The Application Of Task-based Teaching Pattern Of English Writing In Senior High School

The enquiry into the task-based teaching began in the 1980s when Prabhu (1987) conducted an experiment of strong version of communicative approach (then called Bangalore Project) in the south of India. His experiment can be regarded as the first attempt of task-designed class, which aroused the attention of many language teaching experts, e.g. Long (1981), Nunan (1989), Willis (1996) and Skehan (1998). They commenced to do their task-based teaching research and took it as their research focus. With their research the task-based teaching gradually came into its mature stage in theory in 1990s.The task-based teaching emphasizes the approach of learning by doing, whose concern is doing things with the language, and which turns the basic concept of language use into practical class teaching method. The new English course standard of high school of the Department of Education of the People's Republic of China lately points out (2003:25): Promote task-based teaching; cultivate the ability of comprehensive language use in the process of teaching; to advocate the learning method of experiencing, practising, participating, communicating and cooperating. Teachers finish the task to make the students sense success and we should stress that students can do things in English in the task-based teaching model, in the contrast to the practice of teaching method of the impartation of the knowledge in the traditional teaching model.Willis'task-based teaching model includes pre-task, task cycle and language focus. According to this model, teachers can divide the class into three procedures. At the pre-task stage, teachers introduce the topic and task to the students and give them time to think. At the task cycle stage, teachers ask the students to use English in order to complete the task. At the language focus stage, the students would study further to consolidate and master the features of language. Therefore the task-based teaching model has a clearly aim. The students can understand what the task is in the beginning. They are motivated by the task to learn the new language. The deep-seated motivation drives the students to learn. Actually in Willis'class, there are four procedures: task presenting, language presenting, task completing and language consolidating.The author of this dissertation applies and improves the task-based teaching model by Willis and in the teaching of English writing in Changchun in No.17 High School. The writing in the Senior High School in three stages: task presenting, task preparing (teaching of knowledge and technology) and task completing. At the task presenting stage teachers help the students to know clearly what the task is in the beginning. The task-preparing stage is the teaching process, during which the students are required to finish the task. At the task completing stage, the students are required to use their knowledge and English in real situation. The difference lies in that language practising and consolidating is one-step in No. 17 High School before task completing, while in Willis'teaching model language focus after task completing. The reason for this is in the English writing class, language presenting process is the rewriting of compositions in groups, while the reading of the compositions to...