32.1542, Review: Applied Linguistics: Lambert, Oliver (2020)

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Subject: 32.1542, Review: Applied Linguistics: Lambert, Oliver (2020)

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Date: Tue, 04 May 2021 00:29:14
From: Laura Dubcovsky [lauradubcovsky at gmail.com]
Subject: Using Tasks in Second Language Teaching

 
Discuss this message:
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?subid=36652637


Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/31/31-2453.html

EDITOR: Craig  Lambert
EDITOR: Rhonda  Oliver
TITLE: Using Tasks in Second Language Teaching
SUBTITLE: Practice in Diverse Contexts
SERIES TITLE: Second Language Acquisition
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2020

REVIEWER: Laura Dubcovsky, University of California, Davis

SUMMARY

The book compiles position papers, as well as empirical and research-based
studies that address major concerns about  task-based language teaching
(TBLT). In the first chapter, “Introduction: Tasks in contexts,” the editors
Lambert and Oliver present the overall goals and content and describe the
layout of the book, divided into three sections.  Part 1 devotes six chapters
to address different, “Issues in Using Tasks.”  Lambert explains, “Frameworks
for using tasks in second language instruction” in Chapter 2. He develops
three main frameworks, detailing the respective rationale and exemplifying
each of them through tasks implemented at the university level in different
countries. The “Presentation, Practice, and Produce” (PPP) framework is
especially useful for developing vocabulary and new structures among
East-Asian students, as shown in a popular detective story task.  The
“Pre-Task, Task, and Post-Task” (PTP) framework is supported by an effective
six-staged lesson plan (warm-up, share your own ideas, try it, learn new ways
to do it, try it again, and revision and personal investment), used by
Japanese students. Finally, the “Simplify, Stabilize, Automatize, Restructure,
Complexity” (SSARC) framework facilitates students’ writing of summaries in
the target language. Far from choosing a perfect model, Lambert concludes that
every framework may help to teach specific language aspects, and therefore
encourages teachers to select the appropriate model, according to learners’
needs and educational circumstances.

In Chapter 3, “Low proficiency learners and task-based language teaching,”
Newton and Bui expand the range of highly proficient learners, typically
chosen for task-oriented instruction in foreign languages and include students
with lower proficiency levels. They also consider different ages and remote
places, moving away from centralized English-speaking societies. The authors
follow the. “Level Descriptors in the Common European Framework of References”
(Table 3.1, p. 34), as well as, “Illustrative contexts and characteristics of
LPLs (language proficiency levels)” of Figure 3.1 (p. 35) to support the
variety of ages, settings, and purposes. To maximize learning opportunities,
Newton and Bui provide teachers with a series of recommendations, such as (1)
increase the amount of comprehensible input that prompts each of the task
cycles, (2) stimulate student collaboration to co-construct meaning, (3) form
mixed pairs of high and low proficient students, (4) intervene more
explicitly,  and (5) accept students’ first languages during the task
performance. The chapter underscores the task’s value of encapsulating form
and meaning, and promoting authentic conversations and purposeful interactions
among students. 

Kelly examines task-based oriented textbooks of English used in Japan in
Chapter 4. Positioning as an instructor and textbook author, he describes,
“Some principles for interactive task design: Observations from an EFL
materials writer.”  The author emphasizes the relevant role of the text
designer to create interesting, engaging, and self-motivating tasks.  He
points out that tasks should follow a sequence of difficulty that challenges
students, while meeting their cognitive, emotional, and social needs. Aligned
with a communicative approach, Kelly encourages genuine and multidirectional
participation, which may promote opportunities for implementing pragmatic
strategies of clarification, rectification and repetition, as well as refined
distinctions between expressions of apologies (“sorry”/”excuse me”) and
subtleties among modal verbs  (“should,” “must,” “can,” etc.). Finally, the
author refers to the relevant role played by foreign language teachers in the
design and implementation of the task-based approach.  

