Domains And Directions In The Development Of Tblt

This volume brings together contemporary position statements and research reviews which were originally presented as Plenary Addresses to the Biennial International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching, between 2005 and 2013. It thus assembles up-to-date reflections, critiques, and recommendations from influential researchers working within the TBLT paradigm over the last 30 years, thereby also highlighting most of the major theoretical perspectives so far developed. While the plenarists structured their chapters around their original presentations, they have been invited to update their thinking as they feel appropriate and in response to recent developments in the field. The collection thus offers representative and accessible coverage of a range of approaches to the overall philosophy of TBLT, to the relationship between TBLT and the study of second language acquisition, and to the development and implementation of TBLT as a comprehensive approach to language education, curriculum, and pedagogy.

Bringing together experienced classroom researchers and teacher educators from different countries where tasks are playing an influential role in language education, this collected volume critically explores how TBLT research can engage with pedagogy, and how TBLT pedagogy can engage with research. A defining part of the TBLT project has always been a dual concern – both with the nature and use of tasks in language teaching, and with empirical research to guide and support classroom practitioners, the two concerns suggesting a central and reciprocal relationship between research and pedagogy. However, this relationship has at times been unbalanced, and its centrality has sometimes gone by default, problems which this volume aims to address. The introduction proposes criteria to improve the congruence between the research base of TBLT and the concerns and terms of reference of classroom practitioners. Using a range of methodologies, the individual chapters illustrate and explore different aspects of this theme. The book will be of interest to all those wishing to further their understanding of – and/or investigate – the use of TBLT in educational contexts.

This volume is the first book-length attempt to bring together the fields of task-based language teaching (TBLT) and second language pragmatics by exploring how the teaching and assessment of pragmatics can be integrated into TBLT. The TBLT-pragmatics connection is illustrated in a variety of constructs (e.g., speech acts, honorifics, genres, interactional features), methods (e.g., quantitative, quasi-experimental, conversation analysis), and topics (e.g., instructed SLA, heritage language learning, technology-enhanced teaching, assessment, and discursive pragmatics). Chapters in this volume collectively demonstrate how the two fields can together advance the current practice of teaching language for socially-situated, real-world communicative needs.

This Element is a guide to task-based language teaching (TBLT), for language instructors, teacher educators, and other interested parties. The work first provides clear definitions and principles related to communication task design. It then explains how tasks can inform all stages of curriculum development. Diverse, localized cases demonstrate the scope of task-based approaches. Recent research illustrates the impact of task design (complexity, mode) and task implementation (preparation, interaction, repetition) on various second language outcomes. The Element also describes particular challenges and opportunities for teachers using tasks. The epilogue considers the potential of TBLT to transform classrooms, institutions, and society.

This book investigates the argument for the significance and necessity of project-based learning and teaching (PBLT), as it becomes increasingly important in language education. Drawing on research and professional literature spanning over 100 years, it explores the research foundations and the historical and theoretical antecedents of PBLT, articulating the application of PBLT as a valuable approach for second language education pedagogy and research. Utilizing qualitative classroom research conducted in Canada, it then moves to address key concerns surrounding the difficulties of effectively implementing PBLT with existing curriculum and keeping track of content acquisition, cognitive and social skills development, and language learning. Authoritatively written, and offering fresh insight into how the field can be advanced by engaging second language (L2) students in deeper learning and higher order thinking with 21st-century PBLT contextually, situationally, and multimodally, it makes a valuable pedagogical and research contribution that benefits practitioners and researchers in the field. As such, it will appeal to researchers, faculty, and L2 professionals with interests in L2 education, multimodal teaching and learning, and applied linguistics.

This book documents how teachers, working in school foreign language learning contexts and teaching beginner learners of languages other than English, learn about and use tasks. It first presents a pedagogically researched account of how teachers learn about, design and evaluate tasks, after being introduced to TBLT during an in-service programme. The authors then go into classrooms to explore ways in which teachers continue to use tasks, as part of their regular ongoing classroom language programmes, following their in-service education. The book documents how the teachers use tasks to open up opportunities for language learning for students and investigates how teachers understand and position tasks and TBLT as relevant and of value to their teaching contexts. The challenges that teachers face in incorporating TBLT into their practice are also explored. The book suggests how the use of the task as a pedagogic tool may contribute to ongoing understanding about TBLT.

This book is available Open Access. This book introduces readers to the concept of task-based language teaching (TBLT), a learner-centred and experiential approach to language teaching and learning. Based on the premise that language learners can enhance their second language acquisition (SLA) through engagement in communicative tasks that compel them to use language for themselves, TBLT stands in contrast to more traditional approaches. Accessible and comprehensive, this book provides a foundational overview of the principles and practice of TBLT and demystifies what TBLT looks like in the classroom. Complete with questions for reflection, pedagogical extensions for application in real classrooms and further reading suggestions in every chapter, this valuable and informative text is vital for anyone interested in TBLT, whether as students, researchers or teachers.

A comprehensive account of the research and practice of task-based language teaching.