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978-1-108-49138-9 — The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching

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The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an innovative approach to language

teaching which emphasises the importance of engaging learners’ natural
abilities for acquiring language incidentally. The speed with which the field
is expanding makes it difficult to keep up with recent developments, for
novices and experienced researchers alike. This Handbook meets that need,
providing a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the field, written by
a stellar line-up of leading international experts. Chapters are divided into
eight thematic areas, and as well as covering theory, also contain case studies
to show how TBLT can be implemented in practice, in a range of global
contexts, as well as questions for discussion, and suggested further reading.
Comprehensive in its coverage, and written in an accessible style, it will appeal
to a wide readership, not only researchers and graduate students, but also
classroom teachers working in a variety of educational and cultural contexts
around the world.

MOHAMMAD J. AHMADIAN is currently Head of Postgraduate Taught at the

School of Education, University of Leeds. He has published widely on task-
based language teaching and second-language acquisition. Recent publica-
tions include Recent Perspectives on Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning
(co-editor, 2018).

M I C H A E L H . L O N G was Professor of Second Language Acquisition at University

of Maryland, College Park. He was the author of well over 100 articles and
book chapters. In 2017, he received a lifetime achievement award from the
International Association for Task-Based Language Teaching.

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cambridge handbooks in language and linguistics

Genuinely broad in scope, each handbook in this series provides a complete

state-of-the-field overview of a major sub-discipline within language study and
research. Grouped into broad thematic areas, the chapters in each volume
encompass the most important issues and topics within each subject, offering
a coherent picture of the latest theories and findings. Together, the volumes
will build into an integrated overview of the discipline in its entirety.

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The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingualism, edited by Annick De Houwer and

Lourdes Ortega
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The Cambridge
Handbook of Task-
Based Language
Teaching
Edited by
Mohammad J. Ahmadian
University of Leeds
Michael H. Long
University of Maryland, College Park

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Title: The Cambridge handbook of task-based language teaching / edited by
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian, Michael H. Long.
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As the full manuscript of The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching

was submitted to Cambridge University Press, Professor Mike Long, co-editor of
this volume and a pioneer of task-based language teaching, passed away after a
brave battle with cancer. Enumerating the many contributions of Mike Long to
applied linguistics, language education, and second language acquisition cannot
possibly do him justice in a short piece like this. He had been professor in the
School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Maryland since
2003. Previously he had held appointments at the University of Hawai‘i and the
University of Pennsylvania. He published widely in applied linguistics generally,
but perhaps is most well-known for his work in second language acquisition. He is
the author of the highly influential Interaction Hypothesis, a theoretical frame-
work that has stimulated a huge volume of research, advancing both second
language theory-building and practice. He also made leading contributions to
our understanding of age effects in second language acquisition, and to needs
analysis.
His contributions to task-based learning and teaching are immense. Mike
was an inaugural recipient of the International Association for Task-Based
Language Teaching’s Distinguished Achievement Award. He has had
a profound impact on the development of TBLT both as an area of enquiry,
with high empirical standards, and also as an established pedagogical frame-
work in many parts of the world. His impact on the field of TBLT lives on,
through his writings, through his personal relationships with many research-
ers in the field (including the contributors to this book), and through the
continuing achievements of his many Master’s and doctoral students.
Mike’s memorial webpage can be found at: https://iatblt.wixsite.com/mikelong.
Mohammad J. Ahmadian
Leeds May 2021

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Contents

List of Figures page xii

List of Tables xiv
List of Contributors xvii
Preface Michael H. Long and Mohammad J. Ahmadian xxv

Part I: The Rationale for Task-Based Language Teaching 1

1 The Psycholinguistics of Task-Based Performance
Peter Skehan 3
2 A Pedagogical Rationale for Task-Based Language Teaching for
the Acquisition of Real-World Language Use Martin Bygate,
Virginia Samuda, and Kris Van den Branden 27

Part II: Tasks and Needs Analysis 53

3 Why Task? Task as a Unit of Analysis for Language
Education Shoko Sasayama 55
4 Adapting and Advancing Task-Based Needs Analysis
Methodology across Diverse Language Learning
Contexts Ellen J. Serafini 73
4A Developing a Task-Based Approach: A Case Study of a Teacher
Working with Australian Aboriginal Students in Vocational
Education and Training Rhonda Oliver 99
4B A Task-Based Language Needs Analysis of Syrian Refugee
Parents in Turkey Şeyma Toker and Ayşenur Sağdıç 109
4C Task-Based Language Teaching in a Japanese University: From
Needs Analysis to Evaluation Craig Lambert 121
4D The Implementation of a Task-Based Spanish Language
Program in Qingdao, China: A Case Study Melissa Baralt,
Wang Fei, Zhanting Bu, Hao Chen, José Morcillo Gómez, and Xunye
Luan 135
5 The L in TBLT: Analyzing Target Discourse Michael H. Long 151

