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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. 203–227

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Examining teachers’ evaluations of task characteristics

Lessons from two teacher education contexts

ORCiD logo with link | Georgetown University, United States
ORCiD logo with link | Georgetown University, United States
 | International Christian University, Japan
Published online: 5 February 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/task.25006.bry
Abstract
Though teachers have been shown to be widely influential in effective task-based initiatives (e.g., (2016). The role of teachers in task-based language education. ARAL 361, 164–181. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), research on teachers and task-based language teaching (TBLT) has primarily explored how teachers develop or adapt tasks for use in their own contexts during professional development workshops or pre-service teacher programs (e.g., Erlam, R. (2016). I’m still not sure what a task is: Teachers designing language tasks. Language Teaching Research, 20(3), 279–299. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Gurzynski-Weiss, L., Bryfonski, L. & Reagan, D.* (2024). Teacher IDs and task adaptations: Making use of the TBLT Language Learning Task Bank. In S. Li (Ed), Individual Differences in Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching (pp. 313-345). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). In comparison, how teachers perceive the strengths and limitations of task characteristics has been less commonly examined. To address this gap, this multi-site study utilizes a mixed-methods design to examine teacher insights about the defining qualities of language learning activities. Two cohorts of pre- and in-service language educators (N = 40) teaching five different target languages were recruited from task-based teacher education programs in the United States and Japan. After learning about key characteristics of tasks (Ellis, R., & Shintani, N. (2013). Exploring language pedagogy through second> language acquisition research. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Long, M. H. (1985). A role for instruction in second language acquisition: Task-based language training. In K. Hyltenstam & M. Pienemann (Eds.), Modelling and assessing second language acquisition (pp. 77–99). Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Skehan, P. (1996). Second language acquisition research and task-based instruction. In J. Willis & D. Willis (Eds.), Challenge and Change in Language Teaching (pp. 17–30). Heinemann.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Willis, J., & Willis, D. (Eds.). (1996). Challenge and change in language teaching (p. 235). Oxford: Heinemann.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), teachers evaluated the quality of a series of sample language learning activities. Teachers then participated in a post-evaluation interview about their ratings. Results reveal how teachers differentiate the characteristics and quality of tasks and highlight the factors influencing their ratings. The study contributes to ongoing efforts to bridge the divide between research and practice within TBLT initiatives, providing insights into teachers’ decision making. Implications for task-based teacher education, such as how constructs like the definition of ‘task’ could be better articulated when working with teachers, are also discussed.
Article outline
  • Literature review
    • Introduction
    • Teachers as decision makers in task design and implementation
    • Teacher perceptions of task-based language teaching
  • The current study
  • Methods
    • Context & participants
    • Procedures
    • Data collection instruments
      • Evaluation rating worksheet
      • Post evaluation interview
    • Analysis
  • Results
    • Research Question 1: How did teachers in the U.S. and Japan apply task-based criteria to evaluate language learning activities?
    • RQ 2: What factors did the teachers consider while evaluating the activities?
      • Focus
      • Gap
      • Resources
      • Outcome
      • Real-world connection
      • Engagement
  • Discussion
    • Varied and interrelated criteria interpretations
    • Additional factors informing teacher evaluations
      • Limitations
  • Implications and conclusions
  • References
References (53)
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