatever language resources they have developed at the moment to complete the task at hand. Hence, language practice is more implicit, as represented in the meaning-focused end of the language practice continuum. The process of learning is as important in such communication tasks, which allows learners to internalize the language system they have developed. In fact, controlling the level of details for the cues can regulate the degree of control over the language and the meanings that are expressed. Hence, design of such meaning-focused tasks lies with the demand on unpredictability or spontaneous use of language involved. An obvious way of introducing a dimension of unpredictability is to include an element of problem solving in the activity. The problem-solving element can be an information gap, an opinion gap or a concrete problem. And the negotiation of meaning in structured communication can be carried out in some form of supported discussion or roleplay.

Authentic communication tasks A logical step forward from simulating situations in which learners have to use language is to look for real-life situations to engage learners in real experiences which require natural language use. The artificially determined means for language use should be reduced to the minimum and organization of learning should

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involve more discussion and negotiation, so that full attention can be devoted to the message involved in such real communication experiences. As suggested above, authentic communication activities can be discussion and problem-solving tasks, where learners are faced with a topic or problem, which they deal with as a one-off activity. These can also be smaller-scale topic-based tasks in which the learners have to use the language for learning about topics of choice. Within a more extended framework, the learners can also embark on larger-scale projects involving language. The project provides a more global context, within which a range of specific contexts for natural language-use can be established, for example, reading, group discussions, conducting interviews, presenting results verbally or in writing and so on (Littlewood, 1992). To conclude, the above sections aim to provide you with some generic ideas about how different learning challenges can be addressed with regulation of language and meaning in the design of activities. They point to clear needs to provide learners with various learning experiences as represented in the five-part continuum so as to help them foster a capacity to use language and to deploy grammar to meet various communicative needs. The five-part communication continuum can be seen as an organization framework in task cycles. It can also be seen as a conceptual basis for curriculum development, in particular in developing your version of task-based approach to English teaching. In order to provide learners with language practice activities to meet different learning challenges, you need to design: a. activities with varying degrees of language control and meaning to meet the needs of your students as needed, or b. a full range of activities of various degrees of language control and meaning for teaching different themes in your modular material design.

3.2 Teaching grammar based on learner output Learner output can also be used for grammar teaching and learning. Swain (1997) identifies a metalinguistic function of output, where learners use language to reflect on language use as “metatalk”. Swain suggests using metatalk as one pedagogical means to promote language acquisition provided that contexts where the learners are engaged in genuine meaning making can be established. It is only in such situations that the critical links between meaning, form and function may be formed (ibid.). As suggested in the progressive design of communicative language practice we proposed earlier, language-focused tasks based on learner output can move from a partially learner-generated output source to a totally learner-generated

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one. The former can be some form of “dictogloss” task (see p. 87 of Chapter 4 for a step to step guide to “dictogloss”), during which learners work, individually or in groups, to reconstruct the short text read to them as is normally done in dictation. While the text is being read, they jot down key words and phrases; then they pool their shared resources to reconstruct the text. The final versions the students have produced are then analysed and compared with the original one. Through comparing various means of communicating the same message, learners will be involved in meaning making, where they have to link meaning, form and function. In such a process of talking about the text they are reconstructing, that is, metatalking, they will reflect on their own output and come to confront their own strengths and weaknesses. And they will find out what they need to know (Wajnryb, 1990: cited in Swain, 1997). Other forms of metatalk can be linked to the output from speaking or writing activities that students have completed. Learner output, especially, from extended tasks, can be the data for error analysis tasks. This can be in some form of editing activities, whether as an individual activity, a peer editing task, or as a whole class metatalk, in which learners are invited to contribute while the teacher conducts a joint proofreading and editing activity. It would be useful if a version of the task output by a more skilful group of speakers could be provided as models of language use for the context in focus (Willis, 1996). Feedback to students is an essential component of the learning process.

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Chapter Highlights This chapter suggests a communication continuum as a curriculum framework for integrating grammar teaching with task-based learning of English, based on the following principles of language teaching: Grammar teaching should extend beyond a structural view to include its functional nature; grammar therefore should best be seen as a skill, by which learners use their knowledge of the structures in communication. Language teaching should provide opportunities for learners to internalize the relationships between the three dimensions of language, that is, the form, meaning and use of language structures. With the guide of a five-part communication continuum, teachers can regulate conditions of learning to address different learning challenges identified by varying the focus on form, meaning or use. Unconscious use of grammar knowledge in communication tasks facilitates automisation of knowledge use in language learning. It is believed that by moving task cycles along the form-meaning communication continuum, learners will be supported to develop knowledge about the structural system of language as well as an ability to use such knowledge in communication and develop automaticity in language use.

REFERENCES Anderson, J. R. (1981). Congnitive skills and their acquisition. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Batstone, R. (1994). Product and process: Grammar in the second language classroom. In M. Bygate, A. Tonkyn & E. Williams (Eds.), Grammar and the language teacher (pp. 224– 236). New York: Prentice Hall. Becker, A. L. (1983). Toward a post-structuralist view of language learning: A short essay. Language Learning, 33 (5), 217–220. Bolinger, D. (1968). Entailment and the meaning of structures. Glossa 2(2): 119-127. Celce-Murcia, M. & Hilles S. (1988). Teachniques and resources in teaching grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Education Department (1996). Good practice in English language teaching: A handbook for secondary schools. Hong Kong: English Section, the Advisory Inspectorate. Education Department (2000). Task-based learning and an exemplar module for Key Stage 4. retrieved December 20, 2007, from http://cd.edb.gov.hk/eng/references/secondary/ks4/ sec3.html

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Ellis, R. (2002). Grammar teaching — practice or consciousness-raising? In J. C. Richards & W. A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching: Anthology of current practice (pp. 167–174). Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. Harmer, J. (1991). Teaching and learning grammar. London: Longman. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2003). Teaching language: From grammar to grammaring. Boston: Heinle. Littlewood, W. (1992). Teaching oral communication: A methodological framework. Cambridge: Blackwell-Publishers. Littlewood, W. (2000). Task-based learning of grammar. In Education Department, Taskbased Learning and an Exemplar Module for Key Stage 3 in Support of CDC Syllabus for English Language (Secondary 1–5) 1999, CD-Rom. Hong Kong: English Section, Curriculum Development Institute. Johnson, K. (1994). Teaching declarative and procedural knowledge. In M. Bygate, A. Tonkyn & E. Williams (Eds.), Grammar and the language teacher, (pp. 121–131). New York: Prentice Hall. Nunan, D. (1996). An organic approach to the teaching of grammar. Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1, 65–86. Nunan, D. (1998). Teaching grammar in context. ELT Journal, 52(2), 101–109. Parrott, M. (2000). Grammar for English language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Suh, K. H. (1992). Past habituality in English discourse: “Used to” and “would”. Language Research, 28 (4), 857–882. Swain, M. (1997). The output hypothesis, focus on form and second language learning. In V. Berry, B. Adamson & W. Littlewood (Eds.), Applied linguistics: Insights into language in education, (pp. 1–21). Hong Kong: The English Centre, The University of Hong Kong. Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. London: Longman.

RECOMMENDED READING(S) Celce-Murcia, M., Larsen-Freeman, D. & Williams, H. (1999). The grammar book: An ESL/EFL teacher’s course. Boston, Mass.: Heinle & Heinle. Byrne, D. (1986). Teaching oral English. London: Longman. English Section of the Advisory Inspectorate (Eds.) (1993). Teaching grammar and spoken English: A handbook for Hong Kong schools. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Education Department. English Section of Advisory Inspectorate (Eds.) (1996). Good practice in English language teaching: A handbook for secondary schools. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Education Department. Ribé, R. & Vidal, N. (1993). Project work: Step by step. Oxford: Heinemann. Ur, P. (1988). Grammar practice activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Woods, E. & McLeod, N. (1990). Using English grammar: Meaning and form. New York: Prentice Hall.

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Appendix I

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Student Activity A

In this example below, look carefully at the position of the adverbs always, often, sometimes, usually and never. What are the rules?

We are usually hungry when we come home. John is always late. His parents were often tired in the evening. I am never sure whether this word is correct. I sometimes go to the cinema on Friday. We never eat much in the morning. Jane often arrives at school early. They always come home late at night They have never written to me again since 1985. You can always come and visit me. I will never know why he did it. Pat has often seen him with two dogs.

How can you apply this rule to a new set of examples? Insert the adverbs into the right places in the sentences below:

We play football in the evening. (often) I can catch the first bus in the morning. (never) Jack and Jill are very happy. (always) They visit me. (sometimes) You write very good English. (usually) They have been to Singapore. (often) We drink tea for breakfast. (always) You are cheerful. (usually) John can keep a secret. (never) He has refused to speak to me. (sometimes.)

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Appendix II

Student Activity B

Students ask and answer questions about a situation, picture or topic.

INTERVIEW SHEET

1. you / come from

Where do you come from?

2. you / arrive in Hong Kong 3. you / come with 4. you / like Hong Kong 5. your favourite place in Hong Kong 6. you / get / there

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Student Activity C

The World Tomorrow

Write down a list of changes you expect to see in the world by a date 50 years in the future. For example:

We will have a working day of four hours.



Every home will have a video telephone.



People will live to be 100 years old or more.

You may write as many ideas as possible in the time given or write ideas for a particular topic-area (e.g. education, sport, fashion, technology, etc.). The ideas are then read out and discussed. Those that most of the class agree with may be written up on the board. Variations: In groups, you may sort your predictions into “optimistic” and “pessimistic” ones. Then, you may choose predictions that appeal to you and use them as the topic for a short essay.

Source: Littlewood (2000)

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Appendix IV

Student Activity d

At 3:00, Tom’s place was very untidy. Now it is 4:30 and he has tidied it. What has he done? Student A should ask Student B what Tom has done to tidy his room, e.g. Has he made his bed? What has he done with the lamp? (Each student has either Picture A or Picture B and cannot see the other.)

Picture A

Picture B

Source: Education Department (1996)

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Student Activity e

Module: Study, school life and work Unit: Part-time work? Task: Making the right choice, Part 1 The following are 4 case studies of fellow students who wish to take up part-time work. 1. 2. 3.

In groups of four, discuss whether they should take up part-time jobs and give reasons. Suggest alternatives to each one of them. Instead of taking up part-time work, what else can they do to address their needs? Each group will select a spokesperson to report their conclusions to the whole class. After listening to all the groups, the class will vote for the group with the best suggestions.

Case 1: Michael Michael is tall and strong and spends a lot of time on sports activities in school. He lives very far away from school. His grades are average. He wants a part-time job so that he can buy more expensive sports equipment. Case 2: Pansy Pansy is very smart and is the best student of the form. She is quiet and shy. She wants to take up a part-time job to gain some work experience and develop more confidence when working with other people. She has strong computer skills. Case 3: Nick Nick’s father has been out of work for a long time and his mother may soon lose her job. Nick wants very much to earn some money for the family. His grades in school are not very good. He is polite and hardworking. Case 4: Lucy Lucy has average grades in school. She is the only child in the family and her parents are busy at work all the time. She feels bored at home. She wants to take up a part-time job because she thinks it may be fun. She loves music and plays the piano and violin.

Continued on next page

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Appendix V — Continued

Module: Study, school life and work Unit: Part-time work? Task: Making the right choice, Part 2 The 4 people in Part I — Michael, Pansy, Nick and Lucy — have read the following 8 advertisements for part-time work and have made the following choices (students have copies of the 8 advertisements):

Michael:

Distributing leaflets



Pansy:

Chinese character input



Nick:

Poster distribution



Lucy:

Fish and chips shop

You think one of them has selected a job highly unsuitable for him/her. Write a letter of about 150 words to persuade him/her not to take up the job. You may consider the factors discussed in Part 1, such as:

•

His/her need for a part-time job



•

The working hours



•

Travelling time



•

The pay



•

Effects on his/her health and studies



•

Nature of the work



•

His/her personally and skills



•

Alternatives which may address his/her problem

Source: Education Department (2000)

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Planning and Teaching Task-related Grammar Elizabeth WALKER

Part 1

What is Grammar and What is Task-based Grammar Teaching?

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Part 2

How Can I Plan Which Grammar to Teach in a Task?

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Part 3

How Can I Apply the 5-Step Planning Process?

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Part 4

What Strategies Can I Use to Explicitly Teach the New Grammar Identified?

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Chapter Highlights

91

References

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Appendices

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Objectives To review the definition of grammar; To examine and carry out a process for deciding which task-related grammar to teach; To explore a range of grammar-teaching strategies.

1.

WHAT IS GRAMMAR AND WHAT IS TASK-BASED GRAMMAR TEACHING?

Grammar has been defined in this book as the system of conventions by which linguistic units (phonemes, morphemes, words) are combined to make sentences and communicate meaning (see Richards et al, 1996). Communication thus takes place through the grammar of a language. As for the teaching of grammar, this occurs whenever a teacher focuses students’ attention, however briefly, on linguistic elements — i.e. sounds, parts of words, words, groups of words (phrases, sentences). Students attention also needs to focus on the ways in which discourse (paragraphs, complete text) develops. In task-based grammar teaching we need to help students to understand how linguistic elements communicate meaning in a particular text which is produced in a particular context. Context, here, means the topic, the people involved, their roles, status, location in time and space and whether they are speaking or writing. A task comes from a context, so our job in task-based grammar teaching is to focus students’ attention only on the aspects of the grammar system which are relevant to the meaning which the task’s context requires students to produce. We no longer plan a lesson centred on one-grammar-point-fitting-all-contexts, because it is clear that only the most academic students can remain interested in learning language through a series of decontextualized grammar rules. In task-based grammar teaching we plan a lesson centred on student output and the grammar needed for the output. That is, we first think about what English the task and context require students to produce. We next consider which grammatical elements we need to focus students’ attention on to help them to produce the appropriate English. We finally consider how and when to focus students’ attention — before, during or after the task. The curriculum framework (Curriculum Development Council, 2002) recommends that students be guided to produce extended English in natural contexts, so that their English proficiency is pushed to approach more and more closely their mother tongue proficiency. The curriculum also recommends that students appreciate books and films and construct knowledge of the world

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beyond Hong Kong. This chapter illustrates student tasks (see Part 3, p. 78–79) set in contexts relevant to both junior and senior syllabuses. The tasks require student output closer to the authentic end of Littlewood’s continuum (see Chapter 3). The output is appropriate to students’ cognitive level in their mother tongue, and therefore likely to be motivating, as well as stretching their English linguistic proficiency. As Littlewood points out, authentic output is not completely predictable. This is desirable because students have freedom to harness all the grammatical resources available to them to make meanings. However, the task output in this chapter is predictable to a considerable extent, because it represents commonly occurring social practices, or “genres”. The genres are: a film summary; rules of a game; and an evaluative description of a film excerpt. Thus, we can plan opportunities to focus/re-focus students’ attention in a variety of ways on new aspects of the English grammatical system, and/or on aspects already taught but imperfectly learnt. This chapter provides a chance for you to experience a thinking process modelling how you might provide the grammatical support necessary for students to complete authentic tasks where the language is nevertheless fairly predictable. At the same time the tasks provide an illustration of how you can devise authentic tasks for elementary, intermediate and advanced level students. Basically, task difficulty depends on: extendedness (word count); internal complexity (including grammatical complexity); level of previous knowledge required; level of support provided (adapted from Clark et al. 1994, p. 56). That is, a task is relatively easy if it requires few words; has few variables or basic interrelationships among its components, including its grammatical components; demands a low level of previous world knowledge; and includes much language support. Similarly, a task can be made more difficult by requiring more words; adding to the number and/or complexity of the components, including grammatical components; requiring a greater amount of and/or more complex previous understanding/research; providing minimal language support. You may notice the grading of the sample student tasks in this chapter. The sample elementary task below has relatively brief, visual, simplified input, very

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short output involving a very general story summary, with predominantly “basic” (unsubordinated, uncoordinated) clauses. The intermediate task is a longer paragraph, with several variables — equipment, plus aims and rules, involving some reading and writing of non-basic clauses with technical vocabulary. The advanced task requires understanding an entire film and writing extended output in several paragraphs, following an appropriate discoursal structure and incorporating some high level previous knowledge, with some less common vocabulary and complex clauses, and some mature judgements relating symbols and meanings.

2.

HOW CAN I PLAN WHICH GRAMMAR TO TEACH IN A TASK?

Some teachers simply follow the suggestions of textbook writers. The advantages of this are: it is intellectually easier for the teacher; it is less time-consuming for the teacher; the grammatical information is believed to be reasonably accurate; the information is generally set out clearly. Some disadvantages are: the textbook grammar has often been taught before in primary school, (although imperfectly learnt), which students generally find demotivating; the textbook grammar may have been taught before in the same way, with the same focus, which students find boring, as well as unhelpful for correcting past misconceptions; the aspect of the grammar selected by the textbook writer may not be the one which is causing your students difficulty, so their proficiency remains the same; the textbook grammar may be misleading or may not take account of current advances in linguistic understanding; the textbook grammar may not be directly needed by students for doing the tasks in the chapter. That is, the students may not get an opportunity to use the grammar right away, so the teaching may be unhelpful. Accomplished teachers will be aware of the above disadvantages. The meaningful tasks we plan for students aim at improving students’ English proficiency and teaching them something new and challenging about language and about the world in each lesson. However, providing meaningful and challenging

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tasks is only the first step. It is then important to analyse each task to find out what grammar is essential for students to successfully do the task in a way that adds to their English resources. A step-by-step self-questioning process is suggested below. The questions can help us to analyse student tasks to identify a particular grammatical focus most suitable for our students.

Step 1: Approximately what English do I predict my students will need to use in this task? This question helps the teacher get a general direction/focus for teaching. It is important if we wish to provide English-rich teaching. For example, if S1 students’ task is to orally describe the way from the station to a school, an English-poor predicted response is “Leave the station. Go right. Go straight. Go left.” A richer predicted response is “Go out exit B. Go across the highway overbridge. Go down the stairs of the pedestrian subway to the T-intersection. Turn right. Go up the stairs. Go past the temple. The temple is on your right. Continue down the path to an open carpark. Cross the carpark. The school is directly in front of you.” The pre-planned possible response is not necessarily intended to be presented in its entirety to students. While a possible response can be a model for deconstruction (see Part 4, a.3), it also allows teachers to spot students’ potential difficulties. It thus helps the teacher decide what to teach. The particular items selected for teaching then give some basic tools to students in a way which stretches their ability to communicate. The teacher’s preparing a possible response for her own reference does not mean that students have no freedom to create their own responses. In fact, if the pre-teaching and support during the task is appropriate (see steps below), the students should be better able to produce a variety of outcomes, just as they do in mother tongue tasks. Different outcomes are also more likely if students use a bilingual or monolingual dictionary (after being taught how to do so) while doing the task. For example, with the dictionary’s help some more able students might produce expressions such as “cross the highway by the overbridge”, “pass the temple; keep the temple on the right”, “keep going”. With weaker students, on the other hand, the possible expected response may be collaboratively constructed (e.g. on a white board) by teacher and students, to enable students to use and extend their current resources. For example, students might, where necessary, say their meanings initially in Chinese and the bilingual teacher would provide the appropriate English and have students practise saying it aloud. Where students are able to use an English meaning, the teacher’s job is to praise and then provide them with yet another way to make that meaning. In these ways students’ English vocabulary resources gradually approach their mother tongue resources.

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Another way in which the possible expected response might be used is as a model for analysis, which students then apply to a similar task (see Part 4, a.6). For example, in the intermediate student task below (see p. 78), we could present and analyse the possible response for the rules of snooker. Then, students — in groups, could research and produce the rules for several different games, relatively unfamiliar to students, such as baseball or netball. There would then be an information gap between the groups. The students could re-group and explain to their new group the rules of the games they have researched.

Step 2: What English in my predicted response have students already been taught and partly or completely mastered? This question tells the teacher what not to teach explicitly to the whole class. For example, in the direction-giving task above, S1 students would probably already know to use the bare infinitive for the imperative “go” and adverbs “left” and “right”. Some students may also know the nouns “stairs”, “temple” and “carpark”.

Step 3: What English in my predicted response is new to students? This question helps the teacher get a clearer focus for explicit teaching in one lesson or a series of lessons. For example, in the task above there is new vocabulary to be taught (nouns: overbridge, pedestrian subway, T-intersection; adv+pp: directly in front of). If there is no completely new English, the task is not beneficial. If there are many new linguistic items, then the task may be very challenging and would require a lot of linguistic support.

