Plenary speeches

Communicative and task-based language teaching in East

Asian classrooms
William Littlewood Hong Kong Institute of Education
[email protected]
This is a revised version of a plenary paper presented at the International Conference of the Korean Association for
Teachers of English, held in Seoul, Korea, in June 2006.

e.g. Curriculum Development Council 1997 for

As educators and governments in East Asia aim to increase
primary schools; Curriculum Development Council
the number of people in their population who can com-
1999 for secondary schools). In Mainland China,
municate effectively in English, national policies and syl-
the national English Language Standards, published
labuses have moved increasingly towards various versions
in 2001, strongly advocates task-based teaching, the
of communicative language teaching (CLT) and task-
latest methodological realization of communicative
based language teaching (TBLT). This paper reviews, on
pedagogy (Hu 2005a: 15). According to Lee (2005:
the basis of published reports, some of the practical and
186), the National English Curriculum in Korea also
conceptual concerns that have affected the implementation
focuses on the task-based approach. Even in coun-
of CLT and TBLT in primary and secondary schools of
tries where official syllabuses have not been labeled
East Asia. It discusses some ways in which teachers have
task-based, the concept of learning through tasks has
responded to the challenges by adapting new ideas and
become an intrinsic part of the professional discourse
developing methodologies suited to their own situations.
and local innovations with TBLT are frequently
It proposes a methodological framework which may help
introduced (see e.g. Vilches 2003, in the Philippines;
such adaptation. The experiences and concerns described
Mukminatien 2004, in Indonesia; Kiernan 2005, in
in the paper may be shared by teachers anywhere who
Japan; Watson Todd 2006, in Thailand).
move from a teacher-centred approach to one in which the
In principle there is not any discontinuity between
learners play a more active, independent role.
CLT and TBLT. Richards (2005: 29) includes
both task-based and content-based instruction as
extensions of the CLT movement but which take
1. Introduction different routes to achieve the goals of commu-
Educators and governments in East Asia are nicative language teaching to develop learners
intensively addressing the need to increase the communicative competence. Nunan (2004: 10) sees
number of people in their population who can communicative language teaching as an overarching
communicate effectively in English. In order to concept (a broad, philosophical approach to the
achieve this, over the past twenty years or so, national language curriculum) of which task-based language
policies and syllabuses have been moving increasingly teaching represents a realization . . . at the levels of
towards various versions of communicative language syllabus design and methodology. Littlewood (2004:
teaching (CLT). Hos (2004) survey of developments 324) also regards TBLT as a development within
in fifteen countries of East Asia shows the extent to the communicative approach, in which the crucial
which CLT has become a dominant model since feature is that communicative tasks serve not only
the 1980s in this part of the world (p. 26). This is as major components of the methodology but also as
confirmed by the results of Nunans (2003) survey units around which a course may be organized.
of the educational policies and practices in seven This paper reviews, on the basis of published re-
countries in the region, in which all of the countries ports, some of the practical and conceptual concerns
surveyed subscribe to principles of CLT, and in
a number of them, [task-based language teaching] WILLIAM LITTLEWOOD taught languages at
(the latest methodological realization of CLT) is the secondary schools in the UK before taking up a post in
central pillar of government rhetoric (p. 606). teacher education in Swansea, Wales. He moved to Hong
As Nunan indicates, in several countries, teachers Kong in 1991 to participate in a curriculum development
are already being urged to move on from earlier project for English and has worked there since then. He is
forms of CLT and introduce task-based language now involved in pre- and in-service teacher education in
teaching (also referred to as task-based instruction the Department of English at the Hong Kong Institute
or task-based learning, henceforth referred to here as of Education. He has published widely in areas related
TBLT). In Hong Kong, for example, the Education to language teaching and his books and articles have been
Department (now Education and Manpower Bureau) used in teacher education in many countries.
