What is Task-Based Learning? with Jane Willis (Recorded at IATEFL 2024)

What is Task-Based Learning? with Jane Willis (Recorded at IATEFL 2024)

Author: TESOL Pop May 28, 2024 Duration: 14:14
TESOL Pop
EducationHow ToSelf ImprovementTechnology

Author Jane Willis answers your questions about task-based learning (TBL). In this episode, Jane provides examples of TBL in practice, explores the difference between task-based and task-supported learning, and closes with suggestions on how the latest technology can fit into a TBL framework.


Click here to watch this episode with closed captions.


KEY TALKING POINTS

Defining Task-Based Learning

Jane simplifies TBL with practical examples, such as "describe and draw" tasks and planning school rules. She emphasises the following features of TBL: clear purpose, focus on meaning, and freedom to utilise their language.


Common Misinterpretations

Jane clarifies the difference between task-supported learning, which integrates tasks within traditional methods, and task-based learning, which starts with and focuses on tasks. She explains the three-part task cycle— planning, task, and reporting—and highlights the importance of planning to boost learner confidence and extend language use.


Integrating Technology with TBL

Jane discusses using technology, such as Zoom, to record and review lessons and transcription software to analyse language use. She also talks about using AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance tasks, such as refining story prompts and generating dialogues.


Future of Education

Jane talks about the possibilities AI and technology bring to TBL while also stressing the importance of cautious and informed use of new technologies.


ABOUT

Jane worked extensively overseas (Ghana, Cyprus, Iran, Singapore) as an English teacher and trainer. In the 1980s, she and her late husband, Dave, met Prabhu and began experimenting with Task-based Language Teaching, writing several prize-winning books. She also taught for 12 years on the TESOL Masters programs at Aston University in UK. Jane now lives in the English Lake District and enjoys fell-walking. She teaches tai chi and is still quite active on the TBLT scene. In 2022, she received the inaugural Distinguished Practitioner Award from the International Association of Task-based Language Teaching. Visit Jane's website here to learn more.


REFERENCES

  1. Willis - ELT. Task-Based Lesson Plans are available here.
  2. Willis, D. and Willis, J. (2007) Doing Task-based Teaching. OUP   
  3. Willis, D. (2003). Rules, Patterns and Words: Grammar and Lexis in English Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press (illustrates how to teach grammar through TBL)
  4. Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Ebook edition 2012 Intrinsic publications available on Google Play and Rakuten Koko.


Say thanks with coffee

https://ko-fi.com/tesolpop


CREDITS

Producer Laura Wilkes

Editor Haven Tsang

Thanks to our kind guest, Jane Willis.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Ever feel like the best teaching ideas come from a quick chat in the staffroom, but your schedule never allows for it? TESOL Pop captures that spark. Designed for the busy English language teacher, this mini podcast delivers compact, meaningful conversations with TESOL, TEFL, and ESL educators globally. Each episode is a focused interview, kept under fifteen minutes, packed with practical ideas and personal insights that can genuinely shift your approach in the classroom. You’ll hear stories about career pivots, reflections on what actually works with students, and clever uses of technology, all shared in a casual, accessible tone. It’s the audio equivalent of a refreshing coffee break with a colleague who gets it. The podcast understands that profound professional development doesn’t always require a lengthy seminar; sometimes, a single, well-timed insight is enough to reinvigorate your teaching. By tuning in, you join a global conversation that feels both personal and immediately useful, making it easy to integrate new perspectives into your daily routine without overwhelming your calendar.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Official website RSS
instagramyoutubespotify
TESOL Pop
Podcast Episodes
Global Literature Circles for Teens — with Christian Fischer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:43
From outgrowing textbooks to collaborating across continents. Christian Fischer, Head of English at Gymnasium Schillerschule Hannover, shares how the Global Literature Circle project is transforming how teenagers engage…
Litter Picking, Learning & Lasting Change — with Patrick Jackson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:51
From one class pack to a million hours of environmental education. ELT author and creator of Picker Pals, Patrick Jackson, shares how a single idea grew into a movement that’s transformed classrooms and communities. From…
Business English, Reimagined – with Megan Nicholls [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:05
Business English gets a bad reputation — stiff, overly formal, and filled with irrelevant vocabulary lists. But what if it didn’t have to be that way? In this episode, Megan Nicholls, multilingual educator and founder of…
The Power of Emergent Language — with Lewis Jaquest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:01
Lewis Jaquest joins Laura to explore how emergent language and learner agency can transform the language classroom. In this episode, Lewis shares how he developed the Student Emergent Language Framework (SELF), reflects…
Contracts, Red Flags, and Career Choices – with Scott Allis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:29
Scott Allis, experienced ESL teacher and travel creator, joins Laura to share hard-won lessons from a global teaching career that spans China, Iraq, Thailand and beyond. In this candid conversation, Scott unpacks five ke…

12345...10»