Task-Based Language Teaching

11/05/2015 TaskBasedLanguageTeaching:ResponsesfromChineseTeachersofEnglish

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TaskBasedLanguageTeaching:ResponsesfromChineseTeachersofEnglishMarch2013Volume16,Number4

RanHuEastCarolinaUniversity,USA

AbstractTheTaskbasedLanguageTeaching(TBLT)methodhasbeentheproposedteachingmethodunderthecurrentnationalEnglishcurriculumsince2001.However,fewstudieshaveinvestigatedinserviceteachersresponsetothisproposedlanguageteachingmethod.Inthisstudy,thirtypublicschoolEnglishteacherswererecruitedinBeijingacrossschoollevels.Throughparticipantinterviewsandclassobservations,theresearcherexaminedhowChineseteachersofEnglishatdifferentschoollevelsinBeijingrespondtoTBLT.Resultssuggestthatteachersresponsestotheproposedteachingmethodrangedfromnegativedenial,passiveacceptance,toactiveapplicationoftheTBLTintheirclassroomsandtheyservedastheexaminers,technicians,andexplorersaccordingly.Furthermore,teacherswhoactivelyappliedtheTBLTmethodintotheirinstructiondemonstrateddifferentinstructionalfociintermsoftaskselectionandtaskimplementation.ThestudyaddressespedagogicalimplicationsofTBLTforcurriculumdevelopmentandEnglishinstructioninBeijing,China.

Keywords:Taskbasedlanguageteaching,teachingEnglishasaforeignlanguage,curriculumimplementation,teachingpedagogy,China.

Introduction

EnglishhaslongbeenconsideredasoneofthemostvitalsubjectsinschoolcurriculuminChina.Duringthepastdecade,thegovernmenthasbeenaddressingthenecessityofbeingabletocommunicateeffectivelyinEnglishasstudentsEnglishmasteryisdirectlyassociatedwithfutureeducationalopportunities,careerandincome.UndertheproliferationofEnglishlanguagelearning,arevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandard(NECS)hasbeendevelopedbytheMinistryofEducationinChina(MOE)andimplementedinpublicschoolsinChinasince2001(MOE,2001).Inthiscurriculum,oneofmostimportantchangesistheimplementationofstudentcentered,taskbasedlanguageteaching(TBLT).

Incontrasttothetraditionalgrammartranslationmethodortheaudiolingualmethodoflanguageteaching,TBLT,evolvedwithintheCommunicativeLanguageTeachingframework,calledforstudentsactiveparticipationinpairand/orgroupwork.TBLTsuggeststhatteacherssupportstudentswithmeaningfulclassroomtasksandhelpthemcompletethosetasksthroughmodeling,experiencing,practicing,participating,cooperating,andcommunicating(Klapper,2003MOE,2001Nunan,2004Richards&Rodgers,2001).Thisstudentcentered,teacherfacilitatedteachingmodelchallengedtheChineseConfucianheritagetradition,whichemphasizeshierarchicalrelationsbetweenteachersandstudentsteachersaretheauthorityintheclassroomandtheexpertonthesubjectandstudentsbehavemodestly,listenattentively,anddoexactlywhattheyareaskedtodo(Nisbett,2003Watkins&Biggs,1996,2001).

Teaching,regardlessofthesubjectarea,isaculturalactivity.ManyEnglishasasecondorforeignlanguage(ESL/EFL)teacherprogramsareoftenrootedinWesternideology,whichpromotestheuseofWesternlanguageteachingmethodology.ChineseEFLteachers,however,areinfluencedbyConfuciancultureandatraditionalteachingmodel(Rao,1996).ThisgovernmentmandatedTBLTinnovationinclassroomscallsforChineseteachersofEnglishtomovefromtraditionalwaysofteachingtotheproposedlanguageteachingmethod.

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Taskbasedlanguageteaching

FourteachingmethodsthathavebeenusingprominentlyinEnglishinstructioninChinaincludethegrammartranslationmethod,theaudiolingualmethod,communicativelanguageteaching,andtaskbasedlanguageteaching.TBLToriginatesfromDeweysviewabouttheimportanceofexperienceforeffectivelearning(Ellis,2009)andemphasizespurposefulandfunctionallanguageusebyusingreallifetasksinclassroomsforstudentstoexperiencelearning.Centraltothisapproachisthetask.Long(1985)definesatargettaskas:

Apieceofworkundertakenforoneselforforothers,freelyorforsomereward.Thusexamplesoftasksincludepaintingafence,dressingachild,fillingoutaform,buyingapairofshoesInotherwords,bytaskismeantthehundredandonethingspeopledoineverydaylife,atwork,atplayandinbetween.(p.89)

Whenthosetasksaretransformedfromtherealworldtotheclassroom,theybecomepedagogicaltasks,whichNunan(2004)definesas:

Apieceofclassroomworkthatinvolveslearnersincomprehending,manipulating,producingorinteractinginthetargetlanguagewhiletheirattentionisfocusedonmobilizingtheirgrammaticalknowledgeinordertoexpressmeaning,andinwhichtheintentionistoconveymeaningratherthantomanipulateform.Thetaskshouldalsohaveasenseofcompleteness,beingabletostandaloneasacommunicativeactinitsownrightwithabeginning,amiddleandanend.(p.4)

