KEY CONCEPTS IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS

Abstract

In this essay, I have introduced the basics of task-based language teaching in a nutshell, whithout tapping too much into the underlying philosophy. Yet, TBLT is not just learners performing tasks. The approach builds on decades of scientific investigations into L2 learning and instruction (cf. the review of the interactionist approach including the Input-Output-Interaction triad, by Loewen and Sato, 2018), and therefore is better characterised as a researched pedagogy (Gilabert, 2023). Following the newest insights on how second language develops over time (Lowie & Verspoor, 2022), TBLT adopts a usage-based perspective on language learning and teaching, which acknowledges that language is learned through use. In this light, the ultimate goal of L2 instruction is to enable L2 users to perform different target tasks in the real world (booking a hotel room; small talk with a shop owner; listening to a university lecture). By performing a series of pedagogic tasks in the classroom, learners can be guided step-by-step to reach target task performance. Pedagogic tasks incrementally help learners to develop their L2 by engaging them in authentic language use during task performance in the class (Ellis, 2006). As educator, the teacher supports L2 development by (a) choosing and/or designing appropriate pedagogic tasks, (b) sequencing them in a way that they promote L2 learning, and (c) providing appropriate scaffolding and a safe environment during all phases of task-based performance to maximalize student learning. All these aspects have been researched extensively, while the current paper only briefly mentioned the key points. Further reading in this area would allow for more elaborate insights, and I therefore recommend the open access book by East (2021), the comprehensive volume by van den Branden (2022), and a hot-off the press article by Gilabert (2023) who links the theory of TBLT to task design practice.