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In:From Task-based Needs Analysis to Task and Syllabus Design: Insights from across educational contexts
Edited by Roger Gilabert and Aleksandra Malicka
[Task-Based Language Teaching 20] 2026
► pp. 108–135

Chapter 5
A needs analysis to develop TBLT curricula for Black Spanish language learners

 | University of TennesseeKnoxville
 | Carnegie Mellon University
 | Florida Memorial University
 | Florida International University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This chapter presents a task-based needs analysis conducted at a Historically Black College and University to design an inclusive Spanish curriculum that celebrates Blackness in Latin America. Guided by the frameworks of Critical Race Pedagogy for World Language Teaching and Hemispheric Black Language Pedagogies, the study involved students, faculty, administrators, and community members to identify real-world tasks that reflect Afro-descendant voices and cultures. The resulting curriculum centers Black Spanish speakers as vital cultural agents, dismantling race-neutral narratives and fostering equity in language learning. Importantly, in addresses the needs of Black learners often erased in world language study, the curriculum enriches the learning experience for all students, offering a more accurate, engaging, and socially just vision of Spanish world language education.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Some brief history: HBCUs in the U.S.
  • Problems in our HBCU context and in the study of world languages
  • Theoretical background
    • Critical Race Pedagogy for World Language Teaching (CRPWLT)
    • Hemispheric Black Language Pedagogies (HBLP)
  • Connecting with Task-Based Language Teaching
    and Task-Based Needs Analysis
  • Methods
    • Context
    • Sources and methods
    • Phase II sources: The participants
      • Students
      • Teachers
      • Administrators
      • Community members
    • Phase II methods: The procedures
      • Qualitative research interviews
      • Observations
    • Analysis
  • Results
    • Student participants
    • Teacher and administrator participants
    • Community member participants
    • Resultant tasks derived from the task-based needs analysis
  • Discussion
    • Contributions to task-based needs analysis and curriculum design
    • Contributions to theory
  • Conclusion
  • Reflection questions
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • Suggestions for further reading
  • References
References (35)
Suggestions for further reading
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