CHAPTER 7: PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT (Continued)
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7.3. Practicalities of programme implementation
Programme principles were applied to the learning situation in this study, largely through the in-house textbooks (cf. section 2.6.3), which embodied the syllabus for each year of study, and which were designed according to principles derived from the literature reviews (chapter 3). In order to demonstrate this application, and to explain how programme principles were realised in the classroom, representative sections from the main texts (TMM[1], NYT and TWA) will be examined here from three perspectives:

1.      Task-based syllabus-design (section 7.3.1).
2.      Learner autonomy (section 7.3.2).
3.      Promotion of positive affect and attitude change (section 7.3.3).

Further sections on implementation will then discuss student assessment (section 7.3.4) teacher-involvement (section 7.3.5), student-involvement (section 7.3.6), and programme feedback (section 7.3.7).

7.3.1 Task-based syllabus design
The reader is referred to table A-51 for responses to syllabus-design issues raised by Breen & Candlin (1980) (cf. section 6.3). These responses provide a background to the decisions made in this study in regard to syllabus design.

7.3.1.1 Task-selection
Since the textbooks were intended to provide a practical means of realising the syllabus, textbook design needed to be informed by task-based syllabus-design principles. In this respect, Candlin's (1987) task-selection research findings (section 3.4.4.2.3.2) provide useful criteria (cf. table A-33, for discussion of task-selection criteria):

1. one-way tasks should precede two-way tasks;
2. static tasks should precede dynamic tasks;
3. tasks in the present time should precede ones using the past or future;
4. easy tasks should precede difficult ones;
5. simple tasks (only one step) should precede complex tasks (many steps).

If we examine Chapter 1 of TMM and project 1 ("News") of TWA (cf. tables A-95/6,  below)[2] in the light of these criteria, we find a general progression within the chapters, from static to dynamic tasks, one-way to two-way, easy to difficult, and simple to complex. Definitions vary on these terms, and the tasks themselves can be interpreted in various ways (students are often encouraged to devise their own way of performing the tasks), so a number of items in these appendices have been marked with more than one characteristic for each classification. The general progression is, however, as per Candlin's suggestion. Terms such as "easy" and "difficult" are also relative, and different students have different perceptions of the difficulty level of activities. Because of this, students were expected to become involved in task-selection quite early in the programme, and to choose tasks that they found appropriate from the relevant chapter. In TWA this approach was extended to students being able to choose from i) an open "Project Schedule" (appendix C-22), in which they accessed and devised their own learning tasks, or ii) an "Alternative Schedule" (appendix C-23), in which sequenced tasks were provided. Table A-96, below) presents the Alternative Schedule for the first project in TWA.  

TABLE A-95: ACTIVITIES IN CHAPTER 1 OF "TELL ME MORE!"

TABLE A-96: ACTIVITIES IN PROJECT 1 OF "THE WAY AHEAD"

7.3.1.2 Syllabus goals
As mentioned in section 6.3.1, Willis (1996) and Skehan (1998) each offer five principles for the implementation of a task-based approach:

1.      There should be exposure to worthwhile and authentic language.

2.      There should be use of language.

3.      Tasks should motivate learners to engage in language use.

4.      There should be a focus on language at some points in a task cycle.

5.      The focus on language should be more and less prominent at different times. (Adapted from Willis 1996)

6.      Choose a range of target structures (learners do not simply learn what teachers teach. It is ineffective to choose a particular structure to be learned).

7.      Choose tasks which meet the utility criterion (the teacher can only create appropriate conditions and hope the learners will avail themselves of the possibilities).

