A Practical Study of Task-based Language Teaching in Elementary Japanese Course

Conducting a Micro-Evaluation of a TBLT Practice

Abstract

This paper reports on the potential and the significance of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in an elementary Japanese course with a grammatical syllabus. This paper examines the potential and the significance of TBLT by means of a student-based evaluation, as well as a response-based evaluation as proposed by Ellis (1997). The result shows that (1) Some students expressed negative opinions and anxieties when evaluation of their performance and their own beliefs about language learning did not align with TBLT; (2) the students were motivated toward active learning and content-based communication when performing the task in earnest; and (3) learners were focused on form in the content-based communication during a pair activity without teacher instruction.