Improving English Speaking Ability Through Task-based Language Teaching In Junior Middle School

Task-based Language Teaching(TBLT) is regarded as one of the most useful, popular and practical approaches of widespread interest in the functional views of language and communicative language teaching since the mid of 1980s.TBLT focuses on output or production. It emphasizes the using of language. During the tasks, students taste, construct, realize something and develop listening, speaking, reading and writing with using the knowledge of language and the knowledge of communication. Finally, students improve their communicative competence. After adopting TBLT, we should have a suspicion that our traditional English learning which focuses on input is not perfect enough. We're sure there's something fresh in English teaching and research fields and the students'competence of using language will be improved quickly.Besides the introduction and conclusion, this thesis consists of three chapters.Chapter 1 takes literature review. It examines six task components: goals, input, activities, learner roles, teacher roles and settings. It also introduces six main types of tasks that can be adapted for using with almost any topics: listing, ordering and sorting, comparing, problem solving, sharing personal experiences and creative tasks. It is concerned with three phases of the framework for designing task-based lessons: the pre-task phase, the during-task phase and the post-task phase.Chapter 2 studies the function and characteristics of speaking, analyses the principles for designing speaking activities: proper language level, maximum English talking and even participation. It pays great attention to the art of good speaking: imagination and interpretation, voice-coloring, gesture and deportment. At last, it introduces the ways to correct oral errors.Chapter 3 is devoted to some of the ideas involved in applying TBLT in the teaching of speaking. It helps teachers to know how important the motivation, affect and self-esteem in tasks are. It lays emphasis on the learning contexts, shows task difficulty in relation to the teaching of speaking and introduces five main speaking activities: information gap, survey, discussion, role-play and games. The author provides some task examples, a sample lesson and designs a questionnaire to have feedback of the application of TBLT to the teaching of English speaking. By making analysis of the questionnaire, the author concludes that TBLT is beneficial to the junior students and is a practical and efficient way to teach English speaking in junior middle school. Finally, the author examines the merits and limitations of TBLT. The application of TBLT makes great demands upon the teachers as it is an innovation for teachers and students. According to her own teaching practice, the author analyses the merits and limitations of TBLT and hopes to offer some useful suggestions.