Second Language Acquisition and Task-Based Language Teaching

Mike Long is Professor of SLA at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, where he teaches in the Advanced Graduate Certificate, M.A. and Ph.D. in SLA programs. His recent publications include Sensitive periods, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment (2013), The Handbook of Language Teaching (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), Problems in SLA (2007), Second Language Needs Analysis (2005), and The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (Blackwell, 2003).

• Preface and Acknowledgments xiPart One Theory and Research 11 Why TBLT? 31.1. The Importance of Second Language Learning and Teaching in the Twenty-First Century 31.2. TBLT and the Meaning of ‘Task’ 51.3. A Rationale for TBLT 71.3.1. Consistency with SLA theory and research findings 71.3.2. Basis in philosophy of education 91.3.3. Accountability 91.3.4. Relevance 101.3.5. Avoidance of known problems with existing approaches 121.3.6. Learner-centeredness 131.3.7. Functionality 131.4. Summary 141.5. Suggested Readings 142 SLA and the Fundamental LT Divide 162.1. Interventionist and Non-Interventionist Positions 162.1.1. Interventionist positions 172.1.2. Non-interventionist positions 182.2. Synthetic and Analytic Approaches to LT 192.2.1. Synthetic approaches 192.2.2. Analytic approaches 202.3. Problems with Synthetic Approaches and Focus on Forms 212.4. Problems with Analytic Approaches and Focus on Meaning 252.5. A Third Option: Analytic Approaches with a Focus on Form 272.6. A Role for Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA) Research 282.7. Summary 292.8. Suggested Readings 293 Psycholinguistic Underpinnings: A Cognitive-Interactionist Theory of Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA) 303.1. Theoretical Disunity in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) 303.2. When Knowledge Is Incomplete: The Role of Theory 333.3. A Cognitive-Interactionist Theory of ISLA: Problems and Explanations 36P1. Purely incidental and implicit child L1A is overwhelmingly successful 36P2. Purely incidental and implicit adult L2A is highly variable and largely unsuccessful 37E1. Adult SLA is maturationally constrained 38E2. Adults, so defi ned, are partially “disabled” language learners 41P3. Some classes of linguistic features in adult SLA are fragile 43E3. Implicit learning is still the default learning mechanism 43E4. Explicit learning (including focal attention) is required to improve implicit processing in adult SLA but is constrained 49E5. Attention is critical, at two levels 51E6. The interaction hypothesis 52E7. The role of negative feedback, including recasts 54P4. Success and failure in adult SLA vary among and within individuals 57E8. Individual differences, especially input sensitivity, and linguistic differences, especially perceptual saliency, are responsible for variability in, and within, ultimate L2 attainment 583.4. Summary 603.5. Suggested Readings 614 Philosophical Underpinnings: L’education Integrale 634.1. TBLT’s Philosophical Principles: Origins and Overview 634.2. L’education Integrale and Learning by Doing 664.3. Individual Freedom 694.4. Rationality 714.5. Emancipation 724.6. Learner-Centeredness 754.7. Egalitarian Teacher–Student Relationships 764.8. Participatory Democracy 774.9. Mutual Aid and Cooperation 794.10. Summary 824.11. Suggested Readings 82Part Two Design and Implementation 855 Task-Based Needs and Means Analysis 875.1. Why Needs Analysis? 875.2. Needs Analysis and Learner Diversity 895.3. Doubts about Needs Analysis 925.3.1. General English for all 935.3.2. The ex post facto process syllabus 935.3.3. Felt needs or objective needs? 935.3.4. Learner heterogeneity 945.3.5. Surface linguistic features or underlying technical competence? 955.3.6. The dark side? 965.4. The Growth of Needs Analysis 985.4.1. The Council of Europe’s unit credit system 995.4.2. Munby’s Communication Needs Processor (CNP) and its critics 1015.5. Task as the Unit of (Needs) Analysis 1085.5.1. Tasks defined 1085.5.2. Avoiding the traditional bottleneck in needs analysis 1105.5.3. The availability of ready-made task-based analyses 1115.6. Means Analysis 1125.7. Summary 1155.8. Suggested Readings 1166 Identifying Target Tasks 1176.1. Sources of Information 1176.1.1. Published and unpublished literature 1186.1.2. The learners 1276.1.3. Applied linguists 1306.1.4. Domain experts 1356.1.5. Triangulated sources 1366.2. Methods 1396.2.1. The use of multiple measures and their sequencing 1396.2.2. Sampling 