Task-Based Language Teaching from the Teachers' Perspective

Insights from New Zealand

 | The University of Auckland
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ISBN 9789027207210 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00
 
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ISBN 9789027207227 | EUR 33.00 | USD 49.95
 
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Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is being encouraged as part of a major overhaul of the entire school languages curriculum in New Zealand. However, teachers often struggle with understanding what TBLT is, and how to make TBLT work in classrooms. Using the stories that emerged from a series of interviews with teachers (the curriculum implementers) and with advisors (the curriculum leaders), this book highlights the possibilities for TBLT innovation in schools. It also identifies the constraints, and proposes how these might be addressed. The result is a book that, whilst rooted in a particular local context, provides a valuable sourcebook of teacher stories that have relevance for a wide range of people working in a diverse range of contexts. This book will be of genuine interest to all those who wish to understand more about TBLT innovation, and the opportunities and challenges it brings.
[Task-Based Language Teaching, 3] 2012.  xix, 259 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Published online on 23 December 2011
Table of Contents
“The book, even though reporting on the findings of a study conducted in New Zealand, is an important contribution to literature on task-based language pedagogy world-wide. It is most appropriate for language teachers as well as students of language teaching, curriculum developers, teacher trainers, researchers in the field of language teaching and learning and generally all those who are interested in TBLT.”
“As Robinson notes, “it is still too soon to expect definitive answers” (p. 28) regarding L2 task complexity, learning, and performance. Nonetheless, this collection documents a broad spectrum of recent work motivated by the CH that seeks to inform theory and practice in task-based language teaching. Each section offers unique perspectives on task complexity, establishing its relevance to L2 instruction. These insights from a range of experts add to the volume’s overall quality. This book should therefore find a wide audience among graduate students, language teachers, and researchers.”
“Though the author reflects on potential shortcomings of qualitative research, such as its alleged subjectivity, in my view East actually succeeds in revealing the strengths of qualitative research. First, he prevents potential subjectivity through a careful justification and explanation of his research design in the first appendix (pp. 241-246) and throughout the text. Second, East succeeds in representing the voice of the practitioners, and to juxtapose the voice of the practitioners to theoretical approaches and policy. One could say that the author, in his research approach, reflects the dynamics of TBLT. As much as TBLT emancipates the learner and increases the autonomy of the learner, so too, this research no longer prioritizes theory and policy over practice, empirical researchers over practitioners, but rather puts them adjacent to each other. In doing so, East contributes significantly to overcoming the acknowledged gap between educational research and practice (for a more detailed discussion about this gap, see Zeichner, 2009). Finally, East’s skilled use of qualitative research enables him to highlight subtle dimensions of each topic and how they are dealt with in the various classrooms, based on specified explicit cases (see Chapter 5).These particular features of the book make it a valuable contribution, not only for the New Zealand context, but for anybody who has an interest in task-based foreign language learning and teaching and its intercultural aspects. Veterans may enjoy the overview of the theories and discussions in the field as they come across mention of theorists that are likely to have been meaningful to them at some point in their careers, such as Nunan (1989, 2004), Long (1985), and Krashen (1982, 1985). Newcomers to the field will benefit from the introduction to the field of language and intercultural learning, both in theory and practice, and will feel inspired by the many practical examples and teaching materials provided by the teachers in the interviews.”
“The book is likely to be one that many will consult and will find a wide readership, including university undergraduate and graduate students – those studying language teaching and related fields, especially trainees, policy makers, support teachers or advisors (curriculum leaders), practitioners interested in doing action research in the classroom, or readers who are simply researchers wanting to find out more on TBLT in other contexts.”
Cited by (94)

