How to Transform Textbook Exercises into Meaningful Tasks

3307 

Session 

Non-language specific 

English 

Melissa Baralt  
Florida International University

Melissa Baralt  
Florida International University

Textbooks remain central to language instruction, yet their activities often prioritize form-focused practice over purposeful communication. This session provides a practical framework for transforming familiar textbook exercises into communicative tasks without abandoning required materials. Drawing on second language acquisition research and task-based principles, I demonstrate how to adjust goals, input, interaction, and outcomes so that learners use language to achieve meaningful ends. Participants examine before-and-after examples from widely used textbooks and explore how small design shifts can dramatically change the learning potential of an activity. The session emphasizes feasibility, showing how teachers can work within curricular constraints while increasing opportunities for meaningful language use.

Distinguish exercises from communicative tasks.



Modify textbook activities to include a communicative goal and outcome.

Evaluate redesigned tasks for learner engagement and language use.

Participants will work in small groups to transform a sample textbook exercise into a task. Groups will compare designs, discuss trade-offs, and reflect on classroom implementation across levels and contexts.

Many classrooms rely on textbooks that emphasize exercises over communication. This session shows how common textbook activities can be redesigned into meaningful, task-based experiences that promote real language use and learner engagement.

All Audiences

Curriculum and Instruction