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TaskBasedLanguageTeaching:ResponsesfromChineseTeachersofEnglish

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TaskBasedLanguageTeaching:ResponsesfromChineseTeachers
ofEnglish
March2013Volume16,Number4
RanHu
EastCarolinaUniversity,USA
<hur ecu.edu>

Abstract
TheTaskbasedLanguageTeaching(TBLT)methodhasbeentheproposedteachingmethodunderthecurrentnationalEnglishcurriculum
since2001.However,fewstudieshaveinvestigatedinserviceteachersresponsetothisproposedlanguageteachingmethod.Inthisstudy,
thirtypublicschoolEnglishteacherswererecruitedinBeijingacrossschoollevels.Throughparticipantinterviewsandclassobservations,the
researcherexaminedhowChineseteachersofEnglishatdifferentschoollevelsinBeijingrespondtoTBLT.Resultssuggestthatteachers
responsestotheproposedteachingmethodrangedfromnegativedenial,passiveacceptance,toactiveapplicationoftheTBLTintheir
classroomsandtheyservedastheexaminers,technicians,andexplorersaccordingly.Furthermore,teacherswhoactivelyappliedtheTBLT
methodintotheirinstructiondemonstrateddifferentinstructionalfociintermsoftaskselectionandtaskimplementation.Thestudy
addressespedagogicalimplicationsofTBLTforcurriculumdevelopmentandEnglishinstructioninBeijing,China.
Keywords:Taskbasedlanguageteaching,teachingEnglishasaforeignlanguage,curriculumimplementation,teachingpedagogy,China.

Introduction
EnglishhaslongbeenconsideredasoneofthemostvitalsubjectsinschoolcurriculuminChina.Duringthepastdecade,thegovernmenthas
beenaddressingthenecessityofbeingabletocommunicateeffectivelyinEnglishasstudentsEnglishmasteryisdirectlyassociatedwith
futureeducationalopportunities,careerandincome.UndertheproliferationofEnglishlanguagelearning,arevisedNationalEnglish
CurriculumStandard(NECS)hasbeendevelopedbytheMinistryofEducationinChina(MOE)andimplementedinpublicschoolsinChina
since2001(MOE,2001).Inthiscurriculum,oneofmostimportantchangesistheimplementationofstudentcentered,taskbasedlanguage
teaching(TBLT).
Incontrasttothetraditionalgrammartranslationmethodortheaudiolingualmethodoflanguageteaching,TBLT,evolvedwithinthe
CommunicativeLanguageTeachingframework,calledforstudentsactiveparticipationinpairand/orgroupwork.TBLTsuggeststhat
teacherssupportstudentswithmeaningfulclassroomtasksandhelpthemcompletethosetasksthroughmodeling,experiencing,practicing,
participating,cooperating,andcommunicating(Klapper,2003MOE,2001Nunan,2004Richards&Rodgers,2001).Thisstudent
centered,teacherfacilitatedteachingmodelchallengedtheChineseConfucianheritagetradition,whichemphasizeshierarchicalrelations
betweenteachersandstudentsteachersaretheauthorityintheclassroomandtheexpertonthesubjectandstudentsbehavemodestly,listen
attentively,anddoexactlywhattheyareaskedtodo(Nisbett,2003Watkins&Biggs,1996,2001).
Teaching,regardlessofthesubjectarea,isaculturalactivity.ManyEnglishasasecondorforeignlanguage(ESL/EFL)teacherprogramsare
oftenrootedinWesternideology,whichpromotestheuseofWesternlanguageteachingmethodology.ChineseEFLteachers,however,are
influencedbyConfuciancultureandatraditionalteachingmodel(Rao,1996).ThisgovernmentmandatedTBLTinnovationinclassrooms
callsforChineseteachersofEnglishtomovefromtraditionalwaysofteachingtotheproposedlanguageteachingmethod.