8.      Select and sequence tasks to achieve balanced development.

9.      Maximise the chances of a focus on form through attentional manipulation.

10.  At initial stages of task use, conditions need to be established to maximise the chances of noticing. (Adapted from Skehan 1998:129-32)

Taking another look at Chapter 1 of TMM (appendices C1-C11) and Project 1 of TWA (appendices C-21-33, C-53), the "worthwhile and authentic language" (item 1, above) appears on the title page of TMM (page 5, appendix C-1), in the form of phrases related to the topic of the chapter (greetings). Further "worthwhile and authentic" phrases appear on pages 8, 11, 12, 13 &14 (appendices C-4, C-6-9), providing relevant and meaningful learning content[3]. The exposure to language in Project 1 of TWA is more complex, and involves authentic news (video and newspaper) and documentary items and a pop song (pages 36, 41, 44 & 46; appendices C-24, C-27, C-28, C-30).

Use of language (Willis' second principle) appears in Chapter 1 of TMM, specifically in the "Introductions" activity (appendix C-5), in which students interview each other about personal details. However, the whole chapter is based on information-exchange, and the target language is used continuously for these exchanges. The fact that all instructions are directed at the students (there is no need for the teacher to "teach" the language) also means that students have to use the language by reading and comprehending those instructions in order to perform the tasks. In TWA the negotiation that takes place if the "open" project schedule (appendix C-22) is chosen (e.g. who will do what, and when), normally occurs in English, but even if the alternative schedule is used (appendix C23), the interactive and authentic nature of the activities, and the rehearsing and performing of the final project, provide opportunities for target language use in meaningful situations. Students are therefore continually motivated to engage in language use (Willis' third principle), in line with the basic programme principle of "all the students talking all the time" (cf. section 2.6.2).

A focus on language (Willis' fourth principle) and target structures (Skehan's first principle, item 6, above) is not absent from these books, despite the fact that the teacher is not required to "present, practice and perform". In fact, MacLaughlin (2000), in his review of the ANU programme, found that the books contained a significant number of structural activities. Thus "Do you walk to school?" (TMM, page 7, appendix C-3) is basically a (meaningful interactional) substitution drill on the constructs of "Do you...?", "Have you  ...?" and "Can you ...?" (also cf. "Friends", appendix C-10). If we view Willis' "language" in a broader, lexical sense (cf. Willis 1990), Chapter 1 of TMM contains a number of authentic phrases used for greetings and classroom interactions, and these receive greater and lesser prominence (Willis' fifth principle) according to the nature of the activity. TWA does not show the same focus on particular language, since students are expected to be making their own role-play texts by this time, and therefore to identify the structures which they feel they need help with (and to access the teacher as a means of solving their learning problems).

In terms of Willis's "task cycle" (4^th principle), a feature of the textbooks (and of the approach to learning in general) was that students were expected to work through activities at their own pace, and to ask for structural information when they found it necessary. The cycle of action and reflection was therefore largely devised by the students, except for explicitly reflective activities which occur as consciousness-raisers (cf, section 7.3.2.2).

Skehan's second principle (item 7) suggests that tasks be chosen which encourage students to avail themselves of the learning opportunities which are offered by those tasks. In TMM, Chapter 1 (appendices C-1-11), the focus is on accessing personal data from colleagues, and the tasks present varied ways of approaching this goal.  Since learners have the freedom to choose tasks and to work on them for as long as they wish (or to choose other tasks in the "Extra Activities" section at the back of the book), students can choose their own learning opportunities. In TWA, the whole focus of the book is that students negotiate what and how they want to learn (cf. Candlin's "retrospective syllabus", section 3.4.4.3) with the Introduction sections (cf. appendices C41-54) and alternative syllabi offering ways of learning how to do this. Students are thus free to make their own opportunities for learning, and to access their own learning materials.