has promoted TBLT since the mid-1990s (see
Lang. Teach. 40, 243249. doi:10.1017/S0261444807004363 Printed in the United Kingdom

c 2007 Cambridge University Press 243
William Littlewood
that have affected the implementation of CLT and practice, production) represents not only a way of de-
TBLT in primary and secondary schools of East Asia. livering the language specified in the syllabus but also
It discusses some ways in which teachers have respon- a way of controlling the interaction in class. A con-
ded to the challenges involved. The paper then sug- cern voiced by many teachers is that when students
gests that an underlying source of tensions has been are engaged in independent, task-related work, this
the lack of clarity about what CLT and TBLT really control no longer operates. For example, in an early
mean, and proposes a methodological framework study of the introduction of task-based learning into
which may contribute to resolving some of these Hong Kong primary schools (Morris et al. 1996: 58),
tensions. many teachers had difficulty resolving the dilemma
The focus in this paper is on the context of the over the need for teacher control and the need to
East Asian region but the experiences and concerns facilitate pupil-centred learning. In a later case-based
described in it should not be seen as exclusive to East study of primary school teachers in Hong Kong,
Asian classrooms. They may be shared by teachers Carless (2004: 656) too found that concerns over
anywhere whose innovations diverge from the noise and discipline inhibited task-based teaching. A
teacher-dominated, transmission-oriented pattern South Korean teacher quoted by D.F. Li (1998: 691f.)
which has been so resilient in classrooms over the cen- comments that with large classes, it is very difficult
turies (Watkins 2005: 812) and which is character- for classroom management if we use the communic-
istic of familiar methods such as grammar-translation, ative [method; for] example, when everyone starts to
audiolingualism and situational language teaching. talk, the class can be very noisy, perhaps leading to
complaints from other teachers. A Mainland Chinese
teacher interviewed by C. Y. Li (2003: 76) expresses
2. Some concerns in implementing CLT
her frustration that when she tries to organize
and TBLT in East Asian classrooms communicative group work, many students just sit
According to Ho (2004: 26), the most common there idling their time . . . Im very frustrated. Then
understanding of the communicative approach in I have to pull them back to grammar and exercises.
East Asia is that it means providing the teachers
with communicative activities in their repertoire of
2.2 Avoidance of English
teaching skills and giving learners the opportunity
in class to practise the language skills taught. The Even when there are no overt signs of misbehaviour
practical concerns expressed by teachers are indeed or lack of involvement, many teachers are concerned
related mainly to the introduction of communicative that the students may not be using English as the
activities (or tasks) in which learners are expected medium of communication in their groups. In an
to negotiate meaning without the direct control or observational study in South Korean primary school
intervention of the teacher. classrooms, Lee (2005: 201) found that there was
The five concerns which are mentioned below sometimes excessive dependence on the mother
reflect three main areas of criticism. The first class- tongue to solve communication problems, which de-
room management directs attention to how, with prives learners of the opportunity to listen and speak
large classes of often unmotivated young and adoles- in the target language. This was also a major concern
cent learners, the activities associated with CLT and of the teachers in Carlesss study, who identified
TBLT often present difficulties of practical imple- pupils use of Cantonese as the most prominent diffi-
mentation which do not exist in the smaller classes culty that occurred during tasks because this practice
where the innovations were first developed. The conflicted with the teachers espoused goal of learners
second and third avoidance of English and mini- using English (Carless 2004: 642). Some Mainland
mal demands on language competence reflect a Chinese teachers in C. Y. Lis study highlighted their
perception that these activities often fail in any case students low English proficiency as the factor pre-
to stimulate the rich use of the target language that venting them from using English in communication
is claimed by the proponents of the approaches. activities. One of them commented: I often see the
The fourth and fifth incompatibility with public kids struggling to express themselves in English . . .
assessment demands and conflict with educational To be safe, I prefer to use the method I am familiar
values and traditions focus on the external with to help the kids learn (C. Y. Li 2003: 690).
constraints which hinder the widespread use of In many cases, teachers themselves lack confidence
activities associated with CLT and TBLT in East to conduct communication activities in English
Asian education systems. because they feel that their own proficiency is not
sufficient to engage in communication or deal with
students unforeseen needs. This factor is mentioned
2.1 Classroom management by teachers in, for example, Hong Kong (Morris et al.
Perhaps the most frequently voiced concern is that 1996), Mainland China (C. Y. Li 2003; Rao 1996),
CLT and TBLT create problems of classroom man- South Korea (D. F. Li 1998) and Japan (Samimy &
agement. The familiar PPP sequence (presentation, Kobayaski 2004). In his overview of fifteen countries,
244
 Language teaching in East Asian classrooms
Ho (2004: 26) cites teachers uncertain command attended by the author, several Hong Kong teachers
of English as a factor which has hindered the confirmed that students and parents concerns about
introduction of communicative methods. public examinations were among the main factors
constraining their adoption of a task-based approach.
