A Review of Issues about Teachers’ Understanding of the Construct of Tasks in Task-Based Language Teaching
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/jlapsu.2021.1Keywords:
task-based language teaching, understanding, the construct of a taskAbstract
Despite substantive empirical evidence for the efficacy of task-based language teaching and learning (TBLT), research shows that the classroom implementation of TBLT has often met with mixed success. One of the key reasons is teachers’ lack of understanding of tasks and unclear concepts of tasks and task design. It is these factors that the article focus on. In this article, an overview of key conceptual definitions of tasks, which is a core construct that underpins TBLT, |is provided. This theoretical information provides a background for a subsequent discussion of teachers’ challenges with task implementations and their conceptual understanding of task features. The article highlights the complex relationship between TBLT in theory and research and TBLT in practice when teachers reported having unclear concepts, misinterpreted some criteria of tasks and struggled with task complexity and task design. These constraints can impede their implementation of TBLT. Finally, the article concludes with a call for more research attention and suggestions on how to help teachers to develop knowledge and strategies for managing the practical difficulties in implementing TBLT through teacher education or professional development programs.
References
Adams, R., & Newton, J. (2009). TBLT in Asia: Constraints and opportunities. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 19(1), 1-17.
Brandl, K. (2009). Implementational demands in task-based teaching: The teachers’ perspective. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 6(2), 117-125.
Brandl, K. (2017). Task-based instruction and teacher training. In N. Van Deusen-Scholl & S. May (Eds.), Second and foreign language education: Encyclopedia of language and education (3rd ed., pp. 425-438). Springer.
Butler, Y. G. (2011). The implementation of communicative and task-based language teaching in the Asia-Pacific region. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 36-57.
Butler, Y. G. (2017). Communicative and task-based language teaching in the Asia-Pacific region. In N. Van Deusen-Scholl & S. May (Eds.), Second and foreign language education: Encyclopedia of language and education (3rd ed., pp. 327-338). Springer.
Bygate, M., Norris, J., & Van den Branden, K. (2009a). Task-based language teaching: A reader. John Benjamins.
Bygate, M., Norris, J., & Van den Branden, K. (2009b). Understanding TBLT at the interface between research and pedagogy. In K. Van den Branden, M. Bygate, & J. M. Norris (Eds.), Task-based language teaching: A reader (pp. 495-499). John Benjamins.
Bygate, M., Skehan, P., & Swain, M. (2001). Researching pedagogical tasks: Second language learning, teaching, and testing. Routledge.
Candlin, C. (1987). Towards task-based language learning.In C. Candlin & D. Murphy (Eds.), Language learning tasks (Vol. 7, pp. 5-22). Prentice Hall.
Candlin, C., & Murphy, D. (1987). Language learning tasks (Vol. 7). Prentice Hall.
Carless, D. (2004). Issues in teachers' reinterpretation of a task-based innovation in primary schools. TESOL Quarterly, 38(4), 639-662.
Carless, D. (2009). Revisiting the TBLT versus PPP debate: Voices from Hong Kong. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 19(1), 49-66.
Chien, C. W. (2014). Integration of task-based approaches in a TESOL course. English Language Teaching, 7(9), 36-48.
Crookes, G., & Gass, S. M. (1993). Tasks and language learning: Integrating theory and practice. Multilingual Matters.
Cui, J. (2012). EFL teachers’ cognition and usage of TBLT in Beijing [Unpublished master's thesis]. University of Alberta.
Duong, T. M., & Nguyen, H. T. T. (2021). Implementing task-based language teaching in Vietnamese secondary schools: What hinders EFL teachers? TESL-EJ, 25(2).
East, M. (2012a). Task-based language teaching from the teachers' perspective: Insights from New Zealand (Vol. 3). John Benjamins.
East, M. (2012b). Addressing the intercultural via task-based language teaching: Possibility or problem? Language and Intercultural Communication, 12(1), 56-73.
