From task-based training to task-based instruction: Novice language teachers’ experiences and perspectives

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between task-based teacher training and novice English language teachers’ cognitions and implementations of tasks in Honduran bilingual schools. After participating in a four-week training program on task-based language teaching, teachers with little or no prior teaching experience designed task-based lessons and were video-recorded implementing those lessons with English language learners ages 5 to 12. Following the classroom observation, teachers participated in a stimulated recall interview. A rubric aligned with 10 key principles of task-based language teaching (TBLT) as outlined by Long (2015) was used to rate teachers’ performance and code stimulated recalls. Ratings of video observations showed varied success in TBLT implementation after training, with some teachers’ lessons clearly aligned with key TBLT principles, and others relying on focus on forms strategies. Analysed data also uncovered a link between previous training and teaching experiences and the success of teachers’ implementations. Stimulated recalls showed that teachers focused primarily on maintaining a cooperative learning environment, and less on reactive aspects of TBLT such as providing corrective feedback. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for teachers and teacher training programs seeking to implement TBLT as an approach to language teaching.

Rod Ellis's essential bookshelf: Focus on form

“…(10) Bryfonski, L. (2021). From task-based training to task-based instruction: Novice language teachers' experiences and perspectives.…”

A Study on the Multidimensional Expression Form of Ancient Chinese Teaching in Universities Based on Multidimensional Analysis Model

“…Therefore, the content taught in oral classes, teachers' teaching strategies and techniques, and learners' learning strategies will not only directly or indirectly affect the effectiveness of classroom instruction in oral classes [5][6]. It also directly or indirectly affects the overall quality of teaching ancient Chinese, which in turn affects the achievement of the teaching goals [7].…”

Perspectives from Task-Based Language Teaching on EFL Textbook Use: A Participatory Action Research Study at a Vietnamese University

“…These interpretations found expression in the different ways each of them delivered their lessons. The differences in the teachers' interpretations and practices of TBLT confirmed Bryfonski's (2021) claim that while teachers' beliefs about language teaching can be altered following a training programme, training may not uniformly alter beliefs for all teachers.…”

“…Consequently, in Cycle 2, all three teachers improved the way they gave corrective feedback. The effectiveness of this kind of mentorship and collaboration has been reported in teacher training courses in Taiwan (Chen, 2016) and Honduras (Bryfonski, 2021) respectively. As Farrell (2015) suggests, mentorship and collaboration are powerful ways to expose teachers to different viewpoints and lead them to make critical changes in their cognition and classroom practices.…”

“…In addition, research has demonstrated the efficacy of collaborative learning among teachers in teacher professional development (e.g., Bryfonski, 2021;Chen, 2016). Chen (2016), for example, investigated how three teachers at a secondary school in Taiwan developed their practitioner knowledge in communicative and task-based approaches through five action research cycles.…”