Title

Off to the library!

In this task the learner does...

two learners are given different directions and need to agree on the shortest way to go to the public library, as part of their visit to London.

Task Flow

Willis task cycle

Language Characteristics

Non-linguistic outcome

Focus on meaning

Focus on form

Communicative gap

Reliance on learners' own resources

Task Goals

To solve a communication problem or gap

To make a decision or choice

To reach an agreement

To request information

Language Skills Practiced

Speaking/Pronunciation

General Domain

Educational

General Topic

Pronunciation of English vowel contrasts /æ-ʌ/ contained in minimal pairs

Target Languages

English

Abilities Fostered

Linguistic competence (ability to communicate with grammatical accuracy)

Discourse competence (ability to communicate in cohesive and coherent ways)

Strategic competence (ability to solve communication issues as they arise)

Cognitive Skills

Checking

Comparing

Designing

Producing

Mode of Communication

Face-to-face (in person)

Digital (online)

Synchronous

Video-conferencing

Type of Participation

Pair work

Small group work

Focused or Unfocused

Focused task (specific language focus)

Focus Type

Pronunciation

Language Features

English vowel sounds /æ-ʌ/

Input/Output

Input providing

Output prompting

Kind of Input

Authentic/genuine (input created by native/native-like speakers for native/native-like speakers)

Original/educational (input created by teachers for L2 students)

Output Type

Accuracy

Type of Input

Aural (listening) input

Pictorial input

Written input

Concrete input

Type of Output

Oral output

Pictorial output

Written output

Concrete output

Type of Task

Two-way

Awareness-raising

Comparing and Contrasting

Creative

Decision-making

Directions-giving

Information-gap

Instructions-giving

Problem-solving

Task Features/Conditions

Here-and-now

Reasoning demands

No prior knowledge required/assumed

Two/multiple-way information flow (dialogic)

Outcome

Closed solution

Convergent outcome

Appropriate Learners

8-12 years

13-18 years

18-22 years

22-40 years

40-60 years

60+ years

Proficiency Framework

Yes - the Common European Reference Framework (CEFR)

Proficiency Levels

CEFR: B2

CEFR: B1

CEFR: A2

CEFR: A1

Learner Individual Differences

Literate learners

High willingness to communicate

Introverted learners

Extroverted learners

Foreign language learners

Second/additional language learners

Context

School setting - Primary and secondary school

Research setting - University lab/class

Face-to-face setting

Online setting

Second/additional language context

Foreign language context

Context Details

Task-based program

Task-supported program

Used in Research?

Yes

Citation

In the process of submitting the article where the experiment with these tasks is explained

Available on IRIS?

No

Part of a series?

Yes (please provide details) I have a number of pronunciation activities with the same pronunciation-targets which are difficult for L1 Catalan/Spanish learners of L2 English.

Uploader Name

Ingrid

Uploader Email

imoraplaza@ub.edu

Uploader Affiliation

Universitat de Barcelona

Uploader Identity

Teacher - Lecturer (1st and 2nd year, Phonetics & Phonology I (segmentals) and II (suprasegmentals)

Researcher - Second language pronunciation learning and teaching, L2 speech acquisition, task-based pronunciation teaching, individual differences

Uploader Relationship

I am the sole creator of this task

Creative Commons

Agreed

DOI (Direct link to this page)