Skehan(1996)andCarless(2007)distinguishbetweenstrongandweakformsofTBLT.Thestrongformacknowledgestheimportanceofmeaningmakingunderreallifesituationsandemphasizestheauthenticityoftasks.Theweakformofferstheflexibilityofusingdifferentkindsoftaskstofacilitatecommunicativelanguageteaching.IntheTBLTmethod,learnersassumetherolesofparticipants,monitors,risktakers,andinnovators.Theyarerequiredtoactivelyparticipateinpairworkandgroupwork,facilitatelearningandreflection,andcreateandinterpretmessagesforwhichtheylackfulllinguisticresourcesandpriorexperiences(Richards&Rodgers,2001).Teachersbecomefacilitators,participantanalysts,advisers,andprocessmanagers.Teachersarealsoresponsibleforselecting,modifyingandcreatingtaskstomeetstudentslearningneedsandprovidingdemonstrationsofhowtocompletethetasksuccessfully.Ellis(2009)discussesfouradditionalcriteriathatmaydistinguishapedagogicaltaskfromaregularlanguageteachingactivity.Inordertobeconsideredasapedagogicaltask,theactivityshouldfocusonmeaning,includesomekindofgapsolearnersareexpectedtoconveyinformation,expressanopinionorinfermeaning,allowlearnerstorelyontheirownlinguisticandnonlinguisticresourcestocompletetheactivity,andstateaclearlydefinedoutcome.

NumerousstudiesexploredtheapplicationofTBLTinlanguageclassroomsindifferentcountries.KaravasDoukas(1995)studiedtheimplementationofacommunicativeapproachinGreekpublicsecondaryschoolsandfoundthatEFLteachershadincompleteunderstandingoftheadoptedlanguageteachingapproach.Asaresult,teachersreducedtheimplementationofthisapproachintheirclassrooms(KaravasDoukas,1995).InSouthKorea,Li(1998)foundthatEFLteachershadlittletimetoadministerprocessbasedtasksduetotheneedtopreparestudentsforthegrammarbasedlanguagetest.InJapan,Gorsuch(2001)reportedthatteacherspreferredthehighlycontrolledcommunicativelanguageteachingactivitiesratherthanthosethatwerestudentcentered.Moser,Harris,andCarle(2012)arguedthatinorderforJapaneseteacherstoprovidedialogicalteachinginEnglish,theyfirstneededtogainexperienceconductingcommunicativetasksinEnglish.InHongKong,Carless(2003,2007,&2008)studiedtheimplementationofTBLTinprimaryandsecondaryclassroomsandsummarizedsixissuesthataffectedtheimplementation,includingteacherbeliefs,teacherunderstandings,thetimeavailablefortaskbasedteaching,thetextbookandtopic,preparationandtheavailableresources,andstudentslanguageproficiency.Inaddition,CarlesscalledfortheimplementationofsituatedtaskbasedteachingapproachesinHongKongclassrooms(Carless,2007).

InmainlandChina,considerableamountofscholarlyattentionhasbeengiventoTBLTinEFLclassroomsinrecentyears(Zheng,2008).WhilemanystudieshaveinvestigatedtheapplicationofTBLTinreadingcoursesatthetertiarylevel(e.g.Li,2005Qian,2008Wen,2009Wu,2011Xiao&Pan,2009),onlyafewempiricalstudieshaveexploredTBLTinpublicschoolclassrooms(Chen,2008Deng&Carless,2010Zheng,2008).ThesestudiesinvestigatedindividualteachersfocusingontheissuesthatconstrainedtheimplementationofTBLTinclassrooms.ThesestudieshavealsohighlightedthefactthattheimplementationofTBLTwasaffectedbyteachersbeliefsandthecontextualfactorsinChina,suchastherigidnationalexaminations,availabilityofresources,studentsdifferentneedsandlanguageproficiencylevels.However,whatislackingisamorecomprehensivepictureofhowteachersacrossvaryinginstructionallevelsimplementgovernmentmandatedtaskbasedlanguageteaching.

Beliefsaboutteachingandlearning

Thecurrentstudyassumesthatteachersapplypedagogicalinnovationsbasedontheirbeliefsaboutteachingandlearning(Pratt,Kelly&Wong,1999Zheng&Adamson,2003).Researchhasdemonstratedthatteachersideasandtheoriesabouteffectiveteachingandlearningareculturallyembeddedandnoteasilychanged(Clift&Brady,2005).IncontrasttoWesternSocraticdialogicalteachingapproaches,whichvaluequestioning,criticizing,refuting,arguing,debatingandpersuading(Major,2005,p.85)andemphasizelearnerparticipationandthe



coconstructionofknowledge,theChineseConfucianheritageteachingmodelcherishesthetransmissionofknowledgeandtendstobeteacherdirected(Cortazzi&Jin,1996Gu&Schweisfurth,2006Watkins&Biggs,1996).Teachers,astheauthorityintheclassroom,presentknowledgebasedonher/hisbestability,andstudents,ontheotherhand,areexpectedtorespecttheknowledge,wisdom,andexpertiseoftheirteachers.

BecauseTBLTisrootedinWesternculture,ChineseteachersapplicationofthisteachingapproachinEFLclassroomsmayposechallengesandconflicts.Therefore,thepurposeofthisstudyistoinvestigatehowChineseteachersofEnglishindifferentinstructionallevelsrespondtoTBLT.

Method

Asnowballsamplingmethodwasusedtorecruit30teachersfromsixpublicschoolsinBeijing(Patton,2011).Teacherparticipantsincluded11teachersfromthreeelementaryschoolsand19teachersfromthreecompletesecondaryschools(includingbothmiddleschoolandhighschool).Tenofthe19secondaryschoolteachersteachmiddleschoolandnineteachersteachhighschool.TheeducationtheseteachersreceivedrangedfromgraduatingfromprofessionalteachinghighschoolstoachievingaMastersdegreeinEnglisheducationfromanEnglishspeakingcountry,suchastheUnitedKingdom.TheyearsofexperienceteachingEnglishrangedfromfourmonthsto36yearsacrossthesamplewithanaverageof9years.Inaddition,fourteachersalsohadpriorexperiencesofworkingincompaniesorteachingsubjectsotherthanEnglish.Detailedinformationaboutthe30teachersispresentedinTable1.

