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In:TBLT for Young Learners: Challenges, opportunities and goals
Edited by Sima Khezrlou
[Task-Based Language Teaching 21] 2026
► pp. 18–37

Chapter 2
Negotiating tasks with First Nation adolescent learners to heighten engagement and cultural appropriacy

 | Curtin University
 | Curtin University
 | Curtin University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
Engaging learners in meaningful tasks creates opportunities for language learning. However, further research is needed about how to achieve task-based learning with younger learners, including First Nation (FN) students learning English as their second language and/or dialect. These students have the additional need for culturally appropriate tasks that address their social and emotional needs. Using a case study approach undertaken at a vocational boarding school for Australian Aboriginal students from remote communities, we examine one teacher’s shift in pedagogy towards a task-based “process approach” (Breen, 1984). Within two larger projects, we explore how she enacted this shift by negotiating tasks in culturally aligned ways. We found she was able to create “both ways” learning and give her students agency and voice.
Article outline
  • Background
  • Positionality
  • Methods
    • Participants
    • Context
    • Shifting pedagogy
    • Negotiating tasks and the curriculum
  • Project 1: Yarns with past students
  • Project 2: Safer communities
  • Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • References
  • Suggestion for further reading
References (32)
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Suggestion for further reading
Oliver, R., Grote, E., Rochecouste, J., & Exell, M. (2012). Addressing the language and literacy needs of Aboriginal high school VET students who speak SAE as an additional language. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 41(2), 1–11. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shay, M., Oliver, R., Bogachenko, T., & McCarthy, H. (2023). “From the bottom to the top”: Learning through stories of transitioning from an Aboriginal boarding school to the workplace and life beyond school. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 33(3), 30–46. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
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