Cover
Title page
Copyright page
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
Part One: Theory and Research
Chapter 1: Why TBLT?
1.1. The Importance of Second Language Learning and Teaching in the Twenty-First Century
1.2. TBLT and the Meaning of ‘Task’
1.3. A Rationale for TBLT
1.3.1. Consistency with SLA theory and research findings
1.3.2. Basis in philosophy of education
1.3.3. Accountability
1.3.4. Relevance
1.3.5. Avoidance of known problems with existing approaches
1.3.6. Learner-centeredness
1.3.7. Functionality
1.4. Summary
1.5. Suggested Readings
Chapter 2: SLA and the Fundamental LT Divide
2.1. Interventionist and Non-Interventionist Positions
2.1.1. Interventionist positions
2.1.2. Non-interventionist positions
2.2. Synthetic and Analytic Approaches to LT
2.2.1. Synthetic approaches
2.2.2. Analytic approaches
2.3. Problems with Synthetic Approaches and Focus on Forms
2.4. Problems with Analytic Approaches and Focus on Meaning
2.5. A Third Option: Analytic Approaches with a Focus on Form
2.6. A Role for Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA) Research
2.7. Summary
2.8. Suggested Readings
Chapter 3: Psycholinguistic Underpinnings: A Cognitive-Interactionist Theory of Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA)
3.1. Theoretical Disunity in Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
3.2. When Knowledge Is Incomplete: The Role of Theory
3.3. A Cognitive-Interactionist Theory of ISLA: Problems and Explanations
P1. Purely incidental and implicit child L1A is overwhelmingly successful
P2. Purely incidental and implicit adult L2A is highly variable and largely unsuccessful
E1. Adult SLA is maturationally constrained
E2. Adults, so defined, are partially “disabled” language learners
P3. Some classes of linguistic features in adult SLA are fragile
E3. Implicit learning is still the default learning mechanism
E4. Explicit learning (including focal attention) is required to improve implicit processing in adult SLA, but is constrained
E5. Attention is critical, at two levels
E6. The Interaction Hypothesis
E7. The role of negative feedback, including recasts
P4. Success and failure in adult SLA vary among and within individuals
E8. Individual differences, especially input sensitivity, and linguistic differences, especially perceptual saliency, are responsible for variability in, and within, ultimate L2 attainment