Chapter 5 advocates for, “Using technology-meditated tasks in second language
instruction to connect speakers internationally.” González-Lloret values the
potential of integrating on-line resources into a task-oriented pedagogy. She
claims that the combination of technology and tasks results in a more
efficient foreign language instruction, as they highly stimulate linguistic,
pragmatic, and digital competences. The proposed technology-mediated
task-based language teaching (TMTBLT) brings about several benefits, from real
to virtual collaborations, and from multiple communicative opportunities to
the intercultural expansion among speakers from various latitudes.  The author
illustrates technological-mediated tasks in telecollaborative projects, games
and simulations, which implement oral, written and hybrid modalities, by means
of different electronic devices (computers, lap tops, cell phones, etc.) and
on-line resources (chats, wikis, blogs, videos, etc.). However, she notices
that technology is not always feasible, and teachers need to adapt their
designs to less favorable contexts. The chapter also includes comprehensive
TMTBLT rubrics, to assess not only students’ language knowledge, but also
cultural, pragmatic and technological competencies (Shetzer and Warschauer,
2000), as shown in her, “Example of a rubric to assess technology-mediated
task: making a hotel reservation” (Figure 5.1, p.76). 

In chapter 6 Norris elaborates on, “Using tasks within neoliberal educational
environments” within the Australian educational system. She notices the
pressure of the hegemonic curriculum over teachers willing to introduce
changes, implementing more dynamic and meaningful types of instruction.  The
author analyzes the dichotomy between current prescribed policies and intended
more flexible practices, in the light of educational programs, agents, and
assessments. Among TBLT programmatic advantages, Norris enumerates real uses
of language, communicative outcomes, incorporation of multimodal technology,
and cultural interconnectedness  The author also recognizes agency’s benefits
both for the students, who increase their participation in the learning
process, and the teachers, who assume full responsibility in the task-design
and implementation, while they influence the direction of the assessments and
accountability.  

Chapter 7 addresses, “Teacher-preparation for task-based language teaching.”
Ellis focuses on East Asian instructors and their common challenges when
teaching through tasks, such as large-sized classrooms, structured syllabi,
and emphasis on discrete elements of language. To counter the negative
elements, Ellis lists relevant, “Factors influencing the success of teacher
preparation programs for TBLT,” and categorizes them by content, methodology,
and teachers’ uptake in the classroom (Table 7.1, p. 107).  He also pinpoints
supporting criteria and, “General principles of effective teacher education
for TBLT,” including coherence, strong core curriculum, and school-university
partnership (Table 7.2, p. 109).  Above all, the author claims for a flexible
model that seeks a compromise between traditional and rote-based methodologies
and meaningful and participatory instruction. He exemplifies with his own
proposal, “Contents of introduction to task-based teaching” (Table 7.3,
p.112), which aims to meet not only desirable tasks’ goals and principles but
also students’ needs, while it takes into consideration structural and
conceptual constraints.

Part 2, “Approaches to Using Tasks,” encompasses five chapters situated in
different countries and pursuing different language purposes. In chapter 8
Kobayashi Hillman and Long discuss, “A task-based needs analysis for US
foreign service officers (FSOs): The challenge of the Japanese celebration
speech.”  The authors develop the communicative needs of the FSOs in two
stages. First, they gather information from multiple sources (online
questionnaires, surveys, and written introspection) and identify appropriate
tasks following the needs analysis, and then they produce prototypical models.
Kobayashi Hillman and Long present a, “Description of sub-tasks” (Table 8.1,
pp.133-4), in which they enumerate twenty-four targeted tasks across six
different speech events. Based on discourse analysis, the authors illustrate
the, “Overall flow of a celebration speech” (Figure 8.1, p. 136), highlighting
major linguistic features of nouns, verb phrases, and collocations (Table 8.2,
p. 139).  Finally, they emphasize the need for comprehensive measures of
assessment that can capture the task performance, not only the overall
students’ language proficiency, but also the specific uses of students’
job-related language.

