34.3598, Review: Task-Based Language Teaching: Jackson (2022)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-34-3598. Wed Nov 29 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.3598, Review: Task-Based Language Teaching: Jackson (2022)

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Date: 30-Nov-2023
From: Jean Danic [calkinsjean at gmail.com]
Subject: Applied Linguistics: Jackson (2022)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/33.3722

AUTHOR: Daniel O. Jackson
TITLE: Task-Based Language Teaching
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2022

REVIEWER: Jean Danic

SUMMARY

This brief text is intended to be used by language instructors as a
guide for understanding the main concepts and strategies of task-based
language teaching. It covers both theory and practice. The author
suggests its use by not just individual teachers, but also by larger
groups of educators taking part in courses or workshops. It provides
an explanation of the topic, research findings, and suggestions for
instructional use.

CHAPTER 1, ‘What is TBLT?’, begins with a brief overview of the
history of the use of task-based language teaching (TBLT), its value,
and why it has become increasingly more popular as a teaching
methodology. The author introduces himself and previews the layout of
the forthcoming sections. Key terms are defined, and 5 pedagogic task
types (jigsaw, information group, problem-solving, decision-making,
and opinion exchange) are briefly explained and accompanied by
examples.

CHAPTER 2, ‘The Task-Based Curriculum,’ describes the design of this
type of curriculum as well as the ways in which it differs from
traditional language education curricula. It begins with insight into
needs analysis and an overview of several instances in which learner
needs under different circumstances were assessed before a curriculum
was designed. The chapter then discusses how one may select
appropriate tasks and order them most effectively. An overview of
materials development and sources is given along with several
suggestions for practical use. The role of the teacher during
task-based learning is explored along with how one should assess
student learning. The last part of the chapter describes methods of
evaluation, not of the students, but of the curriculum as a whole.

CHAPTER 3, ‘Task-Based Approaches in Context,’ describes various cases
in which TBLT has been implemented successfully. The cases in question
vary to a large extent and represent students of all ages across the
world. The first case concerns teaching conversational Mandarin
Chinese to university students using the task of asking for
directions. The next case explores the teaching of Dutch in primary
schools using the task of emulating a news report.  Another case
focuses on Japanese children using simple tasks to learn English. A
case of university students learning German with varied tasks across
multiple levels is also explored.  Another case of U.S. border patrol
agents learning Spanish in role play scenarios for their jobs is
discussed, and the chapter ends with a case of children in Oaxaca
learning Zapotec to complete small pedagogical tasks.

CHAPTER 4, Research into TBLT,’ is by far the most extensive and
provides a review of 25 studies from the last decade which focus on
using tasks to teach a second language. The author explains at the
start of this section that his summary is divided into subsections
based on the workplan (design and mode) and the processes
(preparation, interaction, and repetition) used. The first set of
studies in the ‘Design’ section yields interesting results about the
effects of the types of tasks implemented by teachers on student
learning and output. The section labeled ‘Mode’ focuses on oral vs.
written modes of task-based learning as well as on hybrid models. Each
is of course challenging and instructive in its own right, and studies
are discussed to illustrate their impacts on student learning. In
terms of preparation, the chapter addresses the ways in which tasks
can be planned, including guided or unguided planning, the use of
metacognition, practice, group or individual planning, and other
factors. In general, it has been found that preparation is a crucial
step which yields positive results. The ‘Interaction’ section explores
how communication between learners, teachers, and potentially others
influences language acquisition and task completion. Differences in
age, proficiency, culture, choice of tasks, and roles within an
activity are significant in shaping the results. Next, the chapter
shifts to the topic of repetition, one which has been studied more
recently. Overall, repeating tasks later does seem to yield positive
effects, particularly when students are made aware of the purpose of
the repetition. The last part of the chapter is a more general
evaluation of the preceding studies and their conclusions, including
the possibility for bias and other potential shortcomings. The author
also includes a suggestion for how the knowledge gleaned from these
studies could be put to use within the classroom and posits that,
regardless, teachers are the most instrumental in successful TBLT.

CHAPTER 5, ‘Teachers and Tasks,’ provides a short description of the
role of teachers in TBLT, including both in the classroom and as
initiators of curricular transformation. There is a section regarding
teacher perspectives which highlights some of the difficulties faced
by instructors when preparing for and implementing this type of
curriculum. This chapter also introduces studies pertaining to teacher
preparation and the mixed results reached. The last portion of Chapter
5 demonstrates how essential the role of teachers is in instructional
design and implementation. Several studies are mentioned as evidence
to suggest the qualities that effective TBLT teachers possess and the
ways in which they could be encouraged to adopt this type of
instruction.

CHAPTER 6, ‘Epilogue: The Potential of TBLT,’ is a very brief overview
of the rationale behind the implementation of TBLT. This section of
the text describes three purposes.  The first is that the approach
changes the classroom experience by increasing student participation
and collaboration. The second purpose is to alter and enrich language
programs as a whole. The third, larger scale purpose is to transform
society by reflecting certain social values in the classroom.

The text also contains seven discussion questions following the
epilogue.

EVALUATION

In general, “Task-Based Language Teaching,” by Daniel O. Jackson,
accomplishes its goal of providing teachers and other stakeholders
with a short, helpful guide to understanding this methodology and
framework. This book would be especially helpful to those responsible
for curriculum design, teacher preparation or education programs, or
teacher workshops.  Individual teachers would also find the text
helpful, but because TBLT must be planned and structured in advance,
those with the most freedom and authority in designing curriculum
would benefit most from reading it.

The organization of the book makes it straight-forward and easy to
follow. Each of its chapters provides ample explanation, research, and
even a brief conclusion summarizing key takeaways.  Particularly
helpful are the short bullet-pointed lists within many of the
sections, which highlight key findings and suggestions for application
of said findings. The author does a nice job of not only providing
many sources as evidence but also of helping the reader to glean the
implications of each case study as they are relevant to the real
classroom. This is crucial in helping bridge the gap from TBLT theory
to practice.

The only organizational shortcoming is the decision to move the
discussion of the purpose and potential of TBLT to the epilogue. It
seems illogical to save the very reason for using this text in the
first place for the last part of the book. Anyone failing to see the
purpose before then would have surely long abandoned this text before
getting to the crux of the matter in its last pages. Much of this
rationale would be a better fit within the pages of the Introduction
to motivate its audience to read further and heed the texts’ advice
more closely.

Another peculiar aspect of the book lies within the fifth chapter.
This is toward the end of the book, and at this point teacher
perspectives on TBLT are discussed. It is odd that the included
perspectives shared with the reader are almost all negative. Using
these viewpoints, the author suggests that further teacher preparation
is needed, and he does indeed incorporate that into the rest of the
chapter. That being said, these doubts from teachers are enough to
give the reader pause and undermine some of the excitement about TBLT
generated from the text’s previous pages. If they exist, these
negative teacher perspectives ought to be tempered with some opposing
viewpoints from those more enthusiastic about the use of TBLT.

Overall, this text is useful to its audience and makes its argument
for the use of TBLT convincingly. It is well-researched, detailed
without being dense, and helpful to anyone approaching this method for
the first time or looking for suggestions for implementation. As a
language teacher myself, I did find several ideas and suggestions to
be of value to me right now and as I plan my future classes.
Currently, more research is needed; however, books such as this one
assure that more will be done. It is likely that educators and
curriculum designers looking to implement task-based curricula will
use such books as a starting point more regularly, yielding even more
findings for us to analyze in the future.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

N/A



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