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x Contents

5A Blustery with an Occasional Downpour: An Analysis of Target

Discourse in Media Weather Forecasts Ryo Maie and Bradford
Salen 173
5B “I Have a Question”: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Target
Discourse in Office-Hour Interactions Ayşenur Sağdıç and
Derek Reagan 188

Part III: The Task Syllabus and Materials 203

6 The Cognition Hypothesis, the Triadic Componential
Framework and the SSARC Model: An Instructional Design
Theory of Pedagogic Task Sequencing Peter Robinson 205
7 From Needs Analysis to Task Selection, Design, and
Sequencing Roger Gilabert and Aleksandra Malicka 226
7A Task-Based Telecollaborative Exchanges between US and
Italian Students: A Case Study in Program Design and
Implementation Elena Nuzzo and Diego Cortés Velásquez 250
8 Exploring the Nuts and Bolts of Task Design Virginia Samuda
and Martin Bygate 262
8A Designing Pedagogic Tasks for Refugees Learning English to
Enter Universities in the Netherlands Seyit Ömer Gök and
Marije Michel 290

Part IV: Methodology and Pedagogy 303

9 A Psycholinguistically Motivated Methodology for
Task-Based Language Teaching Gisela Granena and
Yucel Yilmaz 305
10 Technology-Mediated Task-Based Language Teaching
Marta González-Lloret and Nicole Ziegler 326
10A Delivering Task-Based Language Teaching at Scale: A Case
Study of a Needs-Based, Technology-Mediated Workplace
English Program Katharine B. Nielson 346
10B Task-Based Language Teaching and Indigenous
Language Revitalisation Katherine J. Riestenberg
and Ari Sherris 359
10C Task-Based Simulations for Diplomatic Security
Agents Catherine J. Doughty and Emilio Pascal 374

Part V: Task-Based Language Teaching with School-Age Children 395

11 Child Interaction in Task-Supported EFL/CLIL Contexts
Marı́a del Pilar Garcı́a Mayo 397
11A Tasks for Children: Using Mainstream Content to Learn
a Language Rhonda Oliver and Masatoshi Sato 416
11B A Case Study of a Task-Based Approach for School-Age Learners
in China Yafu Gong and Peter Skehan 432

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Contents xi

Part VI: The Teacher in Task-Based Language Teaching 445

12 Teacher Preparation and Support for Task-Based Language
Teaching Martin East 447
12A Connecting Teacher Training to Task-Based Language
Teaching Implementation: A Case Study of Preservice Teachers
in Honduran Bilingual Schools Lara Bryfonski 463
12B Training for Tasks the Cooperative Way: An Online Tutored
Task-Based Language Teaching Course for Teachers, Managers
and Course Designers Neil McMillan and Geoff Jordan 478

Part VII: Task-Based Assessment and Program Evaluation 505

13 Task-Based Language Assessment John M. Norris and Martin East 507
14 Evaluating Task-Based Language Programs John M. Norris and
John McE. Davis 529
14A Comparing the Effectiveness of Task-Based Language Teaching
and Presentation-Practice-Production on Second Language
Grammar Learning: A Pilot Study with Chinese Students of
Italian as a Second Language Ilaria Borro 549
14B Examining High-School Learners’ Experience of Task
Motivation and Difficulty in a Two-Week Spanish Immersion
Camp Laura Gurzynski-Weiss, Lindsay Giacomino, and Dylan
Jarrett 566
14C Designing a Classroom-Based Task-Based Language
Assessment Framework for Primary Schools: Blurring
the Lines between Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
Koen Van Gorp 585

Part VIII: Research Needs and Future Prospects 603

15 Methodological Approaches to Investigating
Task-Based Language Teaching: Advances and
Challenges Andrea Révész 605
16 Task-Based Language Teaching as an Innovation: A
Task for Teachers Kris Van den Branden 628
17 The Adoption of Task-Based Language Teaching in Diverse
Contexts: Challenges and Opportunities Jonathan Newton 649
Conclusion Mohammad J. Ahmadian and Michael H. Long 671