East, M. (2018). How do beginning teachers conceptualise and enact tasks in school foreign language classrooms? In V. Samuda, K. Van den Branden, & M. Bygate (Eds.), TBLT as a researched pedagogy (pp. 23-50). John Benjamins.
East, M. (2021). Foundational principles of task-based language teaching. Routledge.
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (2018). Reflections on task-based language teaching. Multilingual Matters.
Ellis, R., & Shintani, N. (2014). Exploring language pedagogy through second language acquisition research. Routledge.
Erlam, R. (2015). ‘I’m still not sure what a task is: Teachers designing language tasks. Language Teaching Research, 1-21.
Estaire, S., & Zanón, J. (1994). Task-based teaching. Heinemann.
Jaruteerapan, P. (2020). The emerging understanding and practice of TBLT by Thai EFL student teachers [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Victoria University of Wellington.
Klapper, J. (2003). Taking communication to task? A critical review of recent trends in language teaching. Language Learning Journal, 27(1), 33-42.
Lai, C. (2015). Task-based language teaching in the Asian context: Where are we now and where are we going. In M. Thomas & H. Reinders (Eds.), Contemporary task-based language teaching in Asia (pp. 12-29). Bloomsbury Publishing.
Lin, T. B., & Wu, C. W. (2012). Teachers’ perceptions of task based language teaching in English classrooms in Taiwanese junior high schools. TESOL Journal, 3(4), 586-609.
Loewen, S. (2015). Introduction to instructed second language acquisition. Routledge.
Long, M. H. (1985). Input and second language acquisition theory. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 377-393). Newbury House.
Long, M. (2014). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. Wiley-Blackwell.
Long, M. H. (2016). In defense of tasks and TBLT: Nonissues and real issues. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 5-33.
Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Ogilvie, G., & Dunn, W. (2010). Taking teacher education to task: Exploring the role of teacher education in promoting the utilization of task-based language teaching. Language Teaching Research, 14(2), 161-181.
Richards, J. C. (2006). Communicative language teaching today. Cambridge University Press.
Samuda, V., & Bygate, M. (2008). Tasks in second language learning. Palgrave Macmillan.
Samuda, V., Van den Branden, K., & Bygate, M. (2018). TBLT as a researched pedagogy (Vol. 12). John Benjamins.
Saputro, T. H., Hima, A., N., & Farah, R., R. (2021). Benefits and challenges of doing task-based language teaching
in Indonesia:Teachers’perception.KEMBARA:Journal Keilmuan, Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya (e-Journal), 7(1), 104-117.
Shehadeh, A., & Coombe, C. A. (2012). Task-based language teaching in foreign language contexts: Research and implementation (Vol. 4). John Benjamins.
Shintani, N. (2016). Input-based tasks in foreign language instruction for young learners (Vol. 9).JohnBenjamins.
Skehan, P. (1998). Task-based instruction. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 18, 268-286.
Skehan, P. (2011). Researching tasks: Performance, assessment and pedagogy. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Thomas, M., & Reinders, H. (2015). Contemporary task-based language teaching in Asia. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Van den Branden, K. (2006). Task-based language teaching: From theory to practice. Cambridge University Press.
Van den Branden, K. (2016). The role of teachers in task-based language education. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 164-181.
Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2007). Doing task-based teaching. Oxford University Press.
Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Longman.
Zhang, Y., & Luo, S. (2018). Teachers’ beliefs and practices of task-based language teaching in Chinese as a second language classrooms. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 41(3), 264-287.
Zheng, X., & Borg, S. (2014). Task-based learning and teaching in China: Secondary school teachers’ beliefs and practices. Language Teaching Research, 18(2), 205-221.
Zhu, Y. (2018).Language curriculum innovation in a Chinese secondary school. Springer.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Paweena Jaruteerapan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The authors retain the copyright to their article but the Journal of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University reserves the exclusive rights to first publication.
