Abstract: English, which must be learned by junior high school students, is a subject of nine-year compulsory education in China, hoping that every Chinese can have the basic capability in listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, at present, there is a big trouble in developing spoken English among junior high school students. Hence, it's an urgent problem to improve junior high school students' oral English and make up the defect and difficulty when communicating in English. Helping students to use what they learn in class and stimulating their English learning interests are really needed now to teach English efficiently and improve students' English integrating skills.

After researching some typical teaching approaches which include the grammar-translation approach, the direct method, the audio-lingual method, the seeing and hearing law, the cognitive approach, the communicative approach and the task-based approach, the author finds that the task-based approach is more beneficial to improving spoken English and it has no negative effects on the developing of listening, reading and writing. Compared to the traditional teaching methods, task-based approach conforms to the human cognitive thinking and arouses students' interests in learning much more. It not only can cultivate students' comprehensive capacities, but also can make students learn naturally. Task-based approach advocates learning by doing. Students will do in the "task" and so they will learn in the doing. Obviously, this trait has positive influence on oral English learning, especially for junior high school students who are full of energy.

The author researches the task-based approach in all aspects, including its basic theories, definition, essence, principles and implementing procedures, to states how to apply the task-based approach into English oral teaching. Bedsides, there is an oral English teaching design, made according to the English text used by the junior high school students grade two at present, giving a specific statement of usage of the task-based approach. This approach not only benefits improving junior high school students’ oral English, but also the English comprehensive ability. 

Nevertheless, this approach is not so perfect and it’s necessary for teachers to have an English class according to the real situation at the moment.

Key words: Teaching Methods; Task-based Approach; Oral English; Students’ Traits

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Introduction-1

I. The Present Situation of Teaching Oral English-3

1.1 The Students’ Problems in Oral English-3

1.2 The Traditional Teaching Method in Class-4

II. The Teaching Methods-5

2.1 The Definition of the English Teaching Method in Junior High Schools-5

2.2 The Popular Teaching Methods in China-6

2.2.1 The Grammar-Translation Approach-6

2.2.2 The Direct Approach-6

2.2.3 The Audio-lingual Method-7

2.2.4 The Seeing and Hearing Law-7

2.2.5 The Cognitive Approach-8

2.2.6 The Communicative Approach-8

III. The Task-based Approach-9

3.1 The Basic Theories of Task-based Approach-9

3.1.1 The Input Hypothesis of Krashen-9

3.1.2 The Constructive Learning Theory-10

3.2 The Definition of Task-based Approach-10

3.3 The Essence of Task-based Approach-11

3.3.1 A teaching Method and A Teaching Mode-11

3.3.2 Concentrating on Learning-11

3.4 The Principles of Implementing Task-based Approach-11

3.5 The Task-12

3.5.1The Definitions of Task-12

3.5.2 The Structure of Task-13

3.6 The Procedures of Task-based Approach-14

3.6.1 Pre-task-14

3.6.2 Task Cycle-14

3.6.3 Post-task-15

IV. The Traits of Students in Junior High Schools-15

V. A Teaching Design by Using Task-based Approach-16

Conclusion-17

Bibliography-19

Acknowledgements-21