Monday, September 19, 2011

Task Based Instruction

The article "Task-Based Instruction" was, to be honest, very confusing to me.  I barely understood anything that Skehan was talking about.  But in the first paragraph, he said that "it wasn;t enough...to focus no language structure but also...the capacity to express meaning" (p.1)  We touched on this in our last class and I completely agree.  One of the main reasons for language is to communicate with others and express yourself.  I think it is pointless for a language learner to know grammar and conjugations but not know how to use them in a sentence or in context.  Personally, I feel that the ability to use language in a real life situation is just as important, if not more, than knowing th structure or grammar. 
There was another quote that I was able to relate to my previous thoughts to.  "...enabling language understanding to be scaffolded..through interaction." (p.5)  INTERACTION IS KEY TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE!  expecting a student to learn a language without interaction is like giving a child a book and expecting them to read it without any prior instruction.  It is my personal opinion that language acquisition could not be accomplished without a supportive environment that includes multiple opportunities for interaction.

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