Step 4: What English in my predicted response may continue to cause students difficulties even though it has been taught before? This question takes into account that some grammar is teachable but sometimes not easily learnable. For example, even Cantonese native speakers who are expert English users sometimes make slips in past tense or present tense third person –s. Repeatedly focusing at length on these features may not help. Instead, students may benefit from frequent, brief reminders. So the question helps us predict what we need to briefly recycle for students and whether the recycling should be before, during or after the task. For example, in the task above, some of the prepositions may continue to cause difficulty even though they are not new. For example, down the path, and past the temple; or the difference between past the temple and pass(ed) the temple may need brief focus before the task is begun.

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Step 5: What new English in my predicted response will I explicitly focus students’ attention on? This question helps the teacher get a very clear focus for task-related grammar teaching. For example, in the task above, we might explicitly teach the pronunciation, spelling and meaning of the unfamiliar vocabulary (overbridge, T-intersection, pedestrian subway), or help students use dictionaries to find all this information for themselves.

3.

HOW CAN I APPLY THE 5-STEP PLANNING PROCESS?

Following are suggested teacher activities (pp. 77–81) which help you experience the self-questioning steps in planning task-based grammar teaching for your students. Before we embark on the activities, here is a brief linguistic description of the three student tasks involved in the teacher activities: The topic or semantic field of the elementary student task below is a classic story of a child’s life in 19th century England; it is a spoken text; a studentspeaker is giving information to a student-listener about the story of an animated abridged video of Oliver Twist. The topic or semantic field of the intermediate student task is a game, snooker; it is a spoken text; and the student-speaker is giving information to a fellow student-listener about the rules of the game. The speaker gets information from a web-based written text first and then constructs a spoken text. The topic or semantic field of the advanced student task is film appreciation; it is a written text where the writer is describing to a teacher or fellow-student-reader one frozen shot (or still) and interpreting the action and images.

Step 1: Producing the English I predict students might need to use in the tasks Activity 1 This is probably the most difficult step of the process — trying out the task yourself and predicting a response, so let’s practise that step first. Examine the student tasks in the boxes below. Predict possible student output, taking into account the proficiency level given. Compare your responses with those provided in Appendix I (see Appendix I for suggested solutions).

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Student Task 1 Proficiency level: ELEMENTARY Unit theme: Children’s lives Unit sub-theme: Child poverty Task context: communicating about a text (film, story etc) on child poverty; between two schoolmates (equal social status); spoken text to be generated with the assistance of written planning as preparation for repetition of the spoken text in a similar interaction. Teaching resource: Film: a 70-minute animated movie, Oliver Twist. Burbank Films; producer, George Stephenson. New York, N.Y.: Children’s Video of America, 1982. TASK: In pairs or individually, according to student choice, summarize the story of the animated movie Oliver Twist orally in about 50 words. (This task can be preparation for telling the story to a schoolmate in another class who has not seen the movie). Possible student output:

Student Task 2 Proficiency level: INTERMEDIATE Unit theme: Know the Game Unit sub-theme: Indoor games (Students could research different game histories, and current champions etc, to ensure a communicative need or information gap.) Task context: communicating about the rules of snooker; two participants of equal status; spoken text generated from a written web-based text. Teaching materials: Simply type “snooker rules” into any web search engine and you can find the rules of snooker and many other games. TASK: Describe orally the equipment, aims and basic rules of the game of [snooker]. Possible student output:

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Student Task 3 Proficiency level: ADVANCED Unit theme: Film makers in society Unit sub-theme: Images in Alfred Hitchcock’s films Task context: communicating about a selected movie shot; viewer/analyser addresses a range of readers, e.g. novice or expert, adult or schoolmate; written text with genre features of a description of a visual. Teaching materials: DVD/VCD Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller Rear Window TASK: In about 200 words, write a description of a chosen still (one paused frame or part of a scene, like a photo) from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Rear Window*. Show understanding of what meanings the filmmaker’s choice of image might communicate to the viewers. Possible student output:

* Teachers, if you do not know this movie, read the possible answer in the appendix, and use that as a model for a task on a different movie.

Steps 2-5: Selecting grammar focus in tasks Now we have tackled Step 1, the most difficult part of task-based teaching. Let’s move on to the rest of the planning process, described in the step-by-step self-question process above.

Activity 2 Carry out the planning process described above by filling in the blank squares in the tables below.

Compare your responses with those provided in Appendix II (see Appendix II for suggested solutions).

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ELEMENTARY STUDENT TASK In pairs or individually, according to student choice, summarize the story of the animated movie Oliver Twist orally in about 50 words. (This task can be preparation for telling the story to a schoolmate in another class who has not seen the movie).

Approximately what English do I predict my students will need to USE in doing this task?

Oliver Twist is about some poor orphans 150 years ago in England. The society of England was cruel and unjust. Oliver, Dodger, Nancy and the other orphans stole in order to live. They had no rights or education. They lived dangerously with Fagin and Sikes. Fortunately, kind Mr Brownlow rescued Oliver. Sadly, the unjust judge hanged Dodger, and cruel Sikes murdered Nancy.

What English have students already been taught, and partly or completely mastered?

What English is new to students?

What English may continue to cause students difficulties even though it has been taught before?

What new English will I explicitly focus students’ attention on?

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INTERMEDIATE STUDENT TASK Describe orally the equipment, aims and basic rules of the game of [snooker].

Approximately what English do I predict my students will need to USE in doing this task?

The basic equipment in snooker is: a table 6”x 12”, with pockets at its sides; 15 red balls; 6 coloured balls; 1 white ball. The aim of the game is to score more points than an opponent. Generally two people play. Players score points by “potting” (hitting into the pockets) red and coloured balls, with a long stick called a cue. Each potted red ball is worth one point. Coloured balls are worth from two to seven points. For example, the black ball is worth seven points. A game ends when the players have potted all balls.

What English have students already been taught and partly or completely mastered?

What English is new to students?

What English may continue to cause students difficulties even though it has been taught before?

What new English will I explicitly focus students’ attention on?

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ADVANCED STUDENT TASK In about 200 words, write a description of a chosen still (one paused frame or part of a scene, like a photo) from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Rear Window. Show understanding of what meanings the film maker’s choice of image might communicate to the viewers.

Approximately what English do I predict my students will need to USE in doing this task?

My chosen still occurs at/near the beginning of the film...about mid-way through the film...at/near the end of the film. Miss Lonelyhearts is a single, middle-aged conservatively dressed woman in good physical shape. She is at her dinner table, dressed for a formal dinner, with her head on her arms, in tears. She has just drunk a toast with an imaginary guest. She breaks down in tears because she realizes her pathetic situation. This still poignantly shows Hitchcock’s careful directing. Miss Lonelyhearts’ flat is one part of the perfectly framed homes which Jeff spies on throughout the movie. The block of flats symbolizes how lonely people can be, even when surrounded by others. Jeff symbolizes the disinterested voyeurism and cold detachment of big city people in the US in the 50’s. This situation is relevant to Hong Kong society today, because some people commit suicide from loneliness.

What English have students already been taught and partly or completely mastered?

What English is new to students?

What English may continue to cause students difficulties even though it has been taught before?

What new English will I explicitly focus students’ attention on?

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WHAT STRATEGIES CAN I USE TO EXPLICITLY TEACH THE NEW GRAMMAR IDENTIFIED?

Let’s recall that “teaching grammar” means any method for getting students to focus on linguistic elements making appropriate meanings in context. Grammar teaching can take one second, one minute or one lesson segment, but should rarely occupy an entire lesson. The teaching can engage one student or one group of students or a whole class. The teacher can choose many methods involving talking, writing or simply using body language. The teacher and students can be face-to-face or communicating via technology such as a recording replayed on the student’s computer etc. The “teacher” may be a classmate or some independent learning materials outside the classroom.

Activity 3A Examine and visualize the following teaching strategies. Detailed descriptions of grammar teaching strategies The aspects of grammar (pronunciation — morphology — vocabulary — syntax) plus discourse development can be explicitly taught by teacher’s input, teacher’s feedback, students’ independent research and/or students’ doing grammar-focused mini-tasks. Before we look at each strategy, it is important to note that while these strategies are explicit, they are different from traditional grammar-centred lessons involving a teacherled presentation lasting more than 20 minutes. While there is sometimes a place for such presentations, the strategies shown below are actually focused on meaningful texts — a story, conversation, film script, etc, and are examples of consciousness-raising (CR). That is, they are relatively short, language-focused timeouts in a meaning-centred lesson. The aim of the CR is to help junior students understand and make appropriate meanings by discerning critical language features at the level of discourse, clause, structure, word, morpheme and/or phoneme. Most of the CR requires some form of controlled oral or written student activity; sometimes they may include brief teacher explanation, and sometimes they may not. Some CR-type strategies do, however, require a longer timeout in lessons for more detailed grammatical discoveries. For example, sometimes at senior level it is appropriate for students to identify and sort into patterns a target grammatical structure (e.g. passive voice in a variety of tenses, moods, and non-tensed passive forms such as “it is to be supposed…”). The text may be quite long, and there could be many structural variations. The identification and sorting plus the teacher-involved discussion of students’ observations may also take time. Nevertheless, this length of CR timeout is sometimes justified where the purpose is deep discernment.

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(a) Teacher’s input ~ CR (before or during task completion).

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(a.1)

Point (silently) to new or problematic language in a sentence (on the whiteboard, power point slide) and pause while students focus on that expression, then say the Cantonese equivalent; then repeat the English expression loudly; then have students repeat the new English word/ expression several times. Giving students opportunities to say aloud new vocabulary/expressions can help their recall and confidence in using the new item in speaking.

(a.2)

Use visuals, gestures or quick soft translation into Cantonese, repeating the English loudly and clearly for students to say aloud. If the vocabulary is associated with a film, simply re-play part of the film without the sound to introduce the new vocabulary, e.g. “drink a toast” can be observed so that students discern the meaning of “toast” here, as opposed to “grilled bread”.

(a.3)

Have the students observe the behaviour of a grammatical feature within a text (e.g. pronouns, voice, tense) by de-constructing some sentences in the texts, grouping and naming elements in table form, observing patterns, discussing (in Cantonese if necessary) how different choices make different meanings, and how some choices are not valid and make no meaning (longer activity).

(a.4)

Have students repeat new language, especially new vocabulary, 3+ times, e.g. “fun” whole class drilling (i.e. saying new words/expressions softly, loudly, fast, slow, high voice, low voice, smiling, frowning; tracing new words on their hands or in the air, etc).

(a.5)

Say “please notice this” or “please notice that this is not the same as [Cantonese equivalent]” because + brief explanation.

(a.6)

Provide audio recording of a model similar to the students’ task, which uses some of the target structures and vocabulary required by the task, and have students notice how the target structure communicates the message by discussing other possible grammatical choices, and what the differences in meaning are (this requires slightly longer timeout in a lesson).

(a.7)

Re-teach (in a completely different way) some point which has not been well done in the task output.

(a.8)

Demonstrate a possible oral response to a task yourself, with exemplary grammar, before requiring students to do it, e.g. tell a personal story before having the students tell theirs; tape yourself in discussion with another teacher on the same topic set for student discussion. Have students listen to the story or tape and put up their hand when they hear/notice a given target structure or the target vocabulary in the talk.

(a.9)

Listen to students taking “private turns” (see c.4 below) and correct them privately and quietly “on the spot” with a short explanation where possible.

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(a.10)

Provide a written model similar to the students’ task, which uses some of the target structures and vocabulary required by the task and have students notice how the target structure gets the message across by comparing it with Chinese, if appropriate, or by comparing it with an inappropriate version.

(a.11)

Demonstrate a possible written response to a task yourself, with exemplary grammar, before requiring students to do it, e.g. write a film description before asking the students to do so. Have students read the text and underline the target structures or target vocabulary in the text. Of course, this strategy needs to creatively account for possible copying by students.

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(b) Teacher’s feedback (before during or after task completion) (b.1)

Have students give their ideas in Chinese about genre stages and/or more complex language issues, and whenever possible help them to re-express their ideas in English by translating their actual words, or by English paraphrase.

(b.2)

Have students contribute in Chinese when necessary (e.g. in a low interaction environment), especially in co-constructing writing, e.g. on a whiteboard. Listen to students as a class or to individual students in private, and then provide (publicly or privately) the English structures and vocabulary the students need to express meanings. With private co-construction there can be variety in the students’ writing, and students learn new vocabulary, which is important for expressing their personal meanings.

(b.3)

Audiorecord detailed individual grammatical feedback on students’ performance — upload the sound file for the student to listen to at her/his convenience.

(b.4)

Have students read aloud their work to one other student or a small group for (guided) peer feedback on content and grammar if possible — you can move around and listen to/monitor the peer feedback and add your own feedback, including positive reinforcement, where necessary/appropriate.

(b.5)

Listen to/observe students’ planning/composing, and make suggestions or point out grammatical improvements on an individual or small group basis.

(b.6)

Have a rotating sample of students audiorecord their talk on a topic and then have them transcribe (=write out word by word) an excerpt. From their transcription they should identify their own grammatical errors and re-write the talk excerpt in correct English. You examine the original and corrected transcriptions and comment orally to individuals or the whole class on the patterns of errors and self-corrections.

(b.7)

Write down (e.g. in an email) detailed individual grammatical feedback on students’ performance. Detailed grammatical feedback means identifying the error, correcting the error, explaining the error and justifying the correction.

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(b.8)

Guide students (e.g. by agreed coded symbols) to identify their own errors in a spoken or written text, and require them to re-write or re-say the whole text or part of the text.

(b.9)

Have students submit written drafts. Supply corrections to salient (not all) errors in a systematic and positive way, so that students can refine their written or oral work.

(c) Students’ independent work with dictionaries and grammar references (generally before or during task completion) (c.1)

Teach students how to use a dictionary or thesaurus or grammar reference book. Chinese-English dictionaries should be available when students need to speak or write; English-Chinese dictionaries should be available when students need to understand. There should be class sets of dictionaries and reference books. A class textbook is a grammar reference book for the student, not for the teacher. The teacher should use a grammar reference for teachers.

(c.2)

Provide students with useful websites, CDROMs, library references or additional textbooks to use in homework time for practising and improving knowledge about an aspect of grammar with which they are having difficulty.

(c.3)

Give self-access feedback to exercises (e.g. answer keys) and encourage focused questions only (not “Missy, I can’t do verbs”) if difficulties remain for some students.

(c.4)

Have students practise any required individual talk by whispering or murmuring to themselves in their seats to “rehearse” the grammar. This private rehearsing is called taking a “private turn”.

(c.5)

Teach more advanced students to see patterns in concordance outputs from on-line corpora such as BNC (British National Corpus) or ICE (International Corpus of English) or HK corpuses at University sites (see Appendix IV).

(d) Student-interactive CR mini-tasks (generally before or during task completion)

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(d.1)

Have students practise tasks before the main event, e.g. do a pairwork rehearsal of a short whole-class presentation. During the rehearsal, you should target weaker students for extra input on pronunciation, meaning or syntax to strengthen performance in the main event.

(d.2)

Have students do mini-tasks focusing on a targeted grammatical form in context, e.g. dictogloss or cloze tests as described in the boxes below, which can be designed to provide initial practice for any target grammatical component, e.g. vocabulary, grammatical structures, particular word classes (prepositions, verbs).

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Examples of grammar-focused, CR, student-interactive mini-tasks DICTOGLOSS (text re-construction) STEP 1: The teacher selects a text of three or four sentences, of appropriate complexity, connected with the class’s current topic area. STEP 2: The teacher situates/contextualizes the text for the listeners, so that they activate appropriate schema, and comprehend more easily. STEP 3: The teacher reads out the text at normal speed. Listeners take notes. STEP 4: The teacher reads out the text a second time at normal speed, pausing slightly after each sentence. Listeners refine notes. STEP 5: The teacher reads out the text a third time at normal speed, with no artificial pauses. Listeners refine notes. STEP 6: The listeners form groups and collaborate to reconstruct the text, retaining the meanings, from their notes onto a computer file, OHT, visualizer or large poster for all to read. The teacher eavesdrops on the group discussions to inform later feedback. STEP 7: The teacher shows the “correct” version, and groups compare their own product with the original, in terms of meaning and grammar. STEP 8: The teacher uses her eavesdropping to decide her feedback focus of about 5 minutes.

CLOZE MINI-TASK STEP 1: The teacher distributes to students in pairs ONE copy of a written passage in the current topic area, with some blanks in the text related to grammatical elements (morphemes; vocabulary; verb tense; determiners; count/non-count nouns etc). STEP 2: The students discuss and fill in the gaps meaningfully. The teacher monitors students’ discussions and output. STEP 3: The teacher distributes the original text. STEP 4: The students compare their work with the original, self-assess weaknesses, and address questions to the teacher for feedback.

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Activity 3B Select 2-3 appropriate strategies from the lists in Part 3 above for each genre as a whole (macrostrategies), and for the selected language features (microstrategies). Consider strategies you have not used before. Compare your selections with those provided in Appendix III (see Appendix III for suggested solutions).

ELEMENTARY TASK In pairs or individually, according to student choice, summarize the story of the animated movie Oliver Twist orally in about 50 words. (This task can be preparation for telling the story to a schoolmate in another class who has not seen the movie). Macrostrategies:

Grammar identified for explicit teaching

Appropriate grammar teaching (micro)strategies/alternatives

stages of the genre

meanings and pronunciation of vocabulary related to Oliver Twist

is about + noun phrase, followed by past tense verb forms

in order to + infinitive

stole

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INTERMEDIATE TASK Describe orally the equipment, aims and basic rules of the game of [snooker]. Macrostrategies:

Grammar identified for explicit teaching

Appropriate grammar teaching (micro)strategies/alternatives

Linguistic features of the stages of an explanation of rules of a game: • The basic equipment in noun phrase

is +

• The aim of the game is + “to” verb form • Players score points by + “ing” verb form • A game ends when

X is worth Y (points)

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ADVANCED TASK

In about 200 words, write a description of a chosen still (one paused frame or part of a scene, like a photo) from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Rear Window. Show understanding of what meanings the filmmaker’s choice of image might communicate to the viewers. Macrostrategies:

Grammar identified for explicit teaching

Appropriate grammar teaching (micro)strategies/alternatives

stages of the genre Prepositional phrases situating the still in the film, e.g. near the beginning, about half-way through the film, at/near the end of the film.

Linguistic features of a description of a still: present tenses of verbs (with perfect aspect); many verbs “to be”

Linguistic features of an explanation relating the described image to possible meanings:

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•

shows

•

symbolizes

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Chapter Highlights The chapter has attempted to enhance understanding that: a grammar system includes the systems of sound, vocabulary, and

syntax; and must address the context and discourse which these systems construe; task-related grammar teaching should focus on grammar that students

need for use in speech and writing, thus prioritizing a student-active, feedback-focused classroom; task-related grammar teaching starts with the teacher predicting

students’ task output, and then identifying students’ grammar needs for completing the task; task-related grammar teaching is not confined to oral explanations.

It includes consciousness-raising, modelling and giving feedback in many different ways, to a whole class, or to small groups or individuals, both in speech and writing; task-related grammar teaching/learning also occurs when the teacher

moves away from the front of the class to interact with students working together on CR mini-tasks focused on language form; and task-related

grammar teaching/learning occurs when students effectively use independent study resources, such as concordances and dictionaries, to focus on language form.

REFERENCES Clark, J. L., Scarino, A. & Brownell, J. A. (1994). Improving the quality of learning: A framework for target-oriented curriculum renewal in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer. Richards, J. C., Platt, J. & Platt, H. (1996). Dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. Malaysia: Longman. Curriculum Development Council (2002). Basic education curriculum guide: Building on strengths (Primary 1 – Secondary 3). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer.

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Appendix I

Suggested solutions to Activity 1

ELEMENTARY STUDENT TASK In pairs or individually, according to student choice, summarise the story of the animated movie “Oliver Twist” orally in about 50 words. (This task can be preparation for telling the story to a schoolmate in another class who has not seen the movie). (Note: Alternatively, present tense may be selected throughout this genre.)

Oliver Twist is about some poor orphans 150 years ago in England. England’s society was cruel and unjust. Oliver, Dodger, Nancy and the other orphans stole in order to live. They had no rights or education. They lived dangerously with Fagin and Sikes. Fortunately, kind Mr Brownlow rescued Oliver. Sadly, the unjust judge hanged Dodger and cruel Sikes murdered Nancy.

INTERMEDIATE STUDENT TASK Describe orally the equipment, aims and basic rules of the game of [snooker]. (Note: Simply type “snooker rules” into a search engine. In this way you can find the rules of many games.)

