Task-Based Language Teaching

Abstract

Task-based language teaching is an approach that aims to facilitate the acquisition of a second or foreign language (L2) by engaging learners in the performance of tasks.

Appendices

The Research Questions

• 1. What is task-based language teaching?

• 2. What factors need to be taken into account in deciding what tasks to use with a particular group of learners?

• 3. What principles inform the sequencing of tasks in a task-based syllabus?

• 4. What kinds of pre-task teaching activities are compatible with a task-based approach?

• 5. How can teachers ensure that students pay attention to form while they are performing a task?

• 6. What kinds of post-task activities can a teacher make use of?

• 7. How can tasks be used to assess learners’ progress?

• 8. How can a teacher tell whether a task has ‘worked’?

• 9. What problems do teachers face in task-based language teaching?

• 10. How can a balance between task-based and more traditional language teaching be achieved?

Suggested Resources

Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

In this book Peter Skehan lays out the cognitive theory of language learning that informs his own view of TBLT. He proposes that people possess a dual-system of language—an exemplar-based system that they draw on in everyday, fluent speech and a rule-based system that they draw on when they need to express more complex ideas. He also suggests that, L2 learners’ working memory is limited in capacity with the result that they experience difficulty in attending to complexity, accuracy and fluency concurrently, leading to trade-offs (e.g. they may prioritize fluency over complexity and accuracy or accuracy over complexity). The relevance of this to TBLT is that different tasks will predispose L2 learners to draw on their exemplar-based or rule-based systems and to prioritize one aspect of production over the others. It follows that in order to ensure balanced L2 development learners need to experience a variety of tasks and task conditions.

Willis, J, & Willis, D (200). Doing task-based teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

This book is strongly recommended for readers who want a more practical account of TBLT. Both authors have been involved in workshops for teachers and their book set out to address the kinds of questions that teachers often asked them—for example, what exactly is a task? Can you use TBLT with beginners? What about the grammar? How can I use the tasks I find in my textbook? The practical nature of the book is also reflected by the inclusion of examples of TBLT provided by teachers in the field. The book provides a clear explanation of the principles that inform TBLT, sample materials and lesson plans, and guidance on how to adapt existing course materials to include a task-based element. However, readers should approach the book critically as it presents a particular version of TBLT and there are other versions!

Long, M. (2015). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. Malden, MA: Blackwell-Wiley.

Long’s book is arguably the most comprehensive account of theory and research related to TBLT. A notable strength of the book is that Long frames TBLT as not just based on theories of second language acquisition but also on general principles of education. There are chapters devoted to both. Long adopts the view that the tasks in a task-based course should be based on the target tasks that learners need to perform in real life and argues that identifying these requires a needs analysis. He discusses issues of critical importance in TBLT such as the selection and grading of tasks, the methodological principles and procedures involved in implementation, and task-based assessment. He also reports on studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of TBLT. Long offers a particular view of TBLT—one that not all proponents of TBLT agree with—and the book needs to be read with this in mind.

Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (2016), 36, 5–33.

The topic of this volume of ARAL is task-based teaching. It includes a key article by Michael Long addressing what he sees as the issues and non-issues in task-based language teaching and an article by Peter Skehan in which he examines research that has investigated task design and the implementation conditions. There is also an interesting article by Philp and Duchesne that approaches tasks from the perspective of ‘engagement’ and suggests various indicators of students’ level of involvement in a task. Other articles address the aspects of task-based production that researchers have investigated (Plonsky & Kim), how best to measure accuracy in task-based production (Foster and Wigglesworth), oral versus written tasks (Gilabert, Manchón & Vasylets) University of Murcia, technology mediated TBLT (Ziegler), the role of the teacher in TBLT (Van den Branden), teachers’ perspectives on task difficulty (Révész) and the role that explicit instruction plays in the pre-task stage of a lesson (Li, Ellis & Zhu).

Ellis, R. (2018). Reflections on task-based language teaching. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Ellis has put together a collection of some of his previously published papers on TBLT along with some new chapters. The book starts with a brief history of TBLT and a chapter that outlines two different perspectives on TBLT—what he calls the psycholinguistic and sociocultural perspectives. He argues that both approaches should inform TBLT. The bulk of the book consists of chapters on researching TBLT and on task-based pedagogy. Ellis addresses a number of important issues such as the role of input-based tasks and the place of explicit instruction in TBLT. He also points out that there have been a number of misconceptions about TBLT and addresses these. He takes the stance that TBLT is not monolithic but an ‘approach’ that can be realized in different ways depending on the particular instructional context. He presents the case for a modular syllabus that incorporates both a task-based and a structural component. In the final chapter in the book he attempts to answer some of the questions about TBLT that teachers often ask.