Cover not available
Part of
Domains and Directions in the Development of TBLT: A decade of plenaries from the international conference
Edited by Martin Bygate
[Task-Based Language Teaching 8] 2015
► pp. 303–320

Task-based language education

From theory to practice … and back again

| Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Task-based language teaching has been claimed to promote language acquisition by inviting learners to use language for meaningful purposes and focus on form while doing so. In this article, a range of classroom observation studies conducted in Flanders (Belgium) are reported, vividly illustrating the many ways in which teachers reinterpret tasks which were designed by professional syllabus developers. Some of these reinterpretations appear to be at odds with the basic principles underpinning the rationale behind TBLT. Moreover, different learners reinterpret the same task in various ways, and this may have a profound impact on the interactional and mental activity that the task gives rise to, and the actual learning that results. As such, these studies indicate that the practice of task-based classroom activity can and should inform the theory-building behind TBLT as much as the theory has been claimed to inspire practitioners.
Published online: 5 November 2015
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.8.11van
References (39)
References
Berben, M., Van den Branden, K., & Van Gorp, K. (2007). “We’ll see what happens.” Tasks on paper and tasks in a multilingual classroom. In K. Van den Branden, K. Van Gorp & M. Verhelst (Eds.), Tasks in action. Task-based language education from a classroom-based perspective (pp. 32–67). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36, 81–109. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Breen, M. (1987). Learner contributions to task design. In C. Candlin, & D. Murphy (Eds.), Language learning tasks (pp. 23–46). London: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Bygate, M., Norris, J.M., Van den Branden, K. (2015). Task-based language teaching. Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Chichester: Wiley. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carless, D. (2007). The suitability of task-based approaches for secondary schools: Perspectives from Hong Kong. System, 35, 595–608. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cheung, A., & Slavin, R. (2005). Effective reading programs for English language learners and other language minority students. Bilingual Research Journal, 29(2), 241–267. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clark, H. (1996). Using language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York, NY: Plenum Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dörnyei, Z. (2002) The motivational basis of language learning tasks. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 137–158). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dweck, C. (2000). Self-theories: Their role in motivation personality and development. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Edmondson, W. (1985). Discourse worlds in the classroom and in foreign language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 7, 159–168. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Graham, S., & Perin, D (2007). A meta-analysis of writing instruction for adolescent students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 445–476. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
East, M. (2012). Task-based language teaching from the teachers’ perspective. Amsterdam; John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77, 81–112. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hattie J., & G. Yates (2014). Visible learning and the science of how we learn. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Laufer, B., & Hulstijn, J. (2001). Incidental vocabulary acquisition in a second language: the construct of task-induced involvement. Applied Linguistics, 22, 1–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Long, M. (1985). A role for instruction in second language acquisition: Task-based language teaching. In K. Hyltenstam & M. Pienemann (Eds.), Modelling and assessing second language acquisition (pp. 77–99). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
. (2005). Second language needs analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mackey, A., & Goo, J. (2007). Interaction research in SLA: A meta-analysis and research synthesis. In A. Mackey (Ed.), Conversational interaction in second language acquisition (pp. 407- 452). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Marzano, R., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. (2001). Classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.Google Scholar
Norris, J.M. (2009). Task-based teaching and testing. In M. Long and C. Doughty (Eds.), Handbook of language teaching (pp. 578–594). Cambridge: Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Petty, G. (2009). Evidence-based teaching: A practical approach. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.Google Scholar
Samuda, V. (2001). Guiding relationships between form and meaning during task performance: The role of the teacher. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan, & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks, second language learning, teaching and testing (pp.119–140). Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar
Samuda, V., & Bygate, M. (2008). Tasks in second language learning. Houndmills: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Shehadeh, A., & Coombe, C. (Eds.) (2012). Task-based language teaching in foreign language contexts. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Van den Branden, K. (2006a). Task-based language education in a nutshell. In K. Van den Branden (Ed.), Task-based language education: from theory to practice (pp. 1–16). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (Ed.) (2006b). Task-based language education: From theory to practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2009a). Diffusion and implementation of innovations. In M. Long & C. Doughty (Eds.), The Handbook of Language Teaching (pp. 659–672). Oxford: Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2009b). Mediating between predetermined order and complete chaos. The role of the teacher in task-based language education. IJAL International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 264–285. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Van den Branden, K., Bygate, M., & Norris, J. (2009). Task-based language teaching: Introducing the reader. In K. Van den Branden, M. Bygate, & J. Norris (Eds.), Task-based language teaching: A reader (pp. 1–19). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Van den Branden, K., Van Gorp, K., & Verhelst, M. (Eds.) (2007). Tasks in action: Task-based language education from a classroom-based perspective. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Van Gorp; K. (2010). Meester, wat is genen? De effectiviteit van kennisconstructie en schooltaalverwerving bij NT2-leerlingen aan het einde van het basisonderwijs. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.Google Scholar
Van Gorp, K, & Van den Branden, K. (in press 2015). Teachers, pupils and tasks. The genesis of dynamic learning opportunities. System.Google Scholar
Verheyden, L. (2010). Achter de lijn. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.Google Scholar
Verheyden, L., Van den Branden, K., Rijlaarsdam, G., van den Bergh, H., & De Maeyer, S. (2010). Written narrations by 8 to 10-year old Turkish pupils of Flemish primary education: a follow-up of seven text features. Journal of Research in Reading, 33(1), 20–38. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2011). Translation skills and trade-off in young L2-learners' written narrations. In M. Fayol, D. Alamargot, & V. Berninger (Eds.), Translation of thought to written text while composing: Advancing theory, knowledge, methods, and applications. London: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Cited by (8)

Cited by eight other publications

Ellis, Rod
2024. Rod Ellis's essential bookshelf: Focus on form. Language Teaching 57:2 ► pp. 246 ff. DOI logo
Su, Xiaoqing
2024. Critical thinking abilities, cognitive reading strategies, and task-based language learning among Chinese EFL learners. International Journal of Research Studies in Management 12:12 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
Andon, Nick
2018. Chapter 5. Optimal conditions for TBLT?. In TBLT as a Researched Pedagogy [Task-Based Language Teaching, 12], ► pp. 132 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
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

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.