The basic equipment in snooker is: a table 6”x 12”, with pockets at its sides; 15 red balls; 6 coloured balls; 1 white ball. The aim of the game is to score more points than an opponent. Generally two people play. Players score points by “potting” (hitting into the pockets) red and coloured balls, with a long stick called a cue. Each potted red ball is worth one point. Coloured balls are worth from two to seven points. For example, the black ball is worth seven points. A game ends when the players have potted all balls.

ADVANCED STUDENT TASK In about 200 words, write a description of a chosen still (one paused frame or part of a scene, like a photo) from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “Rear Window”. Show understanding of what meanings the film maker’s choice of image might communicate to the viewers. My chosen still occurs at/near the beginning of the film...about mid-way through the film…at/near the end of the film. Miss Lonelyhearts is a single, middle-aged conservatively dressed woman in good physical shape. She is at her dinner table, dressed for a formal dinner, with her head on her arms, in tears. She has just drunk a toast with an imaginary guest. She breaks down in tears because she realizes her pathetic situation. This still is a poignant example of Hitchcock’s careful directing. Miss Lonelyhearts’ flat is one part of the perfectly framed homes on which Jeff spies throughout the movie. The block of flats shows us how lonely people can be, even when surrounded by others. Jeff exemplifies the disinterested voyeurism and cold detachment of big city people in the US in the 50’s. This speaks to/is relevant to Hong Kong society today, because some people commit suicide from loneliness.

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Suggested solutions to Activity 2

ELEMENTARY STUDENT TASK In pairs or individually, according to student choice, summarize the story of the animated movie Oliver Twist orally in about 50 words. (This task can be preparation for telling the story to a schoolmate in another class who has not seen the movie).

Approximately what English do I predict my students will need to USE in doing this task?

Oliver Twist is about some poor orphans 150 years ago in England. England’s society was cruel and unjust. Oliver, Dodger, Nancy and the other orphans stole in order to live. They had no rights or education. They lived dangerously with Fagin and Sikes. Fortunately, kind Mr Brownlow rescued Oliver. Sadly, the unjust judge hanged Dodger and cruel Sikes murdered Nancy.

What English have students already past tense for re-telling events occurring before a speaker/writer’s been taught and partly or completely “NOW” mastered? What English is new to students?

• stages of the genre • linguistic features of a recount genre followed by past tense verb forms

is about + noun phrase,

• meanings and pronunciation of essential vocabulary construing the story • in order to + infinitive • Some past tense forms, e.g. stole What English may continue to cause students difficulties even though it has been taught before?

past tense for re-telling events occurring before a speaker/writer’s “NOW”

What new English will I explicitly focus Oliver Twist is about some poor orphans 150 years ago in England. England’s society was cruel and unjust. Oliver, Dodger, Nancy and the students’ attention on? other orphans stole in order to live. They had no rights or education. They lived dangerously with Fagin and Sikes. Fortunately, kind Mr Brownlow rescued Oliver. Sadly, the unjust judge hanged Dodger and cruel Sikes murdered Nancy. • stages of the genre • meanings and pronunciation of essential vocabulary construing the story • linguistic features of a recount genre: followed by past tense verb forms

is about + noun phrase

• in order to + infinitive form of verb • new or irregular past tense forms, e.g. stole

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INTERMEDIATE STUDENT TASK Describe orally the equipment, aims and basic rules of the game of [snooker].

Approximately what English do I The basic equipment in snooker is: a table 6”x 12”, with pockets at its predict my students will need to USE sides; 15 red balls; 6 coloured balls; 1 white ball; a cue. The aim of the in doing this task? game is to score more points than an opponent. Generally two people play. Players score points by “potting” (hitting into the pockets) red and coloured balls, with a long stick called a cue. Each potted red ball is worth one point. Coloured balls are worth from two to seven points. For example, the black ball is worth seven points. A game ends when the players have potted all balls.

What English have students already • Present tense of verbs for describing rules been taught, and partly or completely • Some vocabulary, e.g. table, pockets, colours, stick, point mastered? What English is new to students?

• Linguistic features of stages of an explanation of rules of a game: is + noun phrases – The basic equipment in – The aim of the game is + “to” verb form – Players score points by + “ing” verb form, especially “potting” – A game ends when • X is worth Y (points) • Vocabulary associated with snooker (underlined nouns)

What English may continue to cause students difficulties even though it has been taught before?

• Plural –s morpheme, e.g. more points • Third person singular morpheme e.g. ends

What new English will I explicitly focus The basic equipment in snooker is: a table 6”x 12”, with pockets at its students’ attention on? sides; 15 red balls; 6 coloured balls; 1 white ball; a cue. The aim of the game is to score more points than an opponent. Generally two people play. Players score points by “potting” (hitting into the pockets) red and coloured balls, with a long stick called a cue. Each potted red ball is worth one point. Coloured balls are worth from two to seven points. For example, the black ball is worth seven points. A game ends when the players have potted all balls. • Linguistic features of stages of an explanation of rules of a game: – The basic equipment in is + noun phrase – The aim of the game is + “to” verb form – Players score points by + “ing” verb form – A game ends when • X is worth Y (points) [Vocabulary associated with snooker (underlined nouns) may be taught for understanding the model, but snooker may not be the game chosen by all students.]

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ADVANCED STUDENT TASK In about 200 words, write a description of a chosen still (one paused frame or part of a scene, like a photo) from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Rear Window. Show understanding of what meanings the filmmaker’s choice of image might communicate to the viewers.

Approximately what English do I My chosen still occurs at/near the beginning of the film...about mid-way predict my students will need to USE through the film…at/near the end of the film. in doing this task? Miss Lonelyhearts is a single, middle-aged conservatively dressed woman in good physical shape. She is at her dinner table, dressed for a formal dinner, with her head on her arms, in tears. She has just drunk a toast with an imaginary guest. She breaks down in tears because she realizes her pathetic situation. This still is a poignant example of Hitchcock’s careful directing. Miss Lonelyhearts’ flat is one part of the perfectly framed homes which Jeff spies on throughout the movie. The block of flats shows us how lonely people can be, even when surrounded by others. Jeff exemplifies/ symbolizes the disinterested voyeurism and cold detachment of big city people in the US in the 50’s. This is relevant to Hong Kong society today, because some people commit suicide from loneliness.

What English have students already • Present tense of verbs been taught and partly or completely • Meaning and pronunciation of some essential adjectives and mastered? verbs concerning the characters and action in the film, e.g. single, conservative, pathetic, breaks down in tears • Meaning and pronunciation of some film-related terms, e.g. still, direct, frame, poignant What English is new to students?

• Stages of the genre • Prepositional phrases situating the still in the film, e.g. near the beginning, about half-way through the film, at/near the end of the film • Linguistic features of a description of a still: present tenses of verbs (with perfect aspect); many instances of the relational verb “to be” • Linguistic features of an explanation relating the described image to possible meanings; shows – – symbolizes

What English may continue to cause students difficulties even though it has been taught before?

• Present tense 3rd person singular –s morpheme • Meaning and pronunciation of some adjectives and verbs concerning the characters and action in the film, e.g. single, conservative, pathetic, breaks down in tears • Meaning and pronunciation of some film-related terms, e.g. still, direct, frame, poignant Continued on next page

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Advanced Student Task — Continued

What new English will I explicitly focus My chosen still occurs at/near the beginning of the film...about mid-way students’ attention on? through the film…at/near the end of the film. Miss Lonelyhearts is a single, middle-aged conservatively dressed woman in good physical shape. She is at her dinner table, dressed for a formal dinner, with her head on her arms, in tears. She has just drunk a toast with an imaginary guest. She breaks down in tears because she realizes her pathetic situation. This still is a poignant example of Hitchcock’s careful directing. Miss Lonelyhearts’ flat is one part of the perfectly framed homes which Jeff spies on throughout the movie. The block of flats shows us how lonely people can be, even when surrounded by others. Jeff exemplifies/ symbolizes the disinterested voyeurism and cold detachment of big city people in the US in the 50’s. This is relevant to Hong Kong society today, because some people commit suicide from loneliness. • Stages of the genre • Prepositional phrases situating the still in the film, e.g. near the beginning, about half-way through the film, at/near the end of the film • Linguistic features of a description of a still: present tenses of verbs (with perfect aspect); many instances of relational verb “to be” • Linguistic features of an explanation relating the described image to possible meanings: shows – – symbolizes

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suggested solutions to Activity 3b

ELEMENTARY STUDENT TASK In pairs or individually, according to student choice, summarize orally the story of the animated movie Oliver Twist in about 40 words. (This task can be preparation for telling the story to a schoolmate in another class who has not seen the movie). Macrostrategies: (a.8); (a.11); (b.2); (d.1) Grammar identified for explicit teaching

Appropriate grammar teaching (micro)strategies/alternatives

stages of the genre

(b.1); (a.11); (a.10)

meanings and pronunciation of vocabulary related to Oliver Twist

(a.2); (a.4); (c.1)

is about + noun phrase, followed by past tense verb forms

(a.1); (a.5); (c.4)

in order to + infinitive

(a.1); (c.4)

stole

(a.5); (a.4)

INTERMEDIATE STUDENT TASK Orally describe the equipment, aims and basic rules of the game of [snooker]. Macrostrategies: (a.8); (c.2); (d.2) Grammar identified for explicit teaching

Appropriate grammar teaching (micro)strategies/alternatives

Linguistic features of the stages of an explanation of (a.10); (b.8); (d.1); (b.9) rules of a game: • The basic equipment in phrase

is + noun

• The aim of the game is + “to” verb form • Players score points by + “ing” verb form • A game ends when X is worth Y (points)

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(a.5); (a.3); (a.10)

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ADVANCED STUDENT TASK In about 200 words, write a description of a chosen still (one paused frame or part of a scene, like a photo) from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Rear Window. Show understanding of what meanings the filmmaker’s choice of image might communicate to the viewers. Macrostrategies: (a.11); (b.2); (b.4); (c.2) Grammar identified for explicit teaching

Appropriate grammar teaching (micro)strategies/alternatives

stages of the genre

(c.2); (a.10)

Prepositional phrases situating the still in the film, e.g. near the beginning, about half-way through the film, at/near the end of the film

(a.4); (a.8); (a.10); (c.1)

Linguistic features of a description of a still: present (a.3); (b.9); (b.7); (b.8); (d.2) tenses of verbs (with perfect aspect); many verbs “to be” Linguistic features of an explanation relating the described image to possible meanings: •

shows

•

symbolizes

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(b.5); (b.9); (b.7); (b.8)

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Appendix IV Here is an example of a concordance output enabling analysis of usage patterns of the word “aim” which occurs in the intermediate task above on the rules of games.

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5

Task-based Assessment Alice CHOW and Benejamin LI

Part 1

Purposes of Assessment

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Part 2

Current Thinking about Language Assessment

104

Part 3

Relationship between Learning and Assessment

108

Part 4

Task-based Assessment 4.1 Definition 4.2 Features of Task-based Assessment 4.3 Assessing Integrated Language Skills through Performance Tasks 4.4 Assessing Grammar within the Context of Tasks

111 111 112

Developing Assessment Criteria 5.1 Purposes of Assessment Criteria 5.2 Scoring, Developing Rating Scales and Writing Descriptors

116 116

Collecting Evidence of Learning and Giving Feedback 6.1 What is Evidence of Learning? 6.2 Collecting Evidence of Learning in a Task-based Assessment 6.3 Giving Feedback

124 124

Recording and Reporting 7.1 Strategies for Aligning Assessment, Recording and Reporting in the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Process 7.2 Implications for School-based Recording and Reporting Practice

127





Part 5

Part 6



Part 7



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112 115

117

125 127

128 130

Chapter Highlights

131

References

132

Appendices

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

Objectives To identify the purposes of assessment; To demonstrate understanding of the principles of current ELT assessment practices; To have a critical understanding of task-based assessment; To practise developing task-based assessment criteria; To explore various ways for reporting students’ performance.

In this chapter, we will focus on examining the principles and procedures guiding the design of task-based assessment. Before we do that, we will briefly review generic concepts that relate to language assessment in Parts 1–3. From Part 4 onwards, specific principles, procedures and critical issues pertaining to the design of task-based assessment and the reporting of students’ performance will be considered.

1.

PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT

Assessment is an integral part of the learning and teaching cycle. It is the practice of collecting and interpreting information about students’ learning, and serves a variety of purposes.

Activity 1

Different purposes for testing

The following are different purposes for testing. Choose 2 statements which you think are most important to you and your students. The purpose of testing is to... a. evaluate the effectiveness of particular teaching materials, methods of teaching or curricula. b. grade learners and to record the levels of their achievement. c. motivate learners and to develop them into more responsible learners. d. predict learners’ future performance in school or outside work. e. select learners for various classes or courses. f. find out about learners’ strengths and weaknesses in relation to their studies and to adjust teaching methods and materials accordingly. What other purposes for testing can you think of?

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Comments on Activity 1

Differences in the purposes of assessment lead to dilemmas about assessment. One of them is whether assessment is for enhancing the effectiveness of teaching and learning or for screening/selecting/placing students. For instance, while statements a, c and f are purposes related to the enhancement of teaching, learning and also educational effectiveness, statements b, d and e are mainly to do with selection and placement. As shown in this activity, assessment can be used to achieve a variety of purposes. It can be used to inform curriculum and teaching; support teaching and learning; provide information about the performance of students, individual schools, and the education system; act as a selection and certificating procedure, and as an accountability device. Not only are assessments used for a wide range of purposes with different underlying principles and philosophies, they also come in a range of forms, e.g. tests, examinations, practicals, projects, portfolios, teacher assessment and observations. When considering the form of assessment to use, teachers need to consider, first and foremost, the purpose which the assessment serves. If the assessment is used to support teaching and learning, and to offer detailed feedback to the teacher and the student, it is essentially different from the kind of assessment used for assigning grades, selection, certification and accountability purposes. Assessment can cause anxiety and undue pressure, and in extreme cases also frustration and loss of confidence and interest. This is particularly true in high-stakes assessments carried out in the form of standardized examinations for the purposes of accountability, certification and selection. Despite the criticisms leveled at this form of assessment for their stultifying, washback effects on curriculum, teaching and classroom practices (e.g. see Resnick and Resnick, 1992), it is likely that this form of assessment will not go away (Gipps, 1994), and will remain in our education system for the purposes mentioned above. While recognizing the role that traditional standardized examinations play in our school system, we must explore other forms of assessment that can be used alongside them to support learning, and enhance motivation for learning. Much of the motivation in language learning arises from the sense of successful achievement in using the target language. Well-designed assessment tasks appropriate to students’ abilities, positive and constructive comments, records of achievement, etc. are measures to enhance students’ motivation (CDC, 2002). It is also important that there is a match between the high quality learning described in education policy documents, and their associated classroom practices and assessment procedures.

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2.

CURRENT THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT

In the context of English language education, assessment can serve the aim of promoting learning by providing information about students’ achievement in relation to the learning objectives, thereby helping students, teachers and parents understand students’ progress and enabling the planning for further improvement. To match the learning processes and objectives, assessments serving various purposes are promoted. In the following activities, different modes of assessment, terms commonly used and features of a good test will be discussed.

Activity 2

Key concepts in assessment

Please check if you understand some of the key concepts in assessment by matching the terms to the definitions (See suggested answers on p. 131).

TYPES OF ASSESSMENT Formative / Summative a. Used at the end of a course/unit/term/year to see how far the objectives have been achieved; used primarily to certify/grade students or evaluate courses. b. Used more frequently during a course/unit/term/year to give feedback, correct learning problems, modify teaching, etc. Criterion-referenced / Norm-referenced c. Compares students’ performance with pre-set criteria; is concerned with standards; the number of students obtaining a grade is not fixed; focus on whether students have learned what they were meant to have learned. d. Compares students’ performance with that of other students; has a normal curve of results; maximizes differences, gives rank order; appropriate for fine differences.

TERMS RELATED TO TYPES OF TESTS Discrete point / Integrative / Objective / Subjective e. no judgement required by marker f. global; holistic view of proficiency; skills not separated g. atomistic view of accuracy; unconnected items one at a time h. judgement required by marker

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CRITERIA FOR A GOOD TEST Validity / Reliability / Manageability / Backwash i. the effect of testing on teaching and learning j. producing similar results with similar students, across markers and over time k. the practicality of the assessment procedures which are often related to the resources, time and energy at the teacher’s disposal l. measuring what it is intended to find out and not something else; constructed at an appropriate level of difficulty for the students who will be assessed

Comments on Activity 2 These are some of the terms commonly used in educational assessment. Among them, manageability, practically, validity and reliability are the key requirements of a “good” test. A good test should be manageable and practical within the time constraints; it should be easy to administer, score and interpret, and of practical use to the teacher so that the test data can be interpreted in ways that help enhance teaching and learning. Validity refers to the degree to which the test actually measures what it is intended to measure. If it does not assess what it purports to assess, then it is not a valid test, and the information collected is misleading. For instance, a valid test of reading assesses reading ability, rather than the number of books that have been read. A valid test is one which is an adequate measure of a construct, which can be reading proficiency, communicative competence, etc. For instance, a test of “reading as a construct would include not only reading aloud, but also reading comprehension, accuracy and enjoyment of reading” (Gipps, 1994, p. 58). To establish the validity of a test, statistical correlation with other related measures is a standard method used, and the technical procedures for validating tests are complex and require specialized knowledge. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to describe in detail those procedures (read Brown (1987) and Gronlund (2006) for details). Reliability is concerned with consistency and dependability. A test is deemed reliable if it yields similar results when given to the same testees or matched testees on different occasions. For instance, a test of aural comprehension administered in similar and comparable test conditions on two different occasions should be reasonably consistent from one day to the next. Reliability of marking among different assessors/raters can be established through the mark-remark procedures with different assessors marking the same piece of work (inter-rater reliability) or the same assessor marking the same piece of work on different occasions (intra-rater reliability). Carefully devised marking criteria and adherence to these criteria by assessors help to enhance reliability of marking.

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As mentioned earlier, assessments are used for a variety of purposes. When assessments are used to measure the extent to which students have mastered the learning outcomes of a particular segment of teaching and learning, e.g. a unit, and the results are used to improve learning, rather than just to assign grades, such assessments are used for formative purposes. Their goal is to identify learning successes and failures, which serve as feedback on the adjustments in learning and teaching which are needed. Formative assessment is often conducted periodically for monitoring learning progress and providing remedial support to learning (Gronlund, 2006). When assessments are conducted at the end of instruction for evaluating mastery or assigning grades, they are done for summative purposes. Though feedback may be provided to students, the purpose is normally for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching, assigning grades for certification, and selection purposes. With regard to test types, a discrete point approach to language assessment is based on the assumption that language can be broken down into discrete component parts. By assessing these discrete points of language and by adequate sampling of these componential units, it is believed that validity can be achieved. This view is opposite to that which sees language competence as a unified set of interacting abilities which cannot be separated and tested adequately (Oller, 1976, 1979 cited in Brown, 1987, and Ellis, 2003). This latter view sees communicative competence as requiring the integrative use of the componential parts of language, e.g. listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary and so on, and that it cannot be captured in tests which measure discrete points of language. Oller (1979) pointed out that “if discrete items take language skill apart, integrative tests put it back together. Whereas discrete items attempt to test knowledge of language one bit at a time, integrative tests attempt to assess a learner’s capacity to use many bits all at the same time.” (p. 37). Subjective tests refer to tests in which the scores are influenced by scorer judgment (e.g. essay tests) whereas objective tests can be consistently scored by equally competent scorers (e.g. multiple choice tests). Backwash/Washback is commonly defined as the effect a test has on teaching in the classroom (Brown, 1987). According to this definition, tests can be used as teaching tools and feedback devices through which students are provided with information about aspects of communicative performance that need improvement. Basically there are two ways of reporting and interpreting assessment results. The method of interpreting results of a student in an achievement assessment in terms of their relative ranking and standing among other students is called norm-referenced interpretation. When the results are expressed in terms of the specific knowledge and skills the student can demonstrate and perform, the method is called criterion-referenced interpretation. Strictly speaking, the terms norm-referenced and criterion-referenced refer only to the method of interpreting assessment results (Gronlund, 2006).

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Activity 3

Task-based Assessment

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New Trends in Language Assessment

Browse through two sample sets of test provided, one more conventional (Appendix I) and the other more current (Appendix II). For each of them, consider the following questions: 1. What is the purpose of the assessment?

2. Does the paper focus on discrete language points or integrative language use (or a mixture of both)?

3. Are criteria for assessment available and could they be discussed with the students before the test?

4. How are students involved in the assessment process?

5. Does the test result easily lend itself to being used for norm-referencing purposes?

6. What backwash on classroom teaching and learning is this test likely to have?

7. To what extent can the assessment help the teacher describe what the students could do with the language and how well s/he could do it with the students, the school and parents?

