Martin Bygate

Tasks in second language learning.

General Editors: Christopher N. Candlin and David R. Hall, Linguistics Department, Macquarie University, Australia. All books in this series are written by leading researchers and teachers in Applied Linguistics, with broad international experience. They are designed for the MA or PhD student in Applied Linguistics, TESOL or similar subject areas and for the language professional keen to extend their research experience.

Theoretical Perspectives on Speaking

Second language (SL) speaking has not been recognized as a research area as readily as have reading, writing, or listening. For instance, the 25th anniversary volume of TESOL Quarterly had papers on reading, writing, and listening, but apart from a paper on pronunciation, not a single one on speaking. This may be due to assumptions such as the following: 1) SLA studies in any case focus on oral language production (e.g., the morpheme acquisition studies in the 1970s, the input-interaction studies of the 1980s for which oral interaction was only a way of acquiring new target language items, and the task-based learning studies of the 1990s);

Sources, developments and directions of task-based language teaching

This paper provides an outline of the origins, the current shape and the potential directions of task-based language teaching (TBLT) as an approach to language pedagogy. It first offers a brief description of TBLT and considers its origins within language teaching methodology and second language acquisition. It then summarises the current position of TBLT from two perspectives: first, it identifies key elements in approaches to the teaching of language based on tasks, and second, it turns to a consideration of the principal issues that have been explored in TBLT research. The paper concludes by considering directions for the future development of TBLT as an approach to language pedagogy, highlighting the need for future research to be classroom-based and programme-based.

Oral second language abilities as expertise.

Ericsson introduces a book on expertise with the words: In every domain of expertise, many start on the ‘road to excellence’ but few reach the highest levels of achievement and performance. (1996, p. 1) In many ways this statement appears not to apply to language. Most people are fluent speakers of their languages, and by the way they use them, they define what it is to be a proficient speaker. Yet when we consider closely the experiences of second language learners, things are not so straightforward. Although it is true that second language users contribute to defining what it is to be proficient in their second language, there are nevertheless good grounds for distinguishing quite significant differences between the levels of achievement and performance of many second language speakers. The differences seem to range across the whole complex of oral language abilities, from discourse to phonology, and expertise studies are centrally concerned to understand such differences from a holistic perspective.

Defining Pedagogic Tasks: Issues and Challenges

At the beginning of this book, we proposed a set of general elements to describe what we broadly mean by ‘task’. We did so to provide an initial point of reference for talking about issues relating to the use of tasks in general education and human sciences research. As we further narrow the focus in our consideration of tasks as a pedagogic tool for second language learning, we revisit the construct of ‘task’ and attempt a more precise definition than the general elements we offered in Chapter 1. To this end, we: Invite consideration of why a more precise definition might be desirable. Explore some of the ways that task have been defined in the literature. Highlight issues and challenges involved in arriving at an adequate task definition. Offer a working definition of our own.

Theory, empiricism and practice: Commentary on TBLT in ARAL 2016

This commentary includes consideration of theory, opinion, empirical work, evaluative work and practice in a subset of papers that appeared in ARAL (2016) on task-based language teaching. Addressing the wider logic, theoretical underpinnings and instructional implications of TBLT is a serious applied linguistics challenge and one that the TBLT area is increasingly in a position to engage with in the search for evidence-based solutions to problems in designing, implementing and assessing the effects of TBLT. The contributors take a sometimes approving, occasionally critical and always forward looking perspective on the contributions of ARAL 2016 and the directions and challenges facing the field.

Researching Second Language Pedagogic Tasks

We turn now to some of the key issues and challenges in researching second language pedagogic tasks. We consider studies undertaken in terms of their potential to inform users and designers of tasks in pedagogically useful ways — that is, in terms of their pedagogical relevance. To be of use, empirical research, like pedagogy, needs to focus on practice and to describe and explain what happens and why. So if tasks are aimed at developing holistic language abilities, a key priority is to explore how far tasks achieve this, in what ways, under what conditions and why. Answers to questions such as these are important in practical terms and to further our understanding about the conditions and processes of classroom language learning.

Pedagogic Perspectives on Second Language Tasks

We began this book by observing that even though tasks have been a familiar part of second language teaching for several decades — both as an element within CLT and as the centrepiece for various task-driven initiatives — their use remains highly controversial. Issues relating to when, why and how to use tasks, or indeed whether they should be used at all, continue to invite heated debate in both the research and practitioner literatures. In this chapter we attempt to tease apart issues contributing to this controversy.

Engaging Learning Processes: Implications for the Use of Second Language Tasks

To round out our discussion of the role of tasks in second language learning, we re-situate issues raised in this section in relation to broader conceptualisations of learning in two ways. In this, we: revisit aspects of learning and problem-solving; revisit issues of general learning processes. In both cases, we then narrow the focus again to: highlight key factors in understanding ways that tasks can relate to second language learning, first, by revisiting aspects of learning and problem-solving; and second, by revisiting the issue of general learning processes. In both cases, we narrow the focus again to highlight key factors in understanding ways in which tasks can relate to second language learning.

Holistic Tasks in a Research Context: Some Key Issues

The use of holistic activities fits not only with educational thinking. Since at least the middle of the twentieth century, holistic tasks have been used in human sciences research (including applied language study) as a means of eliciting and sampling behaviour. In what follows we distinguish between the study of tasks in what might be considered relatively stable, ‘bounded’ contexts, and the study of tasks in the broad social context in which they occur. From examples of research carried out on holistic tasks in both contexts, we explore a set of issues relating to the use of holistic tasks for research purposes: consistency of research focus; impact of task type on task performance; participant vs. researcher interpretation of the task as given. These issues bring into focus a number of implications for ways of researching second language tasks and for understanding learners’ performance on those tasks.