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'; audChoice = audChoice.replace(/ selected=["']selected["']/gm, '');var audT = document.getElementById('audT');if ((audT) && (audPref)) { //Parse the content if(audPref.indexOf(':') > -1) { var audPrefAccent = audPref.split(':')[0]; var playbackRate = audPref.split(':')[1]; } else { var audPrefAccent = audPref; var playbackRate = 1; } var re = new RegExp('( UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈtɑːsk/, /ˈtæsk/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/tæsk/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(task, täsk) | | | | | | |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024
task      n.  ] Idioms  bring (someone) to task, to scold or reprimand;
chide;
censure:The boss took him to task for being late.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024
task    n.  Obs.]a tax or impost. , to call to account;
blame;
censure:The teacher took them to task for not doing their homework.
v.t.  Obs.]to tax.
adj.  metathetic variant of tax less, adj. 
job, assignment.
Task, chore, job, assignment refer to a definite and specific instance or act of work.
Task and chore and, to a lesser extent,
job often imply work that is tiresome, arduous, or otherwise unpleasant.
Task usually refers to a clearly defined piece of work, sometimes of short or limited duration, assigned to or expected of a person:the task of pacifying angry customers; a difficult, time-consuming task.A chore is a minor task, usually one of several performed as part of a routine, as in farming, and often more tedious than difficult:the daily chore of taking out the garbage; early morning chores of feeding the livestock.Job is the most general of these terms, referring to almost any work or responsibility, including a person's means of earning a living:the job of washing the windows; a well-paying job in advertising.Assignment refers to a specific task allocated to a person by someone in a position of authority:a homework assignment; a reporter's assignment to cover international news.
/tɑːsk/ nto criticize or reprove vb (transitive) Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French from Medieval Latin from tax, from Latin to tax
' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations): - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , , , , , , tasked her with [providing, fighting, discovering, creating, making], a [tough, hard, simple, straightforward, boring, shared, common] task, [set up, send in] a task force,

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Cambridge Dictionary

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Synonyms and antonyms of special task force in English

Special task force.

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a territory (= a large area of a country that has some local government but less independence than a province or a state) of northern Canada, whose capital city is Iqaluit

Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)

Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)

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  • 1.1.1 Pronunciation
  • 1.1.2.1 Synonyms
  • 1.1.2.2 Derived terms
  • 1.1.2.3 Collocations
  • 1.1.2.4 Translations
  • 1.1.3.1 Derived terms
  • 1.1.3.2 Translations
  • 1.3 Anagrams
  • 2.1.1 Declension
  • 2.1.2 See also
  • 2.1.3 References

Etymology 1

From Middle English taske ( “ task, tax ” ) , from Old Northern French tasque , (compare Old French variant tasche ), from Medieval Latin tasca , alteration of taxa , from Latin taxāre ( “ censure; charge ” ) . Doublet of tax .

Pronunciation

  • ( Received Pronunciation ) enPR : täsk , IPA ( key ) : /tɑːsk/
  • ( Northern England , Scotland ) IPA ( key ) : /task/
  • ( General American ) enPR : tăsk , IPA ( key ) : /tæsk/
Audio ( ): ( )
  • Rhymes: -æsk , -ɑːsk

task ( plural tasks )

  • A piece of work done as part of one’s duties . The employee refused to complete the assignment, arguing that it was not one of the tasks listed in her job description.
  • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample , “ Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains ”, in The Guardian Weekly , volume 189 , number 6, page 34 : Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
  • 2002 April 30, “ Zeno’s Paradoxes ”, in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy : [T]here is a well-defined run in which the stages of Atalanta ’s run are punctuated by finite rests, arguably showing the possibility of completing an infinite series of finite tasks in a finite time
  • 2013 August 10, “ A new prescription ”, in The Economist , volume 408 , number 8848 : As the world's drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants. But even that Sisyphean task looks easy next to the fight against synthetic drugs. No sooner has a drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one.
  • An objective .
  • ( computing ) A process or execution of a program. The user killed the frozen task .
  • 1593 , anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw   [ … ] , Act I : Art thou the Collector of the Kings taske ? [ … ] Thou haſt thy taske money for all that be heere, [ … ]
  • ( piece of work ) : chore , job
  • ( difficult undertaking ) : undertaking
  • ( objective ) : objective , goal
  • ( process ) : process