8. Is the assessment procedure easily manageable?

9. Have you experienced this type of assessment? What do you think about this type of assessment?

10. After considering the questions above for each of the assessment samples, can you draw any conclusion about the current trends in language assessment?

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Comments on Activity 3 From the activity above, it can be seen that new trends in language assessment as shown in Appendix II include: The aim of language assessment today is to see what someone can DO with the language. Language is not only an object of study, but also a tool for communication. Learners are presented with realistic tasks to which they can apply the language learnt. Learners know what they need to do and what the standard is, so they can judge their own doing/progress. Assessment procedure may be less straight forward than paper-and-pencil test procedure. Though not shown in Appendix II, the following are also considered in line with current trends in language assessment: Assessment is integrated into the learning process, based on what we aim for learners to do. Teachers are encouraged to keep records of learners’ processes and products, and discuss these records with learners from time to time, because such information provides evidence of learners’ progress within and towards the learning targets. Learners should also develop the necessary skills to assess and monitor their own learning so that they can feel more responsible for their progress. Community members can understand more easily what students are aiming for because outcomes/products/targets are stated in terms of what students are able to do.

3.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT

There is a body of firm evidence that formative assessment is an essential component of classroom work and that its development can raise standards of achievement (also see p. 21 of Chapter 2: Planning evaluation: assessment instruments and procedure). As pointed out in Part 2 of this chapter, it is usually more informal and more frequent, involving the gathering of evidence of student learning, and students’ language learning needs while they are learning it. It has two key functions: forming and informing (Hong Kong Examinations and

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Assessment Authority, 2005). In other words, formative assessment shapes the instructional decisions about what to do next, by helping 1. the teacher to select what to teach in the next lesson, or even in the next moment in the lesson; and 2. students to understand what they have learnt and what they need to learn next. Its ongoing nature provides feedback to students on their strengths and weaknesses. The range of methods used in formative assessments can include informal, spontaneous, and unstructured teacher observations, focused questions during class discussion or small group work, and formal planned tasks and activities at regular intervals throughout an instructional programme. From time to time, formal, summative assessments are conducted at the end of a programme to collect evidence of what a student has achieved. In Hong Kong, summative assessment which has traditionally been carried out through paperand-pencil tests and examinations at the end of a school term/school year has been conceptualized as a separate stage added to the end of the learning and teaching cycle and often not involving the actual classroom teacher (Davison, 2006). However, the school-based assessment (SBA) component in the 2007 Hong Kong Certificate Examination of Education (HKCEE) is a move towards integrating teacher assessment in this high-stakes examination. The SBA component, according to Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) (2005), aims “to assess learners’ achievement in areas that cannot be easily assessed in public examinations, whilst also enhancing the capacity for student self-evaluation and life-long learning.” (p. 4) Accounting for 15% of the English paper, the SBA component assesses students’ oral language skills through two kinds of oral text-types: individual presentation and group interaction. Teachers who are assessing their own students are given the flexibility to select and adapt a range of sample assessment tasks provided by HKEAA. The purpose is to enable schools to provide students with appropriate, multiple and varied opportunities tailored to students’ language level and interests, so that students are given the opportunity to perform to the best of their abilities. While the teacher is expected to provide feedback on students’ performance after each assessment task, students are encouraged to evaluate their own performance and that of their peers. Because this assessment is undertaken while students are still learning (and teachers are still teaching), it is also used for formative purposes, that is, to improve learning and teaching. The SBA component is a clear attempt in Hong

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Kong to promote a culture of assessment for learning in which even high-stakes summative assessments can also be planned and used for formative purposes, and such formative assessments become the foundation of better learning and teaching (Wiliam, 2001; Black et al., 2003). An example of an SBA assessment task is attached as Appendix III. Although summative assessment serves different functions from formative assessment, teachers can still make use of results of summative assessment to benefit students by reviewing their performance and helping them plan for improvement. By doing so, learning and assessment are closely related in that assessment of learning is extended to assessment for learning (CDC, 2005). Figure 5.1 illustrates the relationship between teaching, learning and assessment.

Figure 5.1. Relationship between learning and assessment

Select targets and learning objectives Plan learning and assessment activities

Learning experience and check/record evidence of learning

Assessment tasks (at a prescribed time)

Formative

Check/record learners’ performance against targets and criteria, e.g. skills descriptors

Formative

Summative

Summative

Summarize and evaluate

Report

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4.

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TASK-BASED ASSESSMENT

4.1 Definition Task-centred language assessment is the process of evaluating, in relation to a set of explicitly stated criteria, the quality of the communicative performances elicited from learners as part of goal-directed, meaning-focused language use requiring the integration of skills and knowledge (Brindley, 1995). The process described in the above sentence can occur in the following sequence: Testees are given things to do that require them to integrate knowledge and skills. These things must be meaningful (presumably “authentic”, “realistic”, “natural”) and there must be a goal (presumably some definite end-product or final outcome). The tasks will elicit language that will be assessed (marked, graded, rated). The marking scheme and possible levels of performance (the criteria) must be clearly stated.

According to CDC 1999 English Syllabus, Assessment tasks resemble learning tasks (see Part 1 of Chapter 1 for characteristics of a learning task on p. 3) in that both of them: involve the process of inquiring, reasoning, communicating and problem-solving; and

conceptualizing,

require learners to activate their knowledge, strategies and skills in the purposeful use of English in contexts. Assessment tasks are different in that support from the teacher is minimal. Students have to carry out the tasks, with reference to their existing knowledge. Formative assessment could be provided to learners as they carry out their learning tasks. Techniques for formative assessment include observation, portfolios, conferencing and journals. Assessment tasks, especially those focusing on the oral aspects, do not have to be given out to all the students at the same time. The teacher can identify a specific group of students to work on a task for assessment purposes. In task-based assessment, criteria for assessing the task have to be clearly stated. Different from learning tasks, assessment tasks do not provide learners with so many hints or support during the process. Rather they require learners to satisfy the task-specific criteria independently so that teachers can assess their achievement.

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4.2 Features of task-based assessment There are a number of features upon which assessment tasks can be best designed. Basically, task-based assessment is carried out in the contexts of tasks which elicit learner performance in relation to learning targets. requires a range of tasks to cover the spectrum of learning targets. gives learners an opportunity to demonstrate what they know and what they can do with the language. provides information on learners’ accomplishments in relation to learning targets. is based on criterion referencing principles by which learner performance is evaluated and described in relation to criteria. uses multiple assessment criteria arranged in levels to give useful feedback to learners.

4.3 Assessing integrated language skills through performance tasks Activity 4

Considerations for Designing Assessment Tasks

Read the exemplar assessment tasks again (Appendix II) which are designed to illustrate how assessment tasks can be set according to the learning targets. Think about the following questions. a. How many assessment tasks are there in the test? b. What dimension/strand* targets, objectives and learning outcomes are selected and focused upon in the assessment tasks? c. Is the coverage appropriate in your view? d. What knowledge/skills/processes are assessed in the test? Do they correspond to the purposes stated? e. To what extent do the assessment tasks encourage the integrative use of language skills and strategies?

* These are purposes of English learning specified in the CDC (1999, 2002) English language curriculum documents.

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Comments on Activity 4 We can see that to a certain extent assessment tasks resemble learning tasks. In fact, assessment tasks can often be developed from learning tasks. In designing assessment tasks, teachers need to consider the following principles (CDC, 1999):

The aims of the assessment tasks should be related to the dimension/strand targets for each Key Stage.

Assessment tasks should assess learners’ capability to use language purposefully, e.g. to solve problems, to develop and use knowledge, to express their feelings and emotions, to interact with others socially, etc.

It may be necessary to focus on particular aspects of language, e.g. grammatical knowledge of the use of gerunds in Part 1, the use of comparatives in Part 2, and the use of imperatives in Part 4 of Appendix II, while assessing communication skills. Assessment tasks can be designed to include the assessment of particular aspects of knowledge, strategies and skills within the tasks themselves.

Different text types should be included: formal and informal letters, brochures, reports, feature articles.

Assessment tasks should provide free, equal and encouraging opportunities for learners to perform and demonstrate their achievements. For example, both verbal and non-verbal responses may be elicited from learners, etc. Performance Tasks As mentioned in the last bullet point above, performance tasks are used in task-based assessment for assessing both verbal and non-verbal responses. The assessment of performance skills and outcomes involves a complete evaluation of a wide range of skills which are complex, but interacting. Complex skills such as reasoning, problem-solving, etc., may not be adequately assessed by paper and pencil tests alone. These complex skills may also interact with other elements/factors such as students’ interest in and attitudes towards the assessment task. For instance, in assessing oral language skills involving group interaction, we are concerned not only with a range of communication skills, such as pronunciation, vocabulary and language patterns, ideas and organization and similar basic elements needed for effective oral delivery, but also students’ interests and attitudes toward the task that support effective group interaction. When administering performance assessments, the following procedural steps proposed by Gronlund (2006) are essential:

specifying the performance outcomes; selecting the focus of the assessment (e.g. procedure, product, or both); selecting the performance situation with an appropriate degree of authenticity and realism; and

selecting the method of observing, recording and scoring.

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An example of performance outcomes can be leaflets/pamphlets/posters of extracurricular activities designed by students for publicity purposes. The assessment may focus on the product, i.e. the linguistic, structural and visual qualities of the leaflets/pamphlet/ posters, as well as the process, i.e. design process and group dynamics. The performance situation involves students undertaking a group project of designing promotional materials that entail communication and thinking skills in the construction of a unique product, i.e. the leaflet, etc. As mentioned earlier, assessment tasks have similar features as learning tasks, which are characterized by a high degree of authenticity and realism. Assessing the process and product of this leaflet/poster designing task may involve systematic observation and scoring rubrics. Table 5.1 lists assessment tasks which engage students’ knowledge and skills in ways similar to those required in some real-life or “authentic” tasks, in which students perform some complex and extended production activity. It should be noted that only speaking and writing, the productive skills, can be directly assessed. They tend to have more valid means of assessment (e.g. conversation, essays, reports, letters, etc), but clear criteria and performance descriptors are needed in order to make those assessments less subjective and improve their reliability. On the other hand, the interpretive skills, listening and reading, can only be assessed indirectly. It is easier to have more objective marking and so achieve greater reliability, but if those assessments are to be more valid, then a wide range of question types, covering higher as well as lower order skills, is needed. Tasks, of course, have a role in making assessments more valid.

Table 5.1.

Examples of authentic assessment tasks Extended-production

Product-focused • • • • •

essays reports oral presentations debates portfolios

Performance-focused • • • • • •

role-plays dramatizations interviews conversations group discussions story telling

Process-focused • journals • reflection • learning logs

Source: Adapted from Purpura (2004)

4.4 Assessing grammar within the context of tasks When designing tasks for assessing grammar (see 3rd bullet point under “Comments on Activity 4” on p. 113), we need to consider, first of all, the types of grammatical knowledge that can be assessed. Broadly speaking, grammatical knowledge can be categorized into two types: explicit grammar knowledge and implicit grammatical knowledge (Ellis, 2001). Explicit grammar knowledge refers to a conscious knowledge of grammatical forms (see Section 3 in Part II of Appendix I, p. 139) and

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their meanings. This kind of knowledge is usually accessed and brought into action slowly. Implicit grammatical knowledge refers to an unconscious knowledge of a language that is “typically manifest in some form of naturally occurring language behaviour such as conversation” (ibid, p. 252), and is often accessed quickly. Different assessments can be used to test different forms of grammatical knowledge. Table 5.2 lists some examples of grammar test types, ranging from tests that require selected-response to those that entail extended production of language. Normally selected response and limited-production tasks are used to assess students’ explicit knowledge of specific grammatical forms (see Section 3 in Part II of Appendix I, p. 139). However, one of the limitations of such tests, if not done within the context of communicative tasks, is that they cannot show how well students have internalized the forms, or how well they could apply them fluently and spontaneously in “real-life” situations. Nevertheless the test results do provide information from which the teacher can infer if students have mastered the target grammatical forms. Table 5.2. Examples of grammar test types Tasks

Examples

Notes

Selectedresponse tasks

• • • • •

Multiple choice activities True-false activities Matching activities Discrimination activities Error identification activities

• Test takers select a response from input provided. • To assess grammatical knowledge of form/ meaning. • Input is always presented in an item, and could be in language or non-language form. • Responses are usually scored either right or wrong, but partial-credit scoring also possible.

Limitedproduction tasks

• • • • •

Gap-filling activities Short-answer activities Information-transfer activities Some information-gap activities Dialogue completion activities

• Test takers give a response, involving a limited amount of language production. • To assess one or more areas of grammatical knowledge. • Input is always presented in an item, and could be in language or non-language form. • The range of possible answers can be large. • Responses can be scored in many ways, i.e. full, partial or credit; holistic or analytic. • Separate scores for items with multiple criteria.

Extendedproduction tasks

• • • • • • •

Summaries, essays Dialogues, interviews Role-plays, simulations Stories, reports Some information-gap activities Problem-solving activities Decision making activities

• Test takes give a response, involving large amounts of data, which vary in terms of quality and quantity among test takers. • To measure implicit grammatical knowledge, especially in assessing ability to use forms to convey meanings. • Input is always presented in the form of a prompt instead of an item. • Responses are scored with rating scales used to determine different levels of grammatical ability.

Source: Adapted from Purpura (2004)

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On the other hand, if the teacher wishes to obtain information on students’ implicit knowledge of grammatical forms, and the extent to which they can use them automatically and spontaneously in authentic situations, assessment tasks that elicit fluent and automatic language use of grammatical forms in contexts should be used. Appendices II and VIII illustrate the ways in which certain aspects of the language can be assessed within the context of communicative tasks. For instance, Part 1 of Appendix II is an information-transfer task requiring students to transfer information (i.e. activities that students can do in two holiday destinations) from a passage to a table and use gerunds to indicate those activities. Similarly, Parts 2 and 4 of Appendix II are information-transfer tasks, in which students are required to use comparatives and imperatives, respectively. See Appendix VIII for assessment tasks which assess students’ ability to use adjectives, present tense and modal verbs in a face-to-face interview, in a short oral presentation and in designing a Mother’s Day card. As for rating scales that can be used to assess grammatical ability, please see Part 5.2 below.

5.

DEVELOPING ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Activity 5

Reflection of Practice

1. How is students’ performance in assessment tasks normally captured/observed? Do you usually give a mark? Do students understand the meaning of the marks? 2. How often do you give feedback to students? What form does it take? Do you do anything to help students learn from the feedback? 3. In what ways are your students involved in peer- or self-assessment as a tool for learner independence?

5.1 Purposes of assessment criteria The purposes of developing assessment criteria are to: provide description about learners’ progress within and towards the

learning targets and objectives; provide indicators of learners’ strengths and weaknesses; suggest areas/ways of helping learners to improve and make further progress; suggest areas/ways of improving teaching and learning.

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5.2 Scoring, developing rating scales and writing descriptors Analytic and holistic scoring In assessing the procedures and outcomes in assessment tasks, rating scales and associated descriptors are often used. They are a series of short descriptions of different levels of language ability, often constructed to evaluate the frequency with which an action is performed (e.g. always, sometimes, never), and the general quality of a performance (e.g. outstanding, above average, average, below average). They direct attention to the dimensions to be observed and describe briefly what the typical learner at each level can do, so that the assessor can decide on the level or score to give each student in an assessment task (Underhill, 1987). In developing an appropriate rating scale for an assessment task, the teacher needs to consider if the scale is used for analytic or holistic scoring. In analytic scoring, the performance or product is judged against each of the assessment criteria specified for the task (refer to Appendices IV and V, extracts from CDC, 2005, for suggested criteria identified for different tasks). Table 5.3 is an example of an analytic rating scale for assessing oral performance in an interview. Table 5.4 is an example of a rating scale which can be used to assess grammatical ability. Depending on the nature and content of the assessment task itself, specific grammatical forms expected to be used by the students in the task can be identified and incorporated in the level descriptors, e.g. the use of past tense verbs and adverbs of time in a recount of past events. The rating scales shown in Tables 5.3 and 5.4 are used as instruments for directing observation to the criteria listed as critical, and are used for an analysis of the student’s performance in key aspects of the tasks (i.e. for analytic scoring). The rating scale in Appendix VI shows some sections of the rating scale used for analytic scoring (also known as profile scoring) in the SBA component of HKCEE. The scale is used to assess students’ performance in group interaction tasks. In this scale, criteria such as pronunciation and delivery, communication strategies, vocabulary and language patterns and organization of ideas are critical aspects of the performance, and as are assessed separately. Appendix VII shows the scoring sheet used in the assessment. In holistic scoring, an overall impression of the performance or product is formed rather than an evaluation of the individual elements of the performance. An holistic or global judgment is made by assigning a score to each performance or product rather than each aspect of performance that corresponds to a particular criterion. Table 5.5 is one such example. Other examples can be found in the three sets of criteria designed for the face-to-face interview, oral presentation and poem writing respectively in Appendix VIII.

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Table 5.3. Analytic rating scale for oral performance in an interview Pronunciation

Comprehension

Vocabulary

Structure

Fluency

Level 4

Mispronunciation rarely occurs and intelligibility is always maintained

Understands everything said by assessor and replies appropriately, with no need for adjustments or repetition on the part of the assessor

Shows excellent vocabulary range to carry out the task successfully

Speech shows very few, if any, noticeable problems with complex structures

Student’s halting and hesitations are typical of a competent nonnative speaker

Level 3

Mispronunciation occasionally occurs and it causes occasional problems to intelligibility

Understands nearly everything said by the assessor and replies appropriately, needing some repetition and/ or adjustments on the part of the assessor

Sometimes lacks the right words, but manages to accomplish the task

Speech shows some problems with complex structures

Student is sometimes hesitant, but manages to accomplish the task

Level 2

Mispronunciation is recurrent, and frequently interferes with assessor’s understanding of the student’s speech

Needs constant adjustments and repetition on the part of the assessor to reply adequately

Lacks many of the right words, but manages to partially accomplish the task

Speech shows some problems with basic structure, word order and agreement

Student frequently halts and hesitates, compromising the accomplishments of the task

Level 1

Mispronunciation is constant, and seriously interferes with assessor’s understanding of student’s speech

Understands very little; needs constant adjustments and repetition on the part of the assessor, but fails to reply adequately

Lacks most of the vocabulary required, which seriously harms his/her performance in the task

Speech shows constant problems with basic structure, word order and agreement

Student halts and hesitates, seriously compromising the accomplishment of the task

Source: Adapted from De Oliveira (2004, p. 274)

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Table 5.4. Analytic rating scale for grammatical ability Levels of Control

Form

Meaning

Excellent

• Excellent grasp of grammatical forms including articles, verb agreement, word form, verb form (tense, aspect) • Effective use of a range of sentence patterns including co-ordination and subordination

• The message is clearly conveyed. • Appropriate use of register and a wide range of vocabulary for the task.

Moderate

• Clear grasp of grammatical forms though there may be minor errors in articles, verb agreement, word form and/ or verb form • There is clear knowledge of basic sentence construction, but there may be little variation in sentence structure

• The message is adequately conveyed with some ambiguities. • Vocabulary choice and register are generally appropriate. • May have some errors in word choice, but meaning is never obscured.

Limited

• Limited grasp of grammatical forms with several errors in article use, verbal form, verb and/ or word form • Errors occur when complex structures are attempted, which sometimes obscure meaning

• The message is sometimes confusing. • Some errors in word choice for the task, and register may be inappropriate. • May be incomplete or imprecise for the task.

None

• Very limited grasp of grammatical forms with serious errors which obscure meaning. • Poor sentence construction which makes sentences incomprehensible • Not enough material to evaluate

• The message is barely conveyed or not at all. • Simple vocabulary is used with several errors in vocabulary choice.

Source: Adapted from Purpura (2004)

Table 5.5. Sample holistic scoring rubric for writing Level 4

• Content interesting • Very good organization, with smooth transitions • Excellent use of mechanics* and sentence structure

Level 3

• Content generally relevant and interesting most of the time • Generally good organization, with some weaknesses • Good use of mechanics, but some occasional errors

Level 2

• Content sometimes irrelevant • Organization weak, flow interrupted by poor transitions • Some serious mechanical errors

Level 1

• Content irrelevant • Organization poor • Many mechanical errors that impede communication

* Superficial, “structural” features which can easily be spotted. See more examples of mechanics on p. 174.