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2024. Advancing the communicative language teaching agenda: what place for translanguaging in task-based language teaching?. The Language Learning Journal  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
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2024. Task-based elementary Spanish in rural Indiana: A practice-based collaboration. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 14:1  pp. 121 ff. DOI logo
Harris, Justin & Paul Leeming
2024. Speaking proficiency development in EFL classrooms: measuring the differential effect of TBLT and PPP teaching approaches. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 62:2  pp. 509 ff. DOI logo
Oliver, Rhonda, Tetiana Bogachenko & Sender Dovchin
2024. Children learning Mongolian as an additional language through the implementation of a task-based approach. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching DOI logo
Peng, Yue
2024. Reconciling the evolving conceptualisations of language teacher cognition from an activity theory perspective. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education 52:2  pp. 226 ff. DOI logo
Williams, Kent
2024. Exploring English for academic purposes instructors’ perceptions of speech fluency through developing and piloting a rating scale for a paired conversational task. System 121  pp. 103266 ff. DOI logo
Yixuan, Jing
2024. TBLT in the Classroom: Unready Teachers. In School-Based EFL Teacher Professional Development for Task-Based Language Teaching,  pp. 17 ff. DOI logo
Yixuan, Jing
2024. TBLT in Curriculum Innovation and TPD Programs in Chinese Context. In School-Based EFL Teacher Professional Development for Task-Based Language Teaching,  pp. 47 ff. DOI logo
Farde Davaji, Ashour & Behrooz Ghoorchaei
2023. Effect of Pre-task Planning on the Speaking Accuracy of Iranian EFL Learners . Journal of Contemporary Language Research 2:1  pp. 42 ff. DOI logo
James, Mark A.
2023. An exploratory investigation of instructors' practices and challenges in promoting students' learning transfer in EAP education. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 64  pp. 101263 ff. DOI logo
Jia, Shijiao & Madhubala Bava Harji
2023. Themes, knowledge evolution, and emerging trends in task-based teaching and learning: A scientometric analysis in CiteSpace. Education and Information Technologies 28:8  pp. 9783 ff. DOI logo
Khezrlou, Sima
2023. The role of task-supported language teaching in the development of explicit and automatized explicit knowledge and learners’ task engagement: does practice meet perceptions?. Language Awareness 32:3  pp. 387 ff. DOI logo
Michaud, Gabriel & Ahlem Ammar
2023. Explicit Instruction within a Task: Before, During, or After?. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 45:2  pp. 442 ff. DOI logo
Tolosa, Constanza, Diego Navarro & Ben Egerton
2023. Local intercultural language assistants in New Zealand classrooms. Language, Culture and Curriculum 36:4  pp. 439 ff. DOI logo
Tran, Nam Giang, Xuan Van Ha & Ngoc Hai Tran
2023. EFL Reformed Curriculum in Vietnam: An Understanding of Teachers’ Cognitions and Classroom Practices. RELC Journal 54:1  pp. 166 ff. DOI logo
Wang, Xueyu & Jian Wang
2023. Implementing an interactive approach in translator education. Interactive Learning Environments 31:4  pp. 2288 ff. DOI logo
Yao, Zhu & John Hope
2023. The Role of Heritage Culture and Language Learning in Nurturing Gifted Chinese Students in New Zealand Schools. In Teaching Chinese in the Anglophone World [Multilingual Education, 44],  pp. 103 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin, Constanza Tolosa, Jocelyn Howard, Christine Biebricher & Adèle Scott
2022. Beginning the Journeys Towards Intercultural Capability. In Journeys Towards Intercultural Capability in Language Classrooms [Intercultural Communication and Language Education, ],  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin, Constanza Tolosa, Jocelyn Howard, Christine Biebricher & Adèle Scott
2022. The Intercultural Dimension in the New Zealand Language Teaching Context. In Journeys Towards Intercultural Capability in Language Classrooms [Intercultural Communication and Language Education, ],  pp. 49 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin, Constanza Tolosa, Jocelyn Howard, Christine Biebricher & Adèle Scott
2022. Introducing the Two-Year Study. In Journeys Towards Intercultural Capability in Language Classrooms [Intercultural Communication and Language Education, ],  pp. 71 ff. DOI logo
Jackson, Daniel O.
2022. Task-Based Language Teaching, DOI logo
Spada, Nina
