Perceptual mismatches in the interpretation of task-based ELT materials: a micro-evaluation of a task-based English lesson

ABSTRACT

This article reports on a classroom-based study that examined perceptual mismatches in the interpretation of task-based ELT materials in the Chinese university context. The study looked particularly into the micro-evaluation of the task-based English lesson. Based mainly on qualitative analysis, findings showed that there was a general agreement that the lesson focused more on meaning and less on form. While students were engaged in the negotiation of meaning, they focused incidentally on form, such as vocabulary and pronunciation, because they thought that both were a catalyst for a clear understanding of the messages articulated. Despite this, student participants reported that they prioritized meaning as idea development or fluency because they co-constructed the meanings of content knowledge as the point of departure of learning tasks. Drawing on these findings, three practical implications are presented: (1) learning goals as a shared vision, (2) task design as the optimization of student engagement, and (3) negotiation of meaning as knowledge co-construction. The present study calls for more investigative endeavor that looks into a micro-evaluation of task-based language lessons in other EFL contexts in China and in Asia.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• EFL
• micro-evaluation
• task
• TBLT

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

John Harper is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Director of the English Language Center of Shantou University. He has been involved in the ELT field for some 25 years. During that time, he has worked in Colombia, Taiwan, Peru, Mexico, and China. He has been involved in curriculum and assessment design in each country. Harper's particular interests in ELT are English for Specific Purposes, motivation, curriculum and materials design, and assessment.

Handoyo Puji Widodo has taught English in China, Indonesia, and the USA. His areas of specialization include language teaching methodology, language curriculum and materials development, systemic functional linguistics (SFL) in language education, and teacher professional development. His work has been grounded in socio-semiotic, socio-cognitive, sociocultural, and critical theories of language pedagogies.