This seminar will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, February 12, Sunday, February 13, Saturday, February 19 and Sunday, February 20 from 9:00 to 12:00 (JST). Students taking this seminar for credit must attend all four days. Students can add/drop this seminar course by 13:00 on Saturday, February 12.

The pre sign-up (or course registration for those who are taking this seminar for credit) is required for anybody attending the public session on Saturday, February 12 from 9:00 to 12:00. The sign-up process must be completed through "Distinguished Lecturer Series Seminar Sign-Up Form" that is available on TUJ Grad Ed website. The sign-up deadline is Thursday, February 10 at 12:00 (be noted that the sign-up deadline for this seminar is on Thursday, February 10 due to the national holiday on Friday, February 11). The public session Zoom link will be provided to those people who completed the online sign-up (or course registration) process by 18:00 on Thursday, February 10.

Over the past three decades, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has become an increasingly influential and widespread educational framework for the theory and pedagogy of second language teaching across the globe. TBLT seeks to prepare students to perform meaningful real-world tasks using their target language skills. Thus, in TBLT, tasks comprise the fundamental unit for planning language lessons, developing curricular programs, and assessing student performance. In contrast to traditional syllabuses that synthesize the target language into discrete linguistic units, task-based syllabuses are built around tasks that capitalize on authentic communication and individual learner needs.

After introducing the origins and theoretical basis of TBLT, this seminar will address key principles and issues in TBLT, including needs analysis, task-based curriculum development, and task selection, design, sequencing, and implementation. We will also review strategies to align task-based language assessment with task-based language pedagogy. Lastly, we will discuss how educators can address some of the challenges they may encounter in implementing TBLT in their own classrooms across different contexts, including technology-mediated environments. Throughout the seminar, we will draw on empirical findings from seminal and recent studies that have informed TBLT principles and practice.