CURRICULUM VITAE

Before the advent of TEL, a number of challenges in TBLT were identified. These included aspects, such as TBLT principles, learner participation and contribution issues in group-based tasks, an over-emphasis by learners on the need for accurate production, and evidence of learner progress in fluency at the possible expense of accuracy (Hatip, cited in Hişmanoğlu & Hişmanoğlu, 2011).

If TBLT aims to provide an approach that is intrinsically motivating, representative of real-life communicative tasks and unequivocally learner-centred, then the question of student participation in TEL-based contexts cannot be ignored. A range of factors can influence levels of student participation during tasks in traditional classroom contexts. In TEL-based environments, these factors may be further influenced by additional

aspects of the learning environment. Areas affecting effective student participation may include the following: general technological proficiency; familiarity with the LMS, application, social media or other software being used; level of intercultural communicative competence in multicultural contexts; higher degree of concern for accuracy due to perceived text permanence or recordability; uncertainties about online identity; and disengagement due to geographically-dispersed groups (Lai, Zhao, & Wang, 2011).

A number of studies have analysed various aspects relating to participation in TEL- based TBLT contexts. A study of learners on an advanced level German language course looked at a TBLT component of a larger course by including two 75-minute task-based tutorials. Surveys involving fifteen participants found that although learners expressed satisfaction with the tasks themselves, the teachers involved reported lower levels of task engagement by learners and less willingness to participate effectively as a group member (Hampel & Hauck, 2004). This was a small-scale study, wherein the TBLT component formed just a minor part of the overall course. Therefore, it is possible that learners lacked familiarity with task-based language learning principles and practices. Also, a common concern levelled at TBLT in traditional classroom contexts is its possible unsuitability for lower level learners. This German study included only advanced language learners, so it does not address this particular concern in TEL-based contexts.

A larger study was undertaken in the context of an American high school where 38 participants, who were enrolled in an online beginner-level Chinese course, took part in a TBLT study (Lai et al., 2011). As part of the study, researchers worked with

instructors in order to create educational materials that aligned with a TBLT approach. These materials complemented the content of an e-textbook that did not conform to a TBLT-based approach. It should also be noted that the teachers had not previously taught languages either in an online context or via a TBLT approach. Similarly, the majority of learners had not previously followed a TBLT approach. Again, this is a key limitation of much research into technology-mediated TBLT contexts, which indicates a gap in the research where further studies are needed that involve participants (teachers and learners) who are familiar with both TBLT and technology-mediated contexts. The present study aims to address this gap in the research.

Key findings from the Lai et al.’s (2011) study include a potential benefit of TBLT in online contexts, whereby the fluency of the TBLT participants was deemed to have improved to a greater degree than that of a control group. However, conclusions drawn from the study also included a number of potential drawbacks regarding the use of TBLT in TEL-based contexts. Firstly, tasks tended to be dominated by a small group of learners, thereby raising concerns about the potential benefits of task participation in TBLT for all types of learner in this context. Also, levels of rapport and mutual engagement between geographically-dispersed learners tended to be low, which raises questions about the effectiveness of TBLT in motivating and engaging students in TEL contexts. Specifically, these drawbacks relate directly to the foundational social constructivist principles at the heart of TBLT. Therefore, in considering the effectiveness of TBLT in TEL contexts, these findings suggest that questions about participation levels and motivational factors may be of importance when addressing possible recommendations for changes or additions to TBLT frameworks. Otherwise, such findings appear to indicate that many learners may not derive sufficient benefits

from the TBLT approach in some TEL contexts. The questions raised by such studies regarding possible negative aspects of technology-mediated TEL contexts also indicated a gap in the research, where these potential challenges concerning the approach should be investigated in contexts where participants are familiar with both the approach and educational context.

With regard to student participation in TBLT in TEL contexts at a more fundamental level, an American high school study raises questions about teacher and learner understanding of the approach itself. One of the main concerns about TBLT has been its possible unsuitability both for novice teachers and for learners with little experience of the approach (Zheng & Borg, 2014). In other words, this issue suggests that before undertaking a programme of study with a TBLT approach, learners should undergo a familiarisation process with the associated aims, methods and types of assessment and feedback. Similarly, there appear to be arguments both for the inclusion of TBLT theory and practice on all initial teacher training programmes (Van den Branden, 2006) and for the possible argument that novice teachers may be more comfortable with other approaches in the early stages of their careers (Zheng & Borg, 2014). However, for novice teachers, the inclusion of more comprehensive training in TBLT on initial teacher training programmes may offset such concerns. In terms of research, these long- standing, perceived disadvantages of TBLT again suggest that conducting studies into TBLT in TEL contexts should ideally involve participants who have a degree of familiarity with the approach. Although this may not always be possible, these perceived drawbacks of TBLT, plus the additional factors brought into play by TEL contexts, suggest that limitations of research may be increased when participants are largely unfamiliar, either with TBLT or with elements of the TEL context.