3.4. Summary
3.5. Suggested Readings
Chapter 4: Philosophical Underpinnings: L’education Integrale
4.1. TBLT’s Philosophical Principles: Origins and Overview
4.2. L’education Integrale and Learning by Doing
4.3. Individual Freedom
4.4. Rationality
4.5. Emancipation
4.6. Learner-Centeredness
4.7. Egalitarian Teacher–Student Relationships
4.8. Participatory Democracy
4.9. Mutual Aid and Cooperation
4.10. Summary
4.11. Suggested Readings
Part Two: Design and Implementation
Chapter 5: Task-Based Needs and Means Analysis
5.1. Why Needs Analysis?
5.2. Needs Analysis and Learner Diversity
5.3. Doubts about Needs Analysis
5.3.1. General English for all
5.3.2. The ex post facto process syllabus
5.3.3. Felt needs or objective needs?
5.3.4. Learner heterogeneity
5.3.5. Surface linguistic features or underlying technical competence?
5.3.6. The dark side?
5.4. The Growth of Needs Analysis
5.4.1. The Council of Europe’s unit credit system
5.4.2. Munby’s Communication Needs Processor (CNP) and its critics
5.5. Task as the Unit of (Needs) Analysis
5.5.1. Tasks defined
5.5.2. Avoiding the traditional bottleneck in needs analysis
5.5.3. The availability of ready-made task-based analyses
5.6. Means Analysis
5.7. Summary
5.8. Suggested Readings
Chapter 6: Identifying Target Tasks
6.1. Sources of Information
6.1.1. Published and unpublished literature
6.1.2. The learners
6.1.3. Applied linguists
6.1.4. Domain experts
6.1.5. Triangulated sources
6.2. Methods
6.2.1. The use of multiple measures and their sequencing
6.2.2. Sampling
6.2.3. Expert and non-expert intuitions
6.2.4. Interviews
6.2.5. Questionnaire surveys
6.2.6. Language audits
6.2.7. Participant and non-participant observation
6.2.8. Journals and logs
6.2.9. Proficiency measures
6.2.10. Triangulation by methods and sources: the flight attendants study
6.3. Summary
6.4. Suggested Readings
Chapter 7: Analyzing Target Discourse
7.1. Conventional Approaches to Language Analysis for Language Teaching (LT)
7.2. The Dynamic Qualities of Target Discourse
7.2.1. Boswood and Marriot’s “ethnographic approach” to NA
7.2.2. Mohan and Marshall Smith’s “language socialization” approach to NA
7.2.3. Watson-Gegeo’s true ethnography and “thick explanation”
7.2.4. TBLT
7.3. Discourse Analysis (DA) and Analysis of Discourse (AD)
7.3.1. Discourse analysis
7.3.2. Analysis of discourse
7.3.3. Sampling and data collection
7.4. Analysis of Target Discourse: Five Cases
7.4.1. The railway ticket purchase
7.4.2. Japanese tourist shopping
7.4.3. Doing architecture
7.4.4. Buying and selling a cup of coffee
7.4.5. When small talk is a big deal
7.5. Summary
7.6. Suggested Readings
Chapter 8: Task-Based Syllabus Design
8.1. Some Minimum Requirements
8.2. The Unit of Analysis
8.2.1. The structural, or grammatical, syllabus
8.2.2. The notional-functional syllabus
8.2.3. The lexical syllabus
8.2.4. Topical and situational syllabi
8.2.5. The content syllabus
8.2.6. The procedural syllabus
8.2.7. The process syllabus
8.2.8. The task syllabus
8.2.9. The hybrid syllabus
8.3. Selection
8.3.1. Target tasks and target task-types
8.3.2. Pedagogic tasks
8.4. Grading
8.4.1. Valency and criticality
8.4.2. Frequency
8.4.3. Learnability
8.4.4. Complexity and difficulty
8.4.5. Some research findings on pedagogic task-types
8.5. Summary
8.6. Suggested Readings
Chapter 9: Task-Based Materials
9.1. Desirable Qualities of Pedagogic Tasks (PTs)
9.2. Input Simplification and Elaboration
9.2.1. Genuineness, input simplification, and authenticity
9.2.2. Input elaboration
9.2.3. The Paco sentences
9.2.4. Effects of simplification and elaboration on L2 comprehension and acquisition
9.3. Sample Task-Based Materials
9.3.1. Preliminaries
9.3.2. Sample modules for true and false beginners
9.3.3. Sample modules for elementary learners
9.3.4. Sample modules for intermediate learners
9.3.5. Sample modules for advanced learners
9.4. Summary
9.5. Suggested Readings
Chapter 10: Methodological Principles and Pedagogic Procedures
10.1. Methodological Principles (MPs), Pedagogic Procedures (PPs), and Evaluation Criteria (EC)
10.1.1. Methodological principles
10.1.2. Pedagogic procedures
10.1.3. Evaluation criteria
10.2. Ten Methodological Principles
10.2.1. MP1: Use task, not text, as the unit of analysis
10.2.2. MP2: Promote learning by doing
10.2.3. MP3: Elaborate input
10.2.4. MP4: Provide rich input
10.2.5. MP5: Encourage inductive “chunk” learning
10.2.6. MP6: Focus on form
10.2.7. MP7: Provide negative feedback
10.2.8. MP8: Respect learner syllabi and developmental processes
10.2.9. MP9: Promote cooperative collaborative learning
10.2.10. MP10: Individualize instruction
10.3. Pedagogic Procedures
10.4. Summary
10.5. Suggested Readings
Chapter 11: Task-Based Assessment and Program Evaluation
11.1. Task-Based, Criterion-Referenced Performance Tests
11.2. Task Completion and/or Language Abilities?
11.3. Target Tasks or Underlying Constructs and Abilities?
11.4. The Transferability of Task-Based Abilities
11.5. Program Evaluation
11.5.1. Some general requirements on TBLT evaluations
11.5.2. Laboratory and classroom studies
11.5.3. Research findings on MPs
11.5.4. Evaluating task-based courses and programs
11.6. Summary
11.7. Suggested Readings
Part Three: The Road Ahead
Chapter 12: Does TBLT Have a Future?
12.1. Diffusion of Innovation
12.2. A Research Program for TBLT
12.3. Building the Road as We Travel
References
Appendix: List of Abbreviations
Index
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