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Taskbasedlanguageteaching
FourteachingmethodsthathavebeenusingprominentlyinEnglishinstructioninChinaincludethegrammartranslationmethod,the
audiolingualmethod,communicativelanguageteaching,andtaskbasedlanguageteaching.TBLToriginatesfromDeweysviewaboutthe
importanceofexperienceforeffectivelearning(Ellis,2009)andemphasizespurposefulandfunctionallanguageusebyusingreallifetasks
inclassroomsforstudentstoexperiencelearning.Centraltothisapproachisthetask.Long(1985)definesatargettaskas:
Apieceofworkundertakenforoneselforforothers,freelyorforsomereward.Thusexamplesoftasksincludepaintinga
fence,dressingachild,fillingoutaform,buyingapairofshoesInotherwords,bytaskismeantthehundredandone
thingspeopledoineverydaylife,atwork,atplayandinbetween.(p.89)
Whenthosetasksaretransformedfromtherealworldtotheclassroom,theybecomepedagogicaltasks,whichNunan(2004)definesas:
Apieceofclassroomworkthatinvolveslearnersincomprehending,manipulating,producingorinteractinginthetarget
languagewhiletheirattentionisfocusedonmobilizingtheirgrammaticalknowledgeinordertoexpressmeaning,andin
whichtheintentionistoconveymeaningratherthantomanipulateform.Thetaskshouldalsohaveasenseofcompleteness,
beingabletostandaloneasacommunicativeactinitsownrightwithabeginning,amiddleandanend.(p.4)
Skehan(1996)andCarless(2007)distinguishbetweenstrongandweakformsofTBLT.Thestrongformacknowledgestheimportanceof
meaningmakingunderreallifesituationsandemphasizestheauthenticityoftasks.Theweakformofferstheflexibilityofusingdifferent
kindsoftaskstofacilitatecommunicativelanguageteaching.IntheTBLTmethod,learnersassumetherolesofparticipants,monitors,risk
takers,andinnovators.Theyarerequiredtoactivelyparticipateinpairworkandgroupwork,facilitatelearningandreflection,andcreate
andinterpretmessagesforwhichtheylackfulllinguisticresourcesandpriorexperiences(Richards&Rodgers,2001).Teachersbecome
facilitators,participantanalysts,advisers,andprocessmanagers.Teachersarealsoresponsibleforselecting,modifyingandcreatingtasksto
meetstudentslearningneedsandprovidingdemonstrationsofhowtocompletethetasksuccessfully.Ellis(2009)discussesfouradditional
criteriathatmaydistinguishapedagogicaltaskfromaregularlanguageteachingactivity.Inordertobeconsideredasapedagogicaltask,
theactivityshouldfocusonmeaning,includesomekindofgapsolearnersareexpectedtoconveyinformation,expressanopinionorinfer
meaning,allowlearnerstorelyontheirownlinguisticandnonlinguisticresourcestocompletetheactivity,andstateaclearlydefined
outcome.
NumerousstudiesexploredtheapplicationofTBLTinlanguageclassroomsindifferentcountries.KaravasDoukas(1995)studiedthe
implementationofacommunicativeapproachinGreekpublicsecondaryschoolsandfoundthatEFLteachershadincompleteunderstanding
oftheadoptedlanguageteachingapproach.Asaresult,teachersreducedtheimplementationofthisapproachintheirclassrooms(Karavas
Doukas,1995).InSouthKorea,Li(1998)foundthatEFLteachershadlittletimetoadministerprocessbasedtasksduetotheneedtoprepare
studentsforthegrammarbasedlanguagetest.InJapan,Gorsuch(2001)reportedthatteacherspreferredthehighlycontrolled
communicativelanguageteachingactivitiesratherthanthosethatwerestudentcentered.Moser,Harris,andCarle(2012)arguedthatin
orderforJapaneseteacherstoprovidedialogicalteachinginEnglish,theyfirstneededtogainexperienceconductingcommunicativetasksin
English.InHongKong,Carless(2003,2007,&2008)studiedtheimplementationofTBLTinprimaryandsecondaryclassroomsand
summarizedsixissuesthataffectedtheimplementation,includingteacherbeliefs,teacherunderstandings,thetimeavailablefortaskbased
teaching,thetextbookandtopic,preparationandtheavailableresources,andstudentslanguageproficiency.Inaddition,Carlesscalledfor
theimplementationofsituatedtaskbasedteachingapproachesinHongKongclassrooms(Carless,2007).
InmainlandChina,considerableamountofscholarlyattentionhasbeengiventoTBLTinEFLclassroomsinrecentyears(Zheng,2008).
WhilemanystudieshaveinvestigatedtheapplicationofTBLTinreadingcoursesatthetertiarylevel(e.g.Li,2005Qian,2008Wen,2009
Wu,2011Xiao&Pan,2009),onlyafewempiricalstudieshaveexploredTBLTinpublicschoolclassrooms(Chen,2008Deng&Carless,
2010Zheng,2008).ThesestudiesinvestigatedindividualteachersfocusingontheissuesthatconstrainedtheimplementationofTBLTin
classrooms.ThesestudieshavealsohighlightedthefactthattheimplementationofTBLTwasaffectedbyteachersbeliefsandthecontextual
factorsinChina,suchastherigidnationalexaminations,availabilityofresources,studentsdifferentneedsandlanguageproficiencylevels.
However,whatislackingisamorecomprehensivepictureofhowteachersacrossvaryinginstructionallevelsimplementgovernment
mandatedtaskbasedlanguageteaching.

Beliefsaboutteachingandlearning
Thecurrentstudyassumesthatteachersapplypedagogicalinnovationsbasedontheirbeliefsaboutteachingandlearning(Pratt,Kelly&
Wong,1999Zheng&Adamson,2003).Researchhasdemonstratedthatteachersideasandtheoriesabouteffectiveteachingandlearning
areculturallyembeddedandnoteasilychanged(Clift&Brady,2005).IncontrasttoWesternSocraticdialogicalteachingapproaches,which
valuequestioning,criticizing,refuting,arguing,debatingandpersuading(Major,2005,p.85)andemphasizelearnerparticipationandthe
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coconstructionofknowledge,theChineseConfucianheritageteachingmodelcherishesthetransmissionofknowledgeandtendstobe
teacherdirected(Cortazzi&Jin,1996Gu&Schweisfurth,2006Watkins&Biggs,1996).Teachers,astheauthorityintheclassroom,present
knowledgebasedonher/hisbestability,andstudents,ontheotherhand,areexpectedtorespecttheknowledge,wisdom,andexpertiseof
theirteachers.
BecauseTBLTisrootedinWesternculture,ChineseteachersapplicationofthisteachingapproachinEFLclassroomsmayposechallenges
andconflicts.Therefore,thepurposeofthisstudyistoinvestigatehowChineseteachersofEnglishindifferentinstructionallevelsrespondto
TBLT.

Method
Asnowballsamplingmethodwasusedtorecruit30teachersfromsixpublicschoolsinBeijing(Patton,2011).Teacherparticipantsincluded
11teachersfromthreeelementaryschoolsand19teachersfromthreecompletesecondaryschools(includingbothmiddleschoolandhigh
school).Tenofthe19secondaryschoolteachersteachmiddleschoolandnineteachersteachhighschool.Theeducationtheseteachers
receivedrangedfromgraduatingfromprofessionalteachinghighschoolstoachievingaMastersdegreeinEnglisheducationfroman
Englishspeakingcountry,suchastheUnitedKingdom.TheyearsofexperienceteachingEnglishrangedfromfourmonthsto36yearsacross
thesamplewithanaverageof9years.Inaddition,fourteachersalsohadpriorexperiencesofworkingincompaniesorteachingsubjects
otherthanEnglish.Detailedinformationaboutthe30teachersispresentedinTable1.
Table1.TeacherInformation

Teacher

Grade
Level
taught

HighestDegreeandMajor

YearsofExperience
teachingEnglish

PriorExperiences

3rdand4th

BAinEnglishEd.

