Sustained silent reading is a form of school-based recreational reading, or free
voluntary reading, where students read silently in a designated time period
every day in school. An underlying assumption of SSR is that students learn to
read by reading constantly. Successful models of SSR typically allow students
to select their own books and require neither testing for comprehension nor
book reports. Schools have implemented SSR under a variety of names, such as "Drop
Everything and Read (DEAR)" or "Free Uninterrupted Reading
(FUR)".
Value of Sustained silent reading
Advocates' perspective
According to advocates, such as Stephen
Krashen, SSR has been shown to lead to gains in several literacy domains,
including comprehension, spelling and increased vocabulary.
Advocates also point out that students in SSR programs have more positive attitudes toward reading than students who do not participate in SSR programs.
Advocates also point out that students in SSR programs have more positive attitudes toward reading than students who do not participate in SSR programs.
National Reading Panel analysis of sustained silent reading studies
The National Reading Panel (NRP) in the United
States meta-analyzed all quasi-experimental and experimental studies of SSR and
challenged the claim that SSR has positive effects. The panel stated that the
literature contained insufficient numbers of quasi-experimental or experimental
studies on SSR to validate its use as a sound educational practice. The panel
also noted that the absence of quantitative evidence was not evidence against
the practice in itself. They recommended further study of SSR.
Sustained silent reading practices
A range of practices have been associated with
SSR, and some advocates suggest that teacher models of reading behavior (i.e.,
teachers read while the students read), a long term commitment to SSR,
availability of multiple level, high interest texts, and a sense of reading
community are particularly relevant.
Free voluntary reading (FVR)
Free voluntary reading (FVR) or recreation reading, related to the comprehension hypothesis, is an educational
theory that says many student gains in reading can be encouraged by giving them
time to read what they want without too many evaluative measures. Sustained
silent reading is a method of implementing recreational and FVR theory.
Task-based language learning (TBLL)
Task-based language learning (TBLL), also known as task-based language teaching (TBLT) or task-based
instruction (TBI) focuses on the use of authentic language and on asking
students to do meaningful tasks using the target language. Such tasks can
include visiting a doctor, conducting an interview, or calling customer service
for help. Assessment is primarily based on task outcome (in other words the
appropriate completion of real world tasks) rather than on accuracy of
prescribed language forms. This makes TBLL especially popular for developing
target language fluency and student confidence. As such TBLL can be considered
a branch of Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT).
TBLL was popularized by N. Prabhu while working in Bangalore, India.[1] Prabhu noticed that his students could learn language just as easily with a non-linguistic problem as when they were concentrating on linguistic questions. Major scholars who have done research in this area include Teresa P. Pica and Michael Long
According to Jane Willis, TBLL consists of the pre-task, the task cycle, and the language focus.[2]
The components of a Task are:
TBLL was popularized by N. Prabhu while working in Bangalore, India.[1] Prabhu noticed that his students could learn language just as easily with a non-linguistic problem as when they were concentrating on linguistic questions. Major scholars who have done research in this area include Teresa P. Pica and Michael Long
According to Jane Willis, TBLL consists of the pre-task, the task cycle, and the language focus.[2]
The components of a Task are:
- Goals and objectives
- Input
- Activities
- Teacher role
- learner role
- Settings
Background
Task-based language learning has its origins
in communicative language teaching,
and is a subcategory of it. Educators adopted task-based language learning for
a variety of reasons. Some moved to task-based syllabi in an attempt to make
language in the classroom truly communicative, rather than the
pseudo-communication that results from classroom activities with no direct
connection to real-life situations. Others, like Prabhu in the Bangalore Project, thought
that tasks were a way of tapping into learners' natural mechanisms for
second-language acquisition, and weren't concerned with real-life communication.
Definition of a Task
According to Rod Ellis,
a task has four main characteristics:
- A task involves a primary focus on (pragmatic) meaning.