Chapter 9 focuses on, “Developing authentic tasks for the workplace using
needs analysis (NA): A case study of Australian Aboriginal vocational
students.” Oliver explains how a well-designed TBLT program can also reach
less privileged students. Following NA, the author highlights five major
themes: vocational terms, safety, workplace duties, socializing at work, and
satisfying functional needs and wants. She offers practical strategies for
minority language speakers, such as incorporating visual aids and abundant
modelling and demonstration, as well as explicit teaching of content and
pragmatic clues. On the one hand, Oliver notices how these students need to
improve their linguistic knowledge, incorporating informal, technical, and
academic registers. On the other hand, she underscores the importance of
teaching nonmainstream students adequate non-linguistic (body language,
gestures, facial expressions, gaze, etc.) and paralinguistic (sense of humor,
social distance, etc.)  cues in explicit manner, so that they can better
adjust to the expected school norms. Moreover, the author sustains that a
task-based approach addressing underserved populations needs to transcend
school limits and facilitates students’ success in their community and
workplace.

Bogachenko and Oliver investigate, “The potential use of tasks in post-soviet
schools: Case studies from Ukraine.” Chapter 10 summarizes main educational
changes that take place in Ukraine after its independence in 1991. It also
describes several task-based programs that share common interests in students’
needs, connecting their personal lives to the learning experience, and valuing
linguistic and non-linguistic outcomes.  The authors weigh in TBLT’s potential
and challenges, especially when English is taught as a foreign language in a
transitional society.  Ukrainian classrooms are still reflecting the tension
between the imperatives of the old regime and the attempts for new and more
refreshing curricula. Therefore, teachers inherit a traditional focus on
correctness and accuracy, while proposing meaningful tasks and engaging
participation. Above all, the author advocate for stronger preparation
programs that may support teachers in planning, implementing, and selecting
appropriate task-based materials.  Additionally, teachers should reflect on
new classroom management perspectives that consider the TBLT approach, which
is by nature less structured and noisy, as it promotes productive noise
conversation and movement, through group work and active participation. 

Chapter 11 describes a, “Task design and implementation for beginning-level
elementary school learners in South-Brazil: Challenges and possibilities.”
Farias and Souza Ferraz D’Ely report on a project conducted in an English as a
foreign class in 7th grade. The design is composed by three phases: (1)
students’ needs analysis (NA), based on levels of language and personal
interests; (2) students’ grammatical judgment and written narratives
(pre-tests); (3) students’ final questionnaires, interviews, and  post-tests.
The authors highlight that the major challenges in implementing TBLT for
middle school students are the appropriateness of tasks and the feasibility of
the performance, given the age level. To overcome these difficulties, Farias
and Souza Ferraz D’Ely propose a curriculum that balances unfocused-tasks,
which lead to spontaneous games and conversations, with focused-tasks,
directed to notice specific language forms within the task performance.  Above
all, they underscore the sustainable exposure to the second language, through
comprehensible  and productive input.  

The last chapter of the second part addresses, “Teachers’ responses to an
online course on task-based language teaching in Mexico.” Solares-Altamirano
presents a digital class she created to compensate for the absence of TBLT
preparation among Mexican teachers. The author organizes follows Ellis’
factors (cited in Chapter 7 of this book) and adapts the, “Problems in
implementing task-based language teaching” (Table 12.1, p. 196) to structural,
teacher-related, and student-related categories as observed in the Mexican
context.  Solares-Altamirano summarizes the, “Course implementation and data
collection methods” (Table 12.3, p. 199) and highlights participants’ positive
reactions toward the on-line implementation. For example, teachers were happy
to use electronic folders that contain personal reflections, participate in
on-line forums, engage in chat rooms’ discussions, share their work with
colleagues, and learn from effective tutorials and screencast presentations.
The author also acknowledges limitations of the online course, such as lack of
tasks’ variation, few opportunities for oral and written practice, and little
emphasis on comprehensible input.

The third part 3 of the book focuses on the, “Research on Using Tasks”
throughout six chapters. The first three have a common interest in the foreign
language writing of different educational settings. Sato examines,
“Metacognitive instruction for collaborative interaction (MICI): The process
and product of self-regulated learning in the Chilean EFL context.” Chapter 13
shows that students who receive explicit instruction on metacognitive
strategies and guided collaborative techniques, clearly outperform learners
that interact without further assistance. The MICI interventions benefit
Chilean high school students who learn useful ways to appeal for help, request
for clarification, and check for comprehension, as well as collaborative
techniques that facilitate communication and group work. The efficient
metacognitive and cooperative strategies have a long-lasting impact on tasks’
performance, students’ language awareness and peer appreciation.

