Tandem MOOC english

The teaching method is the way students are organised in the classroom while working on the tasks. This plays a very important role in the successful completion of the task.

Students can work in pairs, which means that one student is working with another student. While they can also work in groups, which means that the class is divided into smaller groups of students. There is also the possibility of working individually or as a whole class.

The teacher has to have in mind what fits best in each phase of the task cycle. TBLT is a very communicative approach, which means that pupils talk a lot to carry out the tasks.

• While carrying out the first lessons, working in pairs is a good way to break the ice and make students feel comfortable.
• When students work in pairs and the task asks one student to prepare a final result while listening to the other student talk, it would be good if each of them could have the time and space to change roles and prepare a final result individually. In this way, both students are heard and practice their skills equally.
• If students are solving a problem or sharing personal experiences, working in small groups would bring them many advantages:
• They can listen to the ideas of others, gain self-confidence in speaking in a small group, listen to others speak, learn from others, cultivate intercultural sensitivity and solidarity, and practice language.
• Collaborative learning is at the heart of TBLT. Working together and supporting each other maximises learning and task results. It is the opposite of competitive learning, where each learner tries to be better than his/her peers.
• While students are doing a task with an information gap or an opinion gap, it becomes necessary to have more than one person in order to exchange knowledge or opinions in a more constructive way.
• Individual work would be useful in the TBLT class as students reflect on their knowledge and need to have an individual result to assess their progress. Working individually can give students the opportunity to think about their knowledge, achievements and needs. Also, it can make students autonomous and more confident if they are asked to do a task or part of a task relying on themselves.

Thus, the teaching method can change according to:

• what best suits each phase of the task cycle, as seen above.
• how the students evolve. For example, when they start you can ask your students to do presentations in groups, then in pairs and then, when they gain confidence, to do them individually. This applies to all tasks and activities.
• your students' reports. For example, sometimes because of their past history, some students may feel uncomfortable working with other students. You should be aware of this and respect it.