Task-Based Instruction in Foreign Language Education: Practices and Programs

by Betty Lou Leaver (Editor), Jane R. Willis (Editor)

Task-based language instruction has proven to be highly effective, but surprisingly underutilized. Theory can only go so far and hands-on experience can greatly speed and enhance the learning of a second language. Nineteen talented instructors who have successfully implemented task-based programs explain the principles behind the programs, discuss how problems were resolved, and share details on class activities and program design. Each chapter takes the reader through the different stages in designing and setting up such programs, adjusting them, and appraising and testing them in normal classroom conditions. This book covers TBI syllabus and program design and is based on actual classroom experience. Any one of the courses or programs discussed can serve as models for others. Many of the contributors are highly respected practitioners who are presenting their programs for the first time, while others are regular participants in today's ongoing dialogue about teaching methods.

Full of concrete, adaptable models of task-based language teaching drawn from a number of countries and eleven different languages -- including Arabic, Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Korean, Spanish, and Ukrainian -- "Task-Based Instruction in Foreign Language Education" presents proven, real-world, practical courses and programs; and includes web-based activities. It demonstrates useful and practical ways to engage students far beyond what can be learned from reading textbook dialogue. TBI involves the student directly with the language being taught via cognitively engaging activities that reflect authentic and purposeful use of language, resulting in language-learning experiences that are pleasurable and effective.

For all instructors seeking to help their learners enhance their understanding and grasp of the foreign language they are learning, "Task-Based Instruction in Foreign Language Education" is a rich and rewarding hands-on guide to effective and transformative learning.

344 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2004

About the author

The oldest of eight children, Dr. Betty Lou Leaver grew up on a farm in rural Maine. She earned a B.A. in linguistics and M.A. in comparative literature at Penn State University. Having spent considerable time working in the Soviet Union and being the first American to conduct linguistic research at the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Akademgorodok, she earned her Ph.D. in applied linguistics from the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. Including Russian, she has studied 20 languages and has provided consultation to ministries of education and institutions of higher education in 24 countries.

Prior to coming to DLIFLC in 2006 as Associate Provost for Continuing Education, Dr. Leaver worked as the chief academic officer of the Amman, Jordan branch of the New York Institute of Technology (operated in partnership with the Jordan University of Science and Technology) and for a short while dual-hatted as the Academic Dean of the Manama, Bahrain branch. Dr. Leaver has also served as coordinator and developer of the Russian and English language programs for NASA's International Space Station & liaison to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia; subject matter expert at the Foreign Language Training Lab; Director of the Russian and Ukrainian programs and founding member of the Division of Research & Development at the Foreign Service Institute; and president of the American Global Studies Institute.

At DLIFLC, from 1989 to 1992, Dr. Leaver was Dean of the Slavic School, and from 1992 to 1993, Dean of the Central European School. Earlier, she attended the Russian basic and LeFoxe (combined intermediate-advanced) courses. She served in the U.S. Army as a cryptolinguist, then, after receiving a direct commission, as a military intelligence officer at the U.S. Army Intelligence School at Ft. Devens (USAISD). Later assigned to the U.S. Army Reserves, she took special assignments at Sebana Seca Naval Station (Puerto Rico), USAISD, and Allison Park, PA.

Dr. Leaver has taught graduate, undergraduate, and language teacher courses at Middlebury College, Monterey Institute of International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, Bryn Mawr College, and community colleges. She founded the Center for the Advancement of Distinguished Language Proficiency at San Diego State University, the Center for the Languages of the Central Asian Region at Indiana University, and the Coalition of Distinguished Language Centers.

Her publications include Developing Professional-Level Foreign Language Proficiency and Achieving Success in Second Language Acquisition (Cambridge University Press), Content-Based Instruction for Foreign Language Education and Task-Based Instruction for Foreign Language Education (Georgetown University Press), and two dozen other books. She has published more than 200 articles, book chapters, and monographs and has made nearly as many conference presentations including several dozen keynote speeches. She received the Elsevier Prize for a jointly authored article on learner variables and the International Society for Performance Improvement's award for joint research on cultures of the Middle East and Russia, funded by the U.S. Army Research Institute.

She is the mother of four birth children, three other children taken in as teenagers, and two grandchildren. She is married to Carl Leaver.

- excerpted from Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Centre