Index 676

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Figures

4D.1 A visual representation of the current program page 145

5.1 Soccer texts: genuine, simplified, elaborated, and
modified elaborated versions 166
5.2 Steps in an analysis of target discourse 168
5B.1 Overall structure and flow of office-hour interactions 194
6.1 The Triadic Componential Framework for task
classification – categories, criteria, analytic procedures,
and design characteristics 211
6.2 An example of increasing the complexity of pedagogic
task versions following the SSARC Model of task
sequencing 217
7A.1 Instructions for the second task of the second round 253
7A.2 First part of the instructions for the last task of
the second round 257
8.1 Overview of empirically grounded design variables 270
8A.1 Task topics and sequence 295
8A.2 Pre-task activities for real-life task (B2) 296
8A.3 Main-task activities for real-life task (B2) 297
8A.4 Post-task activities for real-life task (B2) 297
10A.1 Screenshot of learning activity using an excerpt from
a MaineHealth employee orientation video 349
10B.1 Spot-the-difference texts 364
10B.2 Some conversational feedback moves 369
10C.1 Questions to the Diplomatic Security Panel 376
10C.2 Diplomatic Security agents’ requests for simulations 376
10C.3 Simulation design feedback from Diplomatic Security
agents assigned in the field 377
10C.4 Diplomatic Security agent feedback on distance-learning
tradecraft course 377
10C.5 Simulation 1: Assess security risks at a venue 380
10C.6 Simulation 2: Prepare a protection escort 382
10C.7 Simulation 3: Conduct a security motorcade 385

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List of Figures xiii

10C.8 Interview with female Diplomatic Security agent 388

10C.9 Interview with male Diplomatic Security agent 389
11A.1 Frequencies of meaning-focused input across four years
over three terms 421
11A.2 Frequencies of input-providing and output-prompting
corrective feedback across four year levels over three
terms 422
11A.3 Frequencies of form-focused episodes across four year
levels over three terms 423
11A.4 Frequencies of L1 use across four years over three terms 423
11A.5 Cumulative frequencies of focused pedagogical moves
per hour 424
12A.1 Training timeline 467
12B.1 Course aims 481
12B.2 Output task criteria, Session 5 490
13.1 Example prompt for an Integrated Performance
Assessment 514
13.2 Portion of a rating rubric from an Integrated
Performance Assessment 514
13.3 Task-based assessment template from the Georgetown
University German Department 515
14A.1 GSI calculated on reaction times to spill-over segments 559
14A.2 GSI calculated on reaction times to wrap-up segments 560
14A.3 UGJT outcomes 560
14B.1 SLIC program design 569
14B.2 Task-specific motivation questions 570
14B.3 Example of a reflective journal prompt 571
14B.4 Task difficulty questions 572
14B.5 Elements of task complexity 573
14B.6 Average ratings for all students (n = 8) by domain 575
14B.7 Average ratings for all students (n = 8) by day 576
14B.8 Day 1 design (University life: “finding suitemates”) 580
14B.9 Day 7 design (#Adulting: “Healthy habits plan”) 580
14B.10 Day 8 design (On the job: “Carry out a job interview”) 580
14B.11 Average difficulty ratings for all students (n = 8)
by domain 581
14B.12 Average difficulty ratings for all students (n = 8) by day 581
14C.1 Extract from the Flemish attainment goals for reading
proficiency 590
14C.2 Matching advertisements 592
14C.3 Analysis diagram for reading tasks 594
14C.4 Reading task “Family looking for a robot” – guidelines
for analysis 596
14C.5 A teacher’s interpretation of student A’s reading
development 597
17.1 The role of context in TBLT research 653

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Tables

1.1 Tasks, task conditions, and explicit-implicit

processes page 9
4.1 Examples of methodological rigor in task-based
needs analysis practice 81
4B.1 Perceived frequency and difficulty of thirty target tasks 115
4B.2 Target task types and target tasks 118
4C.1 Criticality of task-types across workplace domains 123
4C.2 Criticality of criteria of success on oral tasks 124
4C.3 Syllabus content and task-types represented 126
4C.4 Evaluation of pedagogic tasks 130
4C.5 Evaluation of focus on form activities 131
5.1 Soccer texts by the numbers 167
5A.1 Summary of the broadcast sample 174
5A.2 Radio and television subtasks 177
5A.3 Radio forecast transcript 16MAR17MR1 178
5A.4 Television forecast transcript 07APR17AV2 179
5A.5 Frequency and proportion of utterances with ellipsis 182
5A.6 Top five most frequent collocations 182
5A.7 An example of prototypical discourse for afternoon FM
radio 183
5A.8 An example of prototypical discourse for Local 1
television in the morning 184
5B.1 Characteristics of MICASE office hours 191
5B.2 Distribution of MICASE office-hour types 192
5B.3 A prototypical office-hour session 197
7.1 Dimensions of needs analysis and their description 233
7A.1 A comparison of the main features of the two rounds
of the program 252
7A.2 Synthesis of the tasks administered in the two rounds 255
8.1 Task typology, based on Pica et al. (1993). 267
8.2 Task typology and tasks used in Skehan and Foster
(1996–99) 268

