TBL: Task stage: What is the teacher's role?

How does Task Based Learning work, exactly? If we let the name speak for itself, it will tell the story of many language students having to step out of their comfort zone and into the world of independent problem-solving. 

Some of us have experienced TBL from both sides of the barricade, not only as a teacher, but also as a student. 

I personally remember racking my brain and trying to sort out a particularly nasty ‘seating chart for a birthday’ as part of a TBL task. 

The problem was that some of the ‘guests’ I was supposed to seat at the tables, didn’t get along, while others would probably bore each other out of their minds.

It means, all the knowledge you have is being subtly tested. 

Learning comes almost as a natural result. All your hidden passive vocabulary is being engaged, all the grammar knowledge activated, and you are not even thinking about that because ‘Uncle Jerry’ loves to talk about football, while ‘Cousin Ann’ hates football with all her might, so, obviously, they can’t sit together at the party. 

And the teacher who had prepared this task and carefully designed it, seems more withdrawn from the process than usual, turning the reins over to the student. 

Is the learner just being figuratively thrown into a pool with the hopes that he or she will swim instead of drowning?

But, unfortunately, only to a certain point. 

The limitations are unavoidable, and sooner or later there comes a time when a more experienced, competent, and able interlocutor is necessary to make headway and blaze the trail through the jungle of a foreign language. 

Or, if we return to our previous metaphor, to keep on the surface of the water.

Task-based learning is definitely one of the most student-oriented approaches out there, and as such, it is also one of the most hands-on teaching methods. 

The learners are the stars here; they act and interact, perform the tasks and dig deep, try new things out and put all their current skills and knowledge to good use.

The role of the teacher seems to be reduced to preparing the ground, putting the process in motion, and waiting patiently to reap the fruit. 

However, is it really so?

We often think of a teacher as an integral, if not prevailing, part of the teaching process. 

We, as teachers, are still there to give support and instruct to the best of our abilities. And TBL is no different. 

The methods and approaches change, but the core idea remains imperishable. 

So the hours and effort put into the preparation stage are immense, and this is what usually jumps to mind when we think of the teacher’s role in the process of TBL. 

Giving clear instructions, grouping learners with their peers, and maintaining control over what happens in class are all parts of the pre-task stage. 

And when the next stage comes, and the carefully planned and prepared task comes to life, the role of the teacher is far from idle. 

He or she remains a motivator and activator, giving shape and direction to the unfolding activity.

After that, there is an opportunity to improve their performance in the process of preparing reports of the task with the help or correction from the teacher. 

It’s important to remember that the tasks themselves aren’t what constitutes learning. 

It is the mental effort, the intensity, the thinking process of the learners that will provide growth and determine the language learning during a task-based lesson. 

Students have to deal not only with the demands of the task itself, but also with the verbal interactions while working and cooperating with their partners, managing to communicate and analyse as they go. 

And the teacher plays more than one crucial role in this scenario.

An organiser

As the task stage unfolds, the teacher continues observing and checking to see that the students understand the task correctly, steering the process in the right direction, and making sure that the task is performed the way it was designed to be performed. 

Just like in sports, if the training load is just enough, you’ll get a champion. 

But if it’s too much, you might accidentally break your champion, and this is something we would like to avoid. 

So keeping the task within the learners’ powers is essential for success. 

Should any issues arise, the teacher is there to respond to the situation and correct the flow of events. 

Time mustn’t be wasted, and a safe and supportive atmosphere should be fostered throughout the task. 

A little ‘can do’ attitude can definitely go a long way.

A motivator

One might argue that the best motivation a teacher can provide is creating tasks that the students would find challenging but still doable. 

Something that would be interesting and relevant to them, immediately useful, and based on their learning needs. 

But the teacher remains a crucial part of the process and can provide motivation and engage the students during the task stage as well. 

And whether it is done explicitly, by stating the usefulness of the task and highlighting the goals, or implicitly (raising an interesting and exciting issue, building on the ideas introduced by the students), motivating the students is a valuable tool.

It has been proven that the use of motivational practices is directly correlated with student achievement.

But what helps to keep the learners motivated and encourage them to work to their full potential is cognitive and emotional support provided by the teacher. 

An ultimate interactional partner and supporter

So, the third role is an ultimate interactional partner and supporter, which implies a whole range of actions aimed at raising the quality and quantity of interactions that happen during the task performance. 

These actions include but are not limited to:

Feedback may take a variety of shapes: explicit correction, elicitation, repetition, recasts, etc. 

It is important to remember that the support provided by the teacher doesn’t just concern the linguistic aspect, but also socio-emotional. 

The students should feel uninhibited and free to express themselves. 

And the psychological atmosphere in the class should be conducive to productive, open interactions between the peers, as well as between the students and the teacher. 

It is definitely worth remembering that learners are individuals with their specific learning needs and different prior knowledge. 

They all have their own interests and are driven by different goals and ideas. 

So feedback, just like support or input provided to the students, will have to be tailored individually, sometimes in a time-sensitive manner, depending on the situation. 

When the task stage is completed, the learning process isn’t over just yet. 

In the post-task stage, the teacher will need to return to the students’ task performance and look deeper into the strategies used, discuss what the students were struggling with while doing the activity, or focus on the form and meaning of the target language. 

For the students to become aware of the learning they have just experienced. 

This second part of the process of TBL is as important as working on the task itself. 

Without follow-up work in the post-task stage, the framework is incomplete. 

And the teacher who monitored the students closely during their task performance can assess the students’ progress based on his or her observations and offer a closer study of the language, its specific features, and structures used during the task stage. 

It also provides the material for designing new tasks that will help these particular learners take the abstract knowledge they possess and apply it in real-world situations. 

After all, what is unfailingly great about TBL is that the learner gets a completely different perception of the language: instead of it being a goal in itself, it turns into a tool, something the learner can use ‘as is’ and improve on the way.