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The scoring rubrics developed (see Table 5.5) for holistic scoring clarify what each level of quality is like, list the criteria that the assessor needs to keep in mind when making an overall judgment, but do not provide for an analysis of each criterial aspect of the performance or product. It is unlike analytic rating scales which provide useful, diagnostic information for improving performance. For instructional purposes, both holistic and analytic scoring are useful (Gronlund, 2006), though in holistic scoring, assessors may find it difficult to assign an overall grade/score to a particular performance, as many students have variable language skills. As teachers we often come across students who speak fluently but whose grammatical accuracy while speaking is shaky; or whose pronunciation impedes communication (Hamp-Lyons, 2006). Therefore, it is important that students are provided with feedback on their performance in each criterial area, which calls for the use of analytic scoring. Approaches in developing rating scales There are three approaches commonly used in developing rating scales for second language testing (Turner and Upshur, 2002). The first one involves the identification of second language (L2) test response/performance characteristics based on theoretical definitions of the constructs to be measured (McNamara, 1996). The second one takes into account the sequence of learning objectives in an L2 course. The following procedures are normally adopted in the first two approaches mentioned above. Steps in devising a scale for classroom tests: 1. Describe clearly the criteria for assessing oral/writing skills, e.g. fluency, comprehensibility, amount of communication, quality of communication and effort to communicate. 2. Describe in one or two sentences exactly what you expect the average successful student to have achieved under each of the criteria in (1) by the time the test is taken. These descriptions will then form Level 4 on the scale (if a 6-point scale is being used). 3. Then repeat the same procedure for the student who is slightly below average in your expectations (i.e. Level 3). 4. Next, write the descriptions for the successful student (above average), assigning these descriptions to Level 5 on the scale. 5. After that, describe the performance of the unsuccessful student who is below average (Level 2), then the performance of the very successful student (Level 6), and finally that of the least able and most unsuccessful student (Level 1).

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Adapted from Heaton (1988, p. 99)

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The third approach involves the development of a scale derived empirically from samples of test performance (McNamara, 1996), and by eliciting scale developers’ descriptions of differences in a sample of L2 test responses (Shohamy, 1985; Upshur and Turner, 1995; Turner and Upshur, 2002; Venema, 2002). It aims to address the problems associated with the first approach which reflects “what theorists think happens in communicative situations, and not what actually happens, that is, they are based on theory without adequate empirical support” (Turner and Upshur, 2002, p. 4). This third approach develops empirically derived scales involving a team of experienced raters rating a representative sample of student performances, first based on impressions, and then based on criterial questions that are formulated and used to classify performance samples into different performance levels. The following are the steps involved in developing such a scale described by Upshur and Turner (1995, p. 7): 1. Select eight student performances from the set to be rated, which represent the full range of ability in the total set. 2. Each rater in a six member team divides, based on impressions, the set of eight performances into the four better and four poorer. 3. Team members discuss their dichotomous rankings, and reconcile any differences. They also formulate criterial questions that are used to classify performances as “upper-half” or “lower-half” according to the attributes they are rating. 4. Working with the four upper-half performances, the team members individually rates each performance sample as “6”, “5”, or “4”. The procedure requires that at least one sample should be rated “6”, and that at least two numerical ratings should be used. Therefore, at least two of the four samples receive the same rating. 5. Rankings are discussed and reconciled. Criterial questions are formulated first to distinguish level 6 performances, from level 4 and 5 performances, and then level 5 performances from level 4 performances. 6. Steps 4 and 5 are repeated for the lower-half performances. An example of empirically derived scales on assessing written compositions that require binary choices by raters and that define boundaries between score levels (EBB) is shown in Figure 5.2. Such an empirically derived rating scale helps address problems in theoretically derived scales. However, there are also a number of issues that need to be resolved. First, developing such a scale is very time-consuming, and requires considerable human resources, involving a team of four to five experienced raters to enhance inter-rater reliability and scale generalizability for a single task. Another issue

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Figure 5.2. Ordered criterial questions for EBB scales Yes

Yes

Fluent discourse and sentences are complete?

No

Text well sequenced and shows smooth transition?

Text presents and maintains topic clearly?

Yes

No

No

No No

6

Syntax/word choice is faulty and most sentences are incomplete?

Ideas limited/ ineffectively supported?

Yes

Yes

5

4

3

2

1

Source: Adapted from Turner and Upshur (2002, p. 70)

which is common in assessment tasks involving subjective rater judgment is the differences among raters in their interpretations of the same set of descriptors, and thus requires extensive standardization and moderation exercises to achieve reliability and consistency in rating by different assessors. It is important to note that assessing language performance using rating scales is a much more demanding task than scoring discrete point tests which involve only right or wrong answers (Upshur and Turner, 1995). The following are some of the useful pointers you may consider when developing rating scales. Existing scales were designed for specific purposes and obviously they

would be of little use in most other circumstances. Be ready to modify them or write your own scales to suit your own purposes. Though odd-numbered scales are used in some public examinations, even-

numbered scale is considered useful in preventing examiners from awarding the middle mark (a tendency in many cases). Avoid a narrow scale (e.g. a 2-point scale) as this will not allow for the

range of discriminations you may wish to make. Avoid a wide scale (e.g. a 20-point scale) as few markers seem to make use

of either the upper or lower end of this scale.

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Devise your own rating scale after having carefully considered the level

and kind of language skills your students should be expected to achieve. The optimum performance expected, therefore, will not necessarily be near native-speaker fluency. You may refer to CDC (2005) for criteria identified for specific performance tasks.

Activity 6

Improving on and Developing Assessment Criteria

a. Read the criteria of the assessment tasks (Appendix VIII) produced by teachers, consider if they are appropriate, and suggest ways to further improve them. b. With reference to your own task/materials, devise a rating scale after having carefully considered the level and kind of skills your students should be expected to achieve.

Comments on Activity 6 The criteria for the assessment tasks presented in Appendix VIII are generally clear and well developed. Some improvements can be made. Among them, the following are more obvious: To provide students with feedback on specific aspects of their performance, an analytic rating scale is likely to be more useful. The grade level of the target students is not known, making it difficult to tell whether the assessment tasks are set at the right level in terms of difficulty. When using a 5-point rating scale examiners may tend to award the middle mark. The assessment criteria should reflect all the stated aims of the assessment task. For instance, in Assessment Task One, the aim “to assess learners’ ability to respond and give expression of one’s feelings towards characters” is not reflected in the assessment criteria. Criteria in areas which are not stated in the aims (e.g. “motivation for doing the tasks” and “participation in the task”) are, however, included. Particular aspects of language considered important for assessing students’ grammatical knowledge, such as the use of adjectives to describe their mother, are not included in the assessment criteria. Grade D is considered a “marginal pass” and so the grade descriptors should not be too negative. The descriptor “Many errors are found in pronunciation, intonation and language use in the conversation” is an example of an attribute which is over negative.

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While the assessment criteria designed in this way can provide descriptions about learners’ progress within and towards the learning aims, targets and objectives, in evaluating their performance, it is likely that markers have different interpretations of criteria like “well sequenced” versus “appropriately sequenced” or “sometimes not appropriate” versus “inappropriate in a considerable number of aspects”. To ensure intermarker/inter-rater reliability, one possible way is for the grades of a certain number of marked scripts out of the whole batch (e.g. taken from the top, mediocre and bottom) to be moderated by a second marker. Another possibility is moderating grades by means of a standardization exercise, whereby the markers get together and assess a few scripts together and agree on the grades before marking the rest.

6.

COLLECTING EVIDENCE OF LEARNING AND GIVING FEEDBACK

6.1 What is evidence of learning? Formative assessment requires the teacher to be closely involved in collecting evidence of individual learners’ progress over time. The idea is to build up a detailed picture of each student’s strengths and areas that need improvement. This information can supplement the information gained from summative assessment, and perhaps more importantly, it should be used to inform how teachers teach their students.

Activity 7

Evidence of Students’ Progress

Spend a few minutes reflecting upon the types of learning activities your students do in class. List below those outcomes or activities that could provide evidence of students’ progress.

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Now compare your list with that of a partner and discuss these questions: 1. Did you find that you listed the same types of activities?

2. Did you find that the evidence comes from planned activities (primary evidence) or unplanned activities (secondary evidence) or both?

6.2 Collecting evidence of learning in a task-based assessment The following are some common types of formative assessment which teachers are encouraged to use flexibly according to the school culture, policy, context and practice. Evidence of learning can be collected in the process.

Observation Observation is one of the most popular and straightforward methods of formative assessment. Teachers engage in observing and making judgements about students’ performance and progress every time they teach. Observations can be conducted and recorded in many different ways and can be carried out by both teachers and students. While systematic observation, guided by checklists or rating scales, is one of the most common methods of assessing performance outcomes, e.g. in the SBA component of the 2007 HKCEE mentioned earlier, which involves the teacher observing groups of students discussing books or films they have read and viewed, less structured observation also has the advantage of recording other important aspects of performance which are overlooked by structured observation devices. For instance, the strategies used by students in approaching a task, resolving conflicts in cooperative tasks, and offering assistance to other students, can be described in anecdotal records. These are significant student behaviour critical to the successful completion of a group task. Anecdotal records of events and activities that accumulate for individual students over the course of an instructional programme can be used to develop profiles of behaviour and attainment of individual students. Keeping such records can be very time-consuming; therefore, the teacher can keep the task manageable by aiming for a brief, objective and selfsufficient description of a meaningful incident and a separate interpretation of what the incident means (Gronlund, 2006). Two common methods of collecting information through observation include anecdotal records/descriptive comments (Appendix IX) and checklists (Appendix X).

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Oral presentations “When carrying out well-designed learning tasks and activities, students demonstrate their progress towards the learning targets. Such tasks may include games, quizzes, oral presentation, etc. which are commonly used in the learning and teaching process. Evidence of learning collected should form the basis of feedback to promote further learning.” (CDC, 2002, p. 107) A set of suggested criteria for assessing performance in oral presentations can be found in Appendix XI.

Projects “Teachers should assess the process as well as the product when assessing student performances on projects. They can use a variety of means such as observation, conferencing and looking at the process of a student’s writing. Continuous feedback should be given with the aim of stimulating learners’ critical reflection and helping them improve their learning.” (CDC, 2002, p. 107)

Refer to Appendix XII for areas to be considered in assessing projects.

Portfolios “A portfolio is a purposeful collection of a learner’s work that demonstrates progress in the development of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes in a given area.” (CDC, 2002, p. 108) Guidelines for assessing portfolios are provided in Appendix XIII (CDC, 2002, pp. A1–A14).

Process writing “Well thought-out writing involves a process, which is generally made up of the recursive stages of planning, of drafting and finalizing. At appropriate stages of the writing process, teachers can give feedback on learners’ drafts. With adequate preparation, learners can be asked to provide feedback on the drafts of each other and of their own. Based on the feedback, learners can improve their drafts with suitable revisions.” (CDC, 2002, p. 108) Examples of feedback sheets for use at secondary level are included in Appendix XIV (CDC, 2002, pp. A17–A18).

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6.3 Giving feedback

Activity 8

The Concept of Feedback

Consider the extent to which you agree to the following: Feedback has three elements: recognition of the desired goal, evidence about present position and some understanding of a way to close the gap between the two (Black & Wiliam 1998). Feedback should be focused and somewhat related to the criteria of the task. Both praise and suggestions for improvement could be included to ensure that students could benefit from this process. The concept of feedback is obviously central to formative assessment. Feedback may be from peers or from tutors, verbally and/or written. Written feedback alone is limited, because it is one-way and open to misinterpretation but has the advantage of being a permanent record for future reference (Carless, 2002).

As pointed out in the English Language Curriculum (CDC, 2004), feedback is an integral part of the learning-teaching-assessment cycle whereby learners’ performance is observed and then judgements are made about the best way to help them improve. (See teachers’ informal feedback strategies in Chapter 4, pp. 85–86.) Nunan (1999) argues that positive feedback is one of the preconditions for effective motivation.

7.

RECORDING AND REPORTING

Schools need to maintain a record of learners’ performance as evidence of their progress. Learners’ performance can be reflected in grades or marks further substantiated with comments in the form of an attachment (i.e. a short written report or a checklist on a separate sheet). These comments provide parents with more qualitative information on their children’s learning in English. At the end of a school term or school year, teachers can prepare a summary of learners’ achievements usually given out as a school report. The function of the school report is to give parents a comprehensive picture of their children’s

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performance in English Language learning, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and where further improvement or assistance is necessary (CDC, 2004). The following are suggested strategies for aligning assessment, recording and reporting in the teaching, learning and assessment process.

7.1 Strategies for aligning assessment, recording and reporting in the teaching, learning and assessment process Making it work Teachers need to align the following three elements so that each one leads naturally to the others.

assessment tasks means of recording performance means of reporting progress

Selecting learning tasks Teachers should decide which learning tasks they will use to assess performance and progress. They will find it much more manageable if they choose “big tasks” that allow them to capture and record performance on a range of descriptors in the Interpersonal (ID), Knowledge (KD) and Experience (ED) Dimensions. For example

a carefully designed/selected Role Play or Information Gap task a task that involves students in writing a letter a task that involves students in writing a text about their experiences a Project

Designing forms to record performance Teachers should decide which forms or checklists they will use to record performance and progress. The design of forms/checklists should be closely related to the task they want their students to do. Refer to the sample descriptors presented in Tables in Part 5.2 for ideas to develop such forms/checklists to record performance.

What to do with the record forms/checklists Teachers should keep the products of the assessment tasks and the record forms/ checklists/comments in an Assessment Portfolio for each student. They can also consider using the record form/checklists to produce an overall one-page learner record for each student.

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Having a plan To capture a sufficient range of performance and progress over time in the different dimensions, teachers need to develop an assessment framework or plan. This may be as simple as columns in the scheme of work that show the learning tasks that will be used for assessment purposes and the means of recording.

Using the information Teachers should build in a mechanism or time for sitting down with other teachers of the same grade level, and/or Key Stage to discuss the outcomes and to use the information to plan for future teaching. Also, teachers should find time to communicate what they have found out with the students at least once or twice a year. This may be done as an informal chat or they may schedule time to do this. Teachers can use the information to let pupils know they are doing well and where they need to improve. They should try to help the students to set their own learning targets or goals for the next term.

Reporting to students and parents In reporting to parents and students, teachers should take into consideration student performance throughout the term or school year or a particular period of time. The written report is a part of our communication process. It takes much effort and time to create the right atmosphere and to foster good relationship between school staff, parents and students in a school.

Activity 9

School report

In groups of five, study the S5 school report provided (Appendix XV) and provide answers for the following questions: How is the students’ performance recorded? What do the figures mean? What picture emerges of the academic efforts of the student concerned? Apart from academic subjects what areas does the report cover?

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Activity 10

Record of Achievement

Go through the Record of Achievement (Appendix XVI) and respond to the following questions: Why do you think it is called a “Record of Achievement”? How is performance recorded? What aspects does it cover? What is special about the Record? Who writes first? Who responds? Which pronouns are used (in most cases)? What are the key educational ideas behind letting the student evaluate his/her own performance? Does the student write nonsense? What about the last page? What is the purpose? Do you like the broad focus?

7.2 Implications for school-based recording and reporting practice School-based recording and reporting practice is best developed with the following considerations.

Schools’ cultures The school setting is a powerful location for processing knowledge and bringing about change. To a large extent the school setting is related to its cultures and current assessment practice which would facilitate or hinder the development of school-based recording and reporting practice.

Usefulness and purposefulness In developing school-based recording and reporting practice how it can be made more useful and purposeful should be considered. Ways for enhancing the provision of feedback on students’ progress which can contribute to improved learning outcomes and effective implementation in terms of simplicity and manageability would all have an impact on the practice.

Consensus and collective decision Experience has shown how stakeholders see the practice would affect its development and implementation. Thus parents’ acceptance and teachers’ experience and readiness would all warrant consideration.

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Chapter Highlights The chapter has attempted to help you to understand that: assessment is an integral part of the learning, teaching and assessment cycle and serves a variety of purposes; assessments serving formative and summative purposes should be encouraged; assessment tasks can be developed from learning tasks; students’ performance in assessment tasks cannot be captured/observed by a mark but by provision of description, indicators and/or feedback; and provision should be made for relevant information on the learner’s performance in both formative and summative assessment to be presented to parents in order to give them a better picture of how their children are progressing in their learning, what their strengths and weaknesses are and where assistance is necessary.

* Suggested answers for Activity 2 (pp. 104–105): (a) Summative assessment; (b) Formative assessment; (c) Criterion-referenced assessment; (d) Norm-referenced assessment; (e) Objective; (f) Integrative; (g) Discrete point; (h) Subjective; (i) Backwash; (j) Reliability; (k) Manageability; (l) Validity

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REFERENCES Black, P., Harrison, C. Lee, C., Marshall, B. & Wiliam, D. (2003). Assessment for learning. New York: Open University Press. Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5(1), 7–74. Brindley, G. (Eds.) (1995). Language assessment in action. Sydney: Sydney National Centre for Language Learning, Testing and Research, Macquarie University. Brown, H.D. (1987). Principles of language learning and teaching. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Carless, D. (2002). The ‘mini-viva’ as a tool to enhance assessment for learning. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(4), 353–363. Curriculum Development Council. (1999). Syllabuses for secondary school English language (Secondary 1–5). Hong Kong: Education Department. Curriculum Development Council. (2001). Learning to learn: The way forward in curriculum development. Hong Kong: Education Department. Curriculum Development Council. (2002). English language education, key learning area curriculum guide (Primary 1–Secondary 3). Hong Kong: Education Department. Curriculum Development Council. (2004). English language education, key learning area: English language curriculum guide (Primary 1–6). Hong Kong: Education and Manpower Bureau. Curriculum Development Council. (2005). Task-based assessment for English language learning at secondary level. Hong Kong: Education and Manpower Bureau. Davison, C. (2006). SBA trainer notes No. 2. Formative and Summative in Hong Kong. Professional development courses for teachers in preparation for school-based assessment in 2007 HKCEE English Language. Hong Kong: HKEAA & HKU. De Oliveira, C. P. (2004). Implementing Task-Based assessment in a TEFL environment. In Betty Lou Leaver & Jane R. Willis (Eds). Task-based instruction in foreign language education. (pp. 253–279). Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. Ellis, R. (2001). Some thoughts on testing grammar: An SLA perspective. In C. Elder, A. Brown, E. Grove, K. Hill, N. Iwashita, T. Lumely, T. McNamar, K. O’Loughlin (Eds). Experimenting with uncertainty: Essays in honour of Alan Davis (pp. 251–263). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learnng and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gipps, C. V. (1994). Beyond testing: Towards a theory of educational assessment. London: the Falmer Press. Gronlund, N. E. (2006). Assessment of student achievement (8th Ed). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Hamp-Lyons, L. (2006). SBA trainer notes No. 14. Teacher’s use of assessment criteria. Professional development courses for teachers in preparation for school-based assessment in 2007 HKCEE English language. Hong Kong: HKEAA & HKU. Heaton, J. B. (1988). Writing English language tests. London: ELBS/Longman.

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Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. (2005). 2007 HKCE English language examination. Introduction to the school-based assessment component. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. McNamara, T. (1996). Measuring second language performance. New York: Longman. Nunan, D. (1999). Second language teaching and learning. Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle and Heinle Publishers. Oller, J. W. (1979). Language tests at school: A pragmatic approach. London: Longman. Purpura, J. E. (2004). Assessing grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Resnick, L. B. and Resnick, D. P. (1992). Assessing the thinking curriculum: New tools for educational reform. In Gifford, B. and O’Connor, M. (Eds). Changing assessment: alternative views of aptitude, achievement and instruction. London: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Sherman J. (2003). Using authentic video in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Shohamy, E. (1985). A practical handbook in language testing for the second language teacher. (Experimental Edn). Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University. Turner, C. E & Upshur, J. A. (2002). Rating scales derived from student samples: Effects of the scale maker and the student sample on scale content and student scores. TESOL Quarterly, 36(1), 49–71. Underhill, N. (1987). Testing spoken language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Upshur, J. A. & Turner, C. E. (1995). Constructing rating scales for second language tests. ELT Journal, 49(1), 3–12. Wiliam, D. (2001). An overview of the relationship between assessment and the curriculum. In D. Scott (Ed). Curriculum and assessment (pp. 165–181). Wesport, Ct: Ablex Publishing. Venema, J. (2002). Developing classroom specific rating scales: Clarifying teacher assessment of oral communicative competence. Shiken: JALT Testing & Evaluation SIG Newsletter, 6(1), 2–5.