1466.2.3. Expert and non-expert intuitions 1476.2.4. Interviews 1496.2.5. Questionnaire surveys 1526.2.6. Language audits 1566.2.7. Participant and non-participant observation 1576.2.8. Journals and logs 1626.2.9. Proficiency measures 1656.2.10. Triangulation by methods and sources: the flight attendants study 1666.3. Summary 1676.4. Suggested Readings 1687 Analyzing Target Discourse 1697.1. Conventional Approaches to Language Analysis for Language Teaching (LT) 1697.2. The Dynamic Qualities of Target Discourse 1717.2.1. Boswood and Marriot’s “ethnographic approach” to NA 1727.2.2. Mohan and Marshall Smith’s “language socialization” approach to NA 1757.2.3. Watson-Gegeo’s true ethnography and “thick explanation” 1777.2.4. TBLT 1797.3. Discourse Analysis (DA) and Analysis of Discourse (AD) 1807.3.1. Discourse analysis 1807.3.2. Analysis of discourse 1817.3.3. Sampling and data collection 1857.4. Analysis of Target Discourse: Five Cases 1877.4.1. The railway ticket purchase 1887.4.2. Japanese tourist shopping 1917.4.3. Doing architecture 1957.4.4. Buying and selling a cup of coff ee 1987.4.5. When small talk is a big deal 2017.5. Summary 2037.6. Suggested Readings 2038 Task-Based Syllabus Design 2058.1. Some Minimum Requirements 2058.2. The Unit of Analysis 2068.2.1. The structural, or grammatical, syllabus 2078.2.2. The notional-functional syllabus 2088.2.3. The lexical syllabus 2108.2.4. Topical and situational syllabi 2128.2.5. The content syllabus 2148.2.6. The procedural syllabus 2168.2.7. The process syllabus 2198.2.8. The task syllabus 2218.2.9. The hybrid syllabus 2228.3. Selection 2238.3.1. Target tasks and target task-types 2238.3.2. Pedagogic tasks 2258.4. Grading 2278.4.1. Valency and criticality 2278.4.2. Frequency 2288.4.3. Learnability 2308.4.4. Complexity and difficulty 2308.4.5. Some research findings on pedagogic task-types 2418.5. Summary 2458.6. Suggested Readings 2469 Task-Based Materials 2489.1. Desirable Qualities of Pedagogic Tasks (PTs) 2489.2. Input Simplification and Elaboration 2509.2.1. Genuineness, input simplification, and authenticity 2509.2.2. Input elaboration 2519.2.3. The Paco sentences 2529.2.4. Effects of simplification and elaboration on L2 comprehension and acquisition 2559.3. Sample Task-Based Materials 2599.3.1. Preliminaries 2599.3.2. Sample modules for true and false beginners 2609.3.2.1. Geometric figures tasks (matching shapes) 2619.3.2.2. “Spot-the-difference” tasks 2649.3.3. Sample modules for elementary learners 2699.3.3.1. Obtaining and following street directions 2699.3.3.2. Decoding drug labels 2749.3.4. Sample modules for intermediate learners 2799.3.4.1. Negotiating a police traffic stop 2799.3.4.2. Delivering a sales report 2879.3.5. Sample modules for advanced learners 2919.3.5.1. A complex political issue 2919.3.5.2 Attending an academic lecture 2959.4. Summary 2979.5. Suggested Readings 29810 Methodological Principles and Pedagogic Procedures 30010.1. Methodological Principles (MPs), Pedagogic Procedures (PPs), and Evaluation Criteria (EC) 30010.1.1. Methodological principles 30110.1.2. Pedagogic procedures 30110.1.3. Evaluation criteria 30410.2. Ten Methodological Principles 30510.2.1. MP1: Use task, not text, as the unit of analysis 30510.2.2. MP2: Promote learning by doing 30610.2.3. MP3: Elaborate input 30610.2.4. MP4: Provide rich input 30610.2.5. MP5: Encourage inductive “chunk” learning 30710.2.6. MP6: Focus on form 31610.2.7. MP7: Provide negative feedback 32110.2.8. MP8: Respect learner syllabi and developmental processes 32310.2.9. MP9: Promote cooperative collaborative learning 32410.2.10. MP10: Individualize instruction 32510.3. Pedagogic Procedures 32610.4. Summary 32710.5. Suggested Readings 32711 Task-Based Assessment and Program Evaluation 32911.1. Task-Based, Criterion-Referenced Performance Tests 32911.2. Task Completion and/or Language Abilities? 33211.3. Target Tasks or Underlying Constructs and Abilities? 33411.4. The Transferability of Task-Based Abilities 33611.5. Program Evaluation 34111.5.1. Some general requirements on TBLT evaluations 34111.5.2. Laboratory and classroom studies 34311.5.3. Research findings on MPs 34511.5.4. Evaluating task-based courses and programs 34711.5.4.1. Establishing construct validity 34711.5.4.2. Sample evaluations and findings 35011.6. Summary 36411.7. Suggested Readings 365Part Three The Road Ahead 36712 Does TBLT Have a Future? 36912.1. Diffusion of Innovation 36912.2. A Research Program for TBLT 37312.3. Building the Road as We Travel 374References 376Appendix: List of Abbreviations 433Index 436