ONLINE-TASKS: A FRAMEWORK FOR INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

Susanne Rott, UIC

Moving from beginning to intermediate language capacity

Choice of grammar and vocabulary (go to/ answer the

door, could not sleep/wide awake) Ability to write more fluently using genres specific structures Ability to speak at the discourse level Pragmatically appropriate language Cultural knowledge and intercultural competence

1.0 technology Webquest Social networking

technologies

Defining a Task:
Lee (2003)

(1) a classroom activity or exercise that has (a) an

objective attainable only by the interaction among participants, (b) a mechanism for structuring and sequencing interaction, and (c) a focus on meaning exchange; (2) a language learning endeavor, that requires learners to comprehend, manipulate, and/or produce the target language as they perform some set of workplans (2003) Subtasks: with Linguistic and Content support

Task Definition Continued

Ellis (2003):

A task is a workplan that requires learners to process

language pragamtically in order to achieve an outcome in terms of whether the correct or appropriate propositional content has been conveyed. primary attention to meaning the design of the task may predispose [students] to choose particular forms. A task is intended to result in language use that bears a resemblance, , to the way language is used in the real world. Unfocused: no grammar is specifically targeted Focused: natural, useful and task essential grammar

Key aspects in online environment

Intermediate learners:

Provide selection of resources to complete task:

individualized take advantage of easy mouse click access Opportunities for student-computer interaction: noticing the gap of knowledge and seeking input Opportunities for student collaboration and cooperation: negotiation of content and grammatical meaning Address learning strategies: how to effectively use resources Learning strategies: expand vocabulary, write Doing something with cultural content

Backwards design of a Task

Topic of the learning unit:

Surviving as a Foodie in Chicago

Possible Task Goals: Resemblance to real world

language use (Ellis, 2003) Academic goal: Genre focus: Wikipedia entry or newspaper article about Foodie Culture in a specific neighborhood (wiki technology) Academic goal: Oral class presentation about aspect of Foodie Culture (Storify, Glogster technology) Daily life task: ordering food in a restaurant, interacting with the wait staff (Voicethread technology)

Language and content needed to complete the final task

Assessing and activating current knowledge: Activating lexical knowledge students already have (

Mindmap technology) Activating background knowledge: How important is food for you? In your culture? (Blog technology)

Subtasks
Concept, vocabulary and pronunciation: Input text +

audio+ dictionary: setting up a vocabulary wiki as a reference tool (scribd, dictionary widget, podomatic, wikispaces) Resources to address individual needs Learning tutorial: How to use a dictionary: online and inclass follow up (Prezi) Cultural content: explore Chicagos foodie scene: input + note taking (wikispaces) + doing something with the content ( weebly or blogger)

Subtasks
Asynchronous (time to prepare) interaction at the

discourse level: Exchange of opinion ( Voiceblog Voxopop); Requires the presentation of a model as well as a toolbox Students can re-record as many times as they want and monitor their output (or receive feedback)
GIS research task present in class.