Preface

To start this preface, we will turn the spotlights on Marije Michel.There are two good reasons why we do so.First, this issue of TASK contains an interview with Marije in which she elaborates on the interface between psycholinguistically oriented SLA research and the practice of task-based language teaching.Clearly, any research-informed pedagogical approach (such as TBLT aims to be) needs to be consistent with what we know about processes of additional language acquisition.Particularly ecologically valid research into instructed language acquisition is direly needed in this respect.But, in addition, relevant research findings need to be disseminated among teachers in accessible and understandable terms, and need to be contextualized by teachers in authentic classroom settings.In her rich career at the Universities of Lancaster and Groningen, Marije Michel has put in great effort in bridging the gap between research and practice, and the interview TASK conducted with her contains revealing insights on this interface.A second reason why Marije deserves special attention in this issue is because she and her fabulous team hosted the 11th International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching at Groningen University in April 2025.We want to extend our warm thanks to the Groningen Team for organizing such a vibrant and thoughtprovoking conference.The theme of the conference was "Task-based Leveraging of Technology".That technology holds great potential for TBLT and TBLA and that it has a serious impact on task design and implementation, is illustrated by the 2 articles devoted to technology-mediated TBLT in this issue.In their research-based article, Van Asseldonk, Troussard, Strobbe & Van Dommele describe a needs-analysis that was carried out with a view to developing a digital task-based exam for young learners of Dutch as a foreign language.Clearly, this is pioneering research, because a NA for young learners, particularly in the context of a language test worldwide, represents largely unexplored area.Traditionally, NAs have focused on adults, who can more consistently articulate needs and engage in metalanguage discussions than young learners.Adult learners also typically present more defined professional or academic ambitions, which can be more easily translated into specific assessment needs.The population of young learners addressed in this NA proved to be very diverse in terms of backgrounds and needs.To accommodate those diverse interests, a B1 level youth exam with an even distribution of items across the personal and educational domains was designed.