ABSTRACT
The concept of 'task' is central to an understanding of task-based language teaching (TBLT); consequently, this chapter begins with a definition of a task. There follows a brief exposition of how TBLT developed out of communicative language teaching (CLT), followed by a comparison of task-supported language teaching (TSLT) and TBLT. In TSLT the learners' attention is directed to the specific target form that is the focus of a lesson in the presentation stage of presentation-practice-production (PPP), often by means of explicit description. While most of the task-based research has focused on the performance of individual tasks, task-based pedagogy needs to take a broader perspective by considering the design of complete task-based courses and the organization of task-based lessons. The input-based lessons lead to opportunities for learners to initiate discourse and to negotiate for both meaning and form. In contrast, the PPP lessons resulted primarily in initiate-respond-feedback (IRF) exchanges that are so ubiquitous in formal instruction.