Chapter 14 explores, “Collaborative L1 planning and L2 written task
performance in an Iranian EFL context.” Ahmadian and Mansouri assert that
allowing students use their first language (L1) during planning and
brainstorming of ideas, for example, facilitates the accomplishment of
pre-tasks in a familial and reassuring language, before students move into the
written task produced in the second language (L2). Results indicate that
spontaneous uses of L1 during the joint activity enhance the overall quality
of the L2 writing, which shows incremental levels of complexity and accuracy. 
Moreover, as Iranian learners do not have many opportunities to hear or speak
English outside of the classroom,  they use their L1 to notice and make others
aware of specific L2 constructions and expressions, comparing and
translanguaging from Farsi to English.  The implementation of L1 TBLT also
develops positive attitudes toward the L2, increasing students’ engagement and
collaboration, within a safe environment

Finally, “Collaborative writing tasks in an L3 classroom: Translanguaging, the
quality of task outcomes and learners’ perceptions,” by Kim, Cho and Ren,
describes Chinese students learning a beginning level of Korean in an American
university. Chapter 15 emphasizes the fluid exchange among trilingual
speakers, who shift between their native Chinese language (L1), the dominant
English language (L2), and the incipient Korean language (L3). The authors
claim that students’ sway among languages according to the specific activity
(personal recount, persuasive discourse, etc.), task type (planning,
production, assessment, etc.),  modality (oral, written, hybrid, etc.), genre
(narrative, opinion, description, etc.), and language function ( recount,
summarize, argue, etc.).  In line with the strong research on translanguaging,
Kim, Cho and Ren also observe that multilingual speakers in a TBLT classroom
move smoothly from one language into the other, transferring first language
planning skills into the second language writing demands.  Likewise, the
authors also agree that foreign language teachers know their students and the
specific educational setting very well, so they can decide when and how
students can use their L1( Chinese) to improve their skills in the L3
(Korean).

The following two chapters examine the role of pair formation in TBLT
classrooms, at different grade levels and in different countries. Chapter 16
focuses on university students and characterizes, “The role of task-based
interaction in perceived language learning in a Japanese EFL classroom.” 
Aubrey follows couples of students with the same (intracultural) and different
(intercultural) cultural backgrounds along language-related episodes (Swain,
2006). The author compares speakers’ numbers of turns, participants’
(leader/follower) roles, and language use within and between dyads.  Direct
observations, students’ self-reported learning charts, and post-task
interventions show that the intercultural pairs produce even numbers of
exchanges while switching leading positions within the pair. Moreover
intercultural dyads produce a greater number of grammatical and lexical
tokens, and higher levels of accuracy and fluency than intracultural dyads.
Students from different cultures have more opportunities for reactive and
preemptive responses, while employing complex L2 structures during
collaborative tasks. Therefore, Aubrey highly recommends pairing culturally
different students in the TBLT university classroom. 

On the other hand, Imaz Agirre and García Mayo study pair formations at
elementary school level. Chapter 17 explores, “The impact of agency in pair
formation on the degree of participation in young learners’ collaborative
dialogue” in Spain.  The authors examine three distinctive dyads based on
research-selected (RS), teacher-selected (TS) and the self-selected (SS). 
While RS couples exhibit more production than the other two formations,
students share an equal number of turns within the dyad. In contrast, TS and
SS pairs show uneven participation within the partners, as one of the students
leads the conversation and exerts a dominant role over the other. Moreover,
the RS pair conveys most of the collaborative dialogue in the target language,
while the TS and the SS pairs move back to the first language, switching
between languages more frequently.  Despite the gains of RS dyads, the authors
claim that the effective pair formation at the elementary school level also
entails emotional factors; therefore, teachers should consider not only
amounts of turns or individual dominance, but above all, students’ 
engagement, attitudes toward the foreign language, and satisfaction in working
with others. 