9months

2ndand
5th

ProfessionalHighschoolEducation

15years

TaughtEnglishinamiddleschoolfor8
years

1 stand4th

BAinPhysicsEducation

9months

6th

AAinEnglish

5years

5th

BAinEnglishEducation

11years

2ndand
4th

AAinChinese

11years

8yearsteachingChinese

1 stand3rd

BSinBiology

1year

Took3educationcoursestoobtainthe
teachingcertificateaftergraduation

1 stand6th

ProfessionalHighSchoolEducation

4years

10yearsteachingChinese

1 stand2nd

BAEnglish

17years

10

4th

AAfirst,thenstudiedforBAEnglishonthe
job

4months

5yearsteachingPE

11

3rd

BAinEnvironmentalEngineering

6months

Obtainedtheteachingcertificatewhile

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TaskBasedLanguageTeaching:ResponsesfromChineseTeachersofEnglish
workingonBAdegree

12

7 th

BAinEnglishEducation.Workingonher
MAinEnglishEducationnow.

8years

13

8th

MAinLinguisticEducation

4years

14

7 th

AAfirst,thenobtainedBAinEnglish
Education3yearsago.

20years

15

8th

BAinEnglishEducation

10years

16

8th

BAinEnglishEducation

3years

17

9th

BAinEnglishEducation,workingonMAin
EnglishEducationnow

5years

18

7 th

BAinEnglish

5years

19

8th

AAinForeignTrade,thenobtainedBAin
EnglishEducation

14years

WorkinginaCompanyfor2years.

20

8th

MAinEnglishEducation

2years

21

9th

ProfessionalHighSchoolEducation

36years

22

10th

BAinEnglishEducation

14years

BeinganexchangeteacherintheUSfor6
months.

23

11 th

BAinEnglishEducation

10years

6yearsaftergettingBA4yearsaftergetting
MA.

MAinEnglishEducation(UK)

24

12th

BAinEnglish

20years

25

11 th

BAinEnglish,MAinLinguistic

1.5years

26

11 th

BAinEnglishEducation

12years

27

11 th

BAinEnglish,

15years

MAinEnglishEducation

28

12th

MAinEnglishEducation

13years

29

12th

BAinEnglishEducation

5years

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30

TaskBasedLanguageTeaching:ResponsesfromChineseTeachersofEnglish
12th

MAinEnglishEducation

10years

Datacollectionandanalysis
Inordertoprotecttheprivacyoftheteachers,anumberwasassignedtorepresenteachteacherduringthedatacollectionandanalysis.Data
includedsemistructuredinterviews,fieldobservations,anddocuments,whichcontainpublishedinstructionaldocumentsandteaching
artifacts.Twointerviewswereconductedwitheachteacheroncebeforeclassroomobservationandonceafterwards.Thesecondinterview
allowedtheresearchertoclarifyanyquestionsorconcernsraisedduringobservationsandforteacherstoclarifycertainteachingpoints.All
interviewswererecordeddigitallyandtranscribedbytheresearcher.ParticipantspreferredtoconducttheinterviewinChinese.
Eachteacherwasalsoobservedbytheresearcherintheclassroomatleasttwice.Observationswerealsorecordeddigitallyandtranscribedby
theresearcher.Publisheddocumentsandinstructionalmaterialsincludethe2001NationalEnglishCurriculumStandard,textbooks,
teachersmanuals,studentsworkbooks,teacherslessonplans,PowerPointpresentationsandhandouts.Datafromclassroomobservations
wereuseddevelopadeeperunderstandingofparticipantsresponsestoTBLT.
Inductiveanddeductiveanalysis(PurcellGates,2004)wasusedindataanalysis.Inductiveanalysiswasconductedontheinterview
transcriptionsbyassigningcodes,groupingcodesintocategories,andmergingcategoriesintothemes.Observationtranscriptionsandother
documentswereanalyzeddeductivelytolookforinstructionalexamplesthatsupportedthecategoriesandthemesidentifiedfrominterview
transcripts.ItisimportanttonotethatasaChinesenationalwholearnedandtaughtEnglishinChina,Ibringanunavoidablecultural
insidersperspectivetodatainterpretation.Hence,thispaperreportsonmyunderstandingofteachersresponsestoTBLT.

Findings
Resultsindicatethatteachersresponsestotheproposedteachingmethodrangedfromnegativedenial,passiveacceptance,toactive
applicationoftheTBLTintheirclassrooms.Teacherswhoseresponsesfallintothesethreecategoriesservedastheexaminers,technicians,
andexplorersaccordingly(Figure1).Furthermore,teacherswhoactivelyappliedtheTBLTmethodtotheirinstructionalsodemonstrated
differentinstructionalfociintermsoftaskselectionandtaskimplementation.

