Earticle

Recent studies in task-based research have increasingly implemented ways to measure cognitive load in order to ensure that the tasks that were intended to be more complex placed greater cognitive load onto the learner, which in turn would lead to systematic changes in outcome measures. This study aims to introduce a more objective, indirect measure of cognitive load: time-on-task. In this study, 42 native speakers of English carried out three types of oral tasks that each had three levels of task complexity, operationalized as the number of elements. Cognitive load was measured by learner self-ratings, prospective time estimations, the dual task methodology, and time-on-task. Results of a series of correlational analyses and repeated-measures ANOVA showed that time-on-task, which can further be divided into time-on-planning and time-on-speech, proved to be a valid measure of cognitive load.

Recent research into task-based language teaching claims that manipulation of task factors, learner factors, and task processing conditions can focus language learners’ attention on the competing goals of accuracy, complexity, or fluency. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the impact of topic familiarity on accuracy, complexity, and fluency of L2 oral output. Defining task familiarity in terms of learners’ familiarity with task topic, the twenty upper-intermediate level participants of the study performed a familiar and then an unfamiliar task. The results of statistical analysis revealed that the participants produced a more accurate and more fluent, but less complex discourse in their performance of the familiar task. The findings highlight the need to consider topic familiarity as a task feature in syllabus design and materials development and the necessity of considering this task feature for accomplishing accuracy, complexity, or fluency in oral task production.

As task-based language teaching (TBLT) has grown in popularity in many Asian EFL countries, it has sometimes been the target of criticism from locally situated researchers and teachers, who question its appropriateness for such contexts (Burrows, 2008), often in contrast to more traditional methods, such as the “presentation, practice, production” (PPP) approach (Sato 2009). Partially in response to this criticism, the Task Based Language Learning Special Interest Group (TBLSIG) of the Japanese Association for Language Teachers was formed in 2010 in order to contribute to research into the implementation of TBLT in Japanese and Asian EFL classrooms. As the majority of TBLSIG members are teachers, presently interested in using TBLT in classrooms, they provide an ideal source of insight into how the approach can be implemented effectively in Japan, and by extension, in other similar EFL countries in Asia. This study investigated these teachers’ beliefs about TBLT in Japanese classrooms through an online survey. The aim of the study was to add to existing research on teacher beliefs by not only investigating teachers’ understanding of the principles of TBLT, but also by enquiring into what special considerations practicing teachers have made when implementing TBLT in Japanese classrooms.

Background/Objectives: This paper aims to discuss the ways in which instructional design practices can be improved through the use of task-based learning and strategy-based instructional approaches. Methods/Statistical analysis: Recent studies on task-based language (TBL) and strategy-based approaches to language teaching were reviewed to discuss their implications for instructional design. Findings: The researchers found that task-based learning approaches can cultivate learner autonomy; however, it is necessary to provide the appropriate amount of scaffolding in order to ensure that learners do not construct false knowledge. Furthermore, strategies should also be taught to learners in order to become more successful learners. Some strategies include instructional strategies, like modeling, as well as learner strategies that involve recognizing lexical patterns and metacognitive strategies. Improvements/Applications: Through the implementation of TBL and SBI, instructional designers can create curricula that encourage learners to become more autonomous and effective foreign language learners.

Despite a great deal of research literature supporting task-based language teaching (TBLT), very little is known about how TBLT actually influences the EFL classroom in practical terms. This study thus attempts to provide a much-needed link between research and practice where TBLT is concerned. Specifically, this paper focuses on the impact of TBLT on Japanese EFL university students’ willingness to communication (WTC) in English. Administering McCroskey’s (1992) widely used WTC scale, the researchers measured the WTC of two groups of Japanese EFL university freshmen: 192 students who received task-based instruction (TBI) and 43 who received other types of instruction. Questionnaires were given at the beginning and at the end of the semester (after 16 weeks). The results of the questionnaires showed that the students that had received TBI had significantly increased their overall WTC scores, Group Discussion WTC scores and Public Speaking WTC scores over the course of the semester, while the WTC scores of the control group in all three sub-categories did not change much at all. Hence, providing some practical support to the psycholinguistic research literature advocating TBLT, this study was able to demonstrate some of the real-world benefits of TBLT in the Japanese EFL context.

The increasing body of research work in the area of language teacher beliefs shows that this research domain has been of particular interest and now well-established (Borg, 2006). One question that arises is that teachers’ beliefs in general are too broad to conceptualise and investigate. In fact, recent research work has seen the increasing popularity of studies that specifically address the question raised more than two decades ago by Pajares (1992) about the need to investigate teachers’ beliefs about specific aspects of their work, such as grammar instruction (e.g., Burgess & Etherington, 2002; Canh, 2011), communicative language teaching (e.g., Sato & Kleinsasser, 1999), and codeswitching (e.g., Barnard & McLellan, 2014). However, little research has been carried out into teachers’ beliefs regarding Taskbased Language Teaching (TBLT), and none has been done in the context of Vietnam, a context where the current curriculum and accompanying textbooks are claimed to adopt TBLT as the principal teaching method. This qualitative case study uses a number of data collection methods, including audio-recorded lesson planning sessions, classroom observation, stimulated recall, and focus groups. The findings show that there is a significant gap between teachers’ current beliefs, intention, practices and the general principles of TBLT identified in the literature. The findings have implications for pedagogy and research not only in the Vietnam, but also in relatable contexts.