Derived terms

  • call to task
  • multitasking
  • Sally-Anne task
  • Sternberg task
  • take to task
  • task manager
  • task-negative
  • task-oriented
  • task-positive
  • task-specific

Collocations

  • Adjectives often applied to "task": difficult, easy, simple, hard, tough, complex, not-so-easy, challenging, complicated, tricky, formidable, arduous, laborious, onerous, small, big, huge, enormous, tremendous, gigantic, mammoth, colossal, gargantuan, social, intellectual, theological, important, basic, trivial, unpleasant, demanding, pleasant, noble, painful, grim, responsible, rewarding, boring, ungrateful, delightful, glorious, agreeable, thankless.

Etymology 2

  • Alternative form of taisch
  • AKST , KTAS , Kast , askt , kast , kats , skat

task   c

  • ( colloquial ) a dick (penis)
Declension of  
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative
Genitive
  • task in Svensk ordbok ( SO )
  • task in Svenska Akademiens ordlista ( SAOL )
  • task in Svenska Akademiens ordbok ( SAOB )
  • Fula Ordboken

task cambridge dictionary

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What's a word for something that requires focus for a long time?

The opposite of "quick". For a example:

Washing the dishes is a quick task
Writing an essay is a _ task

I'm looking for an adjective (so no "task that requires focus"), preferably one that isn't opinionated about the task itself, so no "onerous" for example.

  • single-word-requests

aparente001's user avatar

  • 2 time-consuming –  Jim Commented Mar 9, 2019 at 17:48
  • 2 pains-taking? . –  Owain Commented Mar 9, 2019 at 18:20
  • 1 Possibly "exacting" ? –  WS2 Commented Mar 9, 2019 at 18:37
  • 2 You're going to run into problems with this. When you say the opposite of quick , what time frame are you looking at? Hours, days, weeks, months, years, or a lifetime are all possibilities. Depending on what you mean, different words could be used. While some could apply to many of those time periods, lifelong (for instance) would be something specific. –  Jason Bassford Commented Mar 9, 2019 at 21:33
  • 1 Opposite of quick? Try a thesaurus. –  user323578 Commented Mar 10, 2019 at 0:20

6 Answers 6

Maybe the word 'Lengthy' can fit your essay sentence.

sulfuric.nyx's user avatar

  • 1 Exactly! But I guess, OP is looking for something else. –  Ubi.B Commented Mar 10, 2019 at 4:42
Writing an essay is a time-consuming task.
taking up much time

lbf's user avatar

Writing an essay is an engrossing task

Cambridge Dictionary: adj. very interesting and requiring all your attention

GoodJuJu's user avatar

  • doesnt that sound a little gross ? –  vectory Commented Aug 30, 2019 at 4:34
  • @vectory not without a gross misunderstanding. –  marcellothearcane Commented Aug 31, 2019 at 21:07
intensive Thorough; to a great degree; with intensity. Secondly, I continue to base my concepts on intensive study of a limited suite of collections, rather than superficial study of every packet that comes to hand. Demanding; requiring a great amount of work etc. This job is difficult because it is so labour-intensive. Highly concentrated. I took a three-day intensive course in finance. (obsolete) Stretched; allowing intension, or increase of degree; that can be intensified. Characterized by persistence; intent; assiduous.

The polysemy displayed by the definitions shows some senses that fit very well, others that don't. I'm inclined to think that it would be better with a qualifying noun attribute for clarity

Washing the dishes is not a labor-intensive task Writing an essay is a time-intensive task .