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List of Tables xv

8A.1 Task design 294

10A.1 MaineHealth employees hourly engagement in months
1 and 3 of the program 351
10A.2 Units with topics related to job tasks in careers in
healthcare and hospitality, as well as daily tasks 352
10A.3 Average achievement test scores by type of test 353
10A.4 Voxy levels, proficiency test scores, and CEFR levels 353
10A.5 Engagement, proficiency, and achievement test scores
for learners in Cohort 1 354
10A.6 Engagement, proficiency, and achievement test scores
for learners in Cohort 2 354
10B.1 Rich and elaborated input 363
10B.2 Focus on form 366
10B.3 Providing negative feedback 367
10C.1 Diplomatic simulations 378
11A.1 Demographics of Mandarin CLIL teachers 418
11A.2 Frequencies of meaning-focused input moves across
four year levels over three terms 421
11A.3 Frequencies of input-providing and output-prompting
corrective feedback across four year levels over three
terms 422
11A.4 Frequencies of form-focused episodes across four year
levels over three terms 422
11A.5 Frequencies of L1 use across four year levels over three
terms 423
11A.6 Cumulative frequencies of focused pedagogical moves
for each year level 424
12A.1 Teacher backgrounds 466
12A.2 TBLT training 468
12A.3 Prominent daily reflection themes 472
12B.1 Participants’ working roles 484
12B.2 Participants’ highest qualifications 484
12B.3 Engagement in forum tasks 485
12B.4 Completion of Output tasks 487
14A.1 Needs analysis outcome 552
14A.2 SPR test: mean reaction times (standard deviation) to
consistent and inconsistent items in the three tests at
the spill-over and wrap-up segments 558
14A.3 GSI values 559
14A.4 UGJT outcomes: mean scores (SD) 560
14A.5 Functional-adequacy rates (median) 561
14B.1 Average ratings (standard deviation) for all students
(n = 8) by domain 573
14B.2 Average ratings (standard deviation) for all students
(n = 8) by day 574
14B.3 Daily exit tasks for each domain of the immersion
program 575

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xvi List of Tables

14B.4 Average task difficulty/mental effort ratings for all

students (n = 8) by domain 578
14B.5 Average task difficulty/mental effort ratings for all
students (n = 8) by day 579
14C.1 Task-specification framework for the reading task
“Family looking for a robot” (TotemTaal,
Grade 4, Unit 1) 591
14C.2 Assessment framework in TotemTaal 593
17.1 Dimensions of context 651

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Contributors

Mohammad J. Ahmadian is Head of Postgraduate Studies at the School

of Education at the University of Leeds. His research has appeared in
such journals as TESOL Quarterly, Language Teaching Research, ELT Journal,
and the International Journal of Applied Linguistics.
Melissa Baralt is Associate Professor of Spanish Linguistics and Applied
Psycholinguistics at Florida International University in Miami. She spe-
cializes in first and second language acquisition, bilingual language
development, and language teaching. Her research seeks to shed light
on the cognitive, environmental, and social factors that lead to success-
ful language outcomes.
Ilaria Borro is about to complete her PhD in Applied Linguistics at the
University of Portsmouth. She is a member of GRAAL, a research group
whose main interest is in TBLT experimental research and language
teachers training. She carried out and published experimental studies
about corrective feedback and TBLT.
Lara Bryfonski is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown
University where she conducts research on second language acquisition
and TBLT, specifically: training task-based teachers, corrective feedback,
materials development, language learning in study abroad, and methods
for second language research.
Zhanting Bu is Associate Professor of English Linguistics at Qingdao
University in Shandong, China. He specializes in systemic functional
linguistics and applied linguistics. He conducts research on academic
and journalism discourses, with a focus on evaluative language using
a corpus linguistics approach, to include appraisal theory.
Martin Bygate has been involved with TBLT throughout his career.
A recipient of the International Association for Task-Based Language
Teaching’s Distinguished Achievement Award and a former co-editor
of the journal Applied Linguistics and the John Benjamins TBLT series, he

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xviii List of Contributors

has published and edited widely. He is an emeritus professor at

Lancaster University, UK, and now lives in France.
Hao Chen is a lecturer of Spanish at the School of Foreign Languages at
Qingdao University in Shandong, China. She conducts research on
Spanish language teaching and on Latin American literature. She has
published translations of works by Alejo Carpentier, Che Guevara, Jordi
Llobregat, Eduardo Zalamea Borda, and Javier Cercas.
Diego Cortés Velásquez is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at
the University of Rome 3, Italy. His main research interests are TBLT,
cross-cultural pragmatics, and intercomprehension. He also serves as an
assistant editor for the journal Instructed Second Language Acquisition.
John McE. Davis is a research scientist in the Center for English Language
Learning and Assessment at Educational Testing Service (ETS). He holds
a PhD in Second Language Studies from the University of Hawai‘i and
conducts research and product development projects in language peda-
gogy, teacher training, and program evaluation.
Catherine Doughty is director of the Division of Curriculum and Staff
Development in the Foreign Service Institute School of Language
Studies, overseeing educational technology innovation, curriculum
development, learning counseling services, and staff professional devel-
opment. She leads the School of Language Studies in applying principles
of instructed second language acquisition in language training for
diplomats.
Martin East is Professor of Language Education in the School of Cultures,
Languages and Linguistics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand,
and, in 2017, began a term as president of the International Association
for Task-Based Language Teaching. His research focus is on innovative
practices in language pedagogy and assessment.
Marı́a del Pilar Garcı́a Mayo is Professor of English Language and
Linguistics at the University of the Basque Country (Spain). She has
published widely on the second/third language acquisition of English
morphosyntax and the study of conversational interaction in EFL. She is
the director of the Language and Speech research group and the editor of
Language Teaching Research.
Lindsay Giacomino is a Lecturer in the Department of World Languages
and Cultures at Iowa State University. Her research focuses on task
complexity, instructed second language acquisition of second language
phonology, and individual differences with a focus on language-learning
strategies.
Roger Gilabert is currently an associate professor and researcher at the
University of Barcelona. His research interests include second and for-
eign language production and acquisition, task-based needs analysis,
task design and task complexity, individual differences and second lan-
guage production and acquisition, multimedia learning, and game-
based learning and second-language acquisition.

