Task-based Language Teaching in L2 English Writing Classrooms: Insights from Chinese Senior Secondary Schools
Subject Areas :
1 - English Department, University of Reading, China
Keywords: Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), L2 writing teaching approach, Chinese secondary teachers of English, a mixed methods study, teaching theory and practice,
Abstract :
There is little research on the task-based teaching approach in senior secondary L2 English writing classrooms. This study carried out an exploratory sequential mixed methods study to explore the suitability and adaptations of task-based language teaching in the domain of secondary schools in small cities. First, the researcher surveyed six EFL senior secondary teachers of different teaching experiences in China by convenient and purposive sampling to get background information, then had semi-structured interviews with them individually. To followed the interviews, the researcher surveyed 148 students via an online questionnaire also by convenient and purposive sampling. Findings indicated that, although most teachers acknowledged the usefulness of TBLT, they regarded it unsuitable and unfeasible in the context of Chinese senior secondary L2 writing classrooms. Also, students in the study ranked clear instruction and vocabulary increase as the first two contributors in improving their L2 English writing. But half of all students also valued an interesting writing classroom and took it as a third facilitator to develop their writing. Besides, adaptations were suggested to include professional task design, teacher discussion, reward mechanism and teacher profession development. In the future, further research is needed to examine the findings in this study, generalizing them to different contexts, ages and domains, and exploring teachers’ individual differences and their choice of teaching approaches.
Ahmed, R. Z., Jamilah, S., & Bidin, B. (2016). The effect of task based language teaching on writing skills of EFL learners in Malaysia. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 6(June), 207-218.
Barkaoui, K. (2007). Rating scale impact on EFL essay marking: A mixed-method study. Assessing Writing, 12(2), 86-107.
Carless, D. (2007). The suitability of task-based approaches for secondary schools: Perspectives from Hong Kong. System, 35(4), 595-608.
Carless, D. (2009). Revisiting the TBLT versus P-P-P debate: Voices from Hong Kong. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 19, 49-66.
Chen, Q., & Wright, C. (2016). Contextualization and authenticity in TBLT: Voices from Chinese classrooms. Language Teaching Research, 21(4). DOI: 10.1177/1362168816639985
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2017). Research Methods in Education. New York: Routledge.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. (4th ed./International student ed.). Los Angelese: Sage.
Cumming, A. (2001). Learning to write in a second language: Two decades of research. International Journal of English Studies, 1(2), 1-23.
Davison, C. (2007). Views from the chalkface: English language school-based assessment in Hong Kong. Language Assessment Quarterly, 4(1), 37-68.
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (2009). Task-based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19, 221-246. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2009.00231.
Fang, X. (2013). An attempt on TBLT in tertiary English writing. Science and Technology Vision, 172-173. DOI:10.19694/j.cnki.issn2095-2457.2013.24.129
Hu, G. W. (2005a). Contextual influences on instructional practices: A Chinese case for an ecological approach to ELT. TESOL Quarterly, 39, 635-660.
Ji, K. M. (2014). Task-based language teaching approach in senior secondary English writing teaching. Crazy English Teachers, 3 (August), 126-128.
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second language research: Methodology and design. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Marashi, H., & Mirghafari, S. (2019). Using content-based and task-based teaching in a critical thinking setting to improve EFL learners’ writing. Studies in English Language and Education, 6(1), 26-43.
Ministry of Education in China. (2017). English Curriculum Standards for Chinese General Senior Secondary Schools. Beijing: People’s Education Publishers.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Skehan, P. (1996). Second language acquisition research and task based instruction. In J. Willis, & D. Willis (Eds.), Challenge and Change in Language Teaching (pp. 17-30). Oxford: Heinemann. Sundari, H., Febriyanti, R. H., & Saragih, G. (2018). Using task-based materials in teaching writing for EFL classes in Indonesia. International Journal of Applied Linguistics &
English Literature, 7(3), 119-124.
Wang, Q. W. & Wang, X. (2015). Study on teaching efficiency of task-based English writing classrooms. Journal of Heze University, 37(1), 83-86.
Wen, Q. F. (2019). Foreign language teaching theories in China in the past 70 years. Foreign Language in China, 16(91), 14-22.
Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2012). Doing task-based teaching. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. (Original work published 2007)
Wu, R. & He, X. J. (2014). The effects of TBLT on lexical richness in ESL students’ writing. Overseas English, (July), 82-83.
Xu, J., Liu, F., & Jiang, M. (2008). Task-based language teaching: From the practical perspective. International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering 2008 (pp. 1054-1057), Piscataway, America.
Zheng, X., & Borg, S. (2014). Task-based learning and teaching in China: Secondary school teachers' beliefs and practices. Language Teaching Research, 18(2), 205-221.
Zheng, X. M., & Adamson, B. (2003). The Pedagogy of a Secondary School Teacher of English in the People's Republic of China: Challenging the Stereotypes. RELC Journal, 34(3), 323-337.
Zohrabi, M. (2013). Mixed Method Research: Instruments, Validity, Reliability and Reporting Findings. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3, 254-262. DOI: 10.4304/tpls.3.2.254-262