Figure1.Summaryoftheteachercategories

NegativedenialofTBLTTeachersasExaminers
Ofthe30teacherparticipants(17%),fiveteachersheldnegativeopinionsaboutTBLTanddeniedtheimplementationofTBLTintheir
classrooms.Twooftheseteacherstaughtinelementaryschools,onetaughtinamiddleschool,andtwotaughtatahighschool.These
teachersdoubtedtheeffectivenessofthemethod,anddiscussedreasonswhytheycouldnotadoptthisnewmethodbasedtheirteachingon
theExaminationGuide.Forinstance,anelementaryschoolteacherwondered,Canmystudentsreallymasterthecontentbyplayinggames?
Idontthinkso.Amiddleschoolteacherpreferredexplainingtomystudentsandaskingthemtotakenotesandusetheirmemorization,
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andanotherteacherinhighschoolargued,Theywontpass[theCollegeEntranceExamination]ifmyteachingistaskbased.
Traditionalteachercenteredteachingmodelscharacterizedtheinstructionalpracticesinthiscategory.Forexample,oneelementaryschool
teacherwasobservedreviewinggrammarpoints(howtousewhatandwhentoaskquestionsinfuturetense)andspelling(daysoftheweek).
SheexplainedgrammarrulesinChinese,askedstudentstorecallstrategies,askedacoupleofstudentstoanswerherquestions,thenfinally
askedstudentstofinishtheworkbookactivitiesasawaytoreinforcewhattheyhavelearned.
AmiddleschoolteacherindicatedthatshewasconfusedaboutgrammarinstructionundertheTBLTmethod.Shesaid,Itseemedthatthe
bookpromotedlearninggrammarthroughcompletingtasksandactivitieshowever,theexamsrequiredteacherstoexplicitlyteachgrammar
rules,forms,andusages.IhavetofollowtheGuidetoensureagoodtestingresult.BeforestartingareadingpassageSixrulesforasafe
andhealthylife,theteachertaughtkeyexpressions,phrases/collocations,andgrammar.Shelistedthekeypointsontheblackboardand
explainedeachoneingreatdetail(Figure2).

Figure2.Languagepointsof9thgrade
AnotherhighschoolteacherpointedouttheimportanceofknowingmultiplemeaningsofbasicvocabularywordsfortheCollegeEntrance
Examination.Inavocabularylesson,shereviewedeachwordandsummarizedthemultiplemeaningsofthosewords.Next,shereadaloud
hernotesandaskedstudentstocopydownwhatshesaid.Shethenaskedstudentstomemorizetheirnotesashomework.Figure3provides
anexampleofherteachingthreewordspart,pass,andpast.Whenshewasaskedinthefollowinginterviewaboutwhyshedidnotprint
outhernotestodistributeandusetheclasstimeforotherlearningactivities,sheanswered,Noactivityisbetterthantoaskthemwritedown
somethingtheyneedtoremember.Itisthebestwaytomemorize.

Figure3.Keyvocabularyin12thgrade

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Inconclusion,teacherswhodeniedusingTBLTweremostlyconcernedwithexaminationsandscoresandadheredtoatraditionalteacher
centeredmethod.Instructionaltasksinvolvingpairworkorgroupworkwerenotevidentintheirteaching.TeachersalsousedChineseasthe
dominantinstructionallanguageanddevotedthemajorityoftheirclasstimetoreviewandpracticefortests.Theyalsomadetheirown
decisionsaboutwhatandhowtoteachbasedontheExaminationGuide,ratherthanthetextbookorteachersmanual.Alloftheseteachers
exceptonetaughtatthegraduatinggrades(Grades6,9,and12),inwhichstudentsneedtotakehighstakingtestsinordertoenterthenext
schoollevel.Teachersthusattendedtostudentsachievementonthenationwidehighstakeexaminationsandfocusedonhelpingstudents
achievehighscoresonexaminations.TheytookontheroleofexaminersandstudiedtheExaminationGuidecarefullytoensurethatallthe
testingpointsintheGuidewereclearlyexplained.

PassiveacceptanceofTBLTTeachersasTechnicians
Ofthe30participants(33%),tenteachersheldapassiveattitudetowardTBLT,eventhoughtheyreportedthattheyhaveimplementedthis
methodintheirteaching.Fouroftheseteacherswerefromelementaryschoolsandsixfrommiddleschools.Teachersinthiscategoryshared
threecharacteristics:theydidnotgivemuchthoughtaboutwhatTBLTwas,theyhadincompleteunderstandingaboutthemethod,andthey
implementedTBLTbecausetheywererequiredtodoso.Oneelementaryschoolteacherstated:
Idontknowmuchaboutthismethod,buttheManualhasdetaileddirectionaboutwhattypesofactivitiesIcando,what
shouldIsay,howIcanhelpstudents,etc.Ijustfollowthisguide.Andyouknow,atthislevelstudentsdonotlearnmuch,
followingthemanualis,whatIbelieve,themostappropriateway.
Anotherteacheradded,Iteachfollowingthemanualandtextbookregardlessofwhatevertheproposedinstructionalmethodsaresome
tasksinthetextbookareinterestingandfun,butsomearereallynot.Wegoovereverythingsincetheyareallrequired.Severalotherteachers
alsotalkedabouthowtoimplementTBLTintheirclassrooms,
Istarttoincludemoreactivitiesforstudentstodoingroupsorpairsinclassratherthanjustmyselfpresenting.
Ileavemoretimeforstudentstocompletethetasksbythemselvesinclass,suchastheexercisesontheirworkbookand
listeningactivities.
Mystudentsaregettingbetterwithfollowingdirectionsofdoingallthesetypesofactivities.
Nonetheless,mostteachersinthiscategoryunderstoodtaskbasedteachingasteachingwithactivities.Theypresenteddifferentactivities
andrequireddifferentparticipatorystructures,suchasgroupwork,pair/partnerwork,andindependentwork,assuggestedbythebook.For
example,whenthe4thgradeteachertaughtaunit(Unit10Letsgo),shestartedthelessonbyplayingthetapereadingoutloudthetexts.
Shethenaskedstudentsquestionslistedonthemanualtoassesstheircomprehension.Finally,sheledstudentsthrougheachactivitylistedin
thebook,suchasWordstoLearn,andTalkTogether.WordstoLearnwasalisteningactivitythatrequiredstudentstomatchwhatthey
heardfromthetapetothepicturesandwordsprovidedinthebook.Theteacheraskedstudentstocompletetheactivityindependentlyand
thencheckwithapartner.
InanotheractivitycalledTalkTogether,theteacheraskedstudentstocollaborateingroupsoffour.Followingthegivenexample(below),
studentsweresupposedtocommunicatewithgroupmembersusingthegivenwords(museum,library,park,supermarket)toreplacethe
underlinedpartintheexample.
Mocky:LetsgototheamusementPark.
Ken:Dowehaveenoughtime?
Mocky:Yes,wedo.Itsonlythreeoclock.
Ken:Shallwegotoamovie?
Mocky:Dowehaveenoughmoney?
Ken:No,wedont.Wehaveonly7yuan.
Atmiddleschoollevel,whena9thgradeteachertaughttheunitTeenagersshouldbeallowedtochoosetheirownclothes,shedidnot
provideanyotheractivitythanthosefoundinthetextbook.Shefollowedtheorderoftheactivities,startingwiththeAgreeandDisagree
activity(1a),thelisteningTrueorFalseactivity(1b),andfinallythepairworkactivity(1c)(Figure4).Anothermiddleschoolteachertaughta
lessonfocusingonreviewinglanguagepoints.Sheaskedstudentstoreadinpairsandassignedeachpairasimilartaskofunderliningkey
vocabularywordsandimportantsentencestructures.Next,sheselectedthreepairstosharewhattheyhaveunderlined.Afterthat,the
teacherexplainedtheimportantvocabularyandexpressionsbasedonherpreparedlistratherthanwhatstudentspicked.Finally,oneofher
assignmentstostudentswastorecitetheusefulvocabularyandexpressionssheexplainedinclass.