2022. Reflecting on task-based language teaching from an Instructed SLA perspective. Language Teaching 55:1  pp. 74 ff. DOI logo
Van Gorp, Koen & Kris Van den Branden
2022. TBLT in context. TASK. Journal on Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning 2:2  pp. 269 ff. DOI logo
Xu, Jinfen & Yumei Fan
2022. Finding success with the implementation of task-based language teaching: the role of teacher agency. Language, Culture and Curriculum 35:1  pp. 18 ff. DOI logo
Zhu, Yan
2022. Implementing tasks in young learners’ language classrooms: A collaborative teacher education initiative through task evaluation. Language Teaching Research 26:3  pp. 530 ff. DOI logo
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian & Michael H. Long
2021. The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching, DOI logo
Baralt, Melissa, Wang Fei, Zhanting Bu, Hao Chen, José Morcillo Gómez & Xunye Luan
2021. The Implementation of a Task-Based Spanish-Language Program in Qingdao, China. In The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching,  pp. 135 ff. DOI logo
Erlam, Rosemary, Jenefer Philp & Diana Feick
2021. Teaching Languages to Adolescent Learners, DOI logo
M. Norris, John & John McE. Davis
2021. Evaluating Task-Based Language Programs. In The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching,  pp. 529 ff. DOI logo
Michaud, Gabriel
2021. L’incidence d’un enseignement centré sur la forme sur la performance orale. The Canadian Modern Language Review 77:3  pp. 269 ff. DOI logo
Newton, Jonathan
2021. The Adoption of Task-Based Language Teaching in Diverse Contexts. In The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching,  pp. 649 ff. DOI logo
Norris, John M. & Martin East
2021. Task-Based Language Assessment. In The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching,  pp. 507 ff. DOI logo
Payant, Caroline & Gabriel Michaud
2021. La conceptualisation de la tâche en didactique des langues secondes : l’enseignement des langues basé sur la tâche et l’approche actionnelle. La Revue de l’AQEFLS 33:1  pp. 4 ff. DOI logo
Peng, Yue & Jamie S. Pyper
2021. Finding success with pedagogical innovation: A case from CSL teachers’ experiences with TBLT. Language Teaching Research 25:4  pp. 633 ff. DOI logo
Petrocelli, Emilia
2021. Pre-service teacher education: Observing senior teachers through the theoretical lens of Ellis’s principles of instructed language learning. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages 8:1  pp. 20 ff. DOI logo
Samuda, Virginia & Martin Bygate
2021. Exploring the Nuts and Bolts of Task Design. In The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching,  pp. 262 ff. DOI logo
Shakhsi Dastgahian, Elahe
2021. Teachers’ incentive for grammar instruction in Iran's reformed EFL context. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 31:3  pp. 508 ff. DOI logo
Van den Branden, Kris & Koen Van Gorp
2021. Introducing TASK. TASK. Journal on Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning 1:1  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Shakhsi Dastgahian, Elahe, Marianne Turner & Janet Scull
2020. Task-based Pedagogies in Iran: The Relationship between Oracy and Literacy. RELC Journal 51:3  pp. 412 ff. DOI logo
Thi, Nguyen Anh & Phuong Hoang Yen
2020. Impacts of a one-shot training program for in-service teachers on the application of Task-based Language Teaching. Can Tho University Journal of Science 12:3 DOI logo
Tong, Peiru, Irene Shidong An & Yijun Zhou
2020. Holistic and dynamic: teacher-researcher reflections on operating mobile-assisted learning tasks supported by WeChat for Chinese as a foreign language. Instructional Science 48:6  pp. 729 ff. DOI logo
Ashton, Karen
2019. Approaches to teaching in the multi-level language classroom. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching 13:2  pp. 162 ff. DOI logo
Egbert, Joy, Seyed Abdollah Shahrokni, Xue Zhang, David Herman, Intissar Yahia, Adnan Mohamed, Faraj M. Aljarih, Chioma Ezeh, Nataliia Borysenko & Sonia Lopez-Lopez
2019. Revisiting Gaps in the CALL Literature. In Recent Developments in Technology-Enhanced and Computer-Assisted Language Learning [Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design, ],  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Ellis, Rod, Peter Skehan, Shaofeng Li, Natsuko Shintani & Craig Lambert
2019. Task-Based Language Teaching, DOI logo
Howard, Jocelyn, Constanza Tolosa, Christine Biebricher & Martin East
2019. Shifting conceptualisations of foreign language teaching in New Zealand: students’ journeys towards developing intercultural capability. Language and Intercultural Communication 19:6  pp. 555 ff. DOI logo