Table1.TeacherInformation

Teacher GradeLeveltaught

HighestDegreeandMajor YearsofExperienceteachingEnglish

PriorExperiences

1 3 and4 BAinEnglishEd. 9months

2 2 and5

ProfessionalHighschoolEducation 15years TaughtEnglishinamiddleschoolfor8years

3 1 and4 BAinPhysicsEducation 9months

4 6 AAinEnglish 5years

5 5 BAinEnglishEducation 11years

6 2 and4

AAinChinese 11years 8yearsteachingChinese

7 1 and3 BSinBiology 1year Took3educationcoursestoobtaintheteachingcertificateaftergraduation

8 1 and6 ProfessionalHighSchoolEducation 4years 10yearsteachingChinese

9 1 and2 BAEnglish 17years

10 4 AAfirst,thenstudiedforBAEnglishonthejob

4months 5yearsteachingPE

11 3 BAinEnvironmentalEngineering 6months Obtainedtheteachingcertificatewhile

rd th

ndth

st th

th

th

ndth

st rd

st th

st nd

th

rd



workingonBAdegree

12 7 BAinEnglishEducation.WorkingonherMAinEnglishEducationnow.

8years

13 8 MAinLinguisticEducation 4years

14 7 AAfirst,thenobtainedBAinEnglishEducation3yearsago.

20years



17 9 BAinEnglishEducation,workingonMAinEnglishEducationnow

5years

18 7 BAinEnglish 5years

19 8 AAinForeignTrade,thenobtainedBAinEnglishEducation

14years WorkinginaCompanyfor2years.

20 8 MAinEnglishEducation 2years

21 9 ProfessionalHighSchoolEducation 36years

22 10 BAinEnglishEducation 14years BeinganexchangeteacherintheUSfor6months.

23 11 BAinEnglishEducation

MAinEnglishEducation(UK)

10years 6yearsaftergettingBA4yearsaftergettingMA.

24 12 BAinEnglish 20years

25 11 BAinEnglish,MAinLinguistic 1.5years


27 11 BAinEnglish,

MAinEnglishEducation

15years



th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th




Datacollectionandanalysis

Inordertoprotecttheprivacyoftheteachers,anumberwasassignedtorepresenteachteacherduringthedatacollectionandanalysis.Dataincludedsemistructuredinterviews,fieldobservations,anddocuments,whichcontainpublishedinstructionaldocumentsandteachingartifacts.Twointerviewswereconductedwitheachteacheroncebeforeclassroomobservationandonceafterwards.Thesecondinterviewallowedtheresearchertoclarifyanyquestionsorconcernsraisedduringobservationsandforteacherstoclarifycertainteachingpoints.Allinterviewswererecordeddigitallyandtranscribedbytheresearcher.ParticipantspreferredtoconducttheinterviewinChinese.

Eachteacherwasalsoobservedbytheresearcherintheclassroomatleasttwice.Observationswerealsorecordeddigitallyandtranscribedbytheresearcher.Publisheddocumentsandinstructionalmaterialsincludethe2001NationalEnglishCurriculumStandard,textbooks,teachersmanuals,studentsworkbooks,teacherslessonplans,PowerPointpresentationsandhandouts.DatafromclassroomobservationswereuseddevelopadeeperunderstandingofparticipantsresponsestoTBLT.

Inductiveanddeductiveanalysis(PurcellGates,2004)wasusedindataanalysis.Inductiveanalysiswasconductedontheinterviewtranscriptionsbyassigningcodes,groupingcodesintocategories,andmergingcategoriesintothemes.Observationtranscriptionsandotherdocumentswereanalyzeddeductivelytolookforinstructionalexamplesthatsupportedthecategoriesandthemesidentifiedfrominterviewtranscripts.ItisimportanttonotethatasaChinesenationalwholearnedandtaughtEnglishinChina,Ibringanunavoidableculturalinsidersperspectivetodatainterpretation.Hence,thispaperreportsonmyunderstandingofteachersresponsestoTBLT.

Findings

Resultsindicatethatteachersresponsestotheproposedteachingmethodrangedfromnegativedenial,passiveacceptance,toactiveapplicationoftheTBLTintheirclassrooms.Teacherswhoseresponsesfallintothesethreecategoriesservedastheexaminers,technicians,andexplorersaccordingly(Figure1).Furthermore,teacherswhoactivelyappliedtheTBLTmethodtotheirinstructionalsodemonstrateddifferentinstructionalfociintermsoftaskselectionandtaskimplementation.

Figure1.Summaryoftheteachercategories

NegativedenialofTBLTTeachersasExaminers

Ofthe30teacherparticipants(17%),fiveteachersheldnegativeopinionsaboutTBLTanddeniedtheimplementationofTBLTintheirclassrooms.Twooftheseteacherstaughtinelementaryschools,onetaughtinamiddleschool,andtwotaughtatahighschool.Theseteachersdoubtedtheeffectivenessofthemethod,anddiscussedreasonswhytheycouldnotadoptthisnewmethodbasedtheirteachingontheExaminationGuide.Forinstance,anelementaryschoolteacherwondered,Canmystudentsreallymasterthecontentbyplayinggames?Idontthinkso.Amiddleschoolteacherpreferredexplainingtomystudentsandaskingthemtotakenotesandusetheirmemorization,

th



andanotherteacherinhighschoolargued,Theywontpass[theCollegeEntranceExamination]ifmyteachingistaskbased.

Traditionalteachercenteredteachingmodelscharacterizedtheinstructionalpracticesinthiscategory.Forexample,oneelementaryschoolteacherwasobservedreviewinggrammarpoints(howtousewhatandwhentoaskquestionsinfuturetense)andspelling(daysoftheweek).SheexplainedgrammarrulesinChinese,askedstudentstorecallstrategies,askedacoupleofstudentstoanswerherquestions,thenfinallyaskedstudentstofinishtheworkbookactivitiesasawaytoreinforcewhattheyhavelearned.

