The Future of Education

What factors make one task easier or more difficult than another? Which ones can be manipulated by the teacher to make it more challenging or more supportive? How can one match a task to his/her learners’ proficiency levels? Participants (whether experienced or not) will be introduced to a field-tested framework that I have developed through considerable research as part of my MA dissertation to help teachers make tasks from ELT materials easier or more challenging depending on their learners’ abilities. To use this framework, one has to have enough knowledge of his/her learners’ abilities to choose from the possible options to produce versions of the same task that differ in terms of their levels of challenge and support. To be more practical, participants will be provided with sample task adaptations and will be asked to use the framework to produce doable tasks that balance the offer of support to enable the learner to do these tasks and the provision of challenge for him/her to enjoy doing them. The final stage of the talk will be devoted to dealing with participants’ questions and comments.