关于任务型教学,David Nunan所著的《Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom》一书中这样写到“ Tasks involve communicative language use in which the user's attention is focused on meaning rather than linguistic structure." And it is “a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting." 这种课堂上语言的“communicate” 和学习者之间的“interact”是通过“task"来实现的。完成任务的过程就是交流、合作、互动的过程。很多任务都是通过pair work和group work 合作完成的。
◆ Task: Debate on “ Tobacco Companies Should Be Closed.”
◆ Group Work:
1.小组自报正方或反方。
2.小组成员在课文中或上网搜索,找出有关材料或从实际生活中取证。
3.小组成员分工:提供观点、记录、辩论(由口语好、反应快的同学承担)。
4.组织辩论的材料。
5.小组内模拟演讲。
6.组际正、反方辩论。
7.教师点评。
◆ Result:
Positive: Tobacco companies should be closed, because they produce cigarettes.
Argument 1.Many people died of smoking.
Argument 2.Smoking makes the air dirty.
Argument 3.Smoking burns (wastes) lots of money.
Argument 4.Tobacco companies always persuade people, especially young people, to start smoking cigarettes. When the young people can′t get enough money, they will steal money.
Argument 5.Smoking is harmful to man′s health. It will cause lung cancer.And it will make many families sad.
Negative:Tobacco companies should not be closed.
Argument 1.Tobacco companies pay a large amount of taxes to the government.
Argument 2.Tobacco companies can provide many jobs for people.
Argument 3.Smoking can help people thinking clearly, and many good ideas come into being during smoking.
通过小组讨论或辩论,学生的英语反应能力、思辨能力等都得到了提高,同时学生的个性也得到了尊重和张扬。
另外,在“discuss or debate”中,由于学生个人熟悉问题的局限性,单靠一个人回答问题往往不全面。采取小组合作学习的形式,让组内的几个成员充分发表意见,通过有意义的协商和共享,相互补充。使学生在完成任务的过程中,从同伴那里获得解决问题的一些其他途径,不断从别人的发言中受到启发,既培养了学生全面考虑问题的习惯,也提高了学生的发散型思维的能力。