Yet, the metonym of both senses is not in my humble opinion intensive . Writing a stackexchange answer for example should rarely be an intensive task. We up-vote extensive answers, but discourage trivial drivel.

Between extent/intent, intention/extension , the sense that does fit the wanted meaning is not readily recognizable from the stem(s). Yet, a literal translation to Ger an-strengend confirms my idea, where streng obviously compares to strength, tension . Eventually the prefix does occlude the idea. Compare instead tedious , strainious (in which, I do note so frequently, s- may be tried as a prefix ca. ex- "out" itself, compare "utmost" for the intensifying sense of "out").

Community's user avatar

Merriam-Webster definition:

1 : drawn out in length especially of time | an extended visit

Some more examples:

In high school, exams include multiple choice, short answer, and "extended response."

Breastfeeding beyond age two-ish is known as "extended breastfeeding."

In your example sentence, involved would also fit.

If it's a task that requires a lot of concentration, there is a number of adjectives which might fit your sentence. Most of them, however, imply interest and/or pleasure in doing this work:

  • absorbing : intensely interesting; engrossing.
  • preoccupying : dominating or engrossing the mind of (someone) to the exclusion of other thoughts
  • gripping : firmly holding the attention or interest; exciting.
  • riveting : completely engrossing; compelling.
  • enthralling : capturing and holding one's attention; fascinating.

By a long shot, I'd say " meditative " is possible in this context (as in, relating to or absorbed in meditation or considered thought.)

By an even longer shot...

painstaking : done with or employing great care and thoroughness.

meticulous : showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.

scrupulous : careful, thorough, and extremely attentive to details

PavelAndré's user avatar

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task cambridge dictionary

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Definition of task verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

present simple I / you / we / they task /tɑːsk/ /tæsk/
he / she / it tasks /tɑːsks/ /tæsks/
past simple tasked /tɑːskt/ /tæskt/
past participle tasked /tɑːskt/ /tæskt/
-ing form tasking /ˈtɑːskɪŋ/ /ˈtæskɪŋ/
  • be tasked with something NATO troops were tasked with keeping the peace.

Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press!

Other results

  • task forces
  • take somebody to task (for/over something)

Nearby words

  • TASIS England

Main navigation

Test format and task types.

Linguaskill is a modular online test which assesses all four language skills: reading, listening, writing and speaking. This gives you choice about the skills you want to assess.

Linguaskill is available as two options, General and Business. This gives you the ability to choose the sort of language that will be tested, based on your objectives.

Linguaskill General

Linguaskill General tests language used in daily life, making it ideal for university admission or exit, and recruitment for roles in a non-business-specific environment. For example, where the employee needs strong English skills to perform their role effectively, but will not need specialist business terminology.

This makes the test suitable for a broad spectrum of organisations. Test topics include studying and working, making future plans, travel and technology.

Linguaskill Business

Linguaskill Business tests English used in a business and corporate setting, and is most suitable for recruitment in organisations where employees are expected to be familiar with the language of business.

It is suitable for large or small organisations, which may be operating on an international level. Test topics include the buying and selling of products or services, the office, business travel and human resources.

openbook Reading and Listening

Pencil writing, megaphone speaking.

The Reading and Listening module is adaptive, so there is not a fixed number of questions. Each question the candidate answers helps the computer to understand their level better. The test finishes when the candidate has answered enough questions for Linguaskill to identify their level accurately.

Download our guide to computer adaptive testing of listening and reading skills .

Results for the Reading and Listening module are provided immediately.

Length: About 60–85 minutes
Number of questions: Variable
Types of questions – Reading tasks:


Candidates read a notice, diagram, label, memo or letter containing a short text and choose the sentence or phrase that most closely matches the meaning of the text. There are three possible answers.


Candidates read a sentence with a missing word (gap) and choose the correct word to fill the gap. There are four choices for each gap.


Candidates choose the right word or phrase to fill the gaps in a text. There are four choices for each gap.


