A qualitative and quantitative preliminary analysis of a task design web-based tool and its applications for teachereducation

Abstract Task-based language teaching (TBLT) has been consolidated as a research-based teaching perspective over the last four decades. At its core, task and materials design have been identified as key to successful task-based implementation (Bryfonski, forthcoming). Yet teachers are often left to their own resources when it comes to actual design. The taskGen project has brought together knowledge from second language acquisition, Natural Language Processing (NLP), interaction design, design thinking, and computer engineering to provide a solution to the problem. The goal of this article is threefold: firstly, a brief historical overview contextualizes the issue of task design in TBLT from complementary cognitive and teacher education perspectives; secondly, a web-based tool is presented that assists and trains teachers to design, organize, automate and share tasks. TaskGen assists the design of task structure through pre-tasks, tasks, and post-tasks, while focus on form is achieved through NLP tools. Tasks can be cloned to create simple or more complex versions, and they can also be shared and cloned by other teachers/designers. Thirdly, results from a qualitative study and a quantitative one are analyzed and presented. The former taps into teachers’ perceptions of task design by showing the kind of mental processes involved in decision-making during task design. The latter draws on big data on tool use by teachers, and it measures the impact of training with the tool on teachers’ choices during task design. Overall results of the two studies illustrate the cyclical nature of task design, the central role of focus on form, and the need for task design to be integrated in teacher education in order to achieve its full potential.