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Appendix I

No. of Ans. Book(s): Ans. Sheets: M.C. Ans. Sheets: Map(s): Graph Paper(s): Total No. of pages:

FINAL EXAMINATION Class: Date: Part I.

S.4

Subject:

English Language

Time Allowed: 11/2 hours

Name: Class No.:

Comprehension (30%) Answer the questions after reading this passage.

Some complaints are short. Some are long. The following essay begins as a long complaint about computers and computer salespeople.

I think that there is something wrong with people who sell computers. It is often almost impossible to understand anything they say. They speak a language of their own: computer jargon. They look down on people who do not understand their jargon. The worst thing about many of them, however, is that they do not really try to help their customers. People who have never owned a computer want to know how they work. They want to know what they will or will not do. Most computer salespeople cannot — or will not — explain anything in a way their customers can understand. When their customers complain and ask them to repeat something, they do so, but faster and in worse jargon than before. Most people do not like to admit that they cannot understand this kind of talk. As the salespeople talk about “bytes”, “RAM” and “ROM”, their customers nod their heads and pretend to know what the words mean. They think that it doesn’t matter if they have not understood because they can read the instruction manual when they get home. They will be able to learn about the computer from that. Unfortunately, when they get home and open the manual, they receive a big shock. The manual is written in the same kind of language as the spoken “sales talk” that they couldn’t understand before. Young people do not seem to have problems with computers or with computer salespeople. They have grown up with them. Older people find it more difficult because they were born before the

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beginning of the electronic age. It is quite common to find children explaining to their parents — and especially to their grandparents — how the new technology works and what the new language means. If we cannot work with computers it does not mean that we are not intelligent. Some very intelligent people do not want to or need to have anything to do with them. On the other hand, some people of low intelligence can operate computers without difficulty. Computers themselves, of course, are not intelligent. We cannot yet make artificial intelligence. It is only in science fiction films that robots are able to develop minds of their own and take control. So far, our computers will do only what they are told to do. And they can do it only if they are told in exactly the right way. If we make spelling mistakes or put punctuation marks in the wrong places, computers will not obey our instructions. They cannot “think” or “guess” what we want them to do. They are clever machines that are also very stupid! One day, perhaps, there will be computers that are more intelligent than any human being. One can’t help wondering what the people who sell them will be like!

Now answer the following questions. Full sentences are not required. 1.

a) What do the computer salespeople think of the people who can’t understand them? (2%)



b) In what way are the computer salespeople unable to help the customers? (Do not use more than 12 words) (2%)



c) Give an example of the jargon used by computer salespeople. (1 word) (2%)



d) Why is it often easier for young people to understand computer jargons than for older people? (Do not use more than 10 words) (2%)



e) In what way is the computer instruction manual sometimes not very useful? (2%)



It is also written in a lot of

(2 words)



f) What example does the writer give to show that computers are not intelligent? (2%)



g) What kind of intelligence would an “intelligent” computer have? (2 words) (2%)

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Decide whether the following sentences are true or false. Use “T” for true sentences and “F” for false sentences. Put your answers in the spaces provided. (4%) a) Robots are computers that can make decision and take control in real life. b) In the last paragraph, the writer thinks that no one can help the computer salespeople to sell computers in future. c) People who are stupid can still operate the computer. d) In the third paragraph, the writer thinks that some computer salespeople can explain how to operate the computer in a simple language, but they will not do so.

3.

Complete the sentences in A with the most appropriate words from B. (5%) Answers A.

a) Some computer salespeople seem to think that b) The writer suggests that older people c) Computers are not clever enough d) The writer’s main complaint is that e) Many people do not understand computer salespeople because

B.

f) they use a kind of jargon. g) everyone should understand computer jargon. h) computers are very expensive. i) computers often go wrong. j) to think for themselves. k) computer salespeople are not very helpful. l) have more problems than young people with computers.

4.

The following is a summary of the passage. Complete it by filling in each blank with ONE word from the passage. (7%) a It is sometimes to understand computer b salespeople because they speak in a that no one can understand. Some people think they can learn about c the computer from the , but they are disappointed for the language is also difficult. Older people find it more d e difficult to understand the new and than young people. People who can’t work with computers are f . Computers themselves not necessarily having low g , but they don’t are not intelligent, they only follow have a brain of their own.

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a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

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II. Usage (70%) 1.

Choose a group of words from Column II which gives the best response to the question or statement in Column I. Write the letter of the group of words in the space provided. Each group of words in Column II can be used only once. The first one has been done for you as an example. (10%)

Column I

i.

Can you tell me the time, please?

ii.

How much time can you spend doing this work?

iii.

I haven’t got enough time to do that now.

iv.

Can you time me doing my exercise, please?

v.

At this time of year it is sometimes quite cold.

vi.

It’s nearly bedtime.

vii.

Can you ring your mother if you have time?

viii.

It takes a long time to learn English.

ix.

What time will you get home?

x.

Your watch doesn’t tell the right time.

xi.

When is it lunch time?

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Letter

Column II

F

A. Oh, do I have to go now? B. Perhaps you could do it tomorrow. C . No, it is always slow. D. Yes, I’ll phone her soon. E. About 7:30 this evening. F . Of course. It’s 4:30pm. G . Yes, it may take many years. H. Soon. I’m getting it ready. I . We have to expect that in winter. J . Yes, of course. Are you ready to start? K. Only a few hours.

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

The Hong Kong Government is conducting an enquiry into the need for nursery places for the young children of working mothers. An officer has come to your housing estate and is about to begin interviewing Mrs. Au. Fill in each blank in the dialogue with ONE word, which best completes the meaning. The first two have been done for you as examples. (17%) Officer:

a Good morning, Mrs. Au. I hope you can spare me a b moments. As you probably know I’m here to some c of the mothers living in this estate. you tell me how d long you’ve lived ?

Mrs. Au:

Oh, quite a long time. Ever since the estate was built, – in e fact I was of the first people to move in.

Officer:

And how long ago

Mrs. Au:

Well, it must have been about eight years ago. I remember g my younger daughter was just a then, and she was eight last month.

f

that?

Officer:

I

Mrs. Au:

Yes, that’s right. Both my daughters go to the primary school just across the road. But it will be a long time before i my son’s old to go.

h

. I suppose she’s at school at the moment.

j

, Mrs. Au?

Officer:

How old is

Mrs. Au:

k in a shirt factory Just three months old. I was before he was born, but I gave up my job because there l was no one to look him.

Officer:

m It’s funny you should say that. You see I’m here to n out if the estate needs a day nursery. Would you to send your son to a day nursery?

Mrs. Au:

o Oh, yes. I really need to go out to work to earn money. But of course I wouldn’t send my son unless I was satisfied he’d be well cared for.

Officer:

Right, let me assure you that the nursery would be properly run. Now, Mrs. Au, one last important question. About p how could you afford to pay?

Mrs. Au:

q I wouldn’t want Well, I only earn $2000 per month, r to pay more than $600. we going to get a nursery soon?

Officer:

That depends on how many mothers would use a nursery. s Thank you very much for talking me, Mrs. Au.

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a.

few

b.

interview

c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q. r. s.

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139

Jane’s brother Peter is sick. Jane has written a letter to their friend Simon telling him that they can’t come to his birthday party. Use the appropriate form of the verb in brackets to complete the letters. Item (j) has been done for you as an example. (13%) Dear Simon,

a.

a b Peter (to be) sick in hospital so we (to be unable) c to come to your birthday party tonight. Yesterday he (to d have) pains in his stomach so he (to go) to the doctor. e The doctor said he had appendicitis and he (to send) him to hospital immediately.

b.

f If you would like to visit him, he (to be) in Kwun Tong g Hospital, Ward 7. The visiting hours (to be) from 6–8 pm. I’m going to visit him again tomorrow so if hyou (to i can want) to go with me, you (to give) me a ring.



Regards, Jane



c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

Dear Peter, j I am sorry that I (to not be) able to visit you yet. I k (to be) busy with my school work for the past few days. l I hope you (to feel) a little better and that you will soon m (to be) out of hospital by the weekend so probably I n (to call) on you sometime next week.

have not been

k. l. m. n.

Get well soon.



Simon

4.

Fill in each of the following blanks with a word chosen from the list below. (10%)



complicated discourteous intend a.

complication depressed intention

alarmed depression enroll

1 After leaving school, I will 2 When I am for teaching, I back in my mother school.

fashion aggressive qualified

in a college of education. 3 to become a teacher

fashionable aggression qualify 1. 2. 3.

b.

4 5 The teacher was by the behaviour of John as he entered the classroom late without knocking at the door nor apologizing to the teacher.

c.

6

The young lady is extremely 7 love affair with two boys.

d.

Tina is not very popular among her classmates because she is 8 . always unable to contain her

8.

e.

9 Mini-skirts have become quite again, but it would be foolish for those who are short and fat to follow the 10 blindly.

10.

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because she is involved in a

4. 5. 6. 7. 9.

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

Multiple Choice (10%) Put your answers in the spaces provided on this page. a

a.

a.

When I heard the funny tale, I couldn’t help



A. laughing

B. to laugh



C. laugh

D. to be laughed

b.

Henry isn’t coming tonight, but he wants you to



A. call to him

B. phone to him

e.



C. give him a call

D. give him a phone

f.

c.

How did Mr. Wong’s death

c

.

b. c. b

d.

.

g.

the rest of his family?



A. guide

B. effect

h.



C. catch

D. affect

i.

d.

You don’t have to lend Jill a camera. She’s got one of



A. her camera

B. her own.



C. it

D. herself

e.

The harder she practises, the more

e

d

.

she sings.



A. well

B. nearly



C. better

D. beautifully

f.

She swam in the lake,



A. which

B. in the middle of which



C. on that

D. in where

g.

No one



A. is

B. will



C. are

D. can be

h.

I enjoy



A. to travel abroad

B. travelling abroad



C. travel abroad

D. to travelling abroad

i.

X: Do you often go to the movies? i . Y:



A. Only when I like.

B. I always go.



C. No, I never go.

D. Whenever I can.

j.

j you describe the Double-Ninth Festival to someone who had never heard of it?



A. If

B. What do



C. How would

D. Why are

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g

h

f

j.

there was a small island.

to leave the exam hall before the bell rings.

but I am too busy to do so this summer.

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6.

Rewrite the following sentences with the words given in the brackets. (10%)



a. You should plan about your future before you leave school. (If I were you….)



b. You can add in these ingredients to make the meat more delicious. (…by…)



c. Jessica looks white and pale. She seems to be seriously ill. (…as if…)



d. I prefer playing badminton to jogging. (I’d rather…)



e. The baby girl is sleeping peacefully. (…in a…)

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141

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Appendix II

Task 1 — The yearly outing of CYC Part 1: Choosing a place for an outing You are the secretary of the CYC (Community Youth Club). The club is organizing a yearly outing for its members. You have collected some information on two places: Plover Cove and Cheung Sha Beach. You read through the information, and use a checklist to compare the two places. You will need to suggest to the chairperson of CYC which you think is a better place for your outing.

Plover Cove Plover Cove is just off Ting Kok Road in Tai Po, New Territories. It is easy to get to by taking the KCR to Tai Po and Light Bus 75K to the Plover Cove parking area. There are many activities that people can do for recreation and enjoyment — barbecuing, swimming, sailing, windsurfing, fishing, and kite flying. There are also many hiking trails to the north of Plover Cove. The scenery around Plover Cove is very beautiful. Unfortunately, Plover Cove is often very crowded at weekends. Sometimes it is not easy to find a place to sit down. There is often a lot of rubbish along the trails and in the open area. In addition, it is difficult to find a barbecue space and there are many people cycling in the area. Another problem is the quality of the water. It is poor for swimming.

Cheung Sha Beach The scenery is very beautiful at Cheung Sha. There is a lovely view of the South China Sea. Cheung Sha is never overcrowded. The beach is quieter than most Hong Kong beaches. It is a great place for barbecues and there are lots of barbecue areas. The water at Cheung Sha is very clean. Many people like to swim there. The beach has excellent sand and is one of the best places in Hong Kong for making sandcastles. There are showers and a few small stores selling food and drinks. Unfortunately, the transportation to Cheung Sha Beach is not very convenient. It is on the south side of Lantau Island. You have to take a ferry from the Central Ferry Pier, and then take a bus to the beach. Other than nice scenery, the beach and the sand, Cheung Sha has no attractions.

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Now complete the following checklist by ticking

√

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143

the right boxes and filling in the necessary information.

Checklist Plover Cove Where it is:

Cheung Sha Beach

Tai Po

Transportation: Yes

• Easy?

No

Yes

+

• How to get there?

ferry

No +

Attractions: • Beautiful scenery?

Yes

No

Yes

No

• Good for barbecue? Why?/Why not?

Yes

No

Yes

No

• Good for swimming? Why?/Why not?

Yes

No

Yes

No

• Activities that people can do:

1. swimming

1. swimming

2. barbecuing

2.

3. sailing

3.

4. 5. 6. 7. kite flying

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Part 2: Suggesting a place for the outing You have compared the two places, Plover Cove and Cheung Sha. Now write a report to the chairperson of the club to suggest to him/her which of the two places you think is a better place for the club outing this year.

In your report, tell him/her



• •

where you think the club should go; and why (i.e. how the two places compare).

I have read some information about the two places, Plover Cove and Cheung Sha Beach. It seems that is a suitable place for our outing this year.

The reasons are: • Both

•

, but

is a better place for because

•

•

•

Transportation is

I hope you will agree to what I suggest. We should hold a meeting soon to discuss what to buy for the outing.

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Part 3: Planning what to buy Members of the club have decided that they want to go swimming and barbecuing at the Cheung Sha Beach for their outing. Now CYC is having a meeting to discuss what to buy for the barbecue. As the secretary of the club, you need to take notes. Listen to the discussion and complete the shopping list below.

Shopping list Item



1. water and









2. chicken



3. sausages



4.



5. oranges





6. charcoal





7. BBQ forks





8.



9. paper plates



10.







Quantity to buy



0

(

bring their own)

chops

bag(s)





4 jars



0



(Sarah to bring them)

and old newspapers

Tapescript Chairperson:

… Now let’s talk about what to buy for the barbecue. Any ideas?

Chris:

Let’s see. 50 members have signed up. That means we need to buy food and drinks for 50 people.

Mary:

That’s a lot. Shall we ask them to bring their own water and drinks?

Chairperson:

Good idea. We’ll remind them to do that — “Members bring their own water and drinks”.

Mark:

Now what food should we buy?

Anna:

Chicken wings. Everybody likes chicken wings.

Sarah:

And sausages too.

John:

How about pork chops? Shall we get some of them as well?

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Chairperson:

Okay, chicken wings, sausages and pork chops. How many of each do we need?

Sarah:

Will three chicken wings for each member be enough?

Mary:

I think so. That’s 150 chicken wings. How about sausages? Two for each?

John:

That sounds reasonable. So 100 sausages. How about pork chops?

Mark:

I love pork chops. Let’s get 4 for each.

Anna:

That’s too many, Mark. We already have chicken wings and sausages.

Chairperson:

Right. Three for each will do. 150 pork chops, got that?

Mary:

I suggest that we buy some oranges. How about one for each member?

Sarah:

Good. 50 oranges. I think that’s enough food. Now how about charcoal, barbecue forks and all that?

Mark:

We need to buy 3 bags of charcoal and 50 barbecue forks.

Chairperson:

Hold on. I think we have some charcoal left over from the last picnic

John:

Two bags full. They’re still in my home.

Anna:

That means we need to buy one more bag. How about barbecue forks?

John:

There are 30 left from last time. We need to get enough for everybody though.

Chairperson:

Okay, get at least 20 more. Have we left anything out? Oh yes, we need to have honey, paper plates, matches, etc.

Mary:

Let’s buy 4 jars of honey and 50 paper plates.

Sarah:

And I’ll bring some matches and old newspapers.

Chairperson:

Thanks Sarah. I think we’ll do the shopping tomorrow after school. Who’s coming along?

Anna:

Count me in.

Mark:

Me too.

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Part 4: Writing a Reminder Notice Miss Lee, CYC’s advisor, was unable to come to the club meeting because she was sick. As the secretary of the club, you have sent her an email telling her what you and the chairperson have planned to do. Miss Lee sends you a reply and asks you to write a Reminder Notice about the outing for club members. Read her letter and write the Reminder Notice.

Dear Andrew and Mary, Thank you for holding the meeting and organizing everything for the outing. I would like you to write up a Reminder Notice for our club members and put it up on the notice board tomorrow. Write the Notice in point form, and use imperatives, to make the message clear. On the Notice, state clearly the date, time and place for the outing. Tell members that they should meet at Central Ferry Pier at 9:00 am. Everyone has to bring $40 for ferry and bus tickets. They should also bring their own water and drinks. Remind them to bring a bathing suit and a towel if they want to swim, and a pair of sandals if they do not want to walk on the beach bare-footed. Everyone ought to wear a hat as the sun may be strong. It would be a good idea for them to bring along some tools for building sandcastles. Tell them that there will be prizes for the three best sandcastles. Put your contact number on the Notice so that members can call you if they have any questions. I am getting much better and should be able to join you for the outing. I look forward to having a good time on Saturday. Yours truly,

Lucy Lee

Reminder Notice CYC Outing: Cheung Sha Beach Saturday, 7 July 20XX •

Meet at the Central Ferry Pier at 9:00 a.m.

• • • •

PRIZES for the BEST 3 SANDCASTLES!!!

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Task 2 — Radio call-in: “Come Share with Us” “Come Share with Us” is a radio call-in show for teenagers to express their views on different topics. The topic for this month is summer holidays. Your teacher would like you to listen to the show to get information for your project, which is on what most junior secondary students in Hong Kong do over the summer holidays. Part 1: A listening quiz To let you have an idea of what the show is like, all of you are asked to listen to the repeat of last night’s show in class. Now listen to it and complete the quiz that your teacher has prepared.

Quiz Caller 1 Name

Caller 2

Caller 3 Tony

Cindy

Where caller is from (tick the right answer)

Tai Koo Shing Causeway Bay

Kowloon City Tai Po

Kowloon Tong Yuen Long

Summer activity (fill in one word for each blank)

Learn Japanese

Learn to

Help primary school

Reasons for choosing the activity (fill in one word for each blank)

Has an

Cousin said it’s beautiful under the

Want to share how he overcame problems in

Expensive? (tick the right answer and fill in one word for each blank)

Yes No She needs to find for the school fees

Yes No His cousin will lend him some equipment

Yes No He does not need to use any at all

in Japan Will visit her This

Tapescript Announcer:

Hello, this is Raymond Li and today we are talking about what you are going to do with your summer. Many of us just waste the summer away. Today I want to hear from those of you who have plans. Phone in and tell our listeners what you plan to do.

Caller 1:

Hello, this is Cindy from Tai Koo Shing.

Announcer:

Hello, Cindy so what special plans do you have this summer?

Caller 1:

Well, this summer I am going to learn Japanese.

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Announcer:

Why are you going to leam Japanese?

Caller 1:

Well, I have an email pal in Japan. We have been writing to each other for a year. She wants me to go to Japan and spend part of my Christmas holidays with her. My parents said I could go. This summer I want to learn some Japanese, so when I go to Japan this Christmas, I can speak with her friends and family.

Announcer:

That’s a great idea. So where are you going to take Japanese lessons?

Caller 1:

People told me that the Ichiban Language School in Causeway Bay is quite good. I will start lessons there next week.

Announcer:

How much do lessons cost?

Caller 1:

Well, it will cost me about $100 an hour for a small group class.

Announcer:

So how can you afford that?

Caller 1:

Well, I will have to find a job.

Announcer:

Have fun learning Japanese, Cindy, and good luck in finding a job. Call us back and let us know how things are going.

Announcer:

Our next caller is Andy from Tai Po. So Andy what are you going to do this summer?

Caller 2:

Well, I am taking diving lessons.

Announcer:

Pardon me, did you say diving or driving?

Caller 2:

Diving.

Announcer:

Diving! My, that sounds interesting. Why do you want to learn how to dive?

Caller 2:

Well, my cousin is a diver and she says that there are many good places to dive around Hong Kong. She told me there are so many beautiful things to see under the water.

Announcer:

But isn’t it a very expensive activity?

Caller 2:

Well, she is going to teach me so it won’t cost me anything to learn.

Announcer:

Have you bought your diving equipment yet?

Caller 2:

Actually, my cousin is going to lend me some equipment so I don’t have to buy very much. I just need to buy my own goggles and they are only $150.

Announcer:

It sounds like you have a very nice cousin. Good luck, Andy, and call us back to tell us what you see under the water.

Announcer:

Our last caller is Tony from Yuen Long. Tony, what are your plans this summer?