Khoram, Alireza & Zuochen Zhang
2019. The impact of task type and pre-task planning condition on the accuracy of intermediate EFL learners’ oral performance. Cogent Education 6:1 DOI logo
Baralt, Melissa
2018. Chapter 10. Becoming a task-based teacher educator. In TBLT as a Researched Pedagogy [Task-Based Language Teaching, 12],  pp. 266 ff. DOI logo
Conway, Clare & Heather Richards
2018. ‘Lunchtimes in New Zealand are cruel’: reflection as a tool for developing language learners’ intercultural competence. The Language Learning Journal 46:4  pp. 371 ff. DOI logo
Han, ZhaoHong
2018. Task-Based Learning in Task-Based Teaching: Training Teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 38  pp. 162 ff. DOI logo
Oliver, Rhonda & Tatiana Bogachenko
2018. Chapter 3. Teacher perceptions and use of tasks in school ESL classrooms. In TBLT as a Researched Pedagogy [Task-Based Language Teaching, 12],  pp. 72 ff. DOI logo
Oliver, Rhonda & Tatiana Bogachenko
2024. Chapter 9. Task-based language learning and teaching. In Individual Differences and Task-Based Language Teaching [Task-Based Language Teaching, 16],  pp. 262 ff. DOI logo
Samuda, Virginia, Martin Bygate & Kris Van den Branden
2018. Introduction. In TBLT as a Researched Pedagogy [Task-Based Language Teaching, 12],  pp. 2 ff. DOI logo
Taguchi, Naoko & YouJin Kim
2018. Chapter 1. Task-based approaches to teaching and assessing pragmatics. In Task-Based Approaches to Teaching and Assessing Pragmatics [Task-Based Language Teaching, 10],  pp. 2 ff. DOI logo
Gurzynski-Weiss, Laura, Avizia Yim Long & Megan Solon
2017. TBLT AND L2 PRONUNCIATION. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 39:2  pp. 213 ff. DOI logo
Jackson, Daniel O. & Alfred Rue Burch
2017. Complementary Theoretical Perspectives on Task‐Based Classroom Realities. TESOL Quarterly 51:3  pp. 493 ff. DOI logo
Yasuda, Sachiko
2017. Toward a Framework for Linking Linguistic Knowledge and Writing Expertise: Interplay Between SFL‐Based Genre Pedagogy and Task‐Based Language Teaching. TESOL Quarterly 51:3  pp. 576 ff. DOI logo
Zhu, Yan & Dingfang Shu
2017. Implementing foreign language curriculum innovation in a Chinese secondary school: An ethnographic study on teacher cognition and classroom practices. System 66  pp. 100 ff. DOI logo
Bygate, Martin
2016. Sources, developments and directions of task-based language teaching. The Language Learning Journal 44:4  pp. 381 ff. DOI logo
Bygate, Martin
2020. Some directions for the possible survival of TBLT as a real world project. Language Teaching 53:3  pp. 275 ff. DOI logo
Erlam, Rosemary
2016. ‘I’m still not sure what a task is’: Teachers designing language tasks. Language Teaching Research 20:3  pp. 279 ff. DOI logo
Gurzynski-Weiss, Laura
2016. Spanish instructors’ operationalisation of task complexity and task sequencing in foreign language lessons. The Language Learning Journal 44:4  pp. 467 ff. DOI logo
Long, Michael H.
2016. In Defense of Tasks and TBLT: Nonissues and Real Issues. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 36  pp. 5 ff. DOI logo
Norris, John M.
2016. Current Uses for Task-Based Language Assessment. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 36  pp. 230 ff. DOI logo
Norris, John M.
2023. Book Review: The Routledge Handbook of Language Testing. Language Testing 40:2  pp. 440 ff. DOI logo
Silver, Rita Elaine, Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen, Roksana Bibi Binte Abdullah, Seetha Lakshmi & Yanning Yang
2016. Distinctiveness and Uniformity: Teaching Language in Singapore Primary Grades 1 and 2. In Quadrilingual Education in Singapore [Education Innovation Series, ],  pp. 153 ff. DOI logo
Van den Branden, Kris
2016. The Role of Teachers in Task-Based Language Education. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 36  pp. 164 ff. DOI logo
Van den Branden, Kris
2021. Task-Based Language Teaching as an Innovation. In The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching,  pp. 628 ff. DOI logo
Bygate, Martin, John Norris & Kris van den Branden
2015. Task‐Based Language Teaching. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics,  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
FERYOK, ANNE & JO ORANJE
2015. Adopting a Cultural Portfolio Project in Teaching German as a Foreign Language: Language Teacher Cognition as a Dynamic System. The Modern Language Journal 99:3  pp. 546 ff. DOI logo
Winke, Paula
Zheng, Xinmin & Simon Borg
2014. Task-based learning and teaching in China: Secondary school teachers’ beliefs and practices. Language Teaching Research 18:2  pp. 205 ff. DOI logo