AmiddleschoolteacherindicatedthatshewasconfusedaboutgrammarinstructionundertheTBLTmethod.Shesaid,Itseemedthatthebookpromotedlearninggrammarthroughcompletingtasksandactivitieshowever,theexamsrequiredteacherstoexplicitlyteachgrammarrules,forms,andusages.IhavetofollowtheGuidetoensureagoodtestingresult.BeforestartingareadingpassageSixrulesforasafeandhealthylife,theteachertaughtkeyexpressions,phrases/collocations,andgrammar.Shelistedthekeypointsontheblackboardandexplainedeachoneingreatdetail(Figure2).

Figure2.Languagepointsof9thgrade

AnotherhighschoolteacherpointedouttheimportanceofknowingmultiplemeaningsofbasicvocabularywordsfortheCollegeEntranceExamination.Inavocabularylesson,shereviewedeachwordandsummarizedthemultiplemeaningsofthosewords.Next,shereadaloudhernotesandaskedstudentstocopydownwhatshesaid.Shethenaskedstudentstomemorizetheirnotesashomework.Figure3providesanexampleofherteachingthreewordspart,pass,andpast.Whenshewasaskedinthefollowinginterviewaboutwhyshedidnotprintouthernotestodistributeandusetheclasstimeforotherlearningactivities,sheanswered,Noactivityisbetterthantoaskthemwritedownsomethingtheyneedtoremember.Itisthebestwaytomemorize.

Figure3.Keyvocabularyin12thgrade



Inconclusion,teacherswhodeniedusingTBLTweremostlyconcernedwithexaminationsandscoresandadheredtoatraditionalteachercenteredmethod.Instructionaltasksinvolvingpairworkorgroupworkwerenotevidentintheirteaching.TeachersalsousedChineseasthedominantinstructionallanguageanddevotedthemajorityoftheirclasstimetoreviewandpracticefortests.TheyalsomadetheirowndecisionsaboutwhatandhowtoteachbasedontheExaminationGuide,ratherthanthetextbookorteachersmanual.Alloftheseteachersexceptonetaughtatthegraduatinggrades(Grades6,9,and12),inwhichstudentsneedtotakehighstakingtestsinordertoenterthenextschoollevel.Teachersthusattendedtostudentsachievementonthenationwidehighstakeexaminationsandfocusedonhelpingstudentsachievehighscoresonexaminations.TheytookontheroleofexaminersandstudiedtheExaminationGuidecarefullytoensurethatallthetestingpointsintheGuidewereclearlyexplained.

PassiveacceptanceofTBLTTeachersasTechnicians

Ofthe30participants(33%),tenteachersheldapassiveattitudetowardTBLT,eventhoughtheyreportedthattheyhaveimplementedthismethodintheirteaching.Fouroftheseteacherswerefromelementaryschoolsandsixfrommiddleschools.Teachersinthiscategorysharedthreecharacteristics:theydidnotgivemuchthoughtaboutwhatTBLTwas,theyhadincompleteunderstandingaboutthemethod,andtheyimplementedTBLTbecausetheywererequiredtodoso.Oneelementaryschoolteacherstated:

Idontknowmuchaboutthismethod,buttheManualhasdetaileddirectionaboutwhattypesofactivitiesIcando,whatshouldIsay,howIcanhelpstudents,etc.Ijustfollowthisguide.Andyouknow,atthislevelstudentsdonotlearnmuch,followingthemanualis,whatIbelieve,themostappropriateway.

Anotherteacheradded,Iteachfollowingthemanualandtextbookregardlessofwhatevertheproposedinstructionalmethodsaresometasksinthetextbookareinterestingandfun,butsomearereallynot.Wegoovereverythingsincetheyareallrequired.SeveralotherteachersalsotalkedabouthowtoimplementTBLTintheirclassrooms,

Istarttoincludemoreactivitiesforstudentstodoingroupsorpairsinclassratherthanjustmyselfpresenting.Ileavemoretimeforstudentstocompletethetasksbythemselvesinclass,suchastheexercisesontheirworkbookandlisteningactivities.Mystudentsaregettingbetterwithfollowingdirectionsofdoingallthesetypesofactivities.

Nonetheless,mostteachersinthiscategoryunderstoodtaskbasedteachingasteachingwithactivities.Theypresenteddifferentactivitiesandrequireddifferentparticipatorystructures,suchasgroupwork,pair/partnerwork,andindependentwork,assuggestedbythebook.Forexample,whenthe4thgradeteachertaughtaunit(Unit10Letsgo),shestartedthelessonbyplayingthetapereadingoutloudthetexts.Shethenaskedstudentsquestionslistedonthemanualtoassesstheircomprehension.Finally,sheledstudentsthrougheachactivitylistedinthebook,suchasWordstoLearn,andTalkTogether.WordstoLearnwasalisteningactivitythatrequiredstudentstomatchwhattheyheardfromthetapetothepicturesandwordsprovidedinthebook.Theteacheraskedstudentstocompletetheactivityindependentlyandthencheckwithapartner.

InanotheractivitycalledTalkTogether,theteacheraskedstudentstocollaborateingroupsoffour.Followingthegivenexample(below),studentsweresupposedtocommunicatewithgroupmembersusingthegivenwords(museum,library,park,supermarket)toreplacetheunderlinedpartintheexample.

Mocky:LetsgototheamusementPark.Ken:Dowehaveenoughtime?Mocky:Yes,wedo.Itsonlythreeoclock.Ken:Shallwegotoamovie?Mocky:Dowehaveenoughmoney?Ken:No,wedont.Wehaveonly7yuan.

