Issues in Teachers' Reinterpretation of a Task-Based Innovation in Primary Schools

Abstract

Although task‐based teaching is frequently practiced in contemporary English language teaching, it is underresearched in state school settings. This article contributes to filling this gap in the literature by using qualitative case study data to explore how a task‐based innovation was implemented in three primary school classrooms in Hong Kong. Analysis of classroom observation and interview data shows how the case study teachers reinterpreted a new curriculum in line with their own beliefs and the practical challenges occurring in their school contexts. Drawing on classroom episodes, the article highlights three issues that proved problematic when the tasks were implemented: use of the mother tongue, classroom management or discipline problems, and the quantity of target language produced. Implications for the design and implementation of task‐based pedagogies in primary school contexts are discussed.

TBL and Teacher Preparation: Toward a Curriculum for Pre-service Teachers

“…Much of the research in TBL teaching and learning is situated in the English as a foreign language (EFL) learning context where implementation has often been problematic (Butler, 2004;Carless, 2002Carless, , 2004. Large class sizes, inadequate thresholds of non-native speaking (NNS) teachers' English language proficiency to conduct TBL within a communicative framework, cultural expectations for more traditional approaches to EFL teaching such as grammar translation, and assessment approaches that focus on paper-and-pencil testing are all mentioned as factors that militate against the success of TBL in these settings.…”

Does the Differences in 6, 7, and 8-Year-Old Children’s Reading and Writing Success has to do With Diligence Rather than Intelligence

“…Controversy trail the assessment of literacy achievement in the early years of children, and this controversy is characterised by debate about the rationale of assessment, when it should be carried out, and the most effective types of literacy assessment in the early childhood education (Carless, 2004;. However, there is growing recognition that the purposes, forms, and interpretations of literacy assessments and achievements are culturally determined and reflect social values, beliefs, and practices about literacy and learning.…”

Untitled

“…Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has recently become a widespread approach in many educational settings (Carless, 2004;Littlewood, 2007;Nunan, 2003). Littlewood (2007) stated that taskbased approach has achieved something of a status of a new orthodoxy that teachers in a wide range of settings are being told by curriculum leaders how to teach.…”