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12 - Teacher Preparation and Support for Task-Based Language Teaching

from Part VI - The Teacher in Task-Based Language Teaching

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

By
Martin East
Edited by
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian  and
Michael H. Long
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian
Affiliation:
University of Leeds
Michael H. Long
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
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Summary

Teachers are a crucial variable in the success (or otherwise) of the task-based language teaching (TBLT) endeavor. However, teachers, whether beginners or more established, can often be cautious about TBLT because it challenges more traditional and familiar communicative approaches to language pedagogy – in particular in relation to the shift from teacher-led and grammar-focused to learner-centered and experiential. This chapter considers the teacher variable, and presents some of the ways in which teachers’ knowledge of and expertise in TBLT can be enhanced through teacher preparation and support initiatives, alongside some of the challenges that persist.

Keywords

Teacher educationTeacher supportTeacher cognitionReflective practiceInnovationFocus on formTask construct
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching , pp. 447 - 462
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

Andon, N. and Eckerth, J. (2009). Chacun à son goût? Task-based L2 pedagogy from the teacher’s point of view. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 286–310.Google Scholar
Carless, D. (2009). Revisiting the TBLT versus P-P-P debate: Voices from Hong Kong. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 19, 49–66.Google Scholar
East, M. (2018). How do beginning teachers conceptualise and enact tasks in school foreign language classrooms? In Samuda, V., Bygate, M., and Van den Branden, K. eds. TBLT as a researched pedagogy. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 23–50.Google Scholar
East, M. (2017). “If it is all about tasks, will they learn anything?” Teachers’ perspectives on grammar instruction in the task-oriented classroom. In Ahmadian, M. J. and García Mayo, M. P., eds. Recent perspectives on task-based language learning and teaching. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 217–31.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2009). Task-based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221–46.Google Scholar
Erlam, R. (2016). ‘I’m still not sure what a task is’: Teachers designing language tasks. Language Teaching Research, 20(3), 279–99.Google Scholar

References

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