Candidates read a short text in which there are some missing words (gaps) and write in the missing word in each gap.


Candidates read a longer text and answer a series of multiple-choice questions. The questions are in the same order as the information in the text.

Types of questions – Listening tasks:


Candidates listen to a short audio recording and answer a multiple-choice question with three options.


Candidates listen to a longer recording and answer a series of multiple-choice questions based on it. The questions are in the same order as the information they hear in the recording.

Take the Linguaskill General Reading and Listening sample test

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The Writing module asks candidates to input answers using a computer keyboard. Answers are marked automatically by the computer. Writing results will be released when ready and within 48 hours. Typically, 99% of results are available within 12 hours.

Length: 45 minutes (2 parts)
Part 1 (Email) The candidate will be asked to write a minimum of 50 words.
Marks in Part 1: One half of the final Writing result.
Part 2 (Long text) The candidate will be asked to write a minimum of 180 words.
Marks in Part 2: One half of the final Writing result.
Types of questions:


Candidates read a short prompt, usually an email. They use the information in the prompt and the three bullet points to write an email of at least 50 words. Candidates should spend about 15 minutes on this.


Candidates read a short text outlining a scenario and respond using the information in the scenario and the three bullet points. Linguaskill General candidates will write at least 180 words to a wider audience and may be asked to produce a variety of text types (e.g. review, article, web post). Linguaskill Business candidates will write a letter or report of at least 180 words, often to a manager or staff within the company or to external clients.

Take the Linguaskill General Writing sample test

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The Speaking module is taken using a computer with a microphone and headphones. Questions are presented to the candidate through the computer screen and headphones, and their responses are recorded.

Linguaskill General Speaking and Linguaskill Business Speaking are assessed by using human examiners or market-leading auto-marking technology, known as hybrid marking. Speaking results will be released when ready and within 48 hours. Typically, 90% of results are available within 12 hours.

There are five parts to the Speaking module.

Length: 15 minutes (5 parts)

Part 1 (interview) The candidate answers eight questions about themselves (the first two questions are not marked).
Questions: 8
Marks in Part 1: 20% of the marks.
Part 2 (reading aloud) The candidate reads eight sentences aloud.
Questions: 8
Marks in Part 2: 20% of the marks.
Part 3 (long turn 1) The candidate is given a topic to talk about for one minute. 40 seconds are allowed for preparation.
Questions: 1
Marks in Part 3: 20% of the marks.
Part 4 (long turn 2) The candidate is given one or more graphics (for example a chart, diagram or information sheet) to talk about for one minute. One minute is allowed for preparation.
Questions: 1
Marks in Part 4: 20% of the marks.
Part 5
(communication activity)
The candidate gives their opinions in the form of short responses to five questions related to one topic. 40 seconds are allowed for preparation.
Questions: 5
Marks in Part 5: 20% of the marks.

Take the Linguaskill General Speaking sample test

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task cambridge dictionary

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Forgiveness

Is forgiveness overrated a ny reporter seems to think so, when forgiveness is seen as inappropriate, philosophy is needed to avoid error..

Updated July 5, 2024 | Reviewed by Ray Parker

  • The Importance of Forgiveness
  • Take our Empathy Test
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  • Forgiveness is accused of being "overrated" in a recent New York Times article.
  • We use a philosophical lens to examine this indictment against forgiveness when a person is treated unjustly.
  • Reasons are given for why the accusations against forgiveness are false.
  • In the final analysis, forgiveness is innocent of all charges against it.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, something is overrated when “considered to be better than it is.” The dictionary gives an example of a person who sees an award-winning movie and decides it is not so great. In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to be overrated is to be valued too highly. Two synonyms for overrated at thesaurus.com are “exaggerated” and “overpriced.” Recently, the New York Times (Caron, 2024) published an article with the intriguing title, Sometimes, Forgiveness Is Overrated . The purpose of this post is to philosophically examine the content of that essay in the New York Times to see if the accusation of “overrated” is accurate or—well—overrated.