Research on building linguistic and inter-cultural competence simultaneously is gaining more and more attention from EFL teachers and curriculum developers. In this paper it is argued that intercultural competence entails a broader spectrum that includes cultural knowledge and ways to undertake linguistic or intercultural tasks. The case study made in a tertiary institution in southwest China indicates that intercultural language teaching tasks can facilitate tertiary students to build both linguistic and intercultural competence through participation and interaction in EFL classroom.

Most of the technical high schools in Korea use the same textbooks as general high schools although their goal and textbooks are different from each other. As a result, those students’ participation in class and interest in the English subject are very low. To resolve this problem, this study aims to apply the task-based language teaching (TBLT) to the technical high school classroom and verify the effects of TBLT on students’ affective domains. The participants were 57 first graders in a technical high school. They took part in 50-minute TBLT class for five weeks. Instructional materials were developed for the instruction with practical English expressions focused and participants’ English proficiency levels customized. A student survey questionnaire to measure changes in affective domains (interest, confidence, anxiety, and learning motivation) was administered before and after TBLT classes. The major findings in this study are that the three affective domains such as interest, confidence, and anxiety showed significant improvement; that is, students’ confidence and interest levels increased and anxiety decreased due to the TBLT class. However, the motivation level was not significantly improved after the instruction. It’s imperative for teachers to empower students to participate in their learning process through student-centered class activities and tasks.

This study attempted to comprehensively examine the results of experimental studies which examined the effects of Task-Based Language Teaching (hereafter, TBLT) conducted in Korea through meta-analysis. To this end, TBLT- related studies were searched for and collected through an academic database, and meta-analysis was implemented on 75 research cases included in 21 studies. The results are as follows. First, the mean effect size of TBLT used for English teaching was .569, which is slightly higher than the medium effect size. Second, mean effect sizes calculated according to two moderators (school level and treatment period) were between the medium effect size and the large effect size, and no statistically significant differences were found between each effect size. Third, the mean effect sizes calculated by dividing the dependent variable into language ability and the affective domain were .538 and .587, respectively, slightly exceeding the medium effect size, and there was no statistically significant difference between the two variables. Based on the findings, suggestions for further research were discussed.

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This study suggests that teaching subject-based content using TBLT is effective in improving Korean students’ communicative competence. The objectives of this study are to suggest teaching principles and teaching models for this teaching method. To reach such objectives, the theories of Willis (1996), Nunan (2004) and Snow (2001) are selected and discussed and ways to maximize the improvement of Korean students’ communicative competence and reduce the gap between Korean student’s cognition level and language level, as well as their lack of experience in TBLT, are considered. The principles are; Use tasks which can maximize the chance to improve communicative competency; select more meaningful tasks, and so on. In addition to these principles, a teaching model and a sample lesson plan are suggested and these may be readily applied to Korean English classes.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the possibility of integrating Extensive Reading (ER) with task-based language teaching (TBLT) in the Korean EFL classroom. The motivation for the study stems from the belief that learning to read extensively in a foreign language in the EFL context differs significantly from ESL settings; for example, students in ESL classrooms not only have more opportunities to be exposed to the target language in authentic contexts, but they also have easier access to a variety of reading materials and teachers usually have more flexibility in the curriculum to integrate ER in their lessons. However, ER is usually seen as a supplementary program in the EFL classroom and as a result, most students do not have an opportunity to participate in an ER program since most teachers place higher priority on the students’ immediate language learning needs or exam preparations. This paper seeks to find a balance between the ER approach and current language learning methods such as TBLT by arguing that it is possible to integrate the two into one in order to help EFL students to read extensively and improve their language skills.

The present study examined Korean EFL college learners’ understanding of English consonantal contrasts in liquid [l, r] through TBLT class and student perceptions of the implementation of TBLT. In total, 31 intermediate-level students participated in the study. The findings of the study revealed a significant difference between the TBLT and non-TBLT groups in the post-test, indicating that the TBLT group showed significant improvement in learning the target sounds (t=2.498, p=0.041, p<.05). Moreover, the results of the Likert-scale questionnaire and interview demonstrated that most students considered the TBLT class interesting, motivated, and effective to learn confusing English consonantal contrasts. However, the interview findings reported important sociocultural gaps in implementing the westernized TBLT, involving the teacher’s implicit explanation and indirect feedback. Thus, to implement successful TBLT in the future Korean tertiary context, teachers’ active role as facilitators and input providers is encouraged. Simultaneously, it should be considered that the teacher’s initial input to the target consonantal features be reinforced in the pre-task stage to implement a successfully localized TBLT.

The study aimed at examining how task-based language teaching (TBLT) was conducted in a Korean tertiary context and how learners perceived TBLT practices. The findings revealed that the students showed positive perceptions regarding task difficulty, task performance confidence, enjoyment of the task, task motivation, and learning opportunities. As for the emotion felt by the students during the task performance, 84.3% of the students indicated that they felt neither frustrated nor relaxed. The results of the survey showed that the students considered the TBLT class beneficial because of interactive student-centered class environments, speaking practices, help with internalizing English structure, high engagement in class, and self-analysis. Nevertheless, the students also perceived TBLT practices as challenging due to their low English proficiency, too much class work, task difficulty, unfamiliar class format, and uncooperative pair work. The task phrase and teaching implications were also discussed.