Using TBL in YL classroom

How often do you notice that your students get distracted halfway through the lesson? 

Working with young learners is truly a test of a teacher's patience and creativity. 

After all, it's not always easy with them: their attention seems to switch in an instant, and if the task doesn’t engage them from the first moments, keeping their focus becomes nearly impossible. 

This is where the TBL approach comes in handy, helping children to learn the language naturally and stay active during lessons.

Let’s take a closer look at what TBL is and how this approach can be used in lessons to make them both interesting and beneficial.

Task-Based Learning is an approach to language learning that focuses on completing real-life tasks.

For example, instead of simply learning by heart words on the topic of "food," students could work in groups to create a menu for a fictional café.

A key advantage of TBL is the active participation of all students. 

Children work in teams, discuss ideas, and suggest their own solutions. 

This creates a natural environment for communication in English, and the language is learned faster because it is used in real-life activities.

To implement Task-Based Learning (TBL), there's no need to turn the entire lesson upside down. 

It can be a small task at the beginning or end of the lesson, connected to the students' everyday lives. 

For instance, ask them to help a lost young tourist find his way in a park, or to think about what they would take on a camping trip. 

In the first case, each child can suggest a route for the tourist, and for the picnic, they think about a list of items to bring along.

Moreover, it's essential to remember the importance of support.

At each stage of the task, the teacher should be there to assist with phrases, clarify any confusion, while still leaving enough room for independent work. 

Let the children try, make mistakes, and most importantly — learn from those mistakes.

At the supermarket

Divide the class into groups and give each group the task of creating their own supermarket. 

Let them decide what products will be sold, how their stalls will look, and draw signs. 

After that, they can act out a shopping scene in the store. 

This way, students can practise dialogues and learn to ask and answer questions in English.

Cooking show

Everyone has their favourite dish, so you can ask the children to create a recipe for their favourite meal.

Each student can then present their dish, and the other students can ask questions.

Creating their own zoo

Divide the students into groups and let each group decide and draw what animals will live in their zoo, what the enclosures will be called, and how to take care of the animals. 

Afterwards, each group presents their zoo, and you can add the next task — compare the two zoos.

You can come up with activities on a wide range of topics and be confident that the children will be motivated in your lessons.

Using Task-Based Learning in teaching young learners offers many advantages, making the language learning process effective and enjoyable.

Children finally begin to realise that they can use English in everyday life and real situations, rather than constantly doing grammar exercises to fill in the correct verb form, or reciting a memorised text at the board, which they will likely forget after the lesson is over.

In groups, children interact with each other, learning to express their thoughts, argue their ideas, and listen to others.

When lessons become more interactive and fun, the fear of making mistakes takes a back seat. 

There is no pressure, and they start feeling more comfortable, making it much easier to acquire knowledge in such an environment.

TBL allows each student to work at their own pace. 

We know that classrooms can have children at different levels of ability. 

Thanks to group work, weaker students receive support from stronger ones, and those who want to progress further can fully utilise their knowledge.

In conclusion, Task-Based Learning is an excellent way to make lessons truly engaging for young learners. 

It's an approach where students don’t just complete monotonous exercises, but instead, actively interact with each other and learn to come up with solutions to real-life situations they might face.

It’s also important to note that this approach doesn’t require drastic changes.

However, after just a few of these lessons, you as a teacher will notice that students enjoy it and come to class with greater enthusiasm.

After all, we all aim for our lessons to leave a lasting impression on children. 

So, if you haven’t tried TBL yet, now is the time to incorporate it into your lessons and see how the classroom atmosphere changes.