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Figure4.Languageactivitiesof9thgradestudents
Toconclude,eitherteachersinthiscategorywerenotconcernedaboutthecurrentproposedteachingmethodortheyhadverylimited
knowledgeaboutTBLT.Whattheymostlycaredaboutwasthetextbookortheteachersmanualandtheyensuredthatallactivitiesinthe
bookwerecompleted.Theirclassroomswerefullofactivitiesofdifferentkindsandindifferentparticipatorystructures.Theyusedboth
ChineseandEnglishastheinstructionallanguage,andstudentsweremotivatedtoparticipateindifferentlearningactivities.Basedonwhat
theysaidanddidinclassrooms,itisreasonabletoassumethatteachersresponsestoTBLTwerenodifferentthanresponsestoanyother
proposedteachingmethod.TheybelievedthatifthetextbookwasdesignedtopromotetheuseofTBLTmethod,thentheyhavedonetheir
job.Inthissense,theywereliketechnicians,whodidexactlywhattheyweretoldtodo.

ActiveapplicationofTBLTTeachersasExplorers
Theremaining15teachersbelongedtothiscategory(50%).Fourteacherswerefromelementaryschools,fourfrommiddleschools,andseven
fromhighschools.AlltheteachersheldapositiveattitudetowardTBLTandwereeagertolearnaboutthismethod.Theytriedtoimplement
TBLTintheirclassroomsanddemonstrateddifferentinstructionalfociintermsoftaskselectionandtaskimplementation.Theybelievedthat
TBLTmadelearninginteresting,meaningfulandpractical.Oneelementaryteachersaidthatherclasswasfulloffun.Shecreatedmanytasks
andactivities,suchaspuzzlesandguessinggames,forherstudentstocompleteindividually,inpairs,andingroups.Shecomparedher
currentteachinginanelementaryschoolwithherpreviousteachinginamiddleschoolandstated:
WhenItaught7thgradeinthepast,teachingEnglishwasnotmuchfun.Weuseddifferentseriesoftextbookstoo,and
everythingwasverystructured.Asateacher,Iaskedquestions,explainedkeywords,talkedaboutthepassagewithdetailed
explanationofgrammarrulesStudentswrotedownthekeypoints,rules,newvocabularyontheirnotebooks.Andthenwe
didlotsofdictations,examinations,andrequiredstudentstorecitealot.Verydifferentfromtodaythatstudentscanjust
learnfromplayingandexperiencing.Wedosomanyactivitiesinclassandstudentsareactivelearners.
AhighschoolteacheralsocommentedontheTBLTmethodbysayingtheactivitiesmadelearningmeaningful,hence,studentshavelearned
practicalstufftouseindailylife.
Amajorityoftheseteachersalsoindicatedthatparticipatingindifferenttypesofprofessionallearningopportunitiesequippedthemwithnew
knowledgeabouttheproposedteachingmethod.Theteachersreportedthreedifferentwaysforprofessionaldevelopment.Theycouldeither
gobacktoschooltofurthertheireducation,selfstudy,orattendTheEnglishCorner[1]toimprovetheiroralEnglishskills.
Severalteacherschosetoexpandtheirknowledgeofteachingbygoingbacktoanormaluniversity(universityfocusingonteachereducation
programs)toeitherobtainahigherdegreeorenrollinanondegreeprogram.Theyreportedtworeasonsforcontinuingtheireducation:they
didnothaveeducationmethodcoursesduringtheirundergraduatestudyortheyhadinsufficientknowledgeaboutteachingEnglishunder
theproposedTBLTmethod.Oneteachersaid:
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IwasanEnglishmajor,soIknowEnglishwell.However,IfeltthatifIwanttobeagoodteacher,Ineedtounderstandmore
aboutdifferentteachingmethods.AndthatiswhyIwentbacktomyuniversitytogetaMasterdegreeonEnglishEducation.
Theotherteachersaid:
ComparedwithhowItaughtEnglish10to15yearsago,TBLTrequiresteacherstodoalotmore.Teachersneedtobeableto
designdifferenttasksandfacilitatetheimplementationofthesetasks.Teachersneedtobeabletocommunicatewithstudents
inEnglish.Alltheserequirementsforcedmetokeeplearning.Inthisprogram(thenondegreeprogram)Iamenrolled,Imet
otherteachersandweexchangedourteachingexperiences.Welearnfromdifferentprofessors.Iamfeelingmoreprepared
andready!
SeveralotherteacherschosetostudybythemselvesandreferredtotheInternet,educationjournals,books,andtheircolleaguesforhelp.One
teacheradmittedthatshewasnotwellpreparedtoteachEnglishundertheTBLTmethod,soshereadseveraleducationmethodologybooks
andjournalsarticlestoincreaseherknowledgeofthismethod.SeveralotherteachersexploredtheInternettolearnabouttheTBLT.One
said:
IlearnedfromtheInternetthatteachersshouldreallythinkaboutthegoalthatyouwantyourstudentstoachieve,andthen
youdesignaseriesofactivitiesortaskshelpingstudentstoachievethegoal.ThebiggestdifferencebetweenTBLTandusing
differentactivitiesmaybeisjustthatTBLTistousethetasktoachievealearningobjective.
Anotherteacheracknowledgedtheimportanceofteachersoralfluencyunderthenewcurriculum.Shehasbeenparticipatinginpublic
Englishcornersheldatauniversityeveryweek.Shesaid:
IfIrequiremystudentstobefluentinspeaking,IthinkIshouldfirstsetupanexampleforthem.However,atthetimethatI
receivededucation,IdidnothavemuchopportunitytopracticemyoralEnglish.SoIdoitnow.Sincelastsemester,Ihave
beengoingtotheEnglishcorneratRenDa(thenameoftheuniversity)everySaturdaytopracticemyoralEnglish.
TaskSelection

