Lesson 3: Designing Communicative Tasks

Analyzing Tasks

The unsuccessful tasks all violated established design criteria. The following tasks meet most of the design criteria and as a consequence are more successful.

Physical Portrait Task

Look at this example task from Français interactif and think about it in terms of the demands it places on students. Is this task well-balanced in terms of cognitive, linguistic, and communicative demands? Is it too easy, too difficult, or about right for the level (first year French)?

Physical Portrait (English)

Physical Portrait (French)

  • Does this task meet the design criteria for "good" communicative tasks?
  • Do you think this task would work well in a beginning language class?
  • Could this task be improved? How?
Play

Language teachers analyze the example activity and suggest ways to improve it.

Duration: 04:11


Finding your "Type" Task

Examine this example task from Français interactif:

Finding your "type" (English)

Finding your "type" (French)

  • Does this task meet the design criteria for "good" communicative tasks?
  • Do you think this task would work well in a beginning language class?
  • Could this task be improved? How?
Play

Language teachers analyze the example activity and suggest ways to improve it.

Duration: 04:17