Advances in the Linguistic Sciences

Download PDF (2802.4 KB) PP. 1 - 16 Pub. Date: December 5, 2019

DOI: 10.22606/als.2019.11001

• Chi Wui Ng^*
  ngchiwui@link.cuhk.edu.hk

Task-based language teaching, which is a language teaching approach where tasks constitute the bedrock of planning and instruction, is a learner-centred and experiential pedagogy popular in the field of second language acquisition and promulgated to second and foreign language classrooms all over the globe in recent decades. This paper elucidates influences of three forces— central agencies, textbook publishers, and teachers—on implementation of such pedagogy originated from the West in English language education in Hong Kong. It is discovered that the intended English language curriculum in Hong Kong is in favour of such pedagogy and highly advocates incorporation of communicative tasks into the implemented curriculum albeit partial realization of the essence of task-based language teaching in locally produced instructional materials, which comprise more integrated tasks than form-focused tasks. Moreover, English teachers in Hong Kong may not be receptive to such pedagogy out of their concern about the examination-oriented education system in Hong Kong as well as worry about plausible occurrence of disciplinary problems in task-based lessons. Suggestions targeting those three prominent forces influencing curriculum decisions on teaching methods are eventually put forward to illuminate and facilitate implementation of task-based language teaching in Hong Kong English language education.

Task-based language teaching; Hong Kong English language education.

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