Tasks auf dem Papier und im Klassenzimmer: What a difference!

A task isn’t a fixed entity but is shaped by the way learners interpret it in the classroom. At the Bern University of Teacher Education (PHBern) students created oral tasks for their learners and analysed the interaction which the tasks generated. Pairs of learners were recorded and then interviewed using stimulated recall (Gass & Mackey, 2000). Most teacher students were rather disappointed by the scarcity of natural, fluent communication their tasks produced. Results show that learners do indeed interpret tasks in ways which might not match their teachers’ intentions. Some tended to orient themselves to a more exercise-type of language use and adopted a more drill-like pattern of turn-taking. Others pooled their resources and solved the task as a joint activity. It seems to be very important for teachers to listen in carefully while learners are solving tasks so that future tasks can be adapted to learners’ needs and learners can be made aware of the potential they can give to tasks.