Purpose: what that means and how do we use it?

Okay, so let´s start with the most basic building-block of a communicative classroom and then we´ll move on from there. In my opinion, the most important component of TBL is the idea of giving each activity performed in class an objective or outcome. 

To stick with the food metaphor, imagine as part of a cooking class, I tell you to chop onions. Then I tell you to chop tomatoes. Then carrots. Then scramble an egg, and so on. What I don´t do, is show you how to put those ingredients together. That´s kind of what we do in the classroom every day. Think about it. You ask students to do grammar exercises to practice a grammar point, or you ask them to answer a string of silly questions like, "Can you...? Cook? Sail? Play a musical instrument?" etc. all in order to practice the phrase, "Can you...?" Then, when they´re done, you say "Good! Now turn to page 85 and look at exercise 2." Each successive page and each successive exercise is isolated so much that probably not even you, the teacher, knows exactly what it will all lead to. Now imagine, that instead of just asking them a string of silly questions, you do so with a more concrete and definable purpose? Try this: Ask your partner/classmates to find:

• how many of these you have in common? Which has the most in common?
• whether you and your partner have similar abilities.
• who can do the most difficult thing?
• who can´t do something that most people can do?
• if someone in the class has exactly the same abilities as you do?
• etc. etc. etc...

So is there a difference between the first activity and one of the above choices? Of course! A definable and concrete purpose! Okay, so what´s the point, you may wonder. Well, this is just one example. If you don´t see the difference, try two similar activities in class. The first as you would always do it and the second similar to one of the above. Notice any difference in your students motivation, enthusiasm and ultimately, their learning? I thought so.

There are a lot of different ways in which do provide this sense of purpose to each and every activity you do in class. From surveys to questionnaires to True/False statements to agree/disagree statements. From homemade gap-fills to homemade jigsaws. From listing activities to ordering activities. There are all sorts of ways you can create, modify, improvise and of course, teach a class with purpose. Ironically, how you do this is as important as what you do--unlike the actual content of the class where what students speak about should be more important than how the speak about it.