Atmiddleschoollevel,whena9thgradeteachertaughttheunitTeenagersshouldbeallowedtochoosetheirownclothes,shedidnotprovideanyotheractivitythanthosefoundinthetextbook.Shefollowedtheorderoftheactivities,startingwiththeAgreeandDisagreeactivity(1a),thelisteningTrueorFalseactivity(1b),andfinallythepairworkactivity(1c)(Figure4).Anothermiddleschoolteachertaughtalessonfocusingonreviewinglanguagepoints.Sheaskedstudentstoreadinpairsandassignedeachpairasimilartaskofunderliningkeyvocabularywordsandimportantsentencestructures.Next,sheselectedthreepairstosharewhattheyhaveunderlined.Afterthat,theteacherexplainedtheimportantvocabularyandexpressionsbasedonherpreparedlistratherthanwhatstudentspicked.Finally,oneofherassignmentstostudentswastorecitetheusefulvocabularyandexpressionssheexplainedinclass.



Figure4.Languageactivitiesof9thgradestudents

Toconclude,eitherteachersinthiscategorywerenotconcernedaboutthecurrentproposedteachingmethodortheyhadverylimitedknowledgeaboutTBLT.Whattheymostlycaredaboutwasthetextbookortheteachersmanualandtheyensuredthatallactivitiesinthebookwerecompleted.Theirclassroomswerefullofactivitiesofdifferentkindsandindifferentparticipatorystructures.TheyusedbothChineseandEnglishastheinstructionallanguage,andstudentsweremotivatedtoparticipateindifferentlearningactivities.Basedonwhattheysaidanddidinclassrooms,itisreasonabletoassumethatteachersresponsestoTBLTwerenodifferentthanresponsestoanyotherproposedteachingmethod.TheybelievedthatifthetextbookwasdesignedtopromotetheuseofTBLTmethod,thentheyhavedonetheirjob.Inthissense,theywereliketechnicians,whodidexactlywhattheyweretoldtodo.

ActiveapplicationofTBLTTeachersasExplorers

Theremaining15teachersbelongedtothiscategory(50%).Fourteacherswerefromelementaryschools,fourfrommiddleschools,andsevenfromhighschools.AlltheteachersheldapositiveattitudetowardTBLTandwereeagertolearnaboutthismethod.TheytriedtoimplementTBLTintheirclassroomsanddemonstrateddifferentinstructionalfociintermsoftaskselectionandtaskimplementation.TheybelievedthatTBLTmadelearninginteresting,meaningfulandpractical.Oneelementaryteachersaidthatherclasswasfulloffun.Shecreatedmanytasksandactivities,suchaspuzzlesandguessinggames,forherstudentstocompleteindividually,inpairs,andingroups.Shecomparedhercurrentteachinginanelementaryschoolwithherpreviousteachinginamiddleschoolandstated:

WhenItaught7thgradeinthepast,teachingEnglishwasnotmuchfun.Weuseddifferentseriesoftextbookstoo,andeverythingwasverystructured.Asateacher,Iaskedquestions,explainedkeywords,talkedaboutthepassagewithdetailedexplanationofgrammarrulesStudentswrotedownthekeypoints,rules,newvocabularyontheirnotebooks.Andthenwedidlotsofdictations,examinations,andrequiredstudentstorecitealot.Verydifferentfromtodaythatstudentscanjustlearnfromplayingandexperiencing.Wedosomanyactivitiesinclassandstudentsareactivelearners.

AhighschoolteacheralsocommentedontheTBLTmethodbysayingtheactivitiesmadelearningmeaningful,hence,studentshavelearnedpracticalstufftouseindailylife.

Amajorityoftheseteachersalsoindicatedthatparticipatingindifferenttypesofprofessionallearningopportunitiesequippedthemwithnewknowledgeabouttheproposedteachingmethod.Theteachersreportedthreedifferentwaysforprofessionaldevelopment.Theycouldeithergobacktoschooltofurthertheireducation,selfstudy,orattendTheEnglishCorner[1]toimprovetheiroralEnglishskills.

Severalteacherschosetoexpandtheirknowledgeofteachingbygoingbacktoanormaluniversity(universityfocusingonteachereducationprograms)toeitherobtainahigherdegreeorenrollinanondegreeprogram.Theyreportedtworeasonsforcontinuingtheireducation:theydidnothaveeducationmethodcoursesduringtheirundergraduatestudyortheyhadinsufficientknowledgeaboutteachingEnglishundertheproposedTBLTmethod.Oneteachersaid:



IwasanEnglishmajor,soIknowEnglishwell.However,IfeltthatifIwanttobeagoodteacher,Ineedtounderstandmoreaboutdifferentteachingmethods.AndthatiswhyIwentbacktomyuniversitytogetaMasterdegreeonEnglishEducation.

Theotherteachersaid:

ComparedwithhowItaughtEnglish10to15yearsago,TBLTrequiresteacherstodoalotmore.Teachersneedtobeabletodesigndifferenttasksandfacilitatetheimplementationofthesetasks.TeachersneedtobeabletocommunicatewithstudentsinEnglish.Alltheserequirementsforcedmetokeeplearning.Inthisprogram(thenondegreeprogram)Iamenrolled,Imetotherteachersandweexchangedourteachingexperiences.Welearnfromdifferentprofessors.Iamfeelingmorepreparedandready!

SeveralotherteacherschosetostudybythemselvesandreferredtotheInternet,educationjournals,books,andtheircolleaguesforhelp.OneteacheradmittedthatshewasnotwellpreparedtoteachEnglishundertheTBLTmethod,soshereadseveraleducationmethodologybooksandjournalsarticlestoincreaseherknowledgeofthismethod.SeveralotherteachersexploredtheInternettolearnabouttheTBLT.Onesaid:

IlearnedfromtheInternetthatteachersshouldreallythinkaboutthegoalthatyouwantyourstudentstoachieve,andthenyoudesignaseriesofactivitiesortaskshelpingstudentstoachievethegoal.ThebiggestdifferencebetweenTBLTandusingdifferentactivitiesmaybeisjustthatTBLTistousethetasktoachievealearningobjective.

