TY  - JOUR
TT  - TASKS DESIGN: A CHALLENGE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS
AU  - Darmi, Ramiaida
AU  - Harun, Haliza
AU  - Samah, Rosni
AU  - Puteh-behak, Fariza
AU  - Mat Saad, Noor Saazai
AU  - Mohd Ali, Suraini
PY  - 2017
DA  - August
DO  - 10.18768/ijaedu.336454
JF  - IJAEDU- International E-Journal of Advances in Education
JO  - IJAEDU
PB  - OCERINT International Organization Center of Academic Research
WT  - DergiPark
SN  - 2411-1821
SP  - 334
EP  - 343
VL  - 3
IS  - 8
KW  - Tasks
KW  - contextual relevance
KW  - cognitive difficulty
KW  - language learning
N2  - Creating tasks may sound simple,however, it is one of the challenging jobs for language teachers. In teachinglanguage, teachers need to consider many things such as learners’ socialbackground, learner’s language proficiency, learners’ ability, learners’attitude and many more. Thus, creating tasks can be a challenge for them.Cummins (1981) suggests 2 main elements in designing materials – contextualrelevance and cognitive difficulty – which are formed into a matrix to showfour levels to consider in tasks design. Based on Cummins’ matrix, tasks can beeasy for some, and difficult for some. One task may not suit all learners, andthus make task design a challenge for language teachers. This study looks atthe use of tasks, developed based on Cummins’ matrix, for low proficiency Englishlanguage learners. Five types of tasks are used, and learners’ views aregathered to understand what they think of the tasks. The aim of the study is toexplore learners’ perceptions towards tasks prepared for an English languageclass, and aligning them with the teacher’s understanding of the tasks. Fourteen learners were involvedin the study. Using qualitative approach, data is gathered through interviews,which are then transcribed verbatim, and analysed using thematic analysis.Results show that learners have different views of tasks, which may be due tomany factors within learners’ experience and knowledge. This shows thatalthough learners are of the same proficiency level, the difficulty of tasks maynot be equal for all learners as it is affected by the contextual relevance ofthe tasks to learners, as well as the cognitive level of learners in theirability to perform the tasks. Therefore, understanding learners is importantfor teachers in planning suitable tasks for their learners. By doing this,learners will have more enjoyment in language learning, and able to associatetasks more to their life.
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.18768/ijaedu.336454
L1  - https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/338268
ER  -