2.3 Minimal demands on language
competence 2.5 Conflict with educational values
Carless (2004: 643f., citing also Seedhouse 1999)
and traditions
points out that, in communication tasks, students may Independently of the practical concerns mentioned
focus on completing the task to the extent that they so far, many teachers and researchers have questioned
sometimes produce only the modest linguistic output whether the communicative approach is appropriate
necessary to complete it. This is what the teachers in countries with cultures of learning (Cortazzi &
in Carlesss study sometimes found; indeed they Jin 1996) different from Western settings where the
sometimes queried whether the amount of language approach was developed. Hu (2005b: 653) describes
generated by the tasks justified the large amount of the traditional Chinese culture of learning as one
time spent on them. Carless himself observed one in which education is conceived more as a process
class in which the students were able to complete an of knowledge accumulation than as a process of
assigned survey task in silence, because they already using knowledge for immediate purposes, and the
knew most of the information required. Lee (2005: preferred model of teaching is a mimetic or epistemic
199f.), too, noted that many students in the South one that emphasizes knowledge transmission. The
Korean classes he observed did not attempt to exploit classroom roles and learning strategies which this
their full language resources but produced language at culture engenders conflict with a learner-centred
only the minimum level of explicitness demanded by methodology such as CLT but are highly supportive
the task. Also, rather than engaging in the negotiation of a teacher-centred methodology. Similar arguments
of meanings predicted by theories of TBLT, students are presented by Rao (1996). Chow & Mok-Cheung
were more inclined to use simple strategies which (2004: 158) refer to the shift from a teacher-
made fewer language demands (such as guessing). centred to a student-centred pedagogy as a quantum
The teachers in Carlesss study were concerned that leap in the transmission-oriented context of Hong
the interaction was sometimes dominated by just one Kong schools. With reference to Japan, Samimy &
or two students, a phenomenon noted also by Lee. Kobayashi (2004: 253) describe possible cultural mis-
matches between theoretical underpinnings of CLT
2.4 Incompatibility with public and the Japanese culture of learning, and mention in
particular the difficulties that might arise from the im-
assessment demands portance attached by CLT to process rather than con-
Systems of public assessment usually fail to keep pace tent, its emphasis on meaning rather than form, and
with other developments in the curriculum. This the different communication styles it entails. In South
is reflected in the recurrent concern that CLT and Korea, the fundamental approach to education needs
TBLT do not prepare students sufficiently well for the to change before CLT can be successful there (D. F.
more traditional, form-oriented examinations which Li 1998: 696); however, South Korea and other EFL
will determine their educational future. According countries with similar situations should adapt rather
to Shim & Baik (2004: 246), for example, teachers than adopt CLT into their English teaching (ibid.).
in South Korea are caught between government
recommendations on the one hand and the demands 3. How teachers adapt rather
of students and parents for a more examination-
oriented classroom instruction on the other. This is
than adopt
confirmed by the teachers in D. F. Lis (1998) survey, In the context of mismatches such as those described,
all of whom named grammar-based examinations as it is inevitable that, in the words of Ho & Wong
an important constraint on using CLT. In Japan, the (2004: xxxiv), there has been much criticism of
close association of English study with the university an unquestioning acceptance of CLT techniques
entrance examinations, which emphasize grammar, in ELT in this region and of the varying practices
vocabulary and reading comprehension, means that of CLT. In some cases, teachers response has
students and teachers are less inclined to focus on been simply to reject or ignore the policy-makers
communicative aspects of English (Gorsuch 2000; proposals. In many parts of Mainland China, for
Samimy & Kobayashi 2004; Butler & Iino 2005). example, according to Hu (2004: 43), the intensive
Chow & Mok-Cheung (2004: 159) mention the top-down promotion of CLT notwithstanding,
summative, norm-referenced, and knowledge-based pedagogical practices in many Chinese classrooms
orientation of the high-stakes examinations in Hong have not changed fundamentally. In South Korea,
Kong as a major obstacle to the implementation the conflicting demands mentioned above have
of a task-based curriculum. At a recent seminar sometimes led to a situation where teachers are
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William Littlewood
left with no other choice than to write up reports his own role as a knowledge transmitter, the provision
that comply with government recommendations of grammatical explanations, and the use of memor-
while continuing to practise examination-oriented ization techniques and pattern drills. However, he
classroom instruction (Shim & Baik 2004: 246). integrates new ideas into his pedagogy by including
Pandian (2004: 280) writes that in Malaysia, when more interaction and more creative responses from
the initial euphoria of implementing the concepts the students in his classes, usually in the context
laid down by the KBSR [Kurikulum Baru Sekolah provided by the textbook, but sometimes in contexts
Rendah (New Primary School Curriculum)] and derived from the students personal experience
KBSM [Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (p. 331).