Anotherteacheracknowledgedtheimportanceofteachersoralfluencyunderthenewcurriculum.ShehasbeenparticipatinginpublicEnglishcornersheldatauniversityeveryweek.Shesaid:

IfIrequiremystudentstobefluentinspeaking,IthinkIshouldfirstsetupanexampleforthem.However,atthetimethatIreceivededucation,IdidnothavemuchopportunitytopracticemyoralEnglish.SoIdoitnow.Sincelastsemester,IhavebeengoingtotheEnglishcorneratRenDa(thenameoftheuniversity)everySaturdaytopracticemyoralEnglish.

TaskSelection

Whiletheseteacherstriedtofindwaystoexpandtheirknowledge,theirclassroomteachingalsodemonstrateddifferentinstructionalfociintermsoftaskselectionandtaskimplementation.Severalteachersfocusedonthepracticalaspectoflanguagelearningwhenselectingtasks.WhenteachingtheunitonproblemsolvinginGrade8,ateacheraskedstudentstothinkabouttherealproblemtheywerehavinginsteadofusingtheactivitiessuggestedbythetextbook.Forinstance,onestudenttoldtheclassthathisbiggestproblemwasmanagingthedifferentopinionsonextrareadingheandhisparentsheld.Thisstudentlovedtoreadnovels(suchasChineseclassicsandWuxiaXiaoshuowrittenbyJinYong)andheconsideredreadingagoodextracurricularactivity.However,hisparentswarnedhimthatheshouldnotreadthosenovelsbecauseofthepressuretostudy.Hence,theconflictwithhisparentsbecameabigproblemandhewasinneedofadviceabouthowtodealwithit.Thewholeclassdiscussedhisproblemandsuggestedthatheputmoretimeonhisschoolwork,haveaconversationwithhisparentsaboutreadingnovels,andmakeareadingschedule.Aftertheobservation,theteacherclarifiedherpurposeofconductingtheactivity:

IthinkTBLTsuggeststhatstudentsshouldlearnfromconductingmeaningfulreallifetasks.EventhoughinChina,wemaynothaveanauthenticlanguageatmosphere,IbelievethatIcancreateanatmosphereinclassroomforstudentstousethelanguageinrealsituations.ThisactivityisverypracticalwehelpedhimsolvetheproblemandwediditINENGLISH.

Anotherteacherinahighschoolwasconcernedifthetaskstheyusedinclasscouldbroadenstudentsknowledge.HebelievedthatEnglishshouldbeacontentareasubject,similartomathandhistory,ratherthanalanguageskill.Therefore,thepurposeofteachingEnglishwastobroadenstudentsknowledge.HeconsideredEnglishasafunsubjecttoteachbecausestudentscanlearnthingsthroughadifferentlanguageandthelanguageprovidedapathwayforstudentstolearnmanyunknown.Heregardedteachingandtestingpressuresassomethingyoufeelifyouthinkaboutitallthetimes,butitwillbegoneifyoumakeyourteachingoutstandingbecausestudentslearnsomuchthatmeetingthosestandardsisjustapieceofcake.

Oneunitinthe10thgradetextbookincludesareadingpassageaboutMarcoPoloandHisTravels.Inadditiontocompletingtheactivitiesandexercisesinthetextbook(fillinginblankswithkeywordsandcomprehensionquestions),thisteacherdesignedaresearchprojectonMarcoPolo,andtopicsincludedhislife,hiscontributionstoEuropeandAsia,andbooksandmoviesabouthim.Studentswereaskedtoworkingroups,writeprojectreports,andsharethemwiththeirclassmates.Inthefollowingclass,studentswatchedanEnglishmovieaboutMarcoPolo.Inthepostobservationinterview,theteachersmadetheremark:

Itrulybelievethatmylessonswereeffective.StudentshavelearnedalotofinformationaboutMarcoPolotheyhavetoreadextensivelyinordertofindtheinformation,theyhavetousethekeywordsandthekeygrammarpointsinwritingthereport,



theypracticedtheiroralEnglishinordertopresent.Yousawittheydidawonderfuljob.Ithinkmystudentslevelarebeyondthosestandards.

Severalotherteacherswereconcernedaboutstudentsdifferentabilitylevelswhendeterminingclassroomtasks.Theydividedstudentsintogroupsbasedonstudentsdifferentabilitylevelsandassignedtasksthathaddifferentdifficultylevels.Forexample,inoneofthehighschoolteacherswritingclass,shedividedtheclassintotwogroupsassigningthemdifferentwritingtasks:thelowerabilitygroupwasaskedtowriteanessayonthetopichowcanIhelptosaveenergyfollowingthetexttemplateandusingsomeofthekeysentencestructureslearnedinthereadingpassagethehighabilitygroupwasaskedtowritefreelyonissueswithglobalwarming.Laterintheinterview,sheexplainedherrationaleforgroupingstudents:

Ihavetodividethemintogroups.SomeofmytopstudentswontbeinterestedifIaskthemtocompletetheverystructuredwritingtask.Theyhavecreativeminds.Ontheotherhand,mylowerabilitystudentswontbeabletowritefreelyiftheywerenotprovidedwithcertainstructures.TheyneedstepbystepguidanceAndinthisway,Ifoundmystudentsarewillingtoaskmorequestions,especiallythelowerabilitygroup,sometimestheywouldfeelshyaskingabasicquestioninfrontofthoseadvancedstudents.

