Technology-mediated TBLT: Researching Technology and Tasks ed. by M. González-Lloret and L. Ortega (review)

This book represents an important contribution to the field of language teaching and learning. It opens up a new area that the authors call “technology-mediated TBLT,” or technology-mediated task-based language teaching. In this framework, tasks and technology are effectively integrated into the curriculum according to active learning philosophies of language pedagogy, new language education requirements, and the opportunities afforded by digital technology. The authors base their new approach on the many ways in which Web 2.0 technologies can create novel environments and opportunities for students. They argue that students can now engage in “doing things” through technology-mediated creation processes, rather than just reading about language and culture or hearing about them from teachers. In this edited collection, the authors demonstrate many different ways in which these new technologies can enhance the quality of TBLT curricula when the technology is fully integrated as a medium for teaching and learning.

The authors are both teachers and researchers. Dr. Marta González-Lloret is an associate professor in the Department of Languages and Literatures of Europe and the Americas in the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature at the University of Hawai’i in Manoa. One of her main interests is CALL (computer-assisted language learning) and most of her courses incorporate technology (WebCT, Internet, web-page creation, blogs, wikis, discussion forums, etc.) to learn Spanish in a practical manner. Dr. Lourdes Ortega is a professor and head of the Applied Linguistics Concentration in the Department of Linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her main area of research is in second language acquisition, particularly socio-cognitive and educational dimensions in adult classroom settings. She has also long-standing interests in second language writing and foreign language education and has published widely about systematic research synthesis and epistemological and ethical dimensions of second language acquisition research.

The book comprises 12 chapters that provide a rich resource of theoretical and practical advice and guidance for this new approach to language teaching, learning, and research. The combined chapters bring together scholars from various parts of the world working on four different languages (Chinese, English, German, and Spanish). All authors focus on young adults studying foreign languages in higher-education settings, but the contexts they investigate range greatly, as do the theoretical frameworks and technological tools discussed. The first chapter is written by the co-editors, who set the context and explain the two premises for the collection: (1) that rapid digital technological change fuels constant transformation in learning and language use, and (2) that these developments in turn demand suitable curricular and instructional responses, whereby tasks and technology can be genuinely and productively integrated. In this chapter, they present a vision for how TBLT can be integrated into the new realities of language education and digital technology. They outline the new technology-mediated TBLT framework that the book seeks to open up for new research. Chapter 2, by González-Lloret, presents an argument for conducting needs analysis as the first step in developing technology-mediated TBLT. Chapter 3, by Rebecca Adams and Nik Aloesnita Nik Mohd Alwi, presents an experimental study on technology-mediated task sequencing, and chapter 4, by Maria Elena Solares, then illustrates the challenges of designing technology-mediated tasks and associated materials through four classroom studies in various foreign language contexts.

The next four chapters offer an argument for building technology-mediated TBLT around Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Ana Oskoz and Idoia Elola’s chapter is on collaborative writing in Web 2.0 environments; the authors illustrate how different aspects of the writing process in argumentative and expository writing are affected by the use of chats and wikis. In chapter 6, Julie M. Sykes discusses the design and implementation of Spanish language-learning tasks within a synthetic immersive environment (SIE) and discusses the connection between these tasks and games. Similarly, in the following chapter...