Task-Based Language Teaching in Online Ab Initio Foreign Language Classrooms

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) has been attracting the attention of researchers for more than 2 decades. Research on various aspects of TBLT has been accumulating, including the evaluation studies on the implementation of TBLT in classrooms. The evaluation studies on students and teachers reactions to TBLT in the online courses are starting to gain momentum, and this study adds to this line of research by enhancing our understanding of the implementation of TBLT in an online ab initio course. This study investigated the implementation of a TBLT syllabus in an ab initio online Chinese as foreign language course over a semester. Surveys and interviews with the students and the instructors revealed that students reacted positively to the online TBLT experience, and analyses of students performance at the end of the semester suggested that this pedagogy produced good learning outcomes. This study also identified some challenges and advantages of the online context for TBLT.