Task tension

1
Task tension

• Steve Mann (University of Birmingham)
• TBLT 2005

2
Tenseness and Tension

• tension, tenseness, stress is a kind of
• strain, mental strain, nervous strain
  (psychology) nervousness resulting from mental
  stress

3
Tension

• This was accompanied by physical symptoms of fear
  - tension in his neck and shoulders, pallor,
  swallowing as if his mouth was dry, a stiff and
  awkward stance sometimes, when standing, which
  gave the feeling he was on the point of running
  away, and when he was most nervous I noticed his
  breath smelled slightly. During our first
  session his eyelids fluttered up and down at
  great speed for much of the time. All of this
  seemed quite incommensurate with his actual
  ability level which seemed quite good to me.

4
Tension

• During our introductory session I noticed that
  his tension level was much higher when he was
  talking about his job, and his speech patterns
  were more frequently fractured and had a certain
  rigidity which was mirrored by physical stiffness
  in his body.

5
Tension

• When I asked him if hed been born in Tokyo, his
  reply that he was from Hokkaido, the northern
  island, and his description of his native town,
  Sapporo, and his time at university there were
  accompanied by a dramatic change in his body
  stance and manner of speaking. His shoulders
  relaxed, the strain disappeared from his face and
  was replaced by a softer, more emotional
  expression, his voice became more supple and
  charged with feeling and his language flowed more
  easily.

6
Task

• Think of a task youve used
• What makes it a successful task?
• Does it have any difficulties which need to be
  dealt with?
• Describe it to someone sitting near you.

7
Defining Tasks

• Is there anything youd add to this list?
• Attention is on exchanging meanings (rather than
  on linguistic form)
• The activity is purpose or goal orientated
  (outcomes or achievements)
• Outcomes can be shared or reported on
• Have a look at this list from Johnson (2003 5)
  based on Kumaravadivelu (1993)

8

Basic Task Features

• Design
• Sequencing
• Real-time management
• Follow up

9

Task Types

• Willis (1996) bases them on cognitive processes
• Listing
• Ordering or sorting
• Comparing
• Problem solving
• Sharing personal experiences
• Creative tasks

10
Task

• Would anyone add anything to that list?
• E.g. Skehan and Foster (1997) report a study that
  features a decision-making task
• Classifying, matching, story telling

11
Researching tasks

• Exploratory teaching
• Action Research
• Informal Research

12
Examples of informal research

• Observing how learners react to task instructions
• Watching group interaction to see if all learners
  are taking part
• Discussing with the class after a task cycle what
  they thought about the task
• (Edwards and Willis 2005 7)

13
Complexity and difficulty

• task complexity
• tasks and task conditions affect the way learners
  process the target language (see Foster and
  Skehan, 1996 Skehan and Foster, 1997 Robinson,
  1995)
• Different aspects of tasks and task condition
  affect learners attention to accuracy or ability
  to expand

14
Expertise, management and tasks

• Some current research is looking at classroom
  practice and seeing if teachers who are
  considered expert teachers in TBL in the sense
  of Tsui (2003) and how they design and manage
  tasks (see also Johnson 2003 138-145)

15
A metaphor for managing tasks?

• Metaphors we live by (Lakoff and Johnson 1980)
• Metaphor as exploratory tool (Burns 1999)
• Metaphors to learn by (Block 1993)
• What metaphor works for you in talking about
  managing tasks making them the right level?

16
Tension

• Task and vehicle
• Teacher as engineer/mechanic
• Comparing tinkering/tweaking
• What difference does it make if you do the task
  like this? Small modifications
• Coming back to tension
• A useful distinction between tension and
  tenseness

17
Tenseness and Tension

• the action of stretching something tight
  "tension holds the belt in the pulleys getting
  the tension right
• A balance between and interplay of opposing
  elements or tendencies

18
Tension and interaction

• Stretching, zone of proximal development,
  interlanguage, available resources
• Negotiation and interaction
• Gap, omission, jigsaw, puzzle

19
Dimensions of task tension

• Outcome
• Topic
• Interaction
• Roles
• Preparation
• Time limits
• Competition or Cooperative

• Recording
• Sequencing
• Starting points
• Interaction
• Support
• Post-task activities