Task-based Language Teaching: Theory and Practice

Task-based language teaching is an approach which differs from traditional approaches by emphasising the importance of engaging learners' natural abilities for acquiring language incidentally through the performance of tasks that draw learners' attention to form. Drawing on the multiple perspectives and expertise of five leading authorities in the field, this book provides a comprehensive and balanced account of task-based language teaching (TBLT). Split into five sections, the book provides an historical account of the development of TBLT and introduces the key issues facing the area. A number of different theoretical perspectives that have informed TBLT are presented, followed by a discussion on key pedagogic aspects - syllabus design, methodology of a task-based lesson, and task-based assessment. The final sections consider the research that has investigated the effectiveness of TBLT, addresses critiques and suggest directions for future research. Task-based language teaching is now mandated by many educational authorities throughout the world and this book serves as a core source of information for researchers, teachers and students.

Rod Ellis is a Research Professor in the School of Education, Curtin University in Perth, Australia, as well as a visiting professor at Shanghai International Studies University and an Emeritus Distinguished Professor of the University of Auckland. His most recent publication is Reflections on Task-Based Language Teaching (2018).

Peter Skehan is an Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London. His most recent publications include Processing Perspectives on Task Performance (2014) and Second Language Task-Based Performance (2018).

Shaofeng Li is an Associate Professor of Second and Foreign Language Education at Florida State University and an honorary professor at Zhengzhou University and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. His main research interests include TBLT, language aptitude, working memory and form-focused instruction.

Natsuko Shintani is a Professor in the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies, Kansai University. Her work has been published in leading journals and she is author of Input-based Tasks in Foreign Language Instruction for Young Learners (2016).

Craig Lambert is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. His research on TBLT has appeared in leading journals and he is author of Referent Similarity and Nominal Syntax in TBLT (2019).