Chapter 18 addresses, “The accuracy of teacher predictions of student language
use in tasks in a Japanese university.” Harris and Leeming explain that given
the flexible nature of a task-based curriculum, it is hard to predict
students’ language development. TBLT teachers and text authors struggle to
design open and divergent activities that stimulate students’ production and
creativity, without guidelines that reflect students’ learning progress.  The
authors remark that task types and genres may influence the levels of
predictability. For example, a close task of spotting the difference between
two pictures (descriptive genre) is easier to predict than an open narrative
based on given pictures, which allows multiple resolutions, or an exchange of
opinions about electronic appliances, because the discussion is open to
multiple interpretations.   Given the lax and unpredictable nature of TBLT,
Harris and Leeming propose the creation of a bank of materials that may help
teachers, especially those new to TBLT foreign classrooms, to choose among a
considerable number of grammatical structures, lexical items, and possible
students’ errors, as expected throughout the learning process.

Chapter 19 closes the book with a brief, “Conclusion: Future directions for
research on tasks in second language instruction.”  The editors Oliver and
Lambert  summarize the broad range of contexts, perspectives, age levels, and
languages mentioned along the chapters, reiterating relevant matters around
TBLT, such as the use of L1,  the foreign language teacher’s role, 
distinctive purposes, and the power of technological resources embedded in the
task.  

EVALUATION

“Using Tasks in second language teaching. Practice in diverse contexts” offers
insightful considerations on theoretical and empirical aspects, highlighting
research, pedagogical needs, and practical implications for the foreign
language classroom. The book is particularly useful for teachers willing to
embrace a task-based instruction, as chapters exemplify a variety of
information, opinion, and reasoning tasks (Ellis, 2009), include spoken,
written , and hybrid modalities, examine traditional and online genres, and
combine old and new resources. The edited book contributes with a broader
range of age and language proficiency levels than the typically expected in
TBLT studies. The various educational settings show that the foreign language
may take up central or peripheral roles, and learners may speak one, two or
multiple languages, with broad range of competencies.  

Readers will find intriguing studies about learners of different languages
situated in distant sites, which may easily resonate with their own classrooms
and students. Different authors echo the same demand for a stronger TBLT
preparation and agree on well-defined guidelines for teachers and students, as
well as considerable time for planning appropriate tasks and selecting
adequate materials and resources. Many authors mention the need for developing
a better understanding of the complex construct of task, which is sometimes
reduced to a fun activity, and, more importantly, they offer a flexible
perspective, by which TBLT frameworks have to adapt to the reality of the
classroom, compromising task-oriented principles and methodologies to current
physical, content, and legal constraints.

REFERENCES

Ellis, R. (2009). Task-based language teaching: Sorting out the
misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3).
221-246

Shetzer, H., & Warschauer, M. (2000). An electronic literacy approach to
network- based language teaching. In M. Warschauer & R. Kern (Eds.), Network-
based language teaching: Concepts and practice (pp. 171-185). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Swain, M. (2006). Languaging, agency and collaboration in advanced second
language proficiency. In H. Byrnes (Ed.), Advanced language learning: The
contribution of Halliday and Vygotsky (pp. 95-108). London: Continuum.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Laura Dubcovsky is a retired lecturer and supervisor from the Teacher
Education Program in the School of Education at the University of California,
Davis. With a Master’s in Education and a Ph. D in Spanish linguistics/with
special emphasis on second language acquisition, her interests tap topics of
language and bilingual education. She has taught a pre-service bilingual
teachers’ course that addresses communicative and academic traits of Spanish,
needed in a bilingual classroom for more than ten years. She is currently
helping in- service bilingual teachers for professional development and in
parent/teachers’ conferences. She also volunteers as translator at Davis Joint
Unified School district, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, YoloArts, Davis
Art Center, and STEAC, in Davis, California. She is a long-standing reviewer
for the Linguistic listServe, the Southern California Professional Development
Schools and the Journal of Latinos and Education. She published “Functions of
the verb decir (‘to say’) in the incipient academic Spanish writing of
bilingual children in Functions of Language, 15(2), 257-280 (2008) and the
chapter, “Desde California. Acerca de la narración en ámbitos bilingües” in
¿Cómo aprendemos y cómo enseñamos la narración oral? (2015). Rosario, Homo
Sapiens: 127- 133.





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