Let us examine four points in the essay.

Point 1. What is the difference between forgiveness being overrated and the advice to forgive being so?

Anastasiia Sai_Dreamstime, Kuanshu Designs

Nowhere in the essay is a clear distinction between forgiveness as overrated and the advice given as overrated. The author states that an encouraging new movement is underway in which writers are "erasing the pressure" to forgive. Let us take an analogy of playing the sport of basketball. If an overbearing coach pressures middle school children to practice and practice to the point of wearing themselves out, is this the fault of basketball itself or the coach’s intemperate advice?

It seems that basketball itself is innocent of all charges because the sport remains what it is regardless of how seriously or nonchalantly the adult leaders take it. This lack of distinction is a crucial point within forgiveness. Is it the fault of forgiveness itself if some people put pressure on others to forgive? The answer seems to be no because the people pressuring and forgiving are very different.

Point 2. What is the difference between what forgiveness is in its essence and the degree to which a person can practice it?

In the essay, a mental health professional is confronted by my definition of forgiveness, which, in its very simple form, is to be good to those who are not good to the forgiver. As the essay points out, forgiveness, in its essence, includes compassion, generosity , and even love toward the offending person.

Soon after this definition is introduced, we read this from the mental health professional: “Imagine saying that to a trauma survivor.” The statement is a pejorative against the definition. Yet, the philosophical error is this: Neither the writer of the piece nor the mental health commentator is making the vital distinction between what forgiveness is in its essence and what a person can offer at the moment.

Consider the basketball analogy again. The essence of free-throw shooting is to put the ball in the basket. At its highest level, basketball involves sinking 10 free throws on 10 tries because that is what the sport involves.

Yet, we have to distinguish between basketball at its highest level and how it is performed by middle school students just learning the game. A middle school adolescent might be able to make four out of 10 shots, and that is fine in terms of one’s current actions in basketball.

It would be disingenuous to present to the young person that this is all there is to basketball: the sinking of four out of 10. To be truthful to the adolescent, we can say that the point is to make the shot (all shots) and then be realistic that very few people who play the game reach such perfection. We are showing the student the difference between the essence of the game and its realistic existence (the actual performance).

It is the same with forgiveness. We do a disservice to those who want to practice forgiveness if we lower the bar of what the essence is, saying that all you have to do is reduce a little anger and, presto, you have forgiven.

Point 3. There is the claim that forgiveness “could even be harmful.”

The point in the essay is that people need time to heal and to feel their emotions. It is as if forgiveness short-circuits a time for anger and mourning. This is not the case. A part of the forgiveness process that has been in place for about a quarter of a century (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000) is that the first step in that forgiveness process is to allow a time of catharsis, a time of grieving, a time of confusion and the expression of negative emotions. To cut out that process of examining anger and then label forgiveness as potentially harmful is to miss an important point that forgiveness is not reductionistic. It does not ignore this initial aspect of exploring emotions and taking the time to do so.

Point 4. Forgiveness is the choice of the one offended.

There is scientific evidence that forgiveness offers both psychological and physical benefits to the forgiver, which the essay admirably references. However, this does not imply that people must listen to the advice of scientists. Forgiveness is always the choice of the one treated unfairly. The timeline of forgiving is the choice of the one injured.

task cambridge dictionary

Philosophers refer to certain moral virtues as supererogatory. This means that such virtues are not required in societies. Forgiveness is one of these supererogatory virtues (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2024). It does not have to be offered at all by those who choose not to forgive.

Thus, when one author is cited as stating that there is a "blanket forgiveness industry" insisting that everybody should forgive everything, this is a misunderstanding of the supererogatory nature of forgiveness. The accusation needs to be directed against those who misunderstand its philosophical quality. It is not the fault of forgiveness itself.

