Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in Japanese EFL Contexts

Abstract

As with many countries across Asia, the English language is seen as an essential feature of globalization policy in Japan. The Japanese government has sought to promote communicative approaches to language teaching throughout its education system, in an effort to improve its citizens’ English language proficiency. Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a principled approach to second language teaching, strongly linked with international theory and research into second language acquisition (SLA). This chapter explores successes and challenges in researching and implementing TBLT in Japanese contexts, from macro-level policy to micro-level classroom teaching. Japan has long been a center for innovative research into SLA, and more recently TBLT, with emerging research contributing to new knowledge related to the role of learners’ linguistic resources in developing EFL skills and in the mediational roles of emerging technologies. At the policy level, a major challenge is breaking from an examination-focused educational culture. In addition, a shift in approaches to classroom practice is called for, from a strong focus on the development of explicit linguistic knowledge, to the development of language-for-use. Acknowledging such educational cultural challenges, recent proposals include the need for a modular approach, involving classroom development of explicit linguistic knowledge in tandem with the development of language skills which reflect language use in the “real world” outside the classroom. It is concluded that, while explicit and implicit approaches to SLA may be incompatible theoretically, the successful implementation of TBLT is dependent on a recognition of the educational and cultural realities of classroom contexts in Japan.