Abstract

Task-based language teaching is now a well-established pedagogic approach but problematic issues remain, such as whether it is appropriate for all learners and in all instructional contexts. This book draws on the author’s experience of working with teachers, together with his knowledge of relevant research and theory, to examine the key issues. It proposes flexible ways in which tasks can be designed and implemented in the language classroom to address the problems that teachers often face with task-based language teaching. It will appeal to researchers and teachers who are interested in task-based language teaching and the practical and theoretical issues involved.  It will also be of interest to students and researchers working in the areas of applied linguistics, TESOL and second language acquisition.

This comprehensive yet personal book will be invaluable reading for very diverse audiences. Synthesizing a lifetime of engagement with language education and tasks, Rod Ellis proposes an options-based approach that can be flexibly adapted across geographies and masterfully re-examines the quandaries cognitive and social researchers investigate through the questions teachers ask.

Rod Ellis has written (yet another) agenda-setting book, this time charting a journey through key issues in task-based language teaching. This is a must-read for researchers committed to the pedagogic relevance of their work, and for language educators in search of a deeper understanding of task-based research and pedagogy.

Rod Ellis is Research Professor in the School of Education, Curtin University, Australia, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, University of Auckland, New Zealand and a Visiting Professor at Shanghai International Studies University. He is also an Appointed Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He has researched and published extensively in the fields of second language acquisition, language teaching and teacher education.

[This book] comprehensively examines the theoretical and pedagogic aspects of task-based language teaching (TBLT), one of the long-standing topics in instructed SLA, and offers insights into TBLT as an approach to second language teaching. Ellis’ (2003) previous book, Task-based Language Learning and Teaching, focuses on research and theories underlying TBLT. The current book complements his previous work by shedding more light on pedagogic issues related to TBLT.