Individual Differences and Task-Based Language Teaching

Editor

Shaofeng Li | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027214768 | EUR 120.00 | USD 156.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027246950 | EUR 120.00 | USD 156.00

This volume consists of a collection of empirical studies and research syntheses investigating the role of individual difference (ID) variables in task-based language teaching (TBLT)—a pedagogical approach that emphasizes the importance of the performance of meaning-oriented tasks in facilitating second language learning. TBLT is subject to learner-external as well as learner-internal factors, with the former referring to task- and context-related factors, and the latter to ID factors pertaining to learner traits, dispositions, or propensities. To date, the research has focused primarily on learner-external factors, and there has been insufficient and unsystematic research on individual difference factors. This volume brings centre stage this important but under-researched dimension by means of a comprehensive, in-depth examination of the role of key ID factors in TBLT. The volume integrates theory, research, and pedagogy by spelling out the mechanism through which IDs influence learning attainment, behaviours, and processes, examining evidence for theoretical claims, and discussing ways to apply research findings and cater to individual differences in the task-based classroom.

[Task-Based Language Teaching, 16] 2024. viii, 379 pp

Publishing status: Available
Published online on 23 May 2024

https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.16

Table of Contents

Series editors’ preface | pp. vii–viii

Foreword: Individual differences bridge the divides between task-based research and pedagogy

Peter Skehan |
Section 1. Introduction

Chapter 1. Individual differences and task-based language teaching: Theory, research, and practice

Shaofeng Li | pp. 10–49

Section 2. Affective differences

Chapter 2. Anxiety in task-based language teaching: A state-of-the-art review

Hyejin An and Shaofeng Li | pp. 52–83

Chapter 3. Understanding, measuring, and differentiating task enjoyment from foreign language enjoyment

Chengchen Li and Jean-Marc Dewaele | pp. 84–110

Chapter 4. Task complexity, task features, and task anxiety at low L2 proficiency levels

Angela Donate and Ronald P. Leow | pp. 111–137

Section 3. Cognitive differences

Chapter 5. Written languaging, language aptitude, and L2 learning through dictogloss tasks

Masako Ishikawa and Andrea Révész | pp. 140–160

Chapter 6. The effects of planning type, working memory, and anxiety on L2 writing performance

Hyejin An and Shaofeng Li | pp. 161–195

Section 4. Conative differences

Chapter 7. A review of learner motivation and engagement research in task-based language teaching

Yoon Namkung and YouJin Kim | pp. 198–227

Chapter 8. Teachers’ and learners’ beliefs about task-based language teaching: A systematic review

Phung Dao, Noriko Iwashita, Mai Xuan Nhat Chi Nguyen and Carolina Arias-Contreras | pp. 228–260

Section 5. Sociodemographic differences

Chapter 9. Task-based language learning and teaching: Differences according to age

Rhonda Oliver and Tatiana Bogachenko | pp. 262–286

Section 6. Pedagogical perspectives

Chapter 10. Practitioners’ perspectives: How teachers use TBLT to accommodate individual differences

Jane Willis | pp. 288–312

Chapter 11. Teacher IDs and task adaptations: Making use of the TBLT Language Learning Task Bank

Laura Gurzynski-Weiss, Lara Bryfonski and Derek Reagan | pp. 313–343

Section 7. Conclusion

Chapter 12. Conclusion: Some thoughts on investigating individual differences in task-based language teaching

Rod Ellis | pp. 346–364

List of contributors | pp. 365–369

Index | pp. 371–372

“While the need to individualize instruction is one of the 10 methodological principles of TBLT (Long, 2015), teachers report that they do not know how to design tasks to cater for individual learner needs (Erlam & Tolosa, 2022). Fortunately, we now have this important book to address this gap.”

Rosemary Erlam, University of Auckland

“Every person is unique; therefore, tasks must interact with the complex attributes of individuals. This much-needed volume illuminates a blind spot in task-based language teaching. Tasks need real people to engage with them, and understanding how tasks are enacted differently by different people is to better understand how meaning is made.”

Peter MacIntyre, Cape Breton University

“This book fills a significant gap in the growing literature on task-based language teaching. Integrating theory, research, and pedagogy, it provides invaluable insights into how learners vary in their response to task-based instruction. The book is a must-read for both applied linguists and language educators.”

Natsuko Shintani, Kansai University

Subjects