| Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) has been widely recognized as aneffective approach to English language teaching in our country, especially in primaryand middle schools. It has played an active role as an important component of ELTreform efforts. Since TBLT is a borrowed ELT approach, difficulties and problemsmay arise in the practice of teaching spoken English in junior middle schools in China.As an English teacher, the author has found it essential to carry out research on theproblems related to the application of TBLT to teaching spoken English in middleschools and on strategies for solving such problems.The thesis begins with a literature review about Task-based Language Teaching.It consists of four parts, including the definition of TBLT, the theoretical foundationof TBLT and the research status of TBLT, both foreign and domestic.Then the author carries out an investigation into and an in-depth analysis of theapplication of TBLT in spoken English teaching in junior middle schools. The maininvestigation is intended for probing into the following three aspects: theimplementation of TBLT—the teachers, the students and the evaluation mechanism.By using research tools such as questionnaires, interviews, action researches andcomparative analysis methods, the author dwells upon the major problems of theapplication of TBLT in spoken English teaching in junior middle schools and attemptsto put forward corresponding countermeasures for remedy and improvement.The focus of the study is put on four major areas relevant for the implementationof TBLT, namely the teacher, the student, the teaching strategy and the assessment.First, problems relevant to the teacher are:(1) the teachers’ professional quality needsto be improved;(2) it is difficult to achieve a reasonable balance between studentsability and examination achievement. Problems on students’ part are:(1) the fact thatstudents are more used to group activities, their independent thinking is weakened;(2)group activity is more likely to be a stage for stronger students while those studentswho are weak in English and less active become the audience. Problems related to theteaching strategies are seen as:(1) tasks tend to become merely exercises;(2) the preparation before the tasks is inadequate;(3) the evaluation of the tasks is monotone;(4) group activities are just formalities to go through;(5) it is not so easy for teachersto handle the level of difficulty when designing the tasks. Last, full attention shouldbe given to problems associated with the assessment of teaching and learning which,in the author’s opinion, should be in favour of students’ all round development ofabilities.In view of the above problems, the author puts forward the followingcorresponding strategies and countermeasures as recommendation:(1) teachers areexpected to be more open-minded for new and effective teaching ideas, and try all thetime to upgrade their personal and professional qualities;(2) the students should beencouraged to think independently, allowing the weaker students less dependent onthe stronger students for help;(3) the design of the tasks should be open, interestingand communicative;(4) the teaching evaluation mechanism should be improved to theextent that it helps to promote all-round development of students.To further support the major points of view at the core of this study, the authordesigns an experiment involving eighty students to try out the suggested ideas andmeasures and thereafter, carries out a spoken English test at the completion of theexperiment a year later. The results show that TBLT seems to help improve studentsoral English ability. Students progress is obvious, and the total average score of thestudents is significantly higher than that before the experiment. On the basis of theexperiment and the previous study, the author goes further to state the conclusion thatTBLT has significant advantages with regard to helping improve the teaching andlearning of oral English in junior middle schools. |
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