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Seyit Ömer Gök is an EAP lecturer at Groningen University. He has a PhD

in Applied Linguistics from Leicester University, and his main research
area is materials design and development. He is also interested in lesson
study, teaching English to young learners, curriculum development, and
course and syllabus design.
Yafu Gong is a senior research fellow at the National Institute of
Education Sciences of China (NIES). His interests include curriculum
development, task-based language teaching, English language assess-
ment, and teacher professional development. He has published numer-
ous articles and books, and presented at many conferences in China,
including the TESOL China Assembly.
Marta González-Lloret is a professor of Spanish Applied Linguistics at
the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. She has been teaching for more than
twenty-five years and her research focuses on task-based language teach-
ing, technology-mediated language learning, and second language prag-
matics. She is currently, editor of the NFLRC Pragmatics & Language
Learning book series, and co-editor of the John Benjamins TBLT series.
She is president of the organization CALICO and secretary of the
International Association of Task-Based Language Teaching. She is cur-
rently editing the Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and
Technology with Nicole Ziegler.
Gisela Granena is an associate professor at the Open University of
Catalonia (Spain). Her research interests include the role of cognitive
aptitudes in instructed and naturalistic learning contexts; corrective feed-
back in computer-mediated communication; task-based language teach-
ing; age effects; and measures of implicit and explicit language
knowledge.
Laura Gurzynski-Weiss is Associate Professor and Director of
Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese
at Indiana University. She investigates interaction- and task-based
instructed second language acquisition, the dynamicity of individual
differences, feedback use and perception, teacher cognition, and
emerging bilingualism in elementary-aged children.
Dylan Jarrett is a PhD candidate in Hispanic Linguistics in the
Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University. His
research focuses on syntactic and semantic change, experimental
approaches to meaning, and task-based instructed second language
acquisition with a focus on learner motivation.
Geoff Jordan studied Philosophy of Science with Popper and Lakatos at
the London School of Economics in the 1960s. He moved to Spain in 1978
and has been involved in ELT ever since. Now semi-retired, he works for
Leicester University as an associate tutor on their distance learning MA
in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, and with Neil McMillan on a distance-
learning course on TBLT.

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Craig Lambert is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL at

Curtin University, Western Australia. His published work has appeared
in Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Applied Linguistics, Modern Language
Journal, TESOL Quarterly, and Language Teaching Research, among other
international journals and edited books. His recent books include
Referent Similarity and Nominal Syntax in Task-Based Language Teaching
(Springer, 2019), Task-Based Language Teaching: Theory and Practice (with
Rod Ellis and Peter Skehan; Cambridge, 2020) and an edited book Using
Tasks in Second Language Teaching: Practice in Diverse Contexts (with Rhonda
Oliver; Multilingual Matters, 2020).
Michael H. Long was Professor of Second Language Acquisition at the
University of Maryland. His recent publications included the Handbook of
Language Teaching (Blackwell, 2009) and Second language acquisition and
Task-Based Language Teaching (Wiley-Blackwell, 2015). In 2009, he was
awarded a doctorate honoris causa by Stockholm University for his
contributions to the field of second language acquisition. In 2017, he
received a lifetime achievement award from the International
Association for Task-Based Language Teaching. He passed away in
2021, shortly before the publication of this book.
Xunye Luan is a lecturer of Spanish at the School of Foreign Languages at
Qingdao University in Shandong, China. He specializes in regional lan-
guage policies, Spanish language teaching, and language teaching meth-
odologies in China. He works closely with Chinese teachers to
implement communicative approaches to Spanish foreign language
teaching.
Ryo Maie is a PhD student in Second Language Studies at Michigan State
University and holds an MA in Second Language Acquisition from the
University of Maryland. His interests include cognitive psychology
of second language acquisition, usage-based and cognitive linguistics
approaches to language learning, and applied statistics in second lan-
guage research.
Aleksandra Malicka is a member of the Open University of Catalonia
TechSLA Lab research group. Her research activity focuses on second
language acquisition in traditional and online contexts, learning based
on pedagogical tasks, curriculum design, personalized learning, and the
role of individual differences in the process of learning a second
language.
Neil McMillan is a freelance English teacher, teacher-educator and mate-
rials designer based in Barcelona, Spain since 2010. He holds a doctorate
in Scottish literature from the University of Glasgow (2001) and has
worked in the English language teaching industry since 2002. He helped
set up the cooperative SLB in 2014, and is its current president. He is
currently an author and collaborating professor for the Open University
of Catalonia on the Master’s degree in Technology-Mediated Language
Teaching and Learning.

