Understating of EFL teachers

Zhang Yingzi

【Abstract】The concept of Task-based language teaching （TBLT） has been embraced as an orthodoxy in the field of second language acquisition （SLA）. As teachers perspectives of their roles in teaching activities can greatly inform their pedagogical decision-makings and exert a potential influence on the success of TBLT performance， it is therefore significant for EFL （English as a foreign language） teachers to gain a deep insight of the main principles and their roles of TBLT. This can help teachers truly reap the benefits of TBLT and maximize leaners learning in a meaningful way.

【Key words】EFL teachers roles； Task-based teaching

【作者簡介】張櫻子（1993- ），女，江西景德鎮人，景德鎮陶瓷大學，碩士，外國語學院教師，研究方向：對外英語教學。

1. The definition of task in TBLT

Task-based language teaching （TBLT） is a productive teaching approach with its primary emphasis on real-world language use and meaning exchange （Willis and Willis， 2007）. It serves as the most effective way to facilitate learners participation and communicative abilities in classrooms. Although a divergence of opinions emerges as to how to interpret the task， East（2012） argues that there is a general agreement among those definitions. First， the task designed in classroom should be purposeful， goal-oriented and interactive with a noticeable communicative outcome. Besides， the task should emphasize on meaning， with the purpose of engaging students in meaningful interaction instead of language grammatical or lexical structure. Moreover， the topic of the task is related to a real-world situation. So， relying mainly on their own resources （linguistic and non-linguistic） in classroom learning， learners are expected to effectively use the target language to solve real problems outside the classroom.

2. EFL Teachers roles in TBLT

The role of teachers in TBLT education has long been described as a privileged interlocutor. Zheng and Borg （2014） conclude that instead of playing a traditional authoritarian role in a teacher-dominant class， here teachers are supposed to specify task instructions to learners and， support or motivate learners performance cognitively and psychologically. According to Willis and Willis （2007）， teachers in TBLT class should fulfil five main roles： （1） leader and organizer of discussion； （2） manager of group/ pair work； （3） facilitator； （4） motivator； （5） language ‘knower and adviser. More specifically， for the first teachers role， it stresses that teachers need to start the class with a teacher-led discussion to state an opinion or provide students with background knowledge. The second role requires teachers ability to make the most use of group work and assign learners with proper works based on individuals ability. For the third role， teachers need to be aware of the level of learners language proficiency， making sure that learners are able to operate the task that are designed to challenge them. As for the role of motivator， it means that teachers are responsible to bring the task alive by giving learners positive feedback and engaging them in L2 communication. Finally， the last role asks teachers to be an equal interlocutor in learner discourses and assist learners rich communicative input whenever they need.

3. Conclusion

Teachers understandings towards their roles have close relevance to their TBLT performance. Just as East（2012）claims that “What a language teacher do in the classroom is inspired by what they know， believe and think.” Also， researchers have found that there are many other factors can shape language teachers understandings of their roles， beliefs and attitudes towards a new teaching method. Such as their limited knowledge， their prior experience as a learner， their long-established teaching habits， their experiences in pre-service teacher education program and their local schooling environment （Littlewood， 2007）. Hence in the future， we need to also explore EFL teachers beliefs， perceptions of TBLT and difficulties they have experienced in actual daily teaching practices. Only in this way can we assist language teachers in integrating TBLT into local educational contexts more effectively.

References：

[1]East，M.Task-based language teaching from the teachers perspective：Insights from New Zealand.Amsterdam：John Benjamins， 2012.

[2]Willis，D.and Willis，J.R.Doing task-based teaching.Oxford：Oxford University Press，2007.

[3]Zheng，X.and Borg，S.Task-based learning and teaching in China：Secondary school teachers beliefs and practices.Language Teaching Research，2014，18（2）：205–221.