Skehan's third principle (balanced development through task selection – item 8) has been discussed in section 7.3.1.1. His fourth principle (item 9) deals with the problem that an excessive focus on communication can take up attentional resources and lessen the learner's capacity to learn new material (cf. section 6.2.4.2). In Chapter 1 of TMM (appendices C-1-11), the language used is mostly static and phrasal. Only in "People" (appendix C-8) and in "Introductions" (appendix C-5) does the communicative factor become extreme, and accuracy can suffer in these activities. However, in view of the "safe" learning context of the surrounding static and one-way tasks, perceived lack of accuracy in these two activities can be a useful means of identifying problems and learning needs. TWA, project 1 (appendices C-21-33, C53) also has a number of static tasks in the alternative schedule (cf. table A-96), and attentional resources are not challenged. However, the rehearsal and performance of the project itself, or use of the "Project Schedule" (appendix C-22), can make communication an overwhelming concern, at which time the teacher needs to consider allowing "on-task" use of the L1 as a legitimate strategy for language learning and task-achievement.

Skehan's final principle (item 10) is concerned with maximising "the chances of noticing" (cf, section 6.2.4.1). He appears to be attributing this requirement to every task, and it is probable that his view of "tasks" (cf. table A-46,below) refers to more extended activities than those in TMM, NYT and TWA (unless each project is seen as a learning task). However, if we review the learning environment which results from use of the textbooks in this study (cf. the illustration below), we find that noticing is encouraged implicitly in everything that occurs: comprehending instructions; selecting and performing communicative activities; devising projects; using classroom language; accessing the teacher for help; negotiating a syllabus; etc. More specifically, the "Information Section" in TMM (appendices C-15-19), Chapter 2 ("Study Skills") in NYT, the "Introduction" sections in TWA (cf. appendices C-39-52), and the reflective instruments in TWA (cf. table A-42) encourage students to reflect on learning, and therefore to become aware of the language learning process.

TABLE A-46: METHODOLOGICAL STAGES IN IMPLEMENTING TASKS (SKEHAN 1996A:54) 

For those who comprehend the instructions immediately, authentic language (item 1) appears in the two scrambled dialogues, and this language is made more meaningful by its appearance at the beginning of the (Sophomore) book, after students have returned from vacation. Target structures (item 6) are represented by the focus on the past tense in these dialogues, but as Skehan suggests, this is to be noticed (item 10, page 225) rather than taught. As explained in the instructions, the phrases are not in sequence, and students are asked to "find a good order" (not a "correct" order). It is not mentioned whether this should be done in pairs or groups, but discussion of the phrases (in the L2 if possible – item3) will ensue as students share their understanding of the terms, and sequences of phrases will constructed by various-sized groups, who will usually want to perform their dialogue, even if only to themselves or to each other. At this point, differences in sequences will provide further material for discussion (accessing the teacher if necessary) on the meaning of the phrases (items 4, 5, 9, 10). The final activity (4 & 5 in the instructions) is to make and perform "your own dialog" (item 8). This more complex task (item 5) can be an opportunity for students to create their own dialogues (item 3), using the other dialogs as examples, or in the case of students who do not feel confident enough to do this, dialogues 1 & 2 (page 7, NYT, above) can be used as templates, and students can make a "jigsaw" dialogue of the phrases they want.

Students are thus presented with a sequenced collection of tasks, building from static to dynamic, one-way to two-way, simple to complex, and present tense to past tense (cf. items 1-5). Autonomy (cf. section 7.3.2) is promoted through students being able to decide how to interpret the instructions, at what pace to perform the activities, how much attention to pay to form and meaning (accessing the teacher if necessary), whether to move on to "follow-up" activities such as talking about their own holidays, and (informal) peer assessment of colleagues' performances. Positive affect (section 7.3.3) is encouraged by the lack of any "correct" answer to the scrambled dialogues (students' opinions are valid), the freedom to do any or all of the activities, the use of the teacher as a language resource, the further freedom to perform final dialogues within groups or to the whole class, and the opportunity to comment (or not) on each others' performances.

The textbooks used in this study thus satisfy published criteria for task-based syllabus design. The following section examines them in terms of how they promote learner autonomy.

Continue reading this Chapter: "Learner Autonomy"