- A task has some kind of ‘gap’ (Prabhu identified the three main types as information gap, reasoning gap, and opinion gap).
- The participants choose the linguistic resources needed to complete the task.
- A task has a clearly defined, non-linguistic outcome.
In practice
The core of the lesson or project is, as the
name suggests, the task. Teachers and curriculum developers should bear in mind
that any attention to form, i.e. grammar or vocabulary, increases the
likelihood that learners may be distracted from the task itself and become
preoccupied with detecting and correcting errors and/or looking up language in
dictionaries and grammar references. Although there may be several effective
frameworks for creating a task-based learning lesson, here is a basic outline:
Pre-task
In the pre-task, the teacher will present what
will be expected of the students in the task phase. Additionally, in the
"weak" form of TBLL, the teacher may prime the students with key
vocabulary or grammatical constructs, although this can mean that the activity
is, in effect, more similar to the more traditional present-practise-produce
(PPP) paradigm. In "strong" task-based learning lessons, learners are
responsible for selecting the appropriate language for any given context
themselves. The instructor may also present a model of the task by either doing
it themselves or by presenting picture, audio, or video demonstrating the task.
Task
During the task phase, the students perform
the task, typically in small groups, although this is dependent on the type of
activity. And unless the teacher plays a particular role in the task, then the
teacher's role is typically limited to one of an observer or counselor—thus the
reason for it being a more student-centered methodology.
Review
If learners have created tangible linguistic
products, e.g. text, montage, presentation, audio or video recording, learners
can review
each others' work and offer constructive feedback. If a task is set to extend
over longer periods of time, e.g. weeks, and includes iterative cycles of
constructive activity followed by review.
Types of task
According to N. S. Prabhu, there are three
main categories of task; information-gap, reasoning-gap, and opinion-gap.
Information-gap activity, which involves a transfer of given information from one person to another – or from one form to another, or from one place to another – generally calling for the decoding or encoding of information from or into language. One example is pair work in which each member of the pair has a part of the total information (for example an incomplete picture) and attempts to convey it verbally to the other. Another example is completing a tabular representation with information available in a given piece of text. The activity often involves selection of relevant information as well, and learners may have to meet criteria of completeness and correctness in making the transfer.
Reasoning gap Reasoning-gap activity, which involves deriving some new information from given information through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a perception of relationships or patterns. One example is working out a teacher’s timetable on the basis of given class timetables. Another is deciding what course of action is best (for example cheapest or quickest) for a given purpose and within given constraints. The activity necessarily involves comprehending and conveying information, as in information-gap activity, but the information Teaching to be conveyed is not identical with that initially comprehended. There is a piece of reasoning which connects the two.
Opinion gap Opinion-gap activity, which involves identifying and articulat-ing a personal preference, feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation. One example is story completion; another is taking part in the discussion of a social issue. The activity may involve using factual information and formulating arguments to justify one’s opinion, but there is no objective procedure for demonstrating outcomes as right or wrong, and no reason to expect the same outcome from different individuals or on different occasions.[7]
Information-gap activity, which involves a transfer of given information from one person to another – or from one form to another, or from one place to another – generally calling for the decoding or encoding of information from or into language. One example is pair work in which each member of the pair has a part of the total information (for example an incomplete picture) and attempts to convey it verbally to the other. Another example is completing a tabular representation with information available in a given piece of text. The activity often involves selection of relevant information as well, and learners may have to meet criteria of completeness and correctness in making the transfer.
Reasoning gap Reasoning-gap activity, which involves deriving some new information from given information through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a perception of relationships or patterns. One example is working out a teacher’s timetable on the basis of given class timetables. Another is deciding what course of action is best (for example cheapest or quickest) for a given purpose and within given constraints. The activity necessarily involves comprehending and conveying information, as in information-gap activity, but the information Teaching to be conveyed is not identical with that initially comprehended. There is a piece of reasoning which connects the two.
