In view of ongoing debates about the future of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in contexts of English as a foreign language (EFL), we present a detailed case study of teacher beliefs and practices regarding TBLT conducted in a secondary school in mainland China with a long history of communicative and task-based teaching approaches. We used a mixed-methods approach to gather a broad range of triangulated data, combining individual interviews, material analysis and observations coded using a novel task-focused version of the scheme ‘Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching’ (COLT). Quantitative and qualitative findings revealed positive beliefs about TBLT principles in general, reflecting strong institutional support for communicative teaching. However, there was marked variability between beliefs and practices in using tasks, especially with beginner-level learners. Most teachers demonstrated an intrinsic lack of confidence in using tasks as more than a communicative ‘add-on’ to standard form-focused teaching. We argue that this demonstrates a need for building teacher autonomy, in implementing TBLT, even in supportive settings, to support successful authentic contextualizing TBLT principles in different EFL contexts.
This mixed-method study tracked social interaction and adaptation among 20 international postgraduates on a 1-year programme in the UK, examining assumptions that language proficiency and interactional engagement directly underpin sociocultural adaptation. Participants remained frustrated by a perceived 'threshold' barring successful interaction with English speakers, while reporting reluctance to take up available opportunities, independent of language proficiency and sociocultural adaptation. We challenge linear models of adaptation and call for assistance to international students in crossing the threshold to successful interaction.
In interview-based research on sensitive health-related topics, the interview may restimulate painful memories among respondents who may become distressed. It is ethically questionable for researchers to address sensitive issues without being equipped to deal with resultant distress. An effective way of addressing this problem is for interviewers to foster counselling attributes and use counselling skills within research interviews. This fulfils various therapeutic and supportive functions for the interviewees, such as helping them to understand their experiences and engage in cathartic disclosure. It also serves research functions in that it can foster good rapport, encourage interviewees to elaborate their experiences and help establish potential lines of association and causation in the research data. The use of the counselling interview as a data collection tool is illustrated with examples drawn from a study of AIDS-related bereavement among gay men.
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