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Marije Michel is Associate Professor and the chair of Language Learning

at Groningen University. Her research covers socio-cognitive aspects
of second language acquisition and task-based language pedagogy,
focusing on second language writing processes and alignment in digital
contexts. Marije is the treasurer of the European Second Language
Association (EuroSLA) and co-chair of the AILA World Congress of
Applied Linguistics 2021.
Jose Morcillo Gómez is a teaching professor of Spanish for the Florida
International Dual Degree in Spanish, located at Qingdao University in
Shandong, China. He also serves as the program coordinator. His
research encompasses TBLT in China, task-based methodology, and
technology-mediated TBLT, examining teachers’ cognitive load with eye-
tracking technology.
Jonathan Newton is Associate Professor and Programme Director for the
MA in Applied Linguistics/TESOL Programmes at the School of
Linguistics and Applied Language Studies (LALS) at Victoria University
of Wellington, New Zealand.
Katharine B. Nielson earned her PhD in second language acquisition
from the University of Maryland in 2013. She is the founder of Voxy
EnGen, a public benefit company that delivers high-quality, needs-based
English instruction to immigrants and refugees, rapidly giving them the
tools they need to advocate for themselves and improve their economic
outcomes.
John Norris is Senior Research Director of the Center for Language
Education and Assessment Research at ETS. He holds a PhD in Second
Language Acquisition from the University of Hawai‘i, and he conducts
research on task-based language teaching, language assessment, pro-
gram evaluation, and teacher development.
Elena Nuzzo is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University
of Rome 3. She teaches and researches in the fields of second language
acquisition and teaching, with a focus on second language Italian. Her
main research interests include applications of speech act theory
to second language learning and cross-cultural communication, and
TBLT.
Rhonda Oliver is Head of the School of Education at Curtin University,
Western Australia. She has published extensively on second language
acquisition, especially in relation to child language learners, but has also
conducted research on language learners in high schools and universi-
ties. Recently she has undertaken work in the area of Aboriginal
education.
Emilio Pascal is the education technology specialist in the Romance
Languages Division at the Foreign Service Institute School of Language
Studies, where his focus is to integrate web technologies into teaching
and learning, as well as to develop digital curricula. His areas of exper-
tise include immersive simulation design and distance learning.

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Derek Reagan is a doctoral student in Applied Linguistics at Georgetown

University. His main research interests include task-based language
teaching, second language pedagogy, technology-assisted language
learning, and teacher cognition. Derek has experience teaching
English and Spanish in K–12 and university settings in the United
States and abroad.
Andrea Révész is Professor of Second Language Acquisition at the UCL
Institute of Education, University College London. Her main research
interests lie at the interface of second language acquisition and instruc-
tion, with particular emphases on the roles of task, input, interaction,
and individual differences in second language acquisition. In relation to
these topics, she also holds an interest in investigating the cognitive
processes underlying second language performance and development
using mixed-methods approaches.
Katherine J. Riestenberg is a visiting assistant professor at Haverford
College. She conducts research on language teaching and learning with
a focus on the revitalization of Indigenous and minoritized languages.
She works closely with language teachers and activists in the United
States and Mexico to teach languages and create educational materials.
Peter Robinson is Professor of Linguistics and Second Language
Acquisition at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, Japan, where he
teaches courses in Applied Linguistics and Second Language
Acquisition, and supervises graduate student dissertation research.
Ayşenur Sağdıç is a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at Georgetown
University. Ayşenur’s research focuses primarily on second language
pragmatics, task-based language teaching, and technology-assisted lan-
guage learning. Her work has appeared in journals such as System,
Applied Pragmatics, ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
as well as several edited volumes.
Bradford Salen is a PhD student in the Department of Linguistics at
Georgetown University. He studied Linguistics and Second Language
Acquisition at the University of Maryland. His research interests include
computational approaches to second language processing, language
acquisition and assessment, and psycholinguistics.
Virginia Samuda has worked in Brazil, Singapore, the United States and
the United Kingdom as a language teacher, materials writer, teacher
educator and classroom researcher, and has long been interested in
the use of tasks in language education, pedagogic task design and the
role of the teacher in TBLT. She currently lives in France.
Shoko Sasayama is Associate Research Scientist at ETS, where she spe-
cializes in task-based language teaching, language assessment, and tea-
cher training. Her research focuses on the role of task design in learning
and assessment, including her award-winning publication, “Is
a ‘complex’ task really complex? Validating the assumption of cognitive
task complexity” in Modern Language Journal (2016).