TaskImplementation

Whenimplementingclassroomtasks,teacherspresenteddifferentinstructionalconcernsincludingmeetingtheexpectedobjectives,promotingstudentsinterest,andapplyinglearningstrategiestopractice.

Forinstance,acoupleofteachersemphasizedusinglearningobjectivestoguidetaskimplementationduringteaching.Theypraisedthecurrenttextbookasabookwithspecificlearningobjectives,goalorientedmaterial,andprovidedinstructionbasedontheobjectives.Alessoninthe9thgradetextbookwasaboutplacesstudentsliketovisitandthelearningobjectivesaretobeabletotalkaboutplacesyouwouldliketovisit,usewouldandhopeforexpressingdesires,andmemorizeandusekeyvocabularywordssuchasthrilling,fascinating,peaceful,tiring,educational,takeiteasy,jungle,trek,touristy,pack,light,heavy,provide,offer.Inordertomeettheseobjectives,ateacherdesignedaseriesoftasks.First,studentsingroupsoffourwereaskedtodesignaroleplayactivitytodiscussatriptheyrecentlytookusingthekeyvocabularywordsandexpressions.Next,groupmemberswereaskedtocollaboratewitheachothertowriteasummary/narrativeoftheirroleplay.Finally,everyothergroupexchangedtheirwritingandofferedfeedbackandcommentstoeachother.

Teachersattheelementaryschoollevelweremostconcernedaboutstudentsinterestduringtaskimplementationandusedmultipleresourcestofacilitatelearning.Forinstance,inalessonaboutfriends,a5thgradeteacherusedthecomputertoshowamovieclip,ataperecordertohelpstudentspracticelisteningandlistentomusic,picture/wordcardsforvocabularylearning,andhandpuppetstoperformashortplay(similartothereaderstheatre).Shestatedthatbyincorporatingalltheseresourcestoherlesson,studentswerealwayseagertolearnEnglish.Anotherteacherusedextrinsicmotivationstrategiessuchasofferingstickersandstampsinclasstoincreaseactiveparticipationinclass.

Severalotherteachersweremostconcernedaboutstudentssuccessinusinglearningstrategiesandprovidednumerousopportunitiesforstudentstopracticethesestrategiesinandoutofclass.AfterreadingapassageaboutZhengHeandHisSevenVoyages,ateacheraskedstudentstoconductgroupdiscussions,whichwasacomprehensionstrategyshehadjusttaught.Sheemphasizedtherulesforcreatingeffectivediscussion,includingparticipationfromallstudents,providingreasonsratherthansimplyagreeingordisagreeing,andreadingcarefullytothinkdeeplytounderstandtheauthorsinference.Otherlearningstrategiesmentionedincludedusingcontextclues,activatingbackgroundknowledge,guessing,predicting,andfocusreading.Theteachers,mostlyinthemiddleandhighschools,constantlyremindedstudentstoapplythesedifferentlearningstrategieswhentheyreadbythemselves,withapeerandinagroup.Furthermore,acoupleoftheteachersalsomodeledhowstudentscouldusethelearningstrategies.Forinstance,amiddleschoolteacherdemonstratedhowshepredictedfromtheshowedstudentshowshechoseareadingtextthatwaseasytounderstandbyactivatingherbackgroundknowledge.

Inconclusion,teachersinthiscategoryweremostpositiveaboutTBLTandhavedemonstratedtheirwillingnesstolearnTBLTinEnglishinstructionbycontinuingtheireducationatauniversityselfstudying,andattendingpublicEnglishcorners.TheyactivelyimplementedTBLTintheirclassrooms,andtheirteachinghasdemonstrateddifferentinstructionalfoci.Whenselectingappropriatetasksforclassroominstruction,theteacherswereconcernedwiththepracticabilityoflanguagelearning,andwhetherthetaskcanbroadenstudentsknowledge,andstudentsdifferentabilitylevels.Whenimplementingthetasks,theteachersweremostconcernedaboutmeetingtheexpectedlearningobjectives,promotingstudentsinterest,andapplyinglearningstrategiestopractice.Teachersinthisgroupwereexplorers,learningaboutthisproposedteachingmethodologybythemselvesandimplementingitbasedontheirunderstandingandbeliefsaboutTBLT.Figure5summarizedthecharacteristicsofteachersinthisgroup.



Figure5.Characteristicsoftheteacherasexplorergroup

DiscussionandConclusion

Incontrasttopreviousstudiesthatfocusedonindividualcases(Chen,2008Deng&Carless,2010Zheng,2008),thisstudyinvestigatedhow30EnglishteachersfromsixpublicschoolsatdifferentlevelsinBeijing,ChinarespondedtotheproposedTBLTmethod.Theirdifferentresponseshavebeengroupedintothreecategories.Asmallportionoftheteachers(5outof30,17%)wereexaminers,whowereonlyconcernedaboutstudentsachievementonexaminationsandremainingfaithfultothetraditionalteachingmethodsthattheywereusedto.Onethirdoftheteachers(10outof30,33%)weretechnicianswhotaughtscriptedlessonsbasedonthetextbooksandmanualsregardlessoftheproposedteachingmethods.Halfoftheteachers(15outof30,50%)wereexplorers,whoselectedappropriatetasksandfindingwaystoimplementTBLTintheirclassrooms.