Whiletheseteacherstriedtofindwaystoexpandtheirknowledge,theirclassroomteachingalsodemonstrateddifferentinstructionalfociin
termsoftaskselectionandtaskimplementation.Severalteachersfocusedonthepracticalaspectoflanguagelearningwhenselectingtasks.
WhenteachingtheunitonproblemsolvinginGrade8,ateacheraskedstudentstothinkabouttherealproblemtheywerehavinginsteadof
usingtheactivitiessuggestedbythetextbook.Forinstance,onestudenttoldtheclassthathisbiggestproblemwasmanagingthedifferent
opinionsonextrareadingheandhisparentsheld.Thisstudentlovedtoreadnovels(suchasChineseclassicsandWuxiaXiaoshuowrittenby
JinYong)andheconsideredreadingagoodextracurricularactivity.However,hisparentswarnedhimthatheshouldnotreadthosenovels
becauseofthepressuretostudy.Hence,theconflictwithhisparentsbecameabigproblemandhewasinneedofadviceabouthowtodeal
withit.Thewholeclassdiscussedhisproblemandsuggestedthatheputmoretimeonhisschoolwork,haveaconversationwithhisparents
aboutreadingnovels,andmakeareadingschedule.Aftertheobservation,theteacherclarifiedherpurposeofconductingtheactivity:
IthinkTBLTsuggeststhatstudentsshouldlearnfromconductingmeaningfulreallifetasks.EventhoughinChina,wemay
nothaveanauthenticlanguageatmosphere,IbelievethatIcancreateanatmosphereinclassroomforstudentstousethe
languageinrealsituations.ThisactivityisverypracticalwehelpedhimsolvetheproblemandwediditINENGLISH.
Anotherteacherinahighschoolwasconcernedifthetaskstheyusedinclasscouldbroadenstudentsknowledge.HebelievedthatEnglish
shouldbeacontentareasubject,similartomathandhistory,ratherthanalanguageskill.Therefore,thepurposeofteachingEnglishwasto
broadenstudentsknowledge.HeconsideredEnglishasafunsubjecttoteachbecausestudentscanlearnthingsthroughadifferent
languageandthelanguageprovidedapathwayforstudentstolearnmanyunknown.Heregardedteachingandtestingpressuresas
somethingyoufeelifyouthinkaboutitallthetimes,butitwillbegoneifyoumakeyourteachingoutstandingbecausestudentslearnso
muchthatmeetingthosestandardsisjustapieceofcake.
Oneunitinthe10thgradetextbookincludesareadingpassageaboutMarcoPoloandHisTravels.Inadditiontocompletingtheactivities
andexercisesinthetextbook(fillinginblankswithkeywordsandcomprehensionquestions),thisteacherdesignedaresearchprojecton
MarcoPolo,andtopicsincludedhislife,hiscontributionstoEuropeandAsia,andbooksandmoviesabouthim.Studentswereaskedtowork
ingroups,writeprojectreports,andsharethemwiththeirclassmates.Inthefollowingclass,studentswatchedanEnglishmovieaboutMarco
Polo.Inthepostobservationinterview,theteachersmadetheremark:
Itrulybelievethatmylessonswereeffective.StudentshavelearnedalotofinformationaboutMarcoPolotheyhavetoread
extensivelyinordertofindtheinformation,theyhavetousethekeywordsandthekeygrammarpointsinwritingthereport,
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theypracticedtheiroralEnglishinordertopresent.Yousawittheydidawonderfuljob.Ithinkmystudentslevelare
beyondthosestandards.
Severalotherteacherswereconcernedaboutstudentsdifferentabilitylevelswhendeterminingclassroomtasks.Theydividedstudentsinto
groupsbasedonstudentsdifferentabilitylevelsandassignedtasksthathaddifferentdifficultylevels.Forexample,inoneofthehighschool
teacherswritingclass,shedividedtheclassintotwogroupsassigningthemdifferentwritingtasks:thelowerabilitygroupwasaskedtowrite
anessayonthetopichowcanIhelptosaveenergyfollowingthetexttemplateandusingsomeofthekeysentencestructureslearnedinthe
readingpassagethehighabilitygroupwasaskedtowritefreelyonissueswithglobalwarming.Laterintheinterview,sheexplainedher
rationaleforgroupingstudents:
Ihavetodividethemintogroups.SomeofmytopstudentswontbeinterestedifIaskthemtocompletetheverystructured
writingtask.Theyhavecreativeminds.Ontheotherhand,mylowerabilitystudentswontbeabletowritefreelyiftheywere
notprovidedwithcertainstructures.TheyneedstepbystepguidanceAndinthisway,Ifoundmystudentsarewillingto
askmorequestions,especiallythelowerabilitygroup,sometimestheywouldfeelshyaskingabasicquestioninfrontofthose
advancedstudents.
TaskImplementation