(New Secondary School Curriculum)] under the Carless (2004: 659) points out that adaptation
notion of communicative competence had died or reinterpretation, as in the instances above, is
down, classroom teaching seems to have returned to a natural part of the innovation process: teachers
the chalk-and-talk drill method. mould innovations to their own abilities, beliefs
These essentially defensive strategies are counter- and experiences; the immediate school context; and
balanced by many reports which echo D. F. Lis (1998) the wider sociocultural environment. This echoes
advice for South Korea: not to reject, but to adapt Widdowsons (1989) observation that the influence
rather than adopt. In Japan, for example, Samimy of ideas does not depend on their being understood
& Kobayashi (2004: 258) propose that English in their own [terms; usually], it depends on their
education should embrace CLT in a culturally being recast in different terms to suit other conditions
sensitive and appropriate way, yet maintain its own of relevance (cited in Ho & Wong 2004: xxxv).
contextual autonomy. Rao (1996: 467) discusses The instances mentioned in the previous paragraph
ways of reconciling the traditional Chinese approach illustrate some of the ways in which teachers in
and the communicative approach. Viewing East Asia East Asia have recast elements of the communicative
as a whole, Wong & Ho (2004: 464) perceive an approach to suit other conditions of relevance.
extensive cross-breeding of elements drawn from
different ELT techniques, methods and approaches
to form a localized methodology that supports the 4. Some conceptual uncertainties that
effective teaching and learning of English.
Some reports tell how this adaptation or cross-
need to be resolved
breeding take place. Reference was made above to The previous section focused on practical aspects
Hos (2004: 26) finding that in general, CLT in of the implementation of CLT and TBLT in East
East Asia is interpreted not in a strong sense but Asia. Underlying these practical concerns, however,
in a less radical sense of providing communicative there is often a deeper uncertainly about what the
activities as an additional element and giving learners approaches actually mean in terms of methodology.
opportunities to practise the language skills. In Hong Ho & Wong (2004: xxxiv) state how CLT has
Kong, Morris et al. (1996: 115) observed how many been implemented in different ways in East Asia,
teachers reinterpreted the use of communicative tasks with the term almost meaning different things to
as the contextualised practice of discrete items rather different English teachers. One of the secondary
than activities in which learners negotiate meaning school teachers interviewed by D. F. Li (1998: 689)
independently of the teacher. Carless (2004) found a illustrates two aspects of this uncertainty: Before
similar situation in his case study. In Mitchell & Lees attending this teacher education program, I thought
(2003) study of an English teacher of French and that communicative language teaching does not teach
a Korean teacher of English, both teachers express grammar and only teaches speaking. C. Y. Li (2003)
commitment to the communicative approach but conducted a survey of 164 teachers in Mainland
appear to interpret this in a similar way to the Hong China and found a similar misconception that CLT
Kong teachers: Teacher-led interaction, and the mas- can have no place for grammar and focuses only on
tery of correct language models, took priority over speaking: Some teachers have a misunderstanding of
the creative language use and student centring which CLT. In their view CLT is just a plethora of speaking
have been associated with more fluency-oriented or activities without any learning of language structures
progressivist interpretations of the communicative (p. 76).
approach (p. 56). As a final example, Zheng & These are common conceptions in other contexts
Adamson (2003) analyze how Mr Yang, a secondary too. Thompson (1996) reports that two of the most
school teacher in Mainland China, reconciles his common misconceptions that he has encountered
pedagogy with the innovative methodology in a amongst teachers from different parts of the world
context constrained by examination requirements are that CLT means not teaching grammar and that
and the pressure of time (p. 323). He does this CLT means teaching only speaking. The expectations
by expanding his repertoire rather than rejecting that these misconceptions imply would be unsettling
previous approaches (p. 335). He maintains many to most teachers, not only to those in East Asian
traditional elements of a structural approach, such as contexts.