WecanconcludethatteachersinthefirsttwocategoriesweredoubtfuloftheeffectivenessofthisproposedTBLTinEnglishclassroomsinChina,similartotheimplementationofTBLTinmanyothercountriessuchasGreece(KaravasDoukas,1995),Korea(Li,1998),andJapan(Gorsuch,2001).Therefore,teachersinthefirstcategorytaughttoexaminationsandteachersinthesecondcategoryprovidedscriptedinstructionbasedonteachersmanuals.ThisfindinghasalsobeensupportedbypriorresearchtargetingEnglishclassroomsinChina.Hu(2004)reportedthatpedagogicalpracticesinmanyChineseclassroomshavenotchangedfundamentallyregardlessofthetopdownpromotionoftheproposedteachingmethod.DengandCarless(2010)explainedhowexaminationpreparationhasbecomesometeachersmajorconcernintermsofpedagogicinnovation.Hu(2005)andRao(1996)alsopointedoutthatsometeachersresistancetowardtheproposedteachingmethodmightbeduetothefactthattheactivitybased,studentcenteredlearningchallengedChinesetraditionalbeliefaboutlearning.

WhiletheseteacherswerecautiousaboutimplementingTBLTintheirclassrooms,anotherhalfoftheteachersinthisstudywerepassionateexplorerswhofoundwaystoimplementthisproposedlanguageteachingmethodintheirclassrooms.TheseteacherstriedtoequipthemselveswithnewknowledgeaboutTBLT,carefullyselectedanddesignedclassroomtasks,andimplementedTBLTwithdifferentinstructionalfoci.ThisfindingdemonstratedthesuccessofcurriculumdevelopmentandtheimprovementachievedbytheseteachersinBeijing,China,andsuggestedadifferentperspectiveonthetraditionalChineseteachingmodel.WhileimplementingthisgovernmentinitiatedTBLTmethod,theseteachersstrovetolearnaboutthispromotedteachingmethodandadapttheirteachingtoprovideeffectiveinstructionaccordingly.

Furthermore,acloserinvestigationoftaskselectionandimplementationamongtheteachersinthe3rdcategoryrevealedtheapplicationofweakformsofTBLTintheseclassrooms.Whiletheteachersuseddifferentkindsoftasksincreatedsituationstopromotestudentscommunicativeability,traditionalwaysofteachingwerealsoprevalentintheirinstruction.SimilartoZhengandAdamson(2003)andCarless(2007)sfindings,itisreasonabletoconcludethattheweakformofTBLTwasmoreappropriateandpracticaltoimplementforEnglishteachersinChina.Ellis(2003)arguedthattheweakformofTBLTwasactuallythetasksupportedteachingandCarless(2007)addressedtheneedforadaptationtoprovideasituatedversionoftaskbasedteachinginforeignlanguageclassroomsinChina.

Inaddition,findingsalsosuggestthatteachersunderstoodthenotionoftaskdifferently.Someteacherssawataskasincludinggoalorientatedactivitiesorselfcreatedgames,whileothersvieweditastheexerciseslistedonthetextbookandtheteachersmanual.Someteachersunderstooditasactivitiesthatservedthereallifepurposes.InregardtowhattaskreallymeantbyTBLT,the2001NECSfailedtoprovideadefinition.Previousliteraturehasofferedacoupledefinitionsofthetermtask,butNunan(2005)alsostressedtheimportanceoflanguagecontextwhendefiningit:

[T]askscouldinclude,completingagrammarbingogameafteracontrastiveanalysis,grammartranslationbasedpresentation(para.14)Taskscanbealsofunandhighlystudentcenteredwhenborrowingoneffectivegamesandother



suchactivitiesthoughtaskisnotasubstitutewordforgames.(para.8)

Therefore,theTBLTmethoddoesnotdenythat

InsomeAsianclassesoranywhereintheworldforthatmatterthatcertaintraditionalapproachesneedtohavetheirday.Ratheritisespeciallysupportiveofanintegratedapproach,orevenwheretheneedsofthelearnermaybesolelycommunicative.(Nunan,2005,para.14)

Nunans(2005)argumentappliestothecontextofthisstudy.Infact,thisgroupofteachersconstructedtheirunderstandingsoftheTBLTmethodandimplementeditbasedonwhattheybelievedasmostimportant.Therefore,curriculumdevelopmentagenciesneedtobettersupportteacherswithTBLTknowledgeinordertoensurethesuccessfulimplementationofthisproposedmethodinclassrooms.Littlewood(2007)providesausefulfivecategoryframeworkthatwouldallowteacherstodevelopinstructionfromthemostformfocused,noncommunicativeteachingtofinallythemostmeaningoriented,authenticcommunicativeteaching.

ItisworthmentioningthatthisstudydoesnotaimtouncoverthedifferencesamongteachersatdifferentschoollevelintermsoftheirresponsestowardTBLT.Rather,thestudyfocusesonallteachersasawholeandaimstoprovideamacropictureoftheteachersinpublicschoolsacrossdifferentlevels.Thiscouldbeoneofthelimitationsofthestudy,butitsuggestedaneedforfutureresearchtocompareteachersunderstandingandimplementationofTBLTacrossdifferentschoollevels.

Asafinalpoint,scholarswhobelievedthelimitedapplicabilityofTBLTforforeignlanguageclassroomsatthemostbasicschoollevels(Bruton,2005Swan,2005)andthosewhosuggestedthatTBLTchallengedtheConfucianheritageschoolcontext(Carless,2004Li,1998),thispaperprovidedempiricalevidencetosuggestthepossibilityofimplementingTBLTinforeignlanguageclassroomsacrossdifferentschoollevelsinBeijing,China.Implicationsofthisstudyincluderecommendationsforcurriculumdesigners,teacherpreparationinstitutions,andeducatorswhocreatepoliciesforEnglishinstruction.

Note[1]TheEnglishCornerreferstoaspecificlocationwithintheRenminUniversitycampusinBeijingChina.StudentsandcitizensgatherthereeveryFridayeveningtopracticeoralEnglishskills.Theplaceisopentopublic.

AbouttheAuthor

RanHuisanAssistantProfessorofReadingEducationintheCollegeofEducationatEastCarolinaUniversity,Greenville,NorthCarolina.

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