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Article published In: Teacher Education for Task-Based Language Teaching
Edited by Xavier Gutiérrez, Lara Bryfonski and Greg Ogilvie
[TASK 5:2] 2025
► pp. 228–256

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Teacher perspectives and student voices

Tasks and task design for less commonly taught language classrooms

ORCiD logo with link | Michigan State University, United States | KU Leuven, Belgium
ORCiD logo with link | Michigan State University, United States
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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 Michigan State University.

Published online: 5 February 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/task.25005.gor
Abstract
Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a prominent approach in second and foreign language education (Ellis, R., Skehan, P., Li, S., Shintani, N., & Lambert, C. (2020). Task-based language teaching: Theory and practice. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Long, M. H. (2015). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. Wiley.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). However, for many instructors of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) at institutions of higher education (IHE), TBLT is still an innovative approach that deviates from more familiar structure-focused, teacher-dominated teaching methods. In a multi-year project, LCTL instructors partnered with curriculum design experts to create task-based, proficiency-oriented lesson materials using a reverse design framework. This study focuses on three Portuguese instructors’ understanding and application of TBLT principles and four students’ perspectives on engaging tasks. Data sources included meeting notes, instructor interviews and student responses to a pre- and post-course unit survey, analyzed through qualitative content analysis.
Findings revealed that although the instructors’ understanding of TBLT changed over three years of collaborative work, they still struggled with the concept of a task and integrating grammar and vocabulary into task-based lessons. Student feedback challenged conventional task criteria, offering insights into engaging task design features for advanced learners.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Background
  • Task-based language teaching
  • Research questions
  • Methods
    • Participants
    • Data collection and analysis
  • Findings and discussion
    • Research question 1
    • Research question 2
  • Conclusion and limitations
  • References
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