Reconceptualizing language teaching: an in-service teacher education course in uzbekistan

SECTION 2.3
Task-Based Language Teaching
‘The principles [of TBLT] are ones to which most lan-
guage teachers and students subscribe in their everyday 
lives – principles that need not be forgotten in the classroom. 
They include educating the whole person, learning by doing, 
rationalism, free association, learner-centeredness, egali-
tarian teacher–student relationships, and participatory de-
mocracy …’ (Long, 2015, p. 9).
GOALS
This section focuses on the main principles of task-based language 
teaching (TBLT), and addresses challenges faced by teachers in the Uzbek 
context.
By the end of this section, you will be able to…
A) relate the principles of task-based language teaching to your own 
teaching context;
B) reflect on the challenges you face and search for ways to address 
them; and,
C) apply the principles of task-based language teaching to develop 
your lesson plan.
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
This section focuses on defining and explicating TBLT in Uzbekistan. 
It starts with a short vignette about the challenges of implementing TBLT. 
Then, the key concepts section will display TBLT’s definition, roles of lan-
guage teacher and learners, and the task cycle. The TBLT lesson structure 
will be also discussed.
Think about the following:
What is a task for language teaching and learning?
What do you know about the task cycle? 
What does learner engagement mean to you? What is the role of a 
teacher in a TBLT classroom?
What do you need to know to effectively use TBLT in your classroom?

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RECONCEPTUALIZING LANGUAGE TEACHING
UZBEK VIGNETTE
An English language expert arrived in Uzbekistan in 2017 to examine 
and provide recommendations for the improvement of the National In-Ser-
vice Language Teacher Education Program in Tashkent. This program pro-
vided university language teachers with recent language teaching method-
ological discussions, and provided teachers up-to-date information about 
best practices for language teaching, which included using tasks and TBLT. 
The TBLT discussions were well-received by the teachers and many peo-
ple said they were going to incorporate TBLT into their language classes. 
However, after observing ten teachers across the Republic, it was clear to 
the English language expert that the university teachers did not use TBLT 
as they had said they would. Additionally, they did not give tasks for group 
work or pair work, and they mostly utilized the exercises from their course 
books. Mostly, in all the observed lessons, students were bored doing those 
exercises. There was a disconnect between what was taught in the training 
and what the teachers did in their classes. 
REFLECTION
Think about the case above. What could be the disconnect between 
what was taught in the training and what the teachers did in their class-
es? What do you think are some solutions?
KEY CONCEPTS
There are three key concepts in this section: task characteristics; task 
cycle; and, teacher’s role during the task cycle. We will explain aspect below. 
Nunan explained that TBLT is about “setting specific tasks for students 
so that they act as if they were using the language in real life” (as cited 
in Munira & Ferdousi, 2012, p.98). The TBLT educational framework focuses 
on using authentic language through meaningful tasks (e.g., a visit to a 
doctor; having a telephone conversation with a hotel manager). Thus, we 
find it important to situate TBLT among other teaching methods. TBLT is a 
branch of CLT as Communicative Language Teaching is a broad umbrella 
term (Harmer as cited in Littlewood, 2013, p. 3).