Caller 3:

I am going to help some primary school children at my church.

Announcer:

Helping primary school children... that sounds like a very meaningful activity Tony. Why did you decide to do that?

Caller:

Well, my church has planned summer classes for the children. My church needed some young people to help out. I thought I’d rather like to do that. When I was in primary school,

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I had problems with English. So now I want to share with others how I overcame those problems. I want them to know that learning English is not hard, if you keep trying. Announcer:

I think that sounds like a very meaningful way to spend your summer. Would you call us again Tony and tell us how everything is going?

Caller 3:

Yes, certainly.

Announcer:

Well, that’s all for today. Remember that summer is just ahead. Make your plans and tell us about them on our next show tomorrow at 6:00 pm. Bye for now.

Part 2: Giving an oral report on what students are doing this summer Everybody in class has listened to the “Come Share with Us” radio show and is getting ready to report back the information they have collected. However, you have lost your notes. Your teacher says you can borrow your friend’s notes for the oral report. You look over her Notes now and prepare an oral presentation on what the students who called up are going to do this summer. Your presentation should be about 1 minute and should include:

• • • •

How many students called in Who they were and where they were calling What they are going to do this summer and why they want to do it Whether they need to pay for it

Version 1

Notes Caller 1 Name

Caller 2

Kelly

David

Where caller is from

Tai Wo

Mongkok

Summer activity

learn sewing

work in parents’ seafood restaurant

Reasons for choosing the activity

want to make own clothes

gain work experience; help parents

Need to pay?

$35 per hour

will get $1000 a month for working

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Version 2 Notes Caller 1

Caller 2

Name

Jane

Joe

Where caller is from

Cheung Chau

Diamond Hill

Summer activity

windsurfing

learn to design web pages

Reasons for choosing the activity

love windsurfing

want to design own web pages

Need to pay?

parents already bought equipment

software costs a few hundred dollars

Version 3

Notes Caller 1

Caller 2

Name

Mary

Mike

Where caller is from

Lantau

Lok Fu

Summer activity

help parents at their store

learn Putonghua

Reasons for choosing the activity

summer: busy time at store

good for future

Need to pay?

will get $200 each week for helping

$300 for 6 weeks

Version 4

Notes Caller 1

Caller 2

Name

Kitty

Ricky

Where caller is from

Stanley

Wanchai

Summer activity

improve swimming

travel to Taiwan

Reasons for choosing the activity

next year will join school swimming team

visit grandparents

Need to pay?

PE teacher will give free lessons

grandparents sent air tickets

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

Version 5

Notes Caller 1

Caller 2

Name

Sandy

Paul

Where caller is from

Shatin

Kennedy Town

Summer activity

learn tennis

study Mathematics

Reasons for choosing the activity

friends all play tennis

want to get higher marks in Mathematics

Need to pay?

$50 per hour

friend gives lessons for free

Version 6 Notes Caller 1

Caller 2

Name

Jack

Grace

Where caller is from

Sai Kung

Sheung Shui

Summer activity

practise violin

travel to China

Reasons for choosing the activity

love violin

visit relatives; see Shanghai

Need to pay?

$50 per hour 3 times each week

parents will pay for the air tickets

Version 7 Notes Caller 1

Caller 2

Name

Charles

Jane

Where caller is from

Ma On Shan

Lam Tin

Summer activity

work in bookstore

play computer games

Reasons for choosing the activity

earn some money to buy books

love computer games; no time to play during school year

Need to pay?

will get $300 per week

no need to pay

Source: Curriculum Development Council (2002, pp. A37–A54)

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Appendix III Sample Assessment Task

Name of Task: Adopt a character (Source: Adapted from Sherman (2003), pp. 125–126) individual presentation Oral Text-type: √ interaction Communication Functions: √ describing √ reporting classifying comparing

√ explaining

Audience — teacher plus: a student partner √ small groups class more than one class

Targeted audience: √ fellow students students from other classes √ teacher(s) others:

√ discussing

persuading

others: Role(s) of audience: giving non-verbal responses only √ questioning/commenting √ interacting with no limitations

Where on this continuum would you place the task? √ spontaneous, informal

dialogue, e.g. small group interaction

interactive, planned yet dialogic, e.g. semi-formal group report, interactive factual report

individual long turn of planned, spoken text, e.g. news reporting, story telling

individual long turn that is planned, cohesive, organized, formal, e.g. spoken report, a speech

This task is suitable for use with the following genre(s): √ print/non-print fiction              print/non-print biography/autobiography               factual books/documentaries on common topics, e.g. sports, hobbies, travel                  books/films on real life issues, e.g. environmental, social, economic Preparation: Choose a film where the characters and their relationship are important Description of pre-assessment activities: 1. Arrange a movie viewing session as an out-of-class activity. You may book a theatre in advance and take the whole form to view a movie. Students will get cheaper tickets that way. 2. Before viewing, give students a list of names and a brief description of the main characters. You may also give students a plot summary so they will have some background knowledge to understand the movie better. 3. You may brainstorm or discuss with the students the related/new vocabulary they may encounter in the movie and compile a list of useful words/expressions for students’ reference. 4. Divide students into groups of 4–5. Ask each group member to adopt one of the main characters and assume his/her identity. Each group member should adopt a different character. 5. Ask them to think about “their” situation, current mood, motivations/desires, and feelings about the other characters while watching the movie. 6. In class, students present their new selves to their group members, covering the four aspects outlined in Step 5. 7. After each sharing, encourage the group members to ask questions, show their opinions, agreement and disagreement. Planned SBA Task Ask students to work in groups of 4–5 and watch another movie together. Ask them to prepare a group discussion following Step 4–7. Tips/comments: • During group discussions, encourage students to interact with their group members by asking for suggestions, clarification, explanation and justification for their answers. Provide students with the necessary classroom language if they are not familiar with conducting group discussions. • If resources are available, you may arrange a technician to video record some good discussions at Step 5–6. Then show the class what a good discussion entails so students will be better prepared for the SBA and know what they are expected to do. • After the group discussion, students may play a hot seat game by selecting a student from each group to sit in the hot seat and be quizzed by the audience on his/her behavior, background, character, relationships, feeling, etc. Source: Hong Kong Examination Assessment Authority (2005, p. 76)

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Appendix IV

General and Task-specific Criteria for Assessing

Task 1–The “Beach Clean Up” Day Subtask 3: Writing a short article (Writing)

* General criteria for assessing writing

Task-specific criteria

Content — demonstrating

Content

Organization — demonstrating

Organization

• • • •

relevance of ideas to the topic appropriateness of ideas substantive coverage creativity and originality of ideas

• coherence through – effective use of appropriate rhetorical patterns (e.g. narration, description, exposition) – logical development of ideas (supported by appropriate examples and elaboration of details) – logical sequencing of ideas / paragraphs • cohesion through – effective use of cohesive devices (e.g. adverbials, connectives [e.g. conjunctions, time / order words], indentation, referencing, restatement / appropriate repetition, subordination, tense consistency)

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• who (Sally Jones, Club Chairperson, 35 Environment Club members, teachers, parents, 150 volunteers all together); what (a Beach clean up); when (Sunday October 12, 2001); where (ShekO Beach); why (everyone is responsible for the environment, the school uses the beach) and how (how the event and beach compare to last year, how much garbage was collected this year, how parents and teachers helped out) • no irrelevant or inappropriate content • substantive content

• coherence – exploits appropriate rhetorical patterns such as description and comparison / contrast – 3–4 paragraphs each demonstrating logical sequencing – appropriate grouping of information (e.g. basic facts — who, what, when, where and why; comparisons — last year / this year; and who helped them) • cohesion – adverbials (e.g. By the end of the day, everyone was very tired.) – connectives (e.g. The club also held a Beach Clean Up last year at the same beach. / The Beach Clean Up was not easy to organize, but teachers and parents helped. / Then the club received permission from the district.) – indentation — paragraphs are clearly marked by spacing or lines – referencing (e.g. The club members worked hard to organize the event. It was a real success.) – restatement / appropriate repetition (e.g. Both teachers and parents helped to organize the Beach Clean Up. Teachers helped to get permission from the district and. parents donated food.) – tense consistency (e.g. Last Sunday, October 12, the Environment Club held a....)

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* General criteria for assessing writing

Task-based Assessment

Task-specific criteria

Genre and Task Requirements — demonstrating

Genre and Task Requirements

Language and Style — demonstrating

Language and Style

Grammar and Mechanics — demonstrating

Grammar and Mechanics

• adherence to genre requirements, e.g. – academic (e.g. book reports, survey reports, expository writing) — relevant formats and features; acknowledging sources; maintaining objectivity – personal (e.g. personal letters, emails, postcards, invitations) — relevant formats and features; personalizing – transactional (e.g. letters of inquiry, letters of compliment /gratitude, letters of complaint, news articles, reports) — relevant formats and features; showing mastery of conventions; conciseness – expressive (e.g. stories, poems, play scripts) — relevant formats and features; originality and creativity • adherence to task requirements (e.g. • appropriate range of vocabulary • effective choice of words • appropriateness of tone and register for intended reader and purpose • accuracy in grammar (e.g. subject-verb agreement, tense, modals, word order, prepositions, clause structure) • accurate spelling, capitalization and punctuation

155

• Genre – shows relevant format and features of a news article • Task – writes approximately 200 words – covers required content

• vocabulary well-chosen and varied • language used appropriately for task and reader

• effective use of the simple past (e.g. Last Sunday, the Environment Club organized a Beach Clean Up at Shek O Beach.) • effective use of comparative structures when comparing the events of last and this year (e.g. Last year the Club members picked up 800 bags of rubbish, but this year the beach was even dirtier.) • correct word order and subject-verb agreement • accurate use of a range of grammatical items and forms – conjunctions (e.g. It was difficult to organize, but teachers and parents helped.) – demonstratives (e.g. There were 150 volunteers at the beach last Sunday.) – gerunds (e.g. 150 volunteers spent Sunday collecting rubbish at the beach.) – infinitives (e.g. It was difficult to organize the event.) – modals to express duty (e.g. Everyone should be responsible for cleaning up the environment.) – negatives (e.g. Students did not need to bring their own food because parents donated food and drinks.) – possessive adjectives (e.g. Their teachers and parents gave them a lot of help.) – prepositions (e.g. held at Shek O Beach last Sunday; on 12 October) – subject / object pronouns (e.g. Sally Jones, the Chairlady of the club, said last-year they collected 800 bags of rubbish; ... teachers and parents helped them.) – subordination (e.g. This year they collected even more rubbish because the beach was dirtier than last year.) • accurate spelling, capitalization (e.g. proper nouns) and punctuation

Source: Curriculum Development Council (2005, pp. 116–118) * This is a suggested list of general criteria for assessing writing. Teachers might like to consider adapting it for use in their own classrooms.

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Appendix V

General and Task-specific Criteria for Assessing

Task 2 – Radio Call-in: “Come Share with Us” Subtask 2: Giving an oral report on what students are doing this summer (Speaking)

* General criteria for assessing speaking

Task-specific criteria

Content — demonstrating • relevance of ideas to the topic • appropriateness of ideas • substantive coverage • creativity and originality of ideas

Content • how many students called in; who they were and where they were from; what they are going to do this summer; why they want to do it; and whether they need to pay for it • no irrelevant, inappropriate content • substantive content • creative use of ideas and information

Organization — demonstrating • coherence through – using appropriate rhetorical patterns (e.g. narration, description, classification, comparison and contrast) – providing openings and closings as needed – presenting logically with appropriate examples / supporting details as needed • cohesion through effective use of appropriate repetition, connectives (e.g. conjunctions, time / order words) referencing, restatement, summarizing and tense consistency, etc.

Organization • coherence – information is grouped together and demonstrates a rhetorical pattern (e.g. a point by point comparison and contrast of both callers, or a description of caller 1 followed by a description of caller 2) – clear opening and closing statements (e.g. I’d like to tell you about 2 callers who called up “Come Share with Us” ... so you can see Kelly and David have some interesting plans for the summer.) – points logically sequenced (e.g. the student’s name and location followed by the activity he/she has chosen, then followed by reasons and costs) • cohesion – coordination (e.g. David wants to work in his parents’ restaurant so he can help them and gain work experience.) – referencing (e.g. David wants to help his parents so that he can ....) – repetition (e.g. It costs $100 per hour, and $100 per hour is a lot of money.) – tense consistency ( e.g. Kelly wants to find a job so that she can make enough money to take Japanese lessons.) – connectives (e.g. She also wants to find a job, so she can afford to take lessons.)

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* General criteria for assessing speaking

Task-based Assessment

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Task-specific criteria

Communicative Strategies — demonstrating • effective audience awareness (e.g. adjusting or modifying language / speech to suit audience needs, repeating and restating) • effective oral interaction strategies (e.g. agreeing, politely disagreeing, seeking clarification, clarifying, interrupting / interjecting, questioning, restating, summarizing, turn taking) • effective use of vocal features (e.g. eye contact, gesture, body movement and posture)

Communicative Strategies • repetition of key ideas (e.g. So Kelly’s plan is to learn how to sew.) • effective use of non-verbal features (e.g. eye contact, gesture, facial expression) (If students are audio-taped, this should not be assessed.)

Genre and Task Requirements — demonstrating • adherence to the relevant requirements of different genres of speaking (e.g. story-telling, oral presentation, public speaking, interview, conversation) • adherence to task requirements (e.g. authenticity, time limit)

Genre and Task Requirements • Genre – an example of a short informal oral presentation made in a school setting • Task – speaks for approximately 1 minute – covers required content

Pronunciation and Fluency — demonstrating • clear and accurate pronunciation • audible articulation • smooth, confident delivery marked by: – appropriate intonation – appropriate pauses and word stress – few hesitations – use of contracted forms – appropriate use of vocal features such as pitch, pace and tone

Pronunciation and Fluency • clear and accurate pronunciation • audible speech to maintain audience attention • appropriate intonation • appropriate pauses and word stress • few hesitations • appropriate use of contracted forms • effective use of vocal features (e.g. pitch, pace, tone)

Language and Style — demonstrating • appropriate range of vocabulary • effective choice of words • appropriateness of register for intended audience and purpose

Language and Style • vocabulary is effective • language used appropriate for task and audience

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* General criteria for assessing speaking

Task-specific criteria

Grammar — demonstrating • accuracy in grammar (e.g. subjectverb agreement, tense, modals, word order, prepositions, clause structure)

Grammar • effective use of various tenses (e.g. the simple past — Kelly said she ...; the simple present — So both Kelly and David want to find jobs...; the present continuous — Kelly and David are looking for jobs...; the present continuous used to express the future — She is going to find a job; the future — He will borrow his cousin’s diving equipment.) • correct word order and subject-verb agreement • accurate use of a range of grammatical items and forms – adverbials (e.g. Next week, he will start taking lessons.) – gerunds (e.g. He likes playing basketball.) – infinitives (e.g. He wants to learn how to dive this summer.) – prepositions (e.g. One student called from Tai Po.) – subject pronouns (e.g. He is going to help children learn English.)

Visual Aids — demonstrating • appropriate use of visual aids for the intended purpose

Visual Aids (None needed or required, none assessed)

Source: Curriculum Development Council (2005, pp. 157–158) * This is a suggested list of general criteria for assessing speaking. Teachers might like to consider adapting it for use in their own classroom.

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Appendix VI SBA Assessment Criteria* for Group Interaction (GI)—Levels 0, 1, 3 and 6

Level 6

I. Pronunciation & Delivery

II. Communication Strategies

III. Vocabulary & Language Patterns

Can project the voice appropriately for the context.

Can use appropriate body language to display and encourage interest.

Can use a wide range of accurate vocabulary.

Can pronounce all sounds/ sound clusters and words clearly and accurately.

Can use a full range of turn-taking strategies to initiate and maintain appropriate interaction, and can draw others into extending the interaction (e.g. by summarizing for others’ benefit, or by redirecting a conversation); can avoid the use of narrowly-formulaic expressions when doing this.

Can speak fluently and naturally, with very little hesitation, and using intonation to enhance communication.

Can use varied and highly accurate language patterns; minor slips do not impede communication. Can self-correct effectively.

IV. Ideas & Organization Can express a wide range of relevant information and ideas without any signs of difficulty. Can consistently respond effectively to others, sustaining and extending a conversational exchange. Can use the full range of questioning and response levels to engage with peers.

5 4 3

Volume may be a problem. Can pronounce all simple sounds clearly but some errors of sound clusters; less common words may be misunderstood unless supported by contextual meaning. Can speak at a careful pace and use sufficient basic intonation conventions to be understood by a familiar and supportive listener; hesitation is present.

Can use appropriate body language to show attention to the interaction. Can use appropriate but simple and formulaic turn-taking strategies to participate in, and occasionally initiate, interaction (e.g. by requesting repetition and clarification, or by offering praise).

Can use simple vocabulary and language patterns appropriately and without errors that impede communication.

Can present some relevant ideas sequentially with some links among their own ideas and with those presented by others.

Can sometimes self-correct simple errors.

Can respond to some simple questions and may be able to expand these responses when addressed directly.

May suggest a level of proficiency above 3 but has provided too limited a sample.

2 1

Volume is likely to be a problem. Can pronounce some simple sounds and common words accurately enough to be understood. Can use appropriate intonation in the most familiar of words and phrases; hesitant speech makes the listener’s task difficult.

0

Does not produce any comprehensible English speech.

Can use restricted features of body language when required to respond to peers. Can use only simple and narrowly-restricted formulaic expressions, and only to respond to others.

Does not use any interactional strategies.

Can produce a narrow range of simple vocabulary. Can use a narrow range of language patterns in very short and rehearsed utterances.

Can occasionally produce brief information and ideas relevant to the topic. Can make some brief responses or statements when prompted.

A restricted sample of language makes full assessment of proficiency difficult.

Does not produce any recognisable words or sequences.

Does not produce any appropriate, relevant material.

See Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority (2005, p. 31) for the full set of criteria.

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Appendix VII

HKCEE English Language SBA Component Assessment Record (GI)

School Name: Teacher Name:

Oral Text-type: Group interaction

Class:

Name of text:



Assessment date:

/

/

Summary of task:

ADVICE TO TEACHERS This assessment sheet will assist teachers to allocate marks. There are two stages to this process. The first stage is to make judgments on the student’s performance in each domain (i.e. pronunciation and delivery, communication strategies, vocabulary and language patterns, and ideas and organization) with reference to the Assessment Criteria. You should circle one of the numbers 1-6 (or 0 if no language was produced) to indicate how well the student performed in each domain. The second stage is to add up the marks for all domains. The total number of possible marks is 24. Add a comment if possible. No.:

Student 1:

CRITERIA FOR THE AWARD OF MARKS (Circle number for each domain) 1. Pronunciation & delivery 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2. Communication strategies 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 3. Vocabulary & language patterns 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 4. Ideas & organization 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL:

Student 3:

Student 2: TEACHER’S COMMENTS

CRITERIA FOR THE AWARD OF MARKS (Circle number for each domain) 1. Pronunciation & delivery 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2. Communication strategies 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 3. Vocabulary & language patterns 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 4. Ideas & organization 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

/24

TOTAL:

No.:

CRITERIA FOR THE AWARD OF MARKS (Circle number for each domain) 1. Pronunciation & delivery 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2. Communication strategies 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 3. Vocabulary & language patterns 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 4. Ideas & organization 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL:

No.:

Student 4: TEACHER’S COMMENTS

TEACHER’S COMMENTS

/24

No.: CRITERIA FOR THE AWARD OF MARKS (Circle number for each domain) 1. Pronunciation & delivery 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2. Communication strategies 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 3. Vocabulary & language patterns 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 4. Ideas & organization 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

/24

TOTAL:

TEACHER’S COMMENTS

/24

AUTHENTICATION 1. I certify that each student has read/viewed the text above used in this oral assessment, that the text is not a class reader, comic, newspaper or a set text for other subjects, and that the work is all the student’s own. 2. I certify that the assessment was undertaken under the conditions specified in the HK-EAA guidelines, that I am the students’ English teacher, that I conducted the assessment and that the task has not been repeated. Teacher

Student 1

Student 2

Student 3

Student 4

Signature Date

Source: Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (2005, p. 33)

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Appendix VIII

Task-based Assessment

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Assessment Tasks

Task Description As Mother’s Day is approaching, you are interested in knowing your friend’s mother and finding out how your friend celebrates Mother’s Day with his/her mother. Now work in pairs, interview your friend and ask him/her some questions on the interview form. It is important that you have to note down his/her answers and get all the important details, so that you can report back to the whole class. Change your role of being the interviewer or the interviewee. TASK ONE: Knowing Your Friend’s Mother (a face-to-face interview) Aims of Assessment Task To assess learners’ ability to: 1. 2. 3.

converse and exchange points of view about feelings, ideas and experiences (ID1) provide or find out information on a familiar topic (KD2) respond and give expression of one’s feelings towards characters (ED3)

Interview Form Questions: 1.