Opinion gap Opinion-gap activity, which involves identifying and articulat-ing a personal preference, feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation. One example is story completion; another is taking part in the discussion of a social issue. The activity may involve using factual information and formulating arguments to justify one’s opinion, but there is no objective procedure for demonstrating outcomes as right or wrong, and no reason to expect the same outcome from different individuals or on different occasions.[7]
Reception
According to Jon Larsson, in considering
problem based learning for language learning, i.e. task based language
learning:[6]
...one of the main
virtues of PBL is that it displays a significant advantage over traditional methods
in how the communicative skills of the students are improved. The general
ability of social interaction is also positively affected. These are, most will
agree, two central factors in language learning. By building a language course
around assignments that require students to act, interact and communicate it is
hopefully possible to mimic some of the aspects of learning a language “on
site”, i.e. in a country where it is actually spoken. Seeing how learning a
language in such an environment is generally much more effective than teaching
the language exclusively as a foreign language, this is something that would
hopefully be beneficial.
Larsson goes on to say:
Another large
advantage of PBL is that it encourages students to gain a deeper sense of
understanding. Superficial learning is often a problem in language education,
for example when students, instead of acquiring a sense of when and how to use
which vocabulary, learn all the words they will need for the exam next week and
then promptly forget them.
In a PBL classroom
this is combatted by always introducing the vocabulary in a real-world
situation, rather than as words on a list, and by activating the student;
students are not passive receivers of knowledge, but are instead required to
actively acquire the knowledge. The feeling of being an integral part of their
group also motivates students to learn in a way that the prospect of a final
examination rarely manages to do.
Task-based learning is advantageous to the
student because it is more student-centered, allows for more meaningful
communication, and often provides for practical extra-linguistic skill
building. As the tasks are likely to be familiar to the students (visiting the doctor), students are more likely to be engaged, which may further
motivate them in their language learning.
According to Jeremy Harmer, tasks promote language acquisition through the types of language and interaction they require. Harmer says that although the teacher may present language in the pre-task, the students are ultimately free to use what grammar constructs and vocabulary they want. This allows them, he says, to use all the language they know and are learning, rather than just the 'target language' of the lesson. On the other hand, according to Loschky and Bley-Vroman, tasks can also be designed to make certain target forms 'task-essential,' thus making it communicatively necessary for students to practice using them.In terms of interaction, information gap tasks in particular have been shown to promote negotiation of meaning and output modification.
According to Plews and Zhao, task-based language learning can suffer in practice from poorly informed implementation and adaptations that alter its fundamental nature. They say that lessons are frequently changed to be more like traditional teacher-led presentation-practice-production lessons than task-based lessons.
According to Jeremy Harmer, tasks promote language acquisition through the types of language and interaction they require. Harmer says that although the teacher may present language in the pre-task, the students are ultimately free to use what grammar constructs and vocabulary they want. This allows them, he says, to use all the language they know and are learning, rather than just the 'target language' of the lesson. On the other hand, according to Loschky and Bley-Vroman, tasks can also be designed to make certain target forms 'task-essential,' thus making it communicatively necessary for students to practice using them.In terms of interaction, information gap tasks in particular have been shown to promote negotiation of meaning and output modification.
According to Plews and Zhao, task-based language learning can suffer in practice from poorly informed implementation and adaptations that alter its fundamental nature. They say that lessons are frequently changed to be more like traditional teacher-led presentation-practice-production lessons than task-based lessons.
Professional conferences and organizations
As an outgrowth of the widespread interest in
task-based teaching, the Biennial International Conference on Task-Based
Language Teaching has occurred every other year since 2005. Past conferences
have been held in Belgium,the United States,England,
and New Zealand,with the 2013 conference scheduled to take place in Canada.
These events promote theoretical and practical research on TBLT. In addition,
the has a special interest group devoted to task-based learning,
which has also hosted its own conference in Japan.
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