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In Conclusion

As we examine the four issues above, it becomes rather obvious that it is not forgiveness itself that is overrated but instead is people’s misunderstanding of what forgiveness is and how to go about it for oneself or when thinking that forgiveness may be good for others. The essence of forgiveness is different from what people are usually able to achieve, especially if they have not practiced forgiveness very often. This is fine and should not be a judgment on the one forgiving. People need to be gentle in their advice toward others, as importantly implied in the New York Times essay. Forgiveness as supererogatory is the choice of the forgiver, which contradicts a "blanket forgiveness industry" that insists on it. The value of the essay is to raise red flags. The philosophical lesson in this rebuttal is to raise the right red flags, so we do not falsely accuse forgiveness of being overrated.

Caron, C. (2024, June 27). Sometimes, forgiveness is overrated. New York Times .

Enright, R.D. & Fitzgibbons, R. (2000). Helping clients forgive . APA Books.

Enright, R.D. & Fitzgibbons, R. (2024). Forgiveness therapy . APA Books.

Robert Enright Ph.D.

Robert Enright, Ph.D., is a professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a licensed psychologist who pioneered the social scientific study of forgiveness.

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  1. Cambridge 19 writing task 2 sample answers

COMMENTS

  1. TASK

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  2. TASK

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  5. Cambridge Dictionary

    Browse the English Dictionary. Or, browse the Cambridge Dictionary index. The most popular dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English. Meanings and definitions of words with pronunciations and translations.

  6. Description and Prescription: The Roles of English Dictionaries

    The Cambridge Companion to English Dictionaries - September 2020. The fundamental task of a general-purpose dictionary is to identify the words of a language, describe their actual use in speech and writing, and report what use shows about meanings.

  7. task

    task - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. All Free. ... Task usually refers to a clearly defined piece of work, sometimes of short or limited duration, assigned to or expected of a person: the task of pacifying angry customers; a difficult, time-consuming task.

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  10. TASK in Traditional Chinese

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  11. Teaching with Cambridge Thesaurus: a free tool

    The Cambridge English Thesaurus is a valuable resource for teachers and learners as it can be used as a springboard for both classroom activities and self-study. This article is packed with ideas for teaching remotely with the Thesaurus, a downloadable Teacher's Toolkit and a webinar recording from Kory Stamper on helping your students pick the right synonym for the right context.

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  13. SPECIAL TASK FORCE

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  14. Dictionary Activities

    Product description. Dictionary Activities is a fantastic teaching resource which explains dictionary features and how to navigate them. The book also covers more complex topics such as collocations, idioms and word building and looks at the use of electronic dictionaries and other non-standard specialized dictionaries such as picture ...

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  17. Task-Based Language Teaching

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  18. What's a word for something that requires focus for a long time?

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  19. task noun

    2 an activity that is designed to help achieve a particular learning goal, especially in language teaching task-based learning; Thesaurus task. duties; mission; job; chore; These are all words for a piece of work that someone has to do. task a piece of work that someone has to do, especially a difficult or unpleasant one: Our first task is to set up a communications system.

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  21. Test format and task types

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  22. IELTS Speaking Part 1: Dictionary

    IELTS Speaking Part 1: Dictionary. 4369. By IELTS Practice Online. 1. How often do you use your dictionary? Countless times a day, and seven days a week, I have to say. I work as an English teacher, and in my working environment, I encounter new or strange word combinations all the time, so that's why I always need a dictionary by my side. 2.

  23. Cambridge Practice Test for Reading

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  24. Is Forgiveness Overrated? A NY Reporter Seems to Think So

    According to the Cambridge Dictionary, something is overrated when "considered to be better than it is." The dictionary gives an example of a person who sees an award-winning movie and decides ...

  25. What makes a good language learning activity?

    And they have done so for many years: the Cambridge Handbooks first saw the light of day in 1978, with the publication of Maley and Duff's hugely popular Drama Techniques in Language Learning. Since then, nearly fifty titles have been published, many including the word 'activities' in their titles.