“The path is made by walking”

Abstract This interview with 2025 IATBLT Distinguished Practitioner Claudia Fernández documents the development and sustained implementation of a multi-course task-based language teaching (TBLT) program in a large U.S. university Spanish basic language program. Drawing on her dual identity as practitioner and applied linguist, Fernández traces how longstanding tensions between structural, textbook-driven instruction and communicative goals led to a comprehensive curricular redesign grounded in tasks as the central unit of analysis and instruction. The interview provides an account of program design processes, including goal setting aligned with communicative outcomes and the development of fully task-based assessments. Particular attention is given to the practical realities of implementation in a multi-section, multi-course program, including instructor training, material adaptation, and contextual constraints. Fernández also highlights underexplored areas in TBLT, such as the potential for meaning-focused, input-based activities in supporting learners’ development of task-relevant linguistic resources without reverting to language-as-object instruction. Across the interview, she emphasizes the importance of assessment as a driver of pedagogical change and discusses strategies for fostering colleague buy-in and navigating resistance. By offering a practice-grounded account of TBLT at scale, this interview contributes to ongoing efforts to deepen connections between research and practice in TBLT.