246
 Language teaching in East Asian classrooms
In TBLT, the same uncertainties are carried 2004, 2005). These five categories, outlined below,
forward but they are compounded by further range along a continuum from activities which focus
conceptual uncertainties. The most serious of these on discrete forms with no attention to meaning,
is the definition of the central concept of task itself through activities in which there is still focus on form
and what activities are (or are not) included in it. but meaning and communication are also important,
As Richards (2005: 33) puts it, the notion of task to activities in which the focus is clearly on the
is a somewhat fuzzy one. Carless (2004) reports, communication of meanings.
from his own study and also citing other sources, that
teachers in Hong Kong have difficulty in interpreting
(i) At the most form-focused end of the continuum
tasks and that their interpretations do not usually
is non-communicative learning, which includes,
coincide with that proposed by the curriculum
for example, grammar exercises, substitution drills
documents. The present writer, in the early days
and pronunciation drills.
of the introduction of a task-based curriculum at
(ii) We then move to pre-communicative language
national level in Hong Kong, experienced many
practice, in which the focus is still primarily
hours in which the change agents and eventual
on language but also oriented towards meaning.
implementers argued inconclusively about what a task
An example of this is the familiar question-
is and what a task is not.
and-answer practice, in which the teacher asks
Since the concept of task is unclear, so too is
questions to which everyone knows the answer.
the distinction between tasks and non-tasks which
(iii) With the third category, communicative language
teachers are asked to operationalize. The latter are
practice, we come to activities in which learners
often called exercises (e.g. in Nunan 1999, Ellis
still work with a predictable range of language but
2003, and some official curricula). In the Hong
use it to convey information. These include, for
Kong curriculum for English, for example, tasks are
example, activities in which learners use recently
defined as activities in which learners are provided
taught language as a basis for information exchange
with purposeful contexts where they can learn
or to conduct a survey amongst their classmates.
and use English . . . for meaningful communication
(iv) In the fourth category, structured communica-
(Curriculum Development Council 2002: 24) whilst
tion, the main focus moves to the communication
exercises are activities in which [learners] focus upon
of meanings, but the teacher structures the situation
and practise specific elements of knowledge, skills and
to ensure that learners can cope with it with their
strategies needed for the task (Curriculum Develop-
existing language resources, including perhaps what
ment Council 1999: 44). This does not make clear the
they have recently used in more form-focussed
status of that important range of activities in which
work. This category includes more complex
there is an element of meaningful communication
information-exchange activities or structured role-
but the purpose is also to practise specific elements
playing tasks.
of the language, such as information-gap tasks or
(v) Finally, at the most meaning-oriented end of the
the contextualized practice observed by Morris et al.
continuum, authentic communication com-
(1996) and Carless (2004). Since it is that middle
prises activities in which there is the strongest
range that provides not only an essential conceptual
focus on the communication of messages and
link between communicative tasks and non-
the language forms are correspondingly unpredict-
communicative exercises, but also a pedagogical link
able. Examples are discussion, problem-solving,
between what is familiar to most teachers and the
content-based tasks and larger-scale projects.
new ideas they are being asked to adopt in CLT and
TBLT, this oversimplified division is an obstacle both
to conceptual clarity and to effective implementation. For teachers accustomed to a tradition dominated by
The need for a more differentiated conceptual controlled, form-oriented activities, the framework
framework was observed by Morris et al. (1996), provides dimensions for innovation and expansion.
who found the task-exercise distinction too limiting. They can maintain their base in activities represented
They needed a middle category, which they in the first and second categories, but gradually
called exercise-tasks (the contextualized practice expand their repertoire into the other three. In this
of discrete items), to capture the features of what way they can grow but retain a sense of security and
they observed in classrooms in Hong Kong. It is value in what they have done before. We saw above
noticeable that Nunan (2004) too has moved from how Mr Yang achieved this in his pedagogy. One
the two-category distinction in Nunan (1999) to a reason why CLT and TBLT have often been resisted,
three-category framework of tasks, communicative both in East Asia and elsewhere, has been that its
activities and exercises. proponents have been seen as wishing to catapult
The present writer, in work in teacher education teachers from the first and second categories straight
in Hong Kong as well as workshops elsewhere in into the fifth, without concern either for the teachers
East Asia, prefers to go further and adopt the five- previous experience or indeed (as argued persuasively
category framework described in Littlewood (2003, by Swan 2005) for what we know reliably about the
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William Littlewood
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