Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T19:13:21.681Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2017

Martin Bygate
Affiliation:
Lancaster University
Susan M. Gass
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Alison Mackey
Affiliation:
Georgetown University
Rhonda Oliver
Affiliation:
Curtin University
Peter Robinson
Affiliation:
Aoyama Gakuin University

Abstract

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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Andersen, R. (1983). Transfer to somewhere. In Gass, S., & Selinker, L. (Eds.), Language transfer in language learning (pp. 177201). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Baralt, M., Harmath-de Lemmos, S., & Werfelli, S. (2014). Teachers' application of the Cognition Hypothesis when lesson planning: A case study. In Baralt, M., Gilabert, R., & Robinson, P. (2014). (Eds.), Task sequencing and instructed second language learning. London: Bloomsbury Academic.Google Scholar
Bowerman, M., & Levinson, S. (2001) (Eds.), Language acquisition and conceptual development. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bryfonski, L., & McKay, T. H. (in preparation). TBLT Implementation and Evaluation: A Meta-Analysis. Language Teaching Research.Google Scholar
Bygate, M., Skehan, P., & Swain, M. (2001). Researching pedagogic tasks: second language learning, teaching, and testing. Harlow, UK: Longman.Google Scholar
Byrnes, H. (2013). Notes from the editor. Modern Language Journal, 97, 825827.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carroll, S. E. (2012). When is input salient? An exploratory study of sentence location and word length effects on input processing. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 50, 3967.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heathcote, D. & Bolton, G. M. (1995). Drama for learning: Dorothy Heathcote's mantle of the expert approach to education. Portmouth, NH: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Li, S., Ellis, R. and Zhu, Y. (2016). Task-Based Versus Task-Supported Language Instruction: An Experimental Study, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 205229.Google Scholar
Long, M.H. (2016). In Defence of Tasks and TBLT: Nonissues and Real Issues, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 533.Google Scholar
Mackey, A. (2016). New directions for the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 14.Google Scholar
Philp, J., & Duchesne, S. (2016). Exploring Engagement in Tasks in the Language Classroom, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 5072.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Kim, Y. (2016). Task-Based Learner Production: A Substantive and Methodological Review, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 7397.Google Scholar
Porte, G. K. (2012). Replication research in applied linguistics. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Révész, A., & Gurzynski-Weiss, L. (2016). Teachers’ Perspectives on Second Language Task Difficulty: Insights from Think-Alouds and Eye Tracking, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 182204.Google Scholar
Robinson, P., Cadierno, T., & Shirai, Y. (2009). Time and motion: Measuring the effects of the conceptual demands of tasks on second language speech production. Applied Linguistics, 30, 533554.Google Scholar
Skehan, P. (2016). Tasks Versus Conditions: Two Perspectives on Task Research and Their Implications for Pedagogy, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 3449.Google Scholar
Thomas, M. (1994). Assessment of L2 proficiency in second language acquisition research. Language Learning, 44, 307336.Google Scholar
Van den Branden, K. (2016). The Role of Teachers in Task-Based Language Education, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 164181.Google Scholar