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Masatoshi Sato is a professor at Andrés Bello University, Chile. His

research interests include peer interaction, corrective feedback, learner
psychology, and the research–pedagogy link. In addition to his publica-
tions in international journals and co-edited volumes (John Benjamins,
2016; Routledge, 2017, 2019; LTR: 2021), his textbook from Cambridge
University Press (with Shawn Loewen) will appear in 2022.
Ellen J. Serafini is Associate Professor of Spanish Applied Linguistics at
George Mason University, Virginia. Her research explores how social,
pedagogical, and individual factors dynamically impact learner out-
comes in diverse language learning settings. Her work appears in edited
volumes and journals such as the Modern Language Journal, Studies in
Second Language Acquisition, and the International Journal of Bilingual
Education and Bilingualism.
Ari Sherris is Associate Professor of Bilingual Education at Texas A&M
University–Kingsville. His research focuses on Indigenous communities
strengthening their language and education. He supports Salish Qlispe
and Safaliba wellness, activism, and self-determination. His recent work
is published in the journals Language Awareness and Writing and Pedagogy.
Peter Skehan is an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck College. He has
taught at universities in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and New
Zealand. His interests include second language acquisition, particularly
task-based instruction and language aptitude. He is currently research-
ing speaking style in task-based performance.
Şeyma Toker is a doctoral candidate in Applied Linguistics at Georgetown
University. Her research interests include multilingualism, migration,
identity and social justice in second language acquisition. Şeyma has
taught several EFL/ESL courses in Italy, Turkey and the United States and
has experience mentoring pre-service teachers and volunteer tutors for
adult refugee learners.
Kris Van den Branden is Professor of Linguistics and a teacher educator
at the Faculty of Arts at the KU Leuven (Belgium). He is one of the series
editors of the Task-Based Language Teaching: Issues, Research, and
Practice series (John Benjamins) and an editor of TASK: Journal on Task-
Based Language Teaching and Learning.
Koen Van Gorp is Assistant Professor of TESOL and Second Language
Studies at Michigan State University. He is a research fellow at the
Centre for Language and Education (KU Leuven, Belguim) and co-editor
of TASK: Journal on Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning.
Fei Wang is a lecturer of Spanish at the School of Foreign Languages at
Qingdao University in Shandong, China. She specializes in second-
language acquisition and foreign-language teacher training. Her
research seeks to elucidate the cognitive, social, political, environmen-
tal, and emotional factors that affect successful foreign-language
learning.

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Yucel Yilmaz is Associate Professor of Second Language Studies at Indiana

University. His research focuses on second-language interaction and
corrective feedback; computer-mediated communication; task-based
language teaching; individual differences in second-language acquisi-
tion; and explicit and implicit learning processes.
Nicole Ziegler is Associate Professor of Second Language Studies at the
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Her research agenda focuses on
instructed second-language acquisition, including mixed method and
interdisciplinary research in second language interaction, task-based
language teaching, technology-mediated language learning, and task-
based approaches for Maritime English.

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Preface
The Origins and Growth of
Task-Based Language
Teaching
Michael H. Long and Mohammad J. Ahmadian

The use of various kinds of tasks to promote language development is the

core component in an innovative approach to foreign and second language
learning, task-based language teaching (TBLT), the focus of this volume.
Tasks also occupy a central role in a thriving area of investigation in the
field of second language acquisition. TBLT and second language acquisi-
tion enjoy a symbiotic relationship.
Task-based language teaching was first proposed in the 1980s and 1990s
(Long, 1985; Long & Crookes, 1992, 1993; Nunan, 1989; Robinson, 1994,
1998; Skehan, 1996). Its early advocacy was initially ignored or, in some
quarters, greeted with a mixture of skepticism and outright hostility,
notably from textbook writers and armchair pedagogues. Criticisms con-
tinue to this day, although they tend to be more measured now. Some are
rational, constructive, and serve to motivate new research and improve-
ments to classroom practice. Others clearly reflect misunderstandings or
thinly disguised commercial agendas – even though TBLT is no panacea.
(For detailed deconstructions and responses, see, for example, R. Ellis
[2009], Long [2016], Robinson [1994], Skehan [2002].)
After the slow start, interest in the use of tasks, both in TBLT and second
language acquisition, has grown steadily over the past twenty years. This is
apparent in the increasing numbers of monographs, edited volumes, arti-
cles, and special issues of major second language acquisition and language-
teaching journals devoted to TBLT, as well as the creation in 2009 of a TBLT
book series, published by John Benjamins. Under the stewardship of Kris
Van den Branden, Martin Bygate, and John Norris, the International
Association for TBLT (iatblt.org) was formed in 2005, and has held eight
biannual international conferences: Leuven (2005), Hawai‘i (2007),
Lancaster (2009), Auckland (2011), Alberta (2013), Leuven (2015), Barcelona
(2019), and Ottawa (2019). The ninth is scheduled for Innsbruck in 2022. The

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xxvi Preface

IATBLT also recently launched a new journal: TASK – Journal on Task-Based

Language Teaching and Learning.

