1 It has long been a question hovering in mind: if focusing on Meaning comes first, what

about Grammar and Vocabulary? Are they of lesser importance or in juxtaposition with
Meaning? It seems that if vocabulary and grammar is the skeleton of a human body, then
meaning will be flesh. The APPLE lecture informs me of the importance of a well-designed
task, which I need to include in TBLT. We, as CSL teachers, had better or should give
learners the confidence and willingness to have a shoot and make them willing to make the
most of the English they had, even if their grammar or vocabulary is limited.
Admittedly, the aim of teaching is to introduce acceptable sentences, so meaning comes
first. Granted that vocabulary needs to be taught, but it is secondary to grammar. If we
want to express meanings in an efficient, listener/reader friendly manner we need more
than vocabulary and word order. Even though we need to provide sample sentences to
illustrate the target grammar, this would be subordinated to encouraging learners to use
the language freely, without worrying too much about accuracy. Whenever they encounter
difficulties in expressing themselves, we as teachers need to participate in the interaction
by helping learners to shape and clarify what they want to say. So, we can extrapolate that
TBLT evolves from CLT in that it lays emphasis on the design of tasks, which can facilitate
meaningful activities in the classroom. Surely, an interesting and engaging task can
enhance their engagements and interests.

When I was planning to teach passive voice in CEP last week, I was totally frustrated
because no matter how hard I tried, I could not avoid cramming students with all grammar
rules and usages. Through this chapter, I learned that after learners have experienced the
language in use, they have a context which will help them to make sense of the new
language. While learners have been grappling with tasks, they have been working with
meanings and struggling to find language to express those meanings. Learners may wish
to mine the language they have been exposed to in order to find language to express their
own meanings. After mining the language, teachers can invite learners to state their
opinions. In this way, teachers have provided conditions for learning, tasks to complete,
and opportunities to produce output. TBLT is not the same world over, in which task is
central to teaching, so teachers can refine their approach to best fit the needs of students.
Now my idea to my teaching methodology of passive voice is to start from asking specific
questions, such as discuss the changes of your hometown or life with passive voice by
using different tenses. So learners will have a focus, and each part is a task, moreover, the
previous one is a preparation for the next one, this sequence of tasks can afford plenty of
time for preparing for the next task. In the context of meaning, learners can naturally focus
on language in use (i.e. passive voice).
3 A reflection of my CEP is that teachers need to give learners enough time to process the
questions we have given, instead of giving answers right away. However, easier said than
done. Because as teachers, we know the answers of prepared questions, however, the
reality is that all kinds of answers can be presented and you have no clue of what they are
talking about, especially with strong accent! After reading this chapter, it may be a good
tactic to hold back from telling them the answers, as holding back engenders discussion
and creates a further learning opportunity for the next stage. When teaching reading, we
need firstly to engage them with a text for a purpose. Such processes are: read for a
purpose, priming for predictions, carrying out predictions tasks, preparing for report, report,
focusing on form, evaluation. The last stage---report---has a focus on outcome: the
checking of guesses and the satisfaction of their curiosity. Evaluation involves meaningfocused language use, which can engage learners in genuine discussion.
4 After reading this chapter, I knew more about the process of selecting topics and ways of
designing
two
kinds
of
tasks
and
ten
subcategories
of
task.
On one hand, our CEP teaching is focusing on different themes, which I think it is a good
way to motivate and engage learners in real life communications and backgrounds. Based
on
topics,
I
have
different
grammar
points
to
teach.
On the other hand, I recalled when I was designing a jigsaw puzzle during CEP teaching, I
realized it was hard to capture the attention of learners without giving clear instructions.
Out of curiosity, they were looking at their partners picture, which was against my will. So
designing a task based on my unit topic that involve learners in sequencing, ranking, or
classifying is very important. I can also use some visual frameworks to help draft clear
instructions for my task.
5 For learners, the advantages of following a graded sequence of tasks are obviously
manifested in the subsequent tasks with greater cognitive and linguistic challenge. Once
tuned into a topic, they can easily participate consecutive tasks and what they have newly
learned can be recycled and extended naturally. Five types of task are introduced in this

chapter: matching, comparing and contrasting, problem solving tasks and puzzles, projects
and creative tasks, sharing personal experiences. A reflection from creating tasks is that
designing an engaging task and natural task sequence are strongly needed, because a
sequence of tasks should be built up gradually, such forming a graded sequence and each
connecting with each other. In this process, learners are motivated and engaged and
spontaneously learn new forms in a communicative context. Another reflection is that each
task can be used in another task, like a concentric circle with a common goal. It all depends
on what cognitive process you want to happen at a particular stage. In this case, a teacher
is more like an architecturer specialized in building a strong human mind.