Designing Tasks for Foreign Language Skills 3301-JS2902

The course provides students with a comprehensive background on the nature of the four language skills, their learning and teaching in English as a foreign language, integrated with a system of principles of task design. Students participate in developing and systematizing key criteria for the evaluation and adjustment of various tasks (meaningfulness, relevance for language learning as communication, logical development, suitability for the addressee, clarity of instructions, etc.), and for converting authentic materials into classroom tasks. On the basis of these principles, students are able to design sample tasks for various age groups and levels of proficiency, and evaluate as well as modify the available course book tasks. We also investigate the potential of tasks to promote accuracy and creativity, curb anxiety, and enhance learner motivation and cultural awareness, and provide feedback information (where applicable).
The topics include:
1. Receptive skills as language input: focus on comprehension versus focus on language learning; language input and cultural input; designing relevant tasks;
2. Special difficulties in developing listening comprehension; grading the level of difficulty in intensive listening tasks; the use of transcript; listening materials as input for pronunciation practice; the role of extensive listening;the role of feedback;
3. The reading skill: focus on content, relevant background knowledge, discourse structure, and vocabulary in the reading process; the role of verbal and non-verbal context; designing relevant tasks; intensive and extensive reading in EFL; literature as a source of authentic materials;the role of feedback; new literacies, multimodality;
4. Output in language learning: focus on the productive skills; the nature and essential differences between speaking and writing; the role of planning, rehearsal and feedback; writing tasks in everyday communication vs. academic writing tasks;
5. Special difficulties in developing the speaking skill; grading the level of difficulty in speaking tasks; tasks for practicing conversational interaction; strategies for keeping anxiety at bay; assertiveness training;
6. Formal and informal writing tasks; freedom and control in writing tasks; process writing; communicative writing tasks; graded written tasks and the role of feedback, the significance of editing in developing accuracy.
Participants study reading assignments and take active part in classes; they present their samples during classes, at least one for each skill; students hand in four samples of their own tasks developed and discussed during the course and one sample of a textbook task with its critical evaluation and classroom feedback, where possible (5 written assignments to be sent by mail during the course).
The course is for BA full-time students.