Why the Interest?

There are at least five reasons for the growing interest in TBLT:

1. Adult learners perceive the relevance of courses that have obviously

been designed to meet their real-world second language (L2) needs, not
those of someone else or of no-one in particular – courses through
which they can acquire a functional command of the L2, not merely
learn about it.
2. Evaluations consistently show that students and teachers prefer task-
based to grammar-based courses. Adult and school-age learners, alike,
find working on communicative pedagogic tasks more interesting,
enjoyable and motivating, and teachers respond to their students’
enthusiasm. Traditional grammar-based lessons, conversely, tend to
become monotonous, with no apparent purpose other than to intro-
duce the “structure of the day” (whether or not the students concerned
are developmentally ready for it), and then to practice it on the altar of
“automatization,” as if second language acquisition were a matter of
acquiring a new set of language habits.
3. Numerous studies of various aspects of task-based language learning
and teaching have appeared in books and refereed journals – far more
research in forty years than on all other approaches to language teach-
ing combined. Comparative studies at the program level consistently
find that students not only prefer task-based courses, but also learn
more from them (Bryfonski & Mackay, 2017). It has often been observed
that TBLT is the closest the field has ever had to a researched pedagogy.
4. With its focus on incidental and implicit language learning while doing
tasks, not just explicit language learning, TBLT lends itself to situations
where syllabus content has to give priority, or at least equal billing, to
something other than language. Such is the case with immersion,
bilingual education, content-and-language-integrated learning (CLIL),
and tertiary-level English medium instruction (EMI) programs, among
others. It is no accident that some early adopters have included pro-
grams within economically and politically powerful countries or
regions whose languages – Japanese, Korean, German, Flemish,
Cantonese, Italian, Russian, Swedish, Finnish, Catalan, Basque, Polish,
Urdu, Persian, etc. – have limited numbers of speakers beyond their
own borders, so where the L2 is taught as an important subject or even
used as a medium of instruction. Others have been government agen-
cies, educational institutions, and occupational and vocational training
programs – for groups as varied as physicians, diplomats, airline

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personnel, journalists, nurses, military linguists, and tourism industry

workers – in which functional L2 abilities are recognized as important.
In all these cases, L2 learning and teaching are taken seriously, and
TBLT is recognized as a viable option.
5. The underlying principles of TBLT are in general alignment with the
results of over four decades of theory and research on second language
acquisition inside and outside classrooms, which, after all, is the pro-
cess language teaching is designed to facilitate. The same research
findings, conversely, are not at all consistent with attempts to impose
a generic, pre-set, grammatical syllabus on students, with no regard for
their developmental stage, for individual differences, or for why they
are learning the L2. The second language acquisition research findings
are also inconsistent with the way a grammatical syllabus is typically
delivered: via present – practice – produce (PPP).

If Task-Based Language Teaching Is So Good, Why Isn’t It

More Widely Used?

Despite the increased interest, scholarly research and writing, and success-
ful implementation in many programs around the world, task-based
course design has had less impact on what goes on in classrooms than
might have been expected by now. Most language teaching continues to be
based on coursebooks that adhere to a grammatical syllabus and PPP. If
TBLT is really such an improvement, why should that be?
There are several reasons, six of which are listed below:

1. A major factor is the multi-billion dollar publishing industry’s strangle-

hold on language teaching. Its most lucrative product is the coursebook,
and even more lucrative, the coursebook series, whose destructive
impact on any kind of communicative language teaching, not just
TBLT, has long been pointed out, most perceptively by Geoffrey
Jordan in journal articles (e.g., Jordan, 2019; Jordan and Gray, 2019)
and in the archives of his insightful and amusing blog, What do you think
you’re doing? (https://applingtesol.wordpress.com/author/duffyjordan/).
Publishers spend large amounts of money on advertising, conference
sponsorships, and wining and dining people who make decisions about
textbook adoptions. Perhaps this should not be surprising. Vast profits
are made from harmful products in many walks of life (nuclear weap-
ons, armaments, fossil fuels, opioids, animal products, etc.), and albeit
on a smaller scale, language teaching is no exception.
2. Millions of language teachers lack adequate training (in many cases, any
training), a problem often compounded by an inadequate command of
the language they are teaching. Coursebooks are attractive to such
teachers and the school systems that employ them because they

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