Two Peas in a Pod: Integrating Grammar and Writing through Task-Based Instruction

Introduction:

Much has been written about how boring can grammar instruction be to foreign language learners. The constant emphasis on forms leaves language classrooms with students who leave the classroom no better than when they entered it mastering only the skill of memorizing but when asked to apply their memorized knowledge to real life they are almost always ready to answer, “I don’t know teacher”. In an environment where cultural conventions strongly influence language teaching, it is sometimes hard to look for ways to engage students in the production of a learned grammar form and teachers are left with no option but to use worksheets which allows students to practice the use of language only in isolation. This way students do not realize how important a specific grammatical concept is because they do not know how and when to use it in real life. And again teachers are faced with a problem: many students in our classrooms are extremely shy and they either protest when asked to participate or they mutter an outright refusal.

Task-based learning (also Task-based Language Learning or Task-Based Instruction) is an approach to language learning that allows students to experiment and use a foreign language in original, real-life situations. TASKS are activities where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome (Willis, ). A task can be anything from a puzzle to ordering in restaurants or even painting a house. This language-learning approach has several advantages which includes the following:

It moves the focus from the teacher to the students It engages students in a communicative and cooperative atmosphere,

allowing students to use the form in actual communication It lowers the Affective Filter in the classroom as students move from

monitoring the form to expressing a message/content It however, remains a form-focused instruction as the product should

still follow correct grammatical conventions.

Overview of the Workshop:

The presenter will demonstrate how grammar can be used to enhance the writing skills of students through a real-life task that touches on the students’ culture. It is made up of two parts: the demonstration and the actual workshop. In the demonstration phase, the presenter will use the forms of the Simple Future Tense (will + infinitive form, be + going to + infinitive form, be + -ing form of the verb) to write an email inviting someone to a special occasion. In the second phase of the workshop, the participants will be asked to complete a Travel Brochure using the modals Can/Can’t and Should/Shouldn’t in giving advice.

The Workshop Plan

Grammar Focus: Modals (Can and Can’t; Should and Shoudn’t)

Grammar Function: Giving Advice

Task: Writing a Travel Brochure

Overview:

The activity cultivates cultural awareness and evokes among students a sense of pride as they showcase different tourism destinations and activities in the country.

Procedure:

The presenter will prepare a partially completed travel brochure containing pictures and information about Oman highlighting not only the different tourism destinations but also its history, its people, the religion and the culture. The presenter will ask the participants to work in a group and to read the information contained in the brochure. Using the information they have just read, they will then be asked to formulate sentences of advice about the things tourists can and can’t do and practices they (tourists) should and shouldn’t do. They will then write their pieces of advice on a portion of the brochure allotted for the finished product.

If time permits, participants will be asked to present their finished brochure for the rest of the participants to see. In a real classroom, the students present their finished product as a group for other students to see. This allows the teacher to correct any error the students may have committed in the production of the language form.