Tao, Youlan
2013. Dr. Martin East: Task-Based Language Teaching from the Teachers’ Perspective: Insights from New Zealand.. Babel. Revue internationale de la traduction / International Journal of Translation 59:3  pp. 388 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2012. Addressing the intercultural via task-based language teaching: possibility or problem?. Language and Intercultural Communication 12:1  pp. 56 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2014. Mediating pedagogical innovation via reflective practice: a comparison of pre-service and in-service teachers’ experiences. Reflective Practice 15:5  pp. 686 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2014. Encouraging innovation in a modern foreign language initial teacher education programme: What do beginning teachers make of task-based language teaching?. The Language Learning Journal 42:3  pp. 261 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2015. Taking communication to task – again: what difference does a decade make?. The Language Learning Journal 43:1  pp. 6 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2015. Task-Based Teaching and Learning: Pedagogical Implications. In Second and Foreign Language Education,  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2016. Investigating Stakeholder Perspectives on Interact. In Assessing Foreign Language Students’ Spoken Proficiency [Educational Linguistics, 26],  pp. 77 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2016. Mediating Assessment Innovation: Why Stakeholder Perspectives Matter. In Assessing Foreign Language Students’ Spoken Proficiency [Educational Linguistics, 26],  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2016. Coming to Terms with Assessment Innovation: Conclusions and Recommendations. In Assessing Foreign Language Students’ Spoken Proficiency [Educational Linguistics, 26],  pp. 189 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2016. Introducing a New Assessment of Spoken Proficiency: Interact. In Assessing Foreign Language Students’ Spoken Proficiency [Educational Linguistics, 26],  pp. 51 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2016. Assessing Spoken Proficiency: What Are the Issues?. In Assessing Foreign Language Students’ Spoken Proficiency [Educational Linguistics, 26],  pp. 25 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2017. Research into practice: The task-based approach to instructed second language acquisition. Language Teaching 50:3  pp. 412 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2017. Task-Based Teaching and Learning: Pedagogical Implications. In Second and Foreign Language Education,  pp. 85 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2019. Sustaining innovation in school modern foreign language programmes: teachers’ reflections on task-based language teaching three years after initial teacher education. The Language Learning Journal 47:1  pp. 105 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2020. Addressing the Possibilities and Limitations of Implementing a New Classroom-Based Assessment of Oral Proficiency. In Toward a Reconceptualization of Second Language Classroom Assessment [Educational Linguistics, 41],  pp. 221 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2021. What do beginning teachers make of task-based language teaching? A comparative re-production of East (2014). Language Teaching 54:4  pp. 552 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2022. Mediating Innovation through Language Teacher Education, DOI logo
East, Martin
2023. Supporting TBLT through teacher education. TASK. Journal on Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning 3:1  pp. 5 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2023. The Teaching of Mandarin Chinese in New Zealand’s Schools: Where Have We Come From? Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going?. In Teaching Chinese in the Anglophone World [Multilingual Education, 44],  pp. 41 ff. DOI logo
East, Martin
2024. Taking communication to task once more – a further decade on. The Language Learning Journal  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

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Subjects

Main BIC Subject

CJA: Language teaching theory & methods

Main BISAC Subject

LAN020000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Study & Teaching
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ONIX 2.1
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U.S. Library of Congress Control Number:  2011037316 | Marc record