The Task-Based Teaching Approach And Its Application In Senior English Reading Class

In recent years in the English language teaching and learning Task-Based Teaching Approach has become a keen contemporary interest to cope with increasingly fierce international competition. English as Foreign Language (EFL) students are asked to enhance their English skills and abilities in international communication. This thesis, from the perspective of teaching, provides a brief analysis of present reading teaching method only to find that the traditional teaching method pays too much attention to language forms, separates the meaning from the discourse and neglects the cultivation of students' reading strategies and skills, while integrated with the latest reading theories, many new reading teaching methods based on Communicative Language Teaching are concerned with meaning but neglect the accumulation of accurate language form. As a result, both of them result in low efficiency with great effort in our English reading teaching.Traditionally, the most common teaching approach applied in the English classes is teacher-centered and lecture-oriented. There exists an opinion that successful learning is influenced by appropriate method of teaching. Therefore, much research is done on the task-based approach. The paper is to cover the various aspects of the approach to task for language learning from the relation of task and second language acquisition to teaching methodology of the evaluation process. The text examines Task-Based Teaching Approach and method in terms of its theory of language and language learning, goals, syllabus, teaching activities, teacher and learner roles, materials, and classroom activities and so on.Effective instructional tasks allow more room for learners to have something of their own to express in their specific ideas (Langer & Applebee, 1987). Fried-Booth (1986) proposed that Task-Based Teaching Approach (TBTA) was a practical approach which could overcome the difficulties in language teaching programs, stating that,"What in theory is useful, but the usefulness does not always extend to practice. Often, there is a gap between the language the students are taught and the language they in fact require. It is this gap that TBTA can help to bridge."A quick literature review shows that TBTA has become an important approach in the last few years. This form of teaching promotes communication and social interaction. Additionally, it is an attractive and practical tool for those working in the field of language learning and teaching, an approach which includes different perspectives and a goal to interrelate research and teaching. EFL instructors for the teaching of English have to make their efforts to create a learning environment that encourages learners to actively transfer the language skills taught in the classroom to practice, accomplishing the goal of learning for application.The task-based action research shows that Task-Based Teaching Approach is based on the entire class needs , the activities to complete the task, for the purpose of evaluating the speech act and the learning achievements. Task-Based Teaching Approach is feasible, and effective. Secondly, teaching is a professional job, and the teachers are the development of the individual. The writer is aware that through continuous learning and exploring to a certain extent, teachers promote life-long professional development.For this purpose, Task-Based Teaching Approach is used in class experiment. It is in Class 5 and class 6 of Datang high school in Jining, Shandong Province that the writer carries on the experiment. The time is from September 2008 to January 2009. The experimental results show that the experimental group improve reading skills faster, so that Task-Based Teaching Approach in reading class can be used effectively. The experimental results show that task-based reading instruction remains to be further improved.