New English Curriculum Standard (2001:15), issued by the Ministry of Education, states that “Task-based Language Teaching should be widely used.” It changed the traditional language teaching methods and the teachers should adopt the task-based language teaching methods to teach the vocabulary as possible as they can. It will develop the students thinking and learning abilities.

In this thesis, we mainly introduce the definition and components of task-based language teaching. Then we will analyze the advantages and implications of task-based language teaching to vocabulary learning. Finally, we will make the conclusion that the task-based language teaching is full of practical significance. The task-based language teaching can improve the students’ enthusiasm of studying the English vocabularies and develop the cooperation spirits of students to learn the English language.

2. Literature Review 

Task-based language teaching was applied to vocational education in the early 1950s, and as a kind of teaching method of second language teaching , it is emerged in the 1980s,. Its development and constantly enrich beneficial from the theory of linguistics, foreign language teaching and second language acquisition theory support. First of all, the language teaching went through the grammar translation method, listening and writing method. In 1960s, the cognitive method opened up the new perspective of learners’ cognitive mode from the aspect of psychology. Cognitive mode emphasized that we should summarize and apply through communication. In addition, it also admits the students’ intelligence and takes full advantage of students’ initiation. In this way, students can do meaningful learning.

In 1970s, Hymes put forward the concept of communicative competence. Linguists began to notice that the social function of language. Communicative approach arises at the historic moment. It is based on functional projects and ideas and it emphasize that students should present the full of language materials and real communication scene to the learners and make language learners actively use the language. In this way, the knowledge and communicative provided a theoretical basis for the task-based language teaching from the aspects of cognitive psychological development and the social function.

 In addition, the theory of second language acquisition task teaching method also has the important influence to the task-based language teaching. Krashen proposed the theory of language acquisition and the sore part is the input hypothesis. It emphasizes that only when the acquisition is access to the enough content, interesting and relevant materials, students will focus on the understanding of memory or meaning rather than understanding of the form. Visible, the task-based language teaching absorbed the communicative approach and second language acquisition. And on the basis of the relevant theories, it has enriched and expanded its own meaning.