What is your mother’s name?

2.

What roles does she play? (Put a tick in the appropriate box.) a house keeper a mother a homemaker a wife a working / career woman

3.

What is/are her interest(s)?

4.

What is/are her dislike(s)?

5.

Does she have a favourite colour? What is it?

1

Interpersonal Dimension

2

Knowledge Dimension

3

Experience Dimention

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A Practical Guide to a Task-based Curriculum: Planning, Grammar Teaching and Assessment

Describe her appearance. (Put a tick in the appropriate box.)



beautiful

gentle

decent

graceful



elegant

neat

kind

talkative



modern

conservative

fashionable

old-fashioned



tall

short

of medium height

fat



slim

of medium build

fair complexion

dark complexion



Use any 3 of the above adjectives or description that you have chosen and give concrete examples to back up your choice.



Example I



Example II



Example III

7.

Describe her character. (Put a tick in the appropriate box.)



happy / cheerful

sad / worried

friendly



unfriendly / hostile

caring

uncaring



thoughtful

selfish

considerate



inconsiderate

optimistic

pessimistic



kind

unkind

hardworking



idle

polite

rude



generous

miserly



Use any 3 of the above adjectives to describe her and give concrete examples to back up your choice.



Example I



Example II



Example III

8.

Do you love your mother? Why? What has she done for you?

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9. Do you celebrate Mother’s Day? (Tick your answer.)

Yes



No

10. How do you celebrate Mother’s Day?

11. What is your gift for your mother? Why?

12. Think of 5 ways you can do to make your mother feel happy.

1.



2.



3.



4.



5.

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Assessment Criteria for TASK ONE (face-to-face interview) A. Distinction

• The performance reveals critical understanding of the nature of the activities involved, for example, questioning, responding and note-taking.



• The procedure employed for the activities is logical and well sequenced.



• Motivation for doing the tasks is very high.



• Participating in the tasks is very keen and active.



• A positive contribution to the dialogue with effective interaction is shown.



• Excellent pronunciation, intonation and language use in the conversation are demonstrated.

B. Credit

• The performance reveals a good understanding of the nature of the activities involved, for example, questioning, responding and note-taking.



• The procedure employed for the activities is logical and appropriately sequenced.



• Motivation for doing the task is high.



• Participation in the task is keen and active.



• Effective interaction in the dialogue is shown but with some hesitations and errors.



• Good pronunciation, intonation and language use in the conversation are demonstrated.

C. Pass

• The performance reveals a general understanding of the nature of the activities, for example, questioning, responding and note-taking.



• The procedure employed for the activities is appropriate.



• Motivation for doing the task is adequate.



• Participation in the task is satisfactory.



• Fairly effective interaction is shown. A degree of tolerance from the interviewer is required.



• Some errors are found in pronunciation, intonation and language use.

D. Marginal Pass

• The performance reveals an acceptable level of understanding of the nature of the activities involved, for example, questioning, responding and note-taking.



• The procedure employed for the activities is sometimes not appropriate.



• Motivation for doing the task is low.



• Participation in the task is weak.



• Interaction is low. Many questions have to be repeated or rephrased and some responses are improper.



• Many errors are found in pronunciation, intonation and language use in the conversation.

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E.

Fail



• The performance fails to demonstrate an adequate level of understanding of the nature of the activities involved, for example, questioning, responding and note-taking.



• The procedure employed for the activities is inappropriate in a considerable number of aspects.



• Motivation for doing the task is very low.



• Participation in the task is very weak.



• Interaction is very low. Most of the questions have to be repeated and proper replies are seriously lacking.



• Extremely poor in pronunciation, intonation and language use in the conversation.

TASK TWO: Introducing Your Friend’s Mother to the Class (an oral presentation) Aims of Assessment Task To assess learner’s ability to: 1. 2.

produce a range of formal or informal ideas orally (ID) provide, organize and present information on a familiar topic orally (KD)

Task Description Make a short oral presentation in 1 to 2 minutes to introduce your friend’s mother to the class. Your oral presentation should be based on the findings of your interview.

Assessment Criteria for TASK TWO (oral presentation) A. Distinction

• Develops ideas logically, coherently with clear organization.



• Demonstrates a high degree of accuracy and fluency.



• Good use of voice, eye contact and body language to promote communicative effectiveness.



• The style of speaking is very appropriately suited to the subject content as well as the speaker’s purpose.



• Confident and able to interact with audience and/or engaged their attention effectively.

B. Credit

• Develops ideas logically, coherently with minor flaws in organization.



• Demonstrates a good degree of accuracy and fluency.



• Use of voice, eye contact and body language is appropriate in terms of general communicativeness.



• The style of speaking is appropriately suited to the subject content as well as the speaker’s purpose.



• Overall impression is good; target audience is well engaged.

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C. Pass

• Develops ideas fairly logically but demonstrates some organizational flaws.



• Demonstrates basic fluency and a tendency for accuracy but with obvious shortcomings on occasions.



• Some appropriate use of voice, eye contact and body language is evident.



• The style of speaking is generally suited to the subject content as well as the speaker’s purpose.



• Self-conscious and hesitant at times; target audience is mostly engaged for most of the time.

D. Marginal Pass

• Ideas are not very logically developed.



• Has problems in fluency and accuracy which impairs communication.



• Use of voice, eye contact and body language is only sparingly adequate.



• The style of speaking is occasionally suited to the subject content as well as the speaker’s purpose.



• Lacks confidence but shows effort in preparation and attempts to engage with the target audience.

E.

Clear Fail



• There is little clear progression of ideas or logical organization in evidence.



• Fluency and accuracy are completely lacking.



• Use of voice, eye contact and body language is practically absent.



• The style of speaking is not suited to the subject content or the speaker’s purpose.



• Oral presentation is unsatisfactory; little evidence of preparation and complete inability to engage with the target audience.

TASK THREE: Designing a Mother’s Day Card with a poem attached Aims of Assessment Task To assess learners’ ability to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

converse and exchange points of view about feelings, preferences, ideas, experiences (ID) participate with others in planning, organising and carrying out a task (ID) express and apply ideas by sharing and talking with others (KD) develop a response to poems by understanding and appreciating the effect of sound patterns including rhythm and rhyme (ED) express and explain one’s feelings towards mother (ED)

Task Description 1. 2. 3.

Design a Mother’s Day card with your partner. Share ideas with your partner when the two of you develop a poem together. Revise, rewrite and produce a final draft through peer editing. Focus on the use of capital letters, verb agreement, verb tense, spelling and clarity of expression.

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Assessment Criteria for TASK THREE (writing a poem) A. Distinction

• A clear understanding of the writing task in evident.



• Very clear and interesting ideas are presented.



• An excellent organization with fluent expressions are shown.



• A sophisticated range of vocabulary is used.



• Very appropriate and adequate use of similes and metaphors are demonstrated.



• Punctuation, spelling and grammar are very accurate.

B. Credit

• The content is relevant to the writing task in general.



• Clear and interesting ideas are presented.



• Good organization with logical sequence is shown.



• An adequate range of vocabulary is used.



• Appropriate and adequate use of similes and metaphors are evident.



• Punctuation, spelling and grammar are generally accurate.

C. Pass

• Understanding of the writing task is partial.



• Relevant ideas are presented but not well elaborate.



• Logical but incomplete sequencing is shown.



• A limited range of vocabulary is used.



• Fairly adequate use of similes and metaphors is evident.



• Punctuation, spelling and grammar are not always accurate.

D. Marginal Pass

• Understanding of the task is inadequate.



• Clear and interesting ideas are lacking.



• Logical sequencing and development are lacking.



• Little knowledge of vocabulary is shown.



• Use of similes and metaphors is seldom attemped.



• Punctuation, spelling and grammar errors are frequent.

E.

Clear Fail



• Understanding of the writing task is very limited.



• Ideas are totally irrelevant.



• No proper organization is presented.



• Very poor knowledge of vocabulary is shown.



• No attempt to use similes and metaphors.



• Errors in punctuation, spelling and grammar often impede meaning.

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Appendix IX

Anecdotal Records

Anecdotal records are essentially short accounts or descriptions of what the teacher has observed or felt about a student’s performance. They can be kept in, for example, diaries, journals or folders. Activity Look at the sample of a student’s writing below and fill in the observation form that follows. Make brief notes about the student’s strengths and areas that need improvement. You can consider surface features such as spelling and punctuation as well as features of text coherence, cohesion and content. A Trip to Ocean Park Last year, we went to Ocean Park. We went there by bus. My family went there with me. We saw many people in Ocean Park. First we played games in Ocean Park. Next, we saw some animals and bought a lot of things in Ocean Park. Then we had hamburgers and some soft drinks for lunch. Then we took some photograph in Ocean Park. We felt happy but tired. We wanted to go there next year.

OBSERVATION: WRITING Date:

Name of student: Joanna Leung Title:

A Trip to Ocean Park

What I like about the students’ writing:

Areas that need improvement

Anecdotal Record (Reading Development) The following anecdotal record is another example of a more formal approach to recording observations about students’ progress. In this case, the teacher would complete the record after the child has read a text aloud and retold the story in his or her own word, or responded to comprehension questions. Student:



Class:

Date: Title of text: 1. Reading comprehension (understanding of main ideas and details)

2. Strategies (e.g. using prior knowledge, predicting, looking back, reading ahead, summarising, rephrasing, decoding, etc)

3. Response to reading (e.g. attitude, motivation, enjoyment)

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Appendix X

169

Task-based Assessment

Using Anecdotal Records

Checklist Teachers need ways to structure and record their observations. Checklists can be a useful complement to anecdotal records. Their advantage over anecdotal records is that they are quick to fill in and can indicate performance in a range of areas. They can also help teachers decide what needs to be observed in more detail. Checklists are easy to produce for any aspect of skills, knowledge, strategy and attitude related to learning English. However, if they are used on their own without descriptive comments, there is a danger that the information will be too brief and possibly misleading. Activity There follows an example of a checklist that has been designed for lower secondary students to provide a means of recording their performance while engaged in reading of a story. Title of story: Names of students:

Date: Siu-ming 1

2

3

Wai-ying 1

joins in with reading the whole story

√

√

joins in with reading repeated patterns

√

√

joins in reading prominent words

√

√

predicts what will happen next

√

predicts specific words/phrases

√

retells the story in own words answers factual questions about the story answers questions to relate story to own experience

2

3

Man-fai 1

2

√ √ √ √

√

√

√

√ √

√ √

√

3

√ √

√

√

Tick 1, 2 or 3 for each student 1=independent

2=with some help

3=unable or does not attempt

From this checklist, we can draw a number of conclusions. Siu-ming appears to be the most proficient reader; she has no problems with decoding the text although there is some room for improvement in certain aspects of comprehension. Wai-ying is also a capable reader who is able to decode text, but she still needs support with aspects of comprehension such as prediction and relating events in the test to her own experience. She is not yet able to retell a story independently. Man-fai has problems with both decoding and comprehension. He is mainly operating at the level of word rather than whole text, and either does not attempt to answer comprehension questions other than factual questions or does so unsuccessfully. Using this simple checklist, the teacher has been able to create quite detailed profiles of individual students’ reading performance. This can help the teacher to understand the strengths and needs of each individual student and plan appropriate follow-up action.

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Appendix XI

Choosing the Best Presentation

Group representatives take turns to give oral presentations. Using the criteria in the table below decide on the best presentation and let your teacher know.

Marking Scheme for Oral Presentation Areas Content (possible marks = 3)*

Criteria to be Considered • Is there a clear and useful introduction? • Is the presentation clearly and logically organized? • Are the transitions from one section to another natural and smooth?

Language (possible marks = 3)*

• In general, is the overall presentation grammatically correct? • Is the vocabulary appropriately used? • In general, is the presentation reasonably fluent and natural?

Delivery technique (possible marks = 3)*

• Is the voice of the presenter loud enough? • Is there good use of eye contact, facial expressions and body language throughout the presentation? • Is the speed of the presentation appropriate?

Total possible marks *3 = above average

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2 = average

1 = below average

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Task-based Assessment

Project Work Feedback Sheet

Needs Improvement

Satisfactory

Well Done

Content • Relevance of ideas • Coverage of topic Organization • Logical development of ideas • Connection of ideas Language use • Appropriateness • Fluency • Style • Accuracy Generic skills • Communication • Creativity • Critical thinking • Collaboration • Problem-solving Attitudes • Confidence in using English • Keenness to participate in activities • Respect for others • An awareness of the potential influences of language use on other people’s feelings

Comments

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Appendix XIII

Theme-based Portfolio

You are going to develop a portfolio about your favourite holiday. The purpose of developing this portfolio is for you to demonstrate your language ability and your ability to create a collection of related items that interests and informs your reader on a topic. You will need to select and carry out 4 of the tasks below. At least one must be selected from each box. You have to include tasks which are related to one another and arrange them in a logical order in the portfolio. As you carry out each task, revise and edit your work carefully. You should ask your classmates and your teacher for feedback. After you have selected and carried out all of the tasks, write an introductory letter to the portfolio reader explaining why you choose them and what you learn from doing them. You will be given feedback on the relevance and quality of each of the completed tasks (according to the criteria on the various feedback sheets), and the portfolio as a whole.

Choose from the list of tasks below. If you would like to work on something outside this list, talk about it with your teacher. • Select a poem about this holiday. Practise reading it using correct pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm. Include a written copy of the poem, and your final audio-taped recording of the poem. • Audio- or video-tape a short presentation about the holiday. • Learn a song that is associated with this holiday, and then perform and record it.

• Write a fact sheet about the holiday. • Construct a crossword puzzle about the holiday. • Design a poster about the holiday. • Write a recipe for a food or beverage consumed on the holiday. • Write instructions for a game or an activity done on this holiday. • Write a greeting card for this holiday. Source: Curriculum Development Council (2002, pp. A11–A14)

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Theme-based Portfolio Feedback Sheet Needs Improvement

Satisfactory

Well Done

Overall content • The tasks are relevant to the topic • The tasks provide adequate information about the topic • The tasks are interesting and creative Overall organization • The tasks are related to one another • The tasks are arranged in a logical order Introductory letter • It explains clearly and adequately why the tasks are chosen • It explains clearly and adequately what is learnt from doing the tasks Individual tasks The quality of each individual task*: • Task 1 • Task 2 • Task 3 • Task 4 * Use a relevant individual feedback sheet to assess each completed task and then tick the appropriate box above for an overall assessment. The categories below give the areas to be assessed in the individual feedback sheets. These cover the major areas of content, organization, language and style, grammar and structure, as well as the other more task-specific aspects for assessment. Comments

Grade

Feedback will be given in the following areas as appropriate to the specific task in an individual feedback sheet. • For a written task you will receive feedback on the following areas as appropriate. – content – organization – task requirements – language and style – grammar and structure – mechanics • For a speaking task you will receive feedback on the following areas as appropriate. – content – organization – communicative strategies – task requirements – pronunciation and fluency – language and style – grammar and structure

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Appendix XIV

Process Writing: Language Feedback Sheet

Vocabulary • Are the words and expressions correctly used? • Are there some words or expressions which are used too often? If so, what are they? Grammar & Mechanics Underline the words/expressions in your peer’s draft that need improvement. Write the appropriate symbols along the margin to help him/her make revision, as demonstrated in the examples below. Grammar Items • Tense • Word Order

Symbols T WO

Examples Tom’s father is in New York last month. Mom gave her a gold beautiful necklace for her birthday.

(T)

(WO)

• Subject Verb Agreement

SV

Three men was injured in the accident.

• Articles

A

A moon is big and bright tonight.

(A)

• Gerunds

G

He has stopped to go to church.

(G)

• Infinitives

I

The doctor told him drink plenty of water.

(SV)

(I)

• Word Form

WF

They talked very loud on the MTR.

• Spelling

Sp

He could not write his own name collectly.

• Punctuation

∆

How did you do it.

• Preposition

Prep

As it was getting dark, mom switched up the lights. (Prep)

• Pronoun

Pron

She likes going shopping by himself.

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(WF) (Sp) (∆)

(Pron)

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175

Process Writing: First Draft Feedback Sheet (Generic)

Purpose • Is the purpose of the piece of writing clear? If not, why not?

Content • Are the ideas relevant to the topic? If not, which ideas seem irrelevant? • Are the ideas clear? If not, which ideas need to be made clearer? • Is there enough information? If not, what could be added? • Is there too much information? If so, what could be taken out?

Organization • Are the ideas presented in a logical order? If not, how could the ideas be presented in a better way? • Are the ideas presented in paragraphs? If not, what information could be grouped into paragraphs? • Are the paragraphs well connected to each other? If not, how could the paragraphs be better connected to each other?

Format • Is the piece of writing presented in an appropriate format? If not, what format changes need to be made?

Overall • Which part of the writing did you like the most and why?

Source: Curriculum Development Council (2002, pp. A17–A18)

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Appendix XV

School Report

Name of school:



S5

Class:

Core Subjects Mark

Subject

(Full mark = 100%)

Position in class

English Mathematics

He has proved to be a co-operative and conscientious student. 61% /20

(Estimated work). The one paper he did was most pleasing to see. Keep up the effort and build on this success next year.

60% /27

He can improve on the written paper but he has worked very seriously and well throughout the year.

10

English

Comments

17

Social Studies Physical Education

A good student who always works well.

Option Subjects Physics

53% /26

A conscientious worker throughout the year. He did surprisingly badly on the written part of the examination. He must work hard to improve this throughout next year to really do himself justice.

12

41% /24

His is still a little tentative in his answers. But he worked well and should be able to improve in his technique in the next twelve months.

60% /27

He has worked hard to achieve this creditable result. His written work has been of a consistently high standard.

77% /23

He has worked hard and with a keen interest to reach a promising standard in the examination.

42% /55

He does not find the subject easy and will have to apply himself to the work fully next year, if he is to succeed. I have been impressed by his commitment and attitude, however, and there is no reason why he could not reach a creditable HKCEE grade.

20

History

Geography

16

Biology

14

Putonghua

52

FORM-MASTER He remains quiet and conscientious. A little more effort in some subjects will lead to a creditable level of success next year.

Days absent: 101/2

HOUSE-MASTER He has had a very pleasing year. In the House he is very reliable with a pleasing attitude. Academically, he has made good progress with the odd exception which I hope he puts right next year.

HEADMASTER He needs to work hard and has made commendable progress, a pattern which will need to continue next year.

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Detentions: 0

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Appendix XVI

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Task-based Assessment

Record of Achievement

SUBJECT: ENGLISH NAME:

FORM: 3A



EDUCATIONAL AIMS / ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES: To encourage an integrated programme of English, involving Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing and to develop the students’ ability to understand and respond appropriately.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE, CROSS CURRICULAR SKILLS AND ATTITUDES: A Oral work

B

C

D

E

√

Audience skills—listening and watching

√

Content of written work

√

Reading

√

Spelling

√

Punctuation and sentence structure

√

Handwriting

√

Presentation

√

Ability to work on his/her own

√

Ability to work with others

√

Personal organization/Homework

√

STUDENT SELF ASSESSMENT AND SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT: I feel as though I have done well in English this year and I got a good exam mark. I enjoyed the reading work and the writing but some writing activities are really annoying. I think I have improved this year and am looking forward to next year.

TEACHER COMMENT: Your work is developing well. Written work is fluent and interesting, and you are always willing to seek advice. Oral word is informed and persuasive. SIGNED:



SUBJECT TEACHER

STUDENT Continued on next page

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Record of Achievement — Continued

PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS NAME: MERITS:

FORM: 3A





ORDER MARKS:

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES: I have taken part in the following this year: I am in the football and athletic teams for the school and house.

RESPONSIBILITY/HELPFULNESS IN SCHOOL: I have shown responsibility/leadership/willingness to help in school by: I am the captain of the school football team and I help other people in general if I can. I am a prefect this year, and I help teachers from time to time.

SCHOOL AWARDS/RECORDS: Principal’s commendations..

OUT OF SCHOOL ACTIVITIES/INTERESTS/CLUBS: I enjoy: Badminton, hiking, reading, and visits/holidays. I also enjoy relaxing in front of the TV.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS/HELPFULNESS OUTSIDE SCHOOL: I help at home by looking after my younger brother before my parents come home, sometimes washing up, and helping my grandma.

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