Whenimplementingclassroomtasks,teacherspresenteddifferentinstructionalconcernsincludingmeetingtheexpectedobjectives,
promotingstudentsinterest,andapplyinglearningstrategiestopractice.
Forinstance,acoupleofteachersemphasizedusinglearningobjectivestoguidetaskimplementationduringteaching.Theypraisedthe
currenttextbookasabookwithspecificlearningobjectives,goalorientedmaterial,andprovidedinstructionbasedontheobjectives.A
lessoninthe9thgradetextbookwasaboutplacesstudentsliketovisitandthelearningobjectivesaretobeabletotalkaboutplacesyouwould
liketovisit,usewouldandhopeforexpressingdesires,andmemorizeandusekeyvocabularywordssuchasthrilling,fascinating,peaceful,
tiring,educational,takeiteasy,jungle,trek,touristy,pack,light,heavy,provide,offer.Inordertomeettheseobjectives,ateacherdesigned
aseriesoftasks.First,studentsingroupsoffourwereaskedtodesignaroleplayactivitytodiscussatriptheyrecentlytookusingthekey
vocabularywordsandexpressions.Next,groupmemberswereaskedtocollaboratewitheachothertowriteasummary/narrativeoftheir
roleplay.Finally,everyothergroupexchangedtheirwritingandofferedfeedbackandcommentstoeachother.
Teachersattheelementaryschoollevelweremostconcernedaboutstudentsinterestduringtaskimplementationandusedmultipleresources
tofacilitatelearning.Forinstance,inalessonaboutfriends,a5thgradeteacherusedthecomputertoshowamovieclip,ataperecorderto
helpstudentspracticelisteningandlistentomusic,picture/wordcardsforvocabularylearning,andhandpuppetstoperformashortplay
(similartothereaderstheatre).Shestatedthatbyincorporatingalltheseresourcestoherlesson,studentswerealwayseagertolearnEnglish.
Anotherteacherusedextrinsicmotivationstrategiessuchasofferingstickersandstampsinclasstoincreaseactiveparticipationinclass.
Severalotherteachersweremostconcernedaboutstudentssuccessinusinglearningstrategiesandprovidednumerousopportunitiesfor
studentstopracticethesestrategiesinandoutofclass.AfterreadingapassageaboutZhengHeandHisSevenVoyages,ateacherasked
studentstoconductgroupdiscussions,whichwasacomprehensionstrategyshehadjusttaught.Sheemphasizedtherulesforcreating
effectivediscussion,includingparticipationfromallstudents,providingreasonsratherthansimplyagreeingordisagreeing,andreading
carefullytothinkdeeplytounderstandtheauthorsinference.Otherlearningstrategiesmentionedincludedusingcontextclues,activating
backgroundknowledge,guessing,predicting,andfocusreading.Theteachers,mostlyinthemiddleandhighschools,constantlyreminded
studentstoapplythesedifferentlearningstrategieswhentheyreadbythemselves,withapeerandinagroup.Furthermore,acoupleofthe
teachersalsomodeledhowstudentscouldusethelearningstrategies.Forinstance,amiddleschoolteacherdemonstratedhowshepredicted
fromtheshowedstudentshowshechoseareadingtextthatwaseasytounderstandbyactivatingherbackgroundknowledge.
Inconclusion,teachersinthiscategoryweremostpositiveaboutTBLTandhavedemonstratedtheirwillingnesstolearnTBLTinEnglish
instructionbycontinuingtheireducationatauniversityselfstudying,andattendingpublicEnglishcorners.TheyactivelyimplementedTBLT
intheirclassrooms,andtheirteachinghasdemonstrateddifferentinstructionalfoci.Whenselectingappropriatetasksforclassroom
instruction,theteacherswereconcernedwiththepracticabilityoflanguagelearning,andwhetherthetaskcanbroadenstudentsknowledge,
andstudentsdifferentabilitylevels.Whenimplementingthetasks,theteachersweremostconcernedaboutmeetingtheexpectedlearning
objectives,promotingstudentsinterest,andapplyinglearningstrategiestopractice.Teachersinthisgroupwereexplorers,learningabout
thisproposedteachingmethodologybythemselvesandimplementingitbasedontheirunderstandingandbeliefsaboutTBLT.Figure5
summarizedthecharacteristicsofteachersinthisgroup.

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Figure5.Characteristicsoftheteacherasexplorergroup

DiscussionandConclusion
Incontrasttopreviousstudiesthatfocusedonindividualcases(Chen,2008Deng&Carless,2010Zheng,2008),thisstudyinvestigated
how30EnglishteachersfromsixpublicschoolsatdifferentlevelsinBeijing,ChinarespondedtotheproposedTBLTmethod.Theirdifferent
responseshavebeengroupedintothreecategories.Asmallportionoftheteachers(5outof30,17%)wereexaminers,whowereonly
concernedaboutstudentsachievementonexaminationsandremainingfaithfultothetraditionalteachingmethodsthattheywereusedto.
Onethirdoftheteachers(10outof30,33%)weretechnicianswhotaughtscriptedlessonsbasedonthetextbooksandmanualsregardlessof
theproposedteachingmethods.Halfoftheteachers(15outof30,50%)wereexplorers,whoselectedappropriatetasksandfindingwaysto
implementTBLTintheirclassrooms.
WecanconcludethatteachersinthefirsttwocategoriesweredoubtfuloftheeffectivenessofthisproposedTBLTinEnglishclassroomsin
China,similartotheimplementationofTBLTinmanyothercountriessuchasGreece(KaravasDoukas,1995),Korea(Li,1998),andJapan
(Gorsuch,2001).Therefore,teachersinthefirstcategorytaughttoexaminationsandteachersinthesecondcategoryprovidedscripted
instructionbasedonteachersmanuals.ThisfindinghasalsobeensupportedbypriorresearchtargetingEnglishclassroomsinChina.Hu
(2004)reportedthatpedagogicalpracticesinmanyChineseclassroomshavenotchangedfundamentallyregardlessofthetopdown
promotionoftheproposedteachingmethod.DengandCarless(2010)explainedhowexaminationpreparationhasbecomesometeachers
majorconcernintermsofpedagogicinnovation.Hu(2005)andRao(1996)alsopointedoutthatsometeachersresistancetowardthe
proposedteachingmethodmightbeduetothefactthattheactivitybased,studentcenteredlearningchallengedChinesetraditionalbelief
aboutlearning.
WhiletheseteacherswerecautiousaboutimplementingTBLTintheirclassrooms,anotherhalfoftheteachersinthisstudywerepassionate
explorerswhofoundwaystoimplementthisproposedlanguageteachingmethodintheirclassrooms.Theseteacherstriedtoequip
themselveswithnewknowledgeaboutTBLT,carefullyselectedanddesignedclassroomtasks,andimplementedTBLTwithdifferent
instructionalfoci.Thisfindingdemonstratedthesuccessofcurriculumdevelopmentandtheimprovementachievedbytheseteachersin
Beijing,China,andsuggestedadifferentperspectiveonthetraditionalChineseteachingmodel.Whileimplementingthisgovernment
initiatedTBLTmethod,theseteachersstrovetolearnaboutthispromotedteachingmethodandadapttheirteachingtoprovideeffective
instructionaccordingly.
Furthermore,acloserinvestigationoftaskselectionandimplementationamongtheteachersinthe3rdcategoryrevealedtheapplicationof
weakformsofTBLTintheseclassrooms.Whiletheteachersuseddifferentkindsoftasksincreatedsituationstopromotestudents
communicativeability,traditionalwaysofteachingwerealsoprevalentintheirinstruction.SimilartoZhengandAdamson(2003)and
Carless(2007)sfindings,itisreasonabletoconcludethattheweakformofTBLTwasmoreappropriateandpracticaltoimplementfor
EnglishteachersinChina.Ellis(2003)arguedthattheweakformofTBLTwasactuallythetasksupportedteachingandCarless(2007)
addressedtheneedforadaptationtoprovideasituatedversionoftaskbasedteachinginforeignlanguageclassroomsinChina.
Inaddition,findingsalsosuggestthatteachersunderstoodthenotionoftaskdifferently.Someteacherssawataskasincludinggoal
orientatedactivitiesorselfcreatedgames,whileothersvieweditastheexerciseslistedonthetextbookandtheteachersmanual.Some
teachersunderstooditasactivitiesthatservedthereallifepurposes.InregardtowhattaskreallymeantbyTBLT,the2001NECSfailedto
provideadefinition.Previousliteraturehasofferedacoupledefinitionsofthetermtask,butNunan(2005)alsostressedtheimportanceof
languagecontextwhendefiningit:
[T]askscouldinclude,completingagrammarbingogameafteracontrastiveanalysis,grammartranslationbased
presentation(para.14)Taskscanbealsofunandhighlystudentcenteredwhenborrowingoneffectivegamesandother
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suchactivitiesthoughtaskisnotasubstitutewordforgames.(para.8)
Therefore,theTBLTmethoddoesnotdenythat
InsomeAsianclassesoranywhereintheworldforthatmatterthatcertaintraditionalapproachesneedtohavetheirday.
Ratheritisespeciallysupportiveofanintegratedapproach,orevenwheretheneedsofthelearnermaybesolely
communicative.(Nunan,2005,para.14)
Nunans(2005)argumentappliestothecontextofthisstudy.Infact,thisgroupofteachersconstructedtheirunderstandingsoftheTBLT
methodandimplementeditbasedonwhattheybelievedasmostimportant.Therefore,curriculumdevelopmentagenciesneedtobetter
supportteacherswithTBLTknowledgeinordertoensurethesuccessfulimplementationofthisproposedmethodinclassrooms.Littlewood
(2007)providesausefulfivecategoryframeworkthatwouldallowteacherstodevelopinstructionfromthemostformfocused,non
communicativeteachingtofinallythemostmeaningoriented,authenticcommunicativeteaching.
Itisworthmentioningthatthisstudydoesnotaimtouncoverthedifferencesamongteachersatdifferentschoollevelintermsoftheir
responsestowardTBLT.Rather,thestudyfocusesonallteachersasawholeandaimstoprovideamacropictureoftheteachersinpublic
schoolsacrossdifferentlevels.Thiscouldbeoneofthelimitationsofthestudy,butitsuggestedaneedforfutureresearchtocompare
teachersunderstandingandimplementationofTBLTacrossdifferentschoollevels.
Asafinalpoint,scholarswhobelievedthelimitedapplicabilityofTBLTforforeignlanguageclassroomsatthemostbasicschoollevels
(Bruton,2005Swan,2005)andthosewhosuggestedthatTBLTchallengedtheConfucianheritageschoolcontext(Carless,2004Li,1998),
thispaperprovidedempiricalevidencetosuggestthepossibilityofimplementingTBLTinforeignlanguageclassroomsacrossdifferentschool
levelsinBeijing,China.Implicationsofthisstudyincluderecommendationsforcurriculumdesigners,teacherpreparationinstitutions,and
educatorswhocreatepoliciesforEnglishinstruction.
Note
[1]TheEnglishCornerreferstoaspecificlocationwithintheRenminUniversitycampusinBeijingChina.Studentsandcitizensgatherthere
everyFridayeveningtopracticeoralEnglishskills.Theplaceisopentopublic.

AbouttheAuthor
RanHuisanAssistantProfessorofReadingEducationintheCollegeofEducationatEastCarolinaUniversity,Greenville,NorthCarolina.

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