interview
Seeking synergy between research and practice in TBLT
An interview with Marije Michel
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.
For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.
Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with KU Leuven.
Published online: 8 August 2025
https://doi.org/10.1075/task.00038.gor
https://doi.org/10.1075/task.00038.gor
Abstract
This interview with Marije Michel, Professor of Second Language Acquisition at the University of Groningen,
explores key developments and challenges in Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT). Drawing on her extensive experience in both
research and practice, Michel discusses the integration of psycholinguistic constructs in task design, drawing examples from
priming effects in written and oral interaction. She also emphasizes the importance of researching task sequences and post-task
reflection as key sites of language development and describes some challenges of implementing TBLT across diverse educational
contexts. Michel’s insights highlight the evolving nature of TBLT as it adapts to technological innovations while maintaining its
core principles of meaningful communication and learner empowerment. The interview also highlights contemporary issues in
(task-based) language education, including the research-practice relationship, the potential role of artificial intelligence in
language learning, and the need for more inclusive approaches to language teaching research. We conclude with perspectives on
future directions for TBLT, particularly emphasizing the importance of longitudinal research and teacher development in advancing
the field, as well as highlighting unique features of the 11th International Conference on Task-Based Language
Teaching in Groningen, NL (April 2–4, 2025).
References (43)
Alferink, I., & Marsden, E. (2023). OASIS:
one resource to widen the reach of research in language studies. Innovation in Language
Learning and
Teaching, 17(5), 946–952.
Al-Hoorie, A. H., Cinaglia, C., Hiver, P., Huensch, A., Isbell, D. R., Leung, C., & Sudina, E. (2024). Open
science: Considerations and issues for TESOL research. TESOL
Quarterly, 58(1), 537–556.
Atkinson, D., Michel, M. C., & Ribeiro, A. C. (2025). Synergies
in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLA/T). The Modern Language
Journal, 109(S1)
Bear, E., Chen, X., Souto, D. V., Ribeiro-Flucht, L., Rudzewitz, B., & Meurers, D. (2024). Designing
a task-based conversational agent for EFL in German schools: Student needs, actions, and
perceptions. System, 1261, 103460.
De Bot, K., Lowie, W., & Verspoor, M. (2007). A
dynamic systems theory approach to second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and
Cognition, 10(1), 7–21.
Ellis, R. (2024). Conclusion:
Some thoughts on investigating individual differences in task-based language
teaching. In S. Li (Ed.), Individual
differences and task-based language
teaching (pp. 346–346). John Benjamins.
Gilabert, R., Comelles, E., Castellví, J., Malicka, A., Barón, J., Brennan, K., Trager, V., & Arnold, G. (2024). TaskGen. [URL]
Godfroid, A., & Andringa, S. (2023). Uncovering
sampling biases, advancing inclusivity, and rethinking theoretical accounts in second language acquisition: Introduction to
the special issue SLA for All? Language
Learning, 73(4), 981–1002.
Gök, S., & Michel, M. C. (2021). Designing
pedagogic tasks for refugees learning English to enter universities in the
Netherlands. In M. Ahmadian & M. Long (Eds.), The
Cambridge handbook of task-based language
teaching (pp. 290–302). Cambridge University Press.
Gök, S. Ö., & Michel, M. C. (2025). Task
design for highly educated newcomers: improvement and implementation through Lesson
Study. International Journal for Lesson & Learning
Studies, 14(5), 1–16.
Hiver, P., Larsen-Freeman, D., Al-Hoorie, A. H., & Lowie, W. (2023). Complex
dynamic systems and language education: A sampling of current research–Editorial. International
Journal of Complexity in
Education, 4(1).
Hwang, H., Coss, M. D., Sato, M., Cárcamo, B., Nguyen, M. X. N. C., Dao, P., Iwashita, N., Marsden, E., Hawkes, R., Loewen, S., Scheffler, P., Baranowska, K., McKinley, J., & Ortega, L. (2024). (Re)
Examining the research–practice interface: International perspectives, multiple methods, persistent challenges, and novel
directions. Language
Teaching, 1–7.
Kim, Y., & Michel, M. C. (2023). Linguistic
alignment in second language acquisition: A methodological
review. System, 1151, 103007.
Kim, Y., & Namkung, Y. (2024). Methodological
characteristics in technology-mediated task-based language teaching research: Current practices and future
directions. Annual Review of Applied
Linguistics, 1–23.
Long, Michael H. (2015). Second language acquisition and
task-based language teaching. John Wiley & Sons.
Marsden, E., & Morgan-Short, K. (2023). (Why)
are open research practices the future for the study of language learning?. Language
Learning, 73(S2), 344–387.
McDonough, K., & Trofimovich, P. (2011). Using
priming methods in second language research. Routledge.
Michel, M. C. (2011). Effects
of task complexity and interaction on L2 performance. In P. Robinson (Ed.) Second
language task complexity: Researching the cognition hypothesis of language learning and
performance (pp. 141–173). John Benjamins.
(2013). The
use of conjunctions in cognitively simple versus complex oral L2 tasks. The Modern Language
Journal, 97(1), 178–195.
(2018). Practising
online with your peers: The role of text-chat for second language
development. In C. Jones (Ed.), Practice
in second language
learning (pp. 164–196). Cambridge University Press.
(2022, August 29–31). Tasks
for everyone. Everyone a task. [Plenary presentation]. Task-Based
Language Teaching Conference, Innsbruck, Austria.
(2023). Key
concepts in applied linguistics: Task-based Language Teaching. Estudios de Linguistica Inglesa
Aplicada
(ELIA), 231, 317–328.
Michel, M. C., Appel, C., & Cipitria, S. (2022). Lexical
and syntactic alignment during English-Spanish teletandem
meetings. System, 1111, 102930.
Michel, M. C., Atkinson, D., Custodio Ribeiro, A., Alexopoulou, T., Cappellini, M., Eskildsen, S., Gao, X., Hellermann, J., Kayi-Aydar, H., Lowie, W., Mejía-Laguna, J., Ortega, L., Doehler, S., Sasaki, M., Sato, M., Thorne, S., & Zheng, Y. (2025a). Forging
common ground in second language acquisition and teaching: A combined synergy statement. The
Modern Language
Journal, 109(S1), 90–103.
Michel, M. C., Bazhutkina, I., Abel, N., & Strobl, C. (2025b). Collaborative
writing based on generative AI models: Revision and deliberation processes in German as a foreign
language. Journal of Second Language Writing, 671, 101185.
Michel, M. C., Kuiken, F., & Vedder, I. (2007). Effects
of task complexity and task condition on Dutch L2. International Review of Applied
Linguistics, 45(3), 241–259.
Michel, M. C., Murakami, A., Alexopoulou, T., & Meurers, D. (2019). Effects
of task type on morpho-syntactic complexity across proficiency: Evidence from a large learner corpus of A1 to C2
writings. Journal of Instructed Second Language
Acquisition, 3(2): 124–152.
Michel, M. C., Ofner, D., & Thoma, D. (2014). Early
childhood educators’ competences for supporting children’s academic language skills in
Germany. Language
Awareness, 23(1–2), 138–156.
Michel, M. C., & O’Rourke, B. (2019). What
drives alignment during text chat with a peer vs. a tutor? Insights from cued interviews and
eye-tracking. System, 831, 50–63.
Michel, M. C., & Smith, B. (2018). Measuring
lexical alignment during L2 peer interaction via written synchronous computer-mediated communication — An eye tracking
study. In S. Gass, P. Spinner, & J. Beheny (Eds.), Salience
and
SLA (pp. 244–268). Routledge.
Plonsky, L. (2024). Study
quality as an intellectual and ethical imperative: A proposed framework. Annual Review of
Applied Linguistics, 1–15.
(2023). Sampling
and generalizability in Lx research: A second-order
synthesis. Languages, 8(1), 75.
Poole, F. J., & Polio, C. (2023). From
sci-fi to the classroom: Implications of AI in task-based
writing. TASK, 3(2), 243–272.
Sato, M. (2023). Navigating
the research–practice relationship: Professional goals and constraints. Language
Teaching, 1–16.
Sato, M., Chong, S. W., Aktar, T., Cowell, J., Kong, M. S., & Shaahdadi, M. (2024). Creating
and sustaining a platform for researchers and teachers to communicate: an example of
TESOLgraphics. Innovation in Language Learning and
Teaching, 1–11.
Sato, M., Thorne, S. L., Michel, M., Alexopoulou, T., & Hellermann, H. (2025). Language,
people, classrooms, world: Blending disparate theories for united language education
practices. The Modern Language
Journal, 109(S1), 15–38.
Strobl, C., Menke-Bazhutkina, I., Abel, N., & Michel, M. C. (2024). Adopting
ChatGPT as a writing buddy in the advanced L2 writing class. Technology in Language Teaching
&
Learning, 6(1), 1–19.
Van den Branden, K. (2016). The
role of teachers in task-based language education. Annual Review of Applied
Linguistics, 361, 164–181.
(2022). How
to teach an additional language: To task or not to task?. John Benjamins.
Van Gorp, K. (2021). Blue-sky
thinking about TBLT: An interview with Martin
Bygate. TASK, 1(1), 127 — 137.
Van Gorp, K., Branden, K. V. D., Newton, J., & Coss, M. D. (2024). Talking
it through with teachers: Jonathan Newton’s reflections on coursebooks, challenges, and opportunities for
TBLT. TASK, 4(2), 152–162.
Verspoor, M. H., Lowie, W., & Bot, K. (2011). A
dynamic approach to second language development. John Benjamins.