Comprise the language curriculum

Introduction

Course design is concerned with the selection and sequencing of content̶the ^‘what^’ of teaching. As such, it contrasts with ^‘methodology^’, which addresses the ^‘how^’ of teaching. Together, ^‘course design^’ and ^‘methodology^’ comprise the language curriculum. It has been suggested, however, that the distinction between ^‘design^’ and ^‘methodology^’ is not relevant in task-based teaching. Nunan（1989）argued that in this kind of teaching the focus shifts from ^‘the outcomes of instruction^’（i. e. the linguistic knowledge or skills to be mastered）towards the ^‘processes of learning^’（i. e. what learners need to do in order to learn）. Thus, Nunan claimed, the ^‘what^’ and the ^‘how^’ of teaching are merged. Similarly, Kumaravadivelu（1993）argued that ^‘methodology becomes the central tenet of task-based pedagogy^’（p. 73）since the goal is to allow learners to navigate their own paths and routes to learning. However, these arguments ignore the fact that a task-based curriculum still involves making decisions about content（i. e. what tasks to include in the syllabus）and methodology（i. e. how the tasks will be used in the classroom）. Thus, it is important to maintain the distinction in discussions of task-based teaching.
The purpose of this article is to consider the methodology of task-based instruction. Methodology involves of a consideration of procedures of two basic kinds. Firstly, there are those procedures that specify how the activities mentioned in the syllabus can be converted into actual
